Simple Homemade Tomato Soup

One day, I was really craving tomato soup. I wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup, just like my mom used to make. Only, I knew I couldn’t just open a can of tomato soup like Mom. Too much stuff in there I didn’t want to eat. So, I had an idea…what about tomato paste? And this is my  results…..it isn’t really even a recipe…but it tastes great and is just as quick/ quicker as the original idea….and frugal too! ;)

 

So, how do you do it? Simply take some tomato paste and add water or milk (or non-dairy milk) to thin it out to your desired consistency.Add spices and serve with your favorite meal! :) 

Sweeten and flavor your own yogurt…for more nutrition and frugality!

 

                        Sprinkle it on top       or            mix it in! :)

Here’s a little tip for today!

Buy or Make Plain Yogurt (stay tuned for a recipe soon about how to make your own) and sprinkle it with fruit. Mix it in or just eat it as is. You can also add a little honey and or stevia.

*For those who are dairy-free, try this with soy or coconut milk yogurt.

Other combinations I have mixed with my yogurt are:

• vanilla extract and stevia…
• applesauce
• cranberry sauce (homemade)
• fresh/frozen berries of any kind
• frozen fruit concentrates
• juice

 

These ideas will save you money because you can buy plain yogurt in bulk and not spend money on all that sugar and get more yogurt for your money! Also, this is much more nutritious to use fruit! plus no sugar (and even if you use honey, you need just a tiny bit and will save yourself calories and be a lot healthier!)

 

And it is customizable every day! Never have the same yogurt again if you so desire! Also, no fighting between kiddos who gets the blueberry yogurt…you can make everyone’s the same or customize it for different tastes!

Any other ideas? What do you put on your yogurt? :)

Recipe Review: Sweet Morning Potatoes

This dish was so tasty! (And a yummy change from my normal oatmeal breakfast routine. I loved this recipe and it left me wishing I had more leftover sweet potatoes and brown rice. This recipe is also very frugal and filling. I loved it! :)      

I am going to quote Amy’s recipe here (but go here for the original recipe and pictures-believe me her picture is much prettier!) since it is the exact same as what I did except that i added some raisins (1/4-1/2 c.) and baked it in a bread pan (for a little  bit longer----check to see if it’s done at 30 minutes instead of 20) since I didn’t have soufflé dishes. I also didn’t add the topping she did, but feel free to add it if you want. And when it says agave, feel free to use honey instead if you so desire. And for the milk, if you can’t have milk, use water or a dairy-free milk alternative. :) Enjoy!

 

Ok, here it is:

“Sweet Morning Potatoes
Serves 4 as a side

For potatoes:

1 sweet potato, cooked & peeled
about 2 – 3 tablespoons water
¾ cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 cup cooked brown rice

For topping:

¼ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon agave

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Prepare 4 small soufflé dishes with cooking spray.

Cut sweet potato into large pieces and place in bowl of mini-food chopper.  Add 2 tablespoons of water and process until smooth, adding more water if needed to make a thick, smooth puree.  Measure 1 cup and place into a medium bowl.  Whisk in milk, egg, agave, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and flax until smooth.  Stir in brown rice.

Divide evenly  between the four soufflé dishes.  Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 – 22 minutes, until sweet potato  mixture is mostly set.  It will still be a little runny in the middle. While sweet potato mix is baking, combine pecans and agave in a bowl, making sure pecans are coated.  Set aside.

Once sweet potatoes are almost set, top with pecans, dividing evenly among the four dishes.  Bake for another  5 – 7 minutes, until a toothpick tests clean and pecans are lightly toasted.  Let cool slightly and serve warm.”

 

Thanks AMY! :) Be sure to check out some other amazing recipes at her site

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (in the Crockpot!)

This is very frugal and very good! :)

This is my mom’s chicken soup recipes except I made it in the Crockpot. :)  First, I cooked the chicken in the Crockpot by placing it and water in the pot for several hours on low. Then when it was cooked, I drained the broth and saved it for the soup. I used the chicken for the soup its self. Then I cut up carrots (and celery-you can tell I was almost out at the time…:) ) and placed the carrots, celery, chicken, and broth back into the Crockpot. I let that cook on high for about 3-4 hours….or how ever long it took. After that was done, right before I wanted to serve it, I added the noodles (or/and I’ve done rice in the past). I let it cook for about 10 more minutes and voila! Dinner is served! :) This is especially great this time of year when it seems like everyone is getting sick (myself :( included). For an even more nutrient dense broth and frugal too, you can also add the chicken bones to the pot. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t have bone-in chicken this time…although I plan to in the future because it is cheaper and I also can use the bones to make nutrient-dense broth! :)

Here are mom’s ingredients……and then just follow what I mentioned above

2 medium carrots, sliced (1 c.)

2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 c.)

