veggie quinoa soup

Well, it's the second day of Spring here in Missouri, and this is what it looks like in my backyard:

I know, it's kind of depressing. Missouri, I moved south so I wouldn't have more Winter. Lame.

So this day called for some soup. It's packed with good for you veggies, and a touch of quinoa for some protein and goodness. I just kind of threw this together, so no real recipe, and I'm sadly lacking in pictures, but here goes.

I started with a small onion in a big pot with some olive oil. I added a giant sweet potato all diced up (and I do mean giant. If you can't find a giant sweet potato, I suggest using two smaller ones).

To this I added 3 carrots and 4 stalks of celery that I sliced. I put in one container of veggie broth (4 cups?). Then I threw in a head of broccoli florets. I added some cayenne, turmeric, curry powder, cumin, ground ginger (I was going to use fresh, but sadly mine had gone bad), cinnamon, crushed red pepper flakes, dried basil, and chili powder.

I added a large can of diced tomatoes and about half of a small can of tomato paste. Then I filled the diced tomato can with water and added that. Then I put in 1 cup of quinoa.

I let this boil and then simmer for a while, letting the quinoa cook and the veggies get softer. After letting this cook for a while, I tore up a bunch of kale and added it in. Let it cook a little longer and voila! Dinner!

I would serve this with biscuits or cornbread, but sadly I am out of milk, so I had to settle for some saltines instead. Enjoy!

Oh, and I was featured over at my friend Hannah Cole's blog because back in September I did the cupcakes for her wedding with a little help from my cupcake Elves: me mum and the lovely Stephanie Grace over at Gracie's Bakes.  

Eating Healthy

I love eating squash. It's soooo good and such a fun Fall/Winter food, and it's really good for you too! You can do so many different things with squash, but this is how I have been enjoying it lately.


I used one medium sized sweet potato and one medium sized butternut squash for this. I cut the ends off the butternut squash and then peel it with a potato peeler and then cut it in half and dig the seeds out. I believe that you can roast the seeds just like you can with a pumpkin, but I have not done that myself. I then just cut it up into nice sized chunks. I washed the sweet potato and then cut off the ends and cut it into chunks. I threw these into an oven-safe dish.


Then I topped it with spoonfuls of coconut oil, which I happen to be obsessed with currently. It is so good for you and gives you a taste of the tropics. Yum! I also topped with my favorite seasonings. I used a bit of cayenne pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, and sea salt, but feel free to use whatever you like. This is about achieving a flavor palate that appeals to your taste buds. Put this in a 350*F oven for 15 minutes and then stir. Repeat in 15 minute cycles until you have reached the tenderness level that you desire. I like my squash soft almost to the gushy point, but not quite there. You can eat this by itself for a healthy and nutritious dinner or you can add something to it.


For instance if you happen to be obsessed with toasted cheese sandwiches (like me) you can eat the squash as a side for your toasted cheese sandwich.


And there you have it, a healthy, easy to make dinner perfect for a cold winter day.

Cali-NZ Chicken

I was looking for new recipes to try, and I came across this recipe for California chicken. I made it for my roommate shortly after I returned from a trip to New Zealand. She then asked me at a later date to make New Zealand chicken. I was confused about what she was wanting me to make until we clarified that New Zealand chicken was California chicken. So now we just call it California-New Zealand chicken. It's delicious and easy to make.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook a chicken breast (or however many people you are trying to feed). Don't cook it all the way, just partially. Season it with whatever you feel like. When it is partially cooked and properly seasoned, put it in an oven safe dish. Top with sliced tomatoes and a slice of cheese and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Top with sliced avocado and serve with sweet potato and green beans. Delicious!!

my own creation

So last year on labor day, my roommate and I decided to grill and have a nice summer meal to celebrate. One of the items on the list was potato salad. However, the grocery was out of regular potatoes (apparently everyone else had the same idea. . .what were they thinking?!). To make a long story short, this delightfulness was born out of that situation: sweet potato salad. And I'm going to let you in on how I make it. Lucky you!


Start with a diced up onion. You can dice it as fine or as coarse as you want. And add as much or as little as you want. I think I used about half an onion and diced it fairly fine. You also want to add 2-3 cooked, diced sweet potatoes depending on the size of the sweet potatoes and the number of people you want to serve. I used two here. I boiled them, then removed the skin and diced them up.


Add to that two hard-boiled eggs that you have diced up.


Add some raisins.


And some chopped up pecans.


Add mustard, mayo, and season with curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric, and a touch of nutmeg. I suggest stirring it all up and then tasting it to see if it needs more mayo or mustard or seasoning. And there you have it. Simple, easy, delicious. I will never make regular potato salad again.