Mocha Frappuccino

 

Coffee drinks don’t have to be complicated or expensive. This Mocha Frappuccino was made with Aldi and Walmart ingredients. 

As with all recipes, you can make them to your liking: switch the whole milk for fat free, or dairy free. Use your favorite brand of instant coffee. If sugar free chocolate syrup is a deal breaker, by all means, use your favorite chocolate syrup. Whatever you decide, it will be delicious; because you made it, according to your preferences. 

MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO:

INGREDIENTS:

8 Ice cubes

1 Cup whole milk - or - your favorite substitute 

2 Tablespoons sugar free chocolate syrup

1 Tablespoon instant coffee

4 Tablespoons sugar free whipped topping 

DIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in a blender cup; and process until smooth. Top with whipped topping. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. 

Zojirushi Basic White Bread

 Zojirushi makes the best bread machine, hands down. They are expensive, but if you are lucky, you can pick up bargains at: yard sales and online auctions. My mom picked up this bread machine for $10 or $20 dollars. I love it so much, that it earned a permanent spot on my counter. Zojirushi has made it super convenient to make this white bread. They printed the recipe, on the side of the bread machine.

A YouTube video demonstration is available, by clicking this link.

Zojirushi Basic White Bread (Machine)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups water
4 1/4 Cups bread flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons powdered milk
2 Teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons butter

Directions: 

Attach dough hooks to bread pan. Place all ingredients, into the bread pan; in order given. Select crust type. Select regular cycle or quick cycle. This will make a 2 pound loaf.

Meatloaf

This recipe is from my daughter’s Home Economics class, in high school. I made a few modifications. I use ground turkey that has been fortified with mushroom powder and kitchen bouquet browning  and seasoning sauce. It gives the flavor of ground beef. I also included ground sausage to the recipe. You can go up to half ground turkey and half sausage. There are various types of sausages you can use. Typically, I like breakfast sausage. Ground chorizo is another great option. 

This recipe does double duty. I use it for meatloaf, as well as, meatballs.

A video demonstration is available by clicking this link.

MEATLOAF

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pound ground turkey (fortified with 1 Tablespoon mushroom powder + 1 Tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet)

1 Pound sausage (breakfast, chorizo, or Italian)

2 Eggs, beaten

1/2 Green bell pepper, diced

1/2 Red bell pepper, diced

1/2 Yellow onion, diced

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1 Tablespoon butter, softened

1/4 Cup oatmeal

1 1/2 Teaspoons lemon juice

1 Teaspoon Righteous Seasoning 

 

TOPPINGS:

Ketchup

BBQ sauce

Fried onions

 

DIRECTIONS:

Line a 9 X 13” pan with parchment. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients, in a large mixing bowl. Form into a loaf, on prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Drizzle meatloaf, generously, with ketchup and bbq sauces. Continue baking for 15 minutes. Meatloaf is done when the temperature reaches 165 degrees. Top with fried onions.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I’ve been craving Chicken Tortilla Soup, but I’ve never made it before. I already have my consommé base, that I use for pork and beef. It’s delicious; and that’s how I wanted my Chicken Tortilla Soup to taste. I made a few modifications, for this recipe, and I could not be happier with the result.

I try to keep my recipes simplified. The base is across the board now, and covers beef, chicken, and pork. 

A YouTube video demonstration is available by clicking this link.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

 

CHICKEN STOCK:

Skin, fat, bones from rotisserie chicken

4 Cups water

3 Chicken bouillon cubes

TORTILLA STRIPS:

8 Corn tortillas, halved, sliced into narrow ribbons

Oil for pan frying tortilla strips

Righteous Seasoning

 

SOUP:

2 Tablespoons cooking oil (or reserved chicken fat from chicken stock)

1/2 Onion, diced

1 Jalapeño, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, deseeded, diced

4 Cloves roasted garlic

1/2 Teaspoon Righteous Seasoning

1/2 Teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2  Teaspoon oregano leaves

1/4 Teaspoon cumin

1 Dried Pasilla chili pepper, stem and seeds removed

1 Dried Guajillo chili peppers, stem and seeds removed

2 California chili peppers, stems and seeds removed

6 Dried Arbol chili peppers, stems and seeds removed

3 1/2 Cups chicken stock 

1 Cup water

1/2 lime, juiced

2 Chicken bouillon cubes, if needed

Up to 1 Teaspoon tajin, to reduce spiciness, if desired

1 Cup frozen corn

1 (15 ounce) Can black beans

2 Rotisserie chicken breasts, cubed

 

TOPPING SUGGESTIONS:

Shredded cheese

Cilantro

Onions

Pico De Gallo

Jalapeño

Guacamole

Avocado

Sour cream

TO PREPARE CHICKEN STOCK:

Place ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high, two hours. Strain stock. Reserve fat, to sauté vegetables. Yields 3 1/2 cups stock.

 

TO PREPARE TORTILLA STRIPS:

Pour enough oil, in a large frying pan, to pan fry tortilla strips. Fry on medium high heat, until tortilla strips are golden brown. Place on frying rack, to drain excess oil. Lightly season with Righteous Seasoning.