1 c. uncooked noodles (GF/whole wheat) OR 1/2 c. brown rice OR 1/2 c. noodles and 1/4 c. brown rice

1 sm. onion, chopped (1/4. c.) (optional-I didn’t include it since unfortunately my body detests onions)

Chicken amount depends on how much you want. I used about a cup or so of shredded (it does that itself when cooked in water for a long time) chicken. For me that was approximately 1-2 chicken breasts (depending on the size.)

Enjoy! Serve with muffins, such as these! :) Mmmm, my favorite……soup and muffins for dinner! :)

Yummy, Homemade Use-what-you-have Pizza

My room mates went out for pizza and I decided since I was staying home, I’d make my own…healthier version with what I had on hand. (yeah-for double frugality! No money spent on going out, no money spent on more food supplies!)

I topped this with some frozen chicken pieces, bits of pineapple, frozen shredded cheddar cheese, and parmesan. Feel free to top it with whatever you have on hand (and can eat :)).

It was really yummy…soft, bread like, dough. It was very thick. I think next time I might split it into two pizzas.
 

No Rise Pizza and Crust – adapted from this recipe

 

Ingredients:

1 T yeast
1 C warm water

1 tsp. honey/agave
1 tsp. salt
2 T olive oil
2.5 C whole wheat flour or some other (GF flour) combo

Prepare the crust by mixing warm water, honey,and yeast in a small bowl. Allow yeast mix to sit for about 5 minutes.  Then add the oil and stir. After that add the flour and salt. 

Next knead the dough for a few minutes with your hands (or alternatively a kitchen aid/bread maker), then let it sit for 5 mins while you grease your pizza pan and gather the ingredients for the toppings.

Take the dough and put it on the center of the pan…stretch it out slowly until it covers the entire pan. Top it with your favorite sauce (I used straight tomato paste) and toppings.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is done and the toppings (such as cheese) are done.

 

Naturally Sweet Double Berry Oatmeal

  You will notice the oatmeal looks a little purplish-almost gray especially compared to the background----but don’t fear! It’s because of how it’s made.

 

I discovered that I left a mug of herbal raspberry tea out and decided to experiment with using that instead of water in my oatmeal. I also added some strawberries. It was perfect. It gave it just enough flavor….oatmeal, strawberries, and a hint of raspberry flavor! :) Try it! :) You might be surprised. :)

 

I try to use as little sugar as I can especially on oatmeal so this was perfect option for me. :)

 

*GF’ers- be sure to use GF oats or quiona flakes!

Frugal, Filling, and Hearty Carrot Soup

The other week I noticed I had some carrots that were in dire need of use! I didn’t want to waste them so I decided to make something with them. I found a recipe for carrot soup and then modified it to fit my needs and what I had on hand. The original recipe doesn’t advise to use “older carrots” but I found it worked just fine.  It was delicious and so filling. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a soup this filling before! :)  I would definitely make this again, even with fresh carrots. :)  I like how frugal this recipe is too.

Carrot Soup

Modified by Ari, from this recipe

About +/- 10 carrots (use what you have)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups+ water
1.5 T lemon juice (half a lemon’s worth)
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

cinnamon (as much as you want)

and or garlic (again, that’s subjective to you)

Peel, cut, and cook carrots in 3 c. boiling water. After they are soft, add lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and or garlic. (I used a both- A little garlic gave it more flavor- and the cinnamon heightened the sweetness of the carrots.) Then use a potato masher to mash up the mixture.  If you want a smoother soup, use an immersion blender or if you don’t have that, do as I did and use a regular hand mixer. :) You could also  use a food processor or a blender to do the same thing. After mixing, serve! :)

The original recipe says it serves about four, I would say that is about right. :)

Sloppy Joe Boats

After finishing up my hamburger buns and still having meat left I decided to make a healthy, GF, low carb variation of my sloppy joes!

Viola! Take a leaf of lettuce (like Romaine), add meat, and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy! :)

Still prefer the bun? Try these.

Mom’s Homemade Sloppy Joes

Mmm…sloppy joes! A classic American favorite. I just recently made my mom’s recipe and I will quote it here with some minor add-ins:

Sloppy Joes

Brown 1 pound hamburger with one diced medium onion.

Add one 6 oz. can of tomato paste,  1 1/4 cup water, and shake in a few shakes of dry diced garlic.

Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns.

That's it.  Easy, huh?  Yup, real easy. Real tasty!

This makes enough for our entire family.  (There are 7 of us) Her suggestion (if you are the only one eating it or have less people) is that  you may want to half it and then freeze it in baggies in 1/3 cup portions that you can pull out to eat quickly.  Or you could add it to spaghetti sauce to use it up.

Need a recipe for the buns? Try this one! It works great for hamburgers, sloppy joes, or sandwiches. :)

Peanut Butter Banana Green Smoothie

Oh my! I just had the best! smoothie :)

I have been a little wary of green smoothies but decided to give it a try (especially since I can't seem to digest spinach by itself [ie. in a salad, or just raw]). Boy, am I glad I did.

My recipe is based off of this one from The Spunky Coconut! Thanks for the inspiration!

I love, love, bananas and peanut butter! And since I don't have any protein powder but wanted some protein in this smoothie, I decided to put peanut butter in it!

So good! I could taste both the peanut butter and the banana. (And I couldn't taste the spinach :)).

Not only is it delicious, this smoothie sneaks in some not usually kid friendly vegetables (which are full of antioxidants- especially good this time of year), protien, fruit, and water to hydrate! And it is not full of sugar or juices. :)

Here's the recipe

3 handfuls baby spinach

2 T. peanut butter (natural)

1/8-1/4. t. powdered stevia

1 c. water

5 icecubes

1 frozen banana, in chunks

Combine in blender and blend well. Makes one very large and filling serving or two normal size servings.

Mini Chicken Meatloaves!

MINI CHICKEN MEATLOAVES

I was flipping through some recipes I had saved and saw one that sounded really good! Of course, I couldn't just leave it like it was, soooo I Ariana'itzed it! :)

First off, I didn't have any ground turkey or chicken (if you want lean ground turkey or chicken, you have to pay an arm and a leg for it, so I never buy it. ) Instead I make my own.

How to make ground chicken or turkey in three easy steps:

First off, I used chicken breast that I half-defrosted and then cut into chunks.

2. Then I pureed it into

ground turkey in my food processor.

3. Put it all together. In the end, I ended up with about two cups of ground turkey. (I tried to

weigh it but my scale wasn't working.) Use it for this recipe or freeze for later use :).

Sorry if those pics are kind of unappetizing but it is so worth it in the end :)

The finished product, well, before cooking :)

Mini Chicken Meatloaves!

Yield: 1 Dozen Mini "Muffin" Size Meatloaves :)

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts (pureed into ground turkey)

1/2 c. chopped carrot (sneak some good veggies in there- your kids won't even notice)

1/2 c. breadcrumbs (I used GF ones I saved from my bread every time crumbs fall off and then put it in the freezer for future use)

1/2 c. sugar-free ketchup + (see my sugar-free recipe on that link :))

1 egg

1 t. marjoram

1 t. salt

sprinkle pepper

Preheat oven for 350. Mix all the ingredients. Distribute evenly into 12 muffin cups (about 3/4 full). Squirt ketchup on the top and place in the oven for 35 minutes. Enjoy!

See this and other entries here at the Simply Indulgent Carnival. Give it a shot! This weeks giveaway is perfect for the coming holidays! A $25 Amazon gift card!

Easy Beansy Black Bean Soup

I almost called this post easy peasy but I thought, hey easy beansy is more appropriate right? :)

Anyway, with my corn bread, I made a simple nourishing (and inexpensive) soup my aunt taught me to make. It is so delicious! I had two bowls of it today :). It goes great with the my corn on the cob bread.

Here's the simple recipe. It can be made in a snap especially if you used canned beans or you already have some beans prepared.

Take your cooked beans and place the desired amount in your blender or food processor. Add a little water (about 1/4 c. to one cup of beans) and puree. Add more water if necessary, until you reach your desired consistency. Scoop out puree into a pan, warm, and then serve in bowls. Serve with corn on the cob bread! :) Enjoy!

Chewy Breakfast Muffin Cookies

I haven't done much cooking or experimenting lately as I am visiting some family and do not have a lot on hand. However, today, I had some leftover oatmeal to use up and didn't want to eat oatmeal...again. :) So, I wondered, could I make oatmeal cookies with leftover oatmeal for breakfast (I mean, healthy ones here) so that they would be healthy enough to be deemed breakfast, yet tasty enough that others and myself wouldn't turn up our noses to them? After doing a little search online, I discovered that my original idea wasn't so original. But, I found a recipe that sounded like just what I needed so I used this as a starter and then formulated my own recipe. After they came out, I found them to be quite delicious. Sweet, but not too sweet and deliciously soft and chewy. And after letting my little cousins and my aunt (who do not eat like I do) taste test, they all gave me a thumbs up. :) So here it is, a chewy, soft cookie that tastes almost like a muffin too (I guess I should call it a muffie) and one you wont feel guilty about eating or serving for breakfast. Great for breakfasts on the run, too!

Here it is:

Chewy Breakfast Muffin Cookies
(Banana Oat Version)


Makes about 3-4 dozen

Preheat oven to 375.

Ingredients:

• 3 c. oats (I used about 1 c. cooked oatmeal and 2 c. dry, feel free to use whatever proportions you like)

• 1 c. flour (I used 1/4 c. teff flour, 1/4 c. sorghum flour, 1/4 c. corn, and 1/4 c. millet flour)

• 1 c. apple juice

• 1/4 t. salt (if you oatmeal had salt in it already, omit)

• 2 mashed bananas
  

• 2 T. honey (or agave nectar)
  

• 1 t. baking powder (opt.-the original recipe didn't call for it but it will make them rise more)
  
• 1/4 t. baking soda (opt-see above)
• 1 c. nuts (optional, for added protein)
  

Combine all your dry ingredients (including cooked oatmeal if using). Add apple juice and stir. If it's too dry, add a little more juice. Add the mashed bananas and 2 T. of honey or sweetener. Stir. Drop onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 20-25 mins. I like mine closer to the 25 mins or so side...they are a little more chewy this way.

Other Variations
(I haven't tried these but I think they would be great!)

Hawaiian Variation

Follow recipe but instead of apple juice, use pineapple juice.
Instead of banana, use pineapple tidbits (about one cup).
Add 1/2 c or more of unsweetened coconut to the batter.
Taste, you may not even need the extra sweetener (agave/honey)

Cinnamon Raisin Variation
Instead of banana, use 1/2 to 1 c. raisins
Add 1-3 t. of cinnamon to the mix (depending on how much you like cinnamon.)

Carrot Cake Variation
Instead of banana, use 1-2 c. shredded carrots
Add 1/2 to 1 c. of raisins or pineapple and nuts (opt)
Use pineapple or apple juice depending on your preference


NOTE: I am entering this recipe into the next Simply Indulgent Mondays on Amy's website. See what it's all about here.

Pulled Barbeque... Chicken

Just the other night, my family had pulled pork. Like I've mentioned, pork is not one of those foods I can eat. So, spare of the moment, I created this healthier and quite tasty recipe. Feel free to multiply and double this recipe as many times as needed.

Ingredients:

• One large cooked chicken breast


• 2 T. tomato paste


• 2 T. organic refined-sugar free ketchup or make your own


• 2 T. dark agave

Pull chicken into small string-like piece. Combine tomato paste, ketchup, and agave. Toss chicken in the sauce until covered. Warm. Serve over rice or on a gluten-free bun! :)

Recipe Review #4: Gluten-Free Whole Grain Waffles

I was in the mood for waffles. Real, hearty, whole grain waffles, like the whole wheat ones my mother used to make.

I found this recipe on The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen Site. I love this recipe! So delicious and simple! I tried it with a few alterations to the wet ingredients:

• I used 6 T. apple sauce (homemade or organic, sugar-free)instead of oil to make lower in calories and fat
  
• 4 tablespoons dark agave, low glycemic, similar taste to maple syrup
• 3-3.5 c. of water, I used this simply because I ran out of milk, use more water to make it less thick, (it's up to you)
  

Also, I used 2 t. cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Healthy and Delicious Low Calorie Breakfast :)

One morning I had about 5-10 minutes before I needed to leave for work when I realized I didn't have anything prepared for breakfast. Oops! So I threw together this quick, easily changeable recipe.

Per person:

• 2-4 egg whites or 1-2 eggs (higher calorie)
• 1 chopped up tomato
• 1/2 c. left-over or fresh cooked vegetables (I used zucchini)
  

Combine. Add salt, pepper, and any spices you wish! Cook on a oiled or sprayed skillet until done. Eat and "Scramble" :) out the door if needed :).

Healthy, Delicious, and Simple Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Ever crave those McNuggets? Ever think to yourself, $1 or more for 4 gluten-laden, 56% corn, 38 ingredient,petroleum antioxidant sprayed chicken nuggets isn’t worth it? (Want to read more about what is really in those “nuggets”? Read this. ) Anyway, rather than buy these guys or even those prepared and frozen at the grocery store, try this recipe. It is so much healthier and cheaper too! Plus, the kids will love it! Freeze a bunch in advance for a healthy, quick dinner!

Recipe:

2 skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c. corn meal

sprinkling of salt, garlic, and pepper (plus any other spices you desire) over the corn meal

1 egg OR 2 egg whites OR 1/4 c. oil

If frozen, defrost chicken breasts. Cut into bite-size pieces or strips if you like. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400. Pour 1/2 c. corn meal on a plate with spices. Mix spices and cornmeal together and spread out evenly on a plate. Prepare eggs or oil in a bowl. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Dip the chicken into the oil or eggs, and then place in the cornmeal mixture, flipping so it gets on bottom of the chicken too. Place completed nuggets on the cookie sheet. After the tray is full, cook for about 20 mins. Chicken strips take slightly longer. Nuggets/Strips are done when you can pierce them with a fork and there are no juices or the juices are clear.

Double or triple this recipe and experiment with the exact measurements. This is a rough estimate and it really depends on how big your chicken is etc. Based off this recipe.