 

TO PREPARE SOUP:

Heat cooking oil, or chicken fat, in a Dutch oven, over medium high heat. Sauté onion and jalapeño, until softened. Add tomatoes, roasted garlic, and spices, to onion. Cook for 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture, dried chilies, and half of the chicken stock to blender. Process until smooth. Pour chili mixture into slow cooker. Rinse blender with remaining chicken stock, and pour into slow cooker. Add water and lime juice, to slow cooker. Taste soup. Add chicken bouillon, if needed. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. If soup is too spicy; stir in tajin, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Tajin will reduce the spiciness. Add corn, beans, and chicken to slow cooker. Heat through. To serve: spoon into a soup bowl. Top with fried tortilla strips, and your choice of toppings. Yields 2 1/4 quarts soup (9 cups).

This is the nutritional information for 1 cup serving; without fried tortilla strips, and corn.

Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball Soup)

 

My friend Mary is a great cook! She makes her Albondigas Soup, just as her mother taught her. Although Albondigas is generally made with beef, she opted to use ground turkey. Great choice! The ground turkey melds well with the freshness of the mint and cilantro; and helps to keep this soup light.

A YouTube demonstration is available by clicking this link.

MARY’S ALBONDIGAS SOUP (MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP)

SOUP:

1 Tsp olive oil

1/4 Onion, diced

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 Clove garlic, minced

5 Cups water, heated

2 Chicken bouillon cubes

2 Fresno peppers

1 (8 oz can) Tomato sauce

2 Tbsp fresh mint, diced

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Carrot, chopped

1 Chayote, chopped

1/4 Cup rice

1 Potato, chopped

1/4 Head cabbage, chopped

1 Zucchini, chopped

1/4 Cup cilantro, diced

1/2 Tsp salt

MEATBALLS:

1/2 Pound ground turkey

1 Egg

1/4 Onion, diced

1/4 Cup rice

1 Tbsp mint, diced

1/4 Tsp dried oregano

1/2 Tsp dried pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 Salt

1/2 Tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Heat olive oil, in a Dutch oven, over medium heat. Sauté onion until softened. Add tomato and garlic to Dutch oven. Continue cooking until garlic has softened. Add water, bouillon, pepper, tomato sauce, mint and oregano to Dutch oven. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium; maintaining a simmer. Add carrot, chayote and rice to Dutch oven. Add all meatball ingredients to a large bowl; and mix well. Roll meat mixture into 1 inch meatballs. Add meatballs to Dutch oven. Add potatoes and cabbage about 5 minutes after meatballs. Continue simmering 20 minutes. Once meatballs have cooked through, and vegetables are tender; add zucchini and cilantro to Dutch oven. Continue simmering, until zucchini has slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Nutrition information: removes potato, rice in the broth, and egg. Adds an extra chayote.

Sweet Potato Crumble Scones

 

Anything pumpkin can do; sweet potato can do it better! Case in point; these Sweet Potato Scones. I like that sweet potatoes are available year round. They puree silky smooth. Also, there is less water content, than sweet potato. That means you don't have to strain sweet potato, like you would pumpkin. Sweet potato is more flavorful, and lends itself better to spices. Then, there's the savory aspect. Pumpkin will only take you so far. With sweet potato, you have so many options: baked sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes. I can go on and on. 

 A Youtube baking demonstration is available, by clicking this link,

Even though I love sweet potato better than pumpkin; I realize people adore pumpkin. This recipe can be made into Pumpkin Crumble Scones. Just replace the sweet potatoes with pureed pumpkin. 

SWEET POTATO CRUMBLE SCONES

 

SWEET POTATO SCONES:

1 Egg

1 Cup sweet potato puree

2 Cups flour

2 Teaspoons baking powder

1/4 Teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup brown! sugar

1 1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon cardamom 

1/4 Teaspoon ginger

1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg 

6 Tablespoons butter, cold, chopped

Flour for shaping

 

CARAMEL SAUCE:

(See recipe Michelle’s Salted Caramel)

 

CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

1 Cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

4 Tablespoons caramel

 

CRUMBLE:

1 1/4 Cups flour

1/4 Teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup butter, softened

 

 

TO PREPARE SCONES: 

Set oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk egg and sweet potato puree, in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and spices. Using your fingers, press butter into flour mixture. Flour will resemble coarse meal. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Spoon sweet potato mixture into well. Knead, until dough forms a soft ball. Sprinkle flour on parchment lined baking sheet. Scrape dough onto flour. Sprinkle more flour over the dough. Press into an 8 inch circle. Using a flour coated knife, cut the round into 8 equal sections; wiping the knife, and coating with flour, for each cut. Do not separate into sections. Bake for 45 minutes. Scones will be firm, and lightly browned on bottom. While scones are warm, gently cut through each section. 

 

TO PREPARE CARAMEL SAUCE:

See recipe Michelle’s Salted Caramel.

 

TO PREPARE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

In a small bowl, whisk ingredients, until smooth. Keep covered, until ready to use.

 

TO PREPARE CRUMBLE:

Line a 9 X13” baking tray with parchment. Set aside. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk flour, salt, and sugar. Using your hands, stir butter into flour mixture. Dough should be dry and shaggy. Dump dough onto prepared baking tray. Work dough by small handfuls. Press dough, to hold its shape. Break into medium sized crumbles, by smashing with thumb and index finger. Spread crumbles, evenly, over baking tray. Bake at 350, for 20 minutes; flipping crumbles with a spatula, every 5 minutes. Bake until crumbles are barely turning golden on the edges.. Cool on baking tray.

 

TO ASSEMBLE: Frost warm scones with Caramel Buttercream Frosting. Press Crumble into frosting. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce.