Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

I did it! I made my goal. Just in the nick of time too. Phew. Only 6 hours left in 2024. That's cutting it too close. 

This is your average, every day beef vegetable soup. It had too much tomato for me. I like a little more beef brothy than tomato-y. I'd make it again for sure, but I'd not add both cans of tomato items. Maybe just the tomato sauce.

I also didn't use canned corn or peas. That's what freezer veg is for. And I cleaned out the freezer. Win Win!

Now on to next year and more new recipes.

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 4 carrot, diced
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 can (15.25 ounce) whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 ounce) green beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 ounce) peas, undrained
• 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf or more to taste
• 1/8 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 cup water, as needed

In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.

Add the diced carrots, chopped celery, and onion to the pot. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, tomato sauce, and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the bay leaf and thyme.

Pour in 1/4 cup of water, if needed. Bring the soup to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring until the potatoes are tender.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Enjoy!

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

I needed a quick veg tonight to go along with my chicken. I dug through the crisper and found some green beans that I forgot I bought, but were still good. 

Then I had to scramble and find a recipe to make them with ingredients I have. This recipe was top on my list. 

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Recipe from Lemon Tree Dwelling

Serves 4

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T grated parmesan cheese
• 2 T panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; toss to coat.

Spread green beans on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Roast for 15-20 minutes; stirring halfway through.

Creamy Boursin Chicken

Photo from Little
Sunny Kitchen

A very easy recipe to be sure. And a very delicious recipe! 

I chopped my chicken into chunks instead of cutlets. I like to have bite size chicken instead of having to cut it. Weird I know. 

The boursin really adds a nice flavor to this. It makes a creamy sauce without any effort. 

Creamy Boursin Chicken

Recipe from Little Sunny Kitchen

Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts skinless, boneless, and sliced into thin cutlets
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 5.2 ounce package Boursin Cheese garlic and fine herb flavor, or any flavor, softened
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, and melt the butter.

Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through (165°F/74°C Internal temp). Remove onto a plate, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Deglaze the skillet with a little chicken stock, then add the rest of the stock and let it simmer. When it starts simmering, add the boursin cheese and stir it with a spatula. As it’s warms up, it will melt into the stock and create a sauce. Stir in the Dijon mustard then simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes so it thickens (keep in mind that it will thicken even more as it cools down).

Add the chicken back in, spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over mashed potatoes and broccoli or green beans.

Portuguese Chicken Steaks with Mushrooms

If you like Madeira Chicken or Chicken Marsala, you'll like this recipe too. Port adds a slightly brawny flavor over the sweeter Madeira or Marsala. Its amazing and delicious. 

This was an easy to throw together chicken. I didn't follow the instructions completely. I started with the mushrooms, then added the onions. I like my mushrooms a bit more caramelized. I took those out of the pan and then cooked the chicken. Threw it all together and then added the Port and cream. I think it turned out the same as if I followed the instructions. 

Solid 4 stars for this recipe. 

Portuguese Chicken Steaks with Mushrooms

Recipe from Portuguese Recipes

Serves 4

• 4 chicken breast steaks
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms; sliced
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 5 T olive oil
• 1/2 glass port wine
• 1 c heavy cream
• Flour (to taste)
• Parsley (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)

Add the flour to a plate and pass the chicken steaks through the flour one at a time, making sure they are well coated.

Then, chop the onion and the garlic and sauté them in a pan with the olive oil.

Add the chicken breasts and let them brown on both sides.

Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, add the port wine and when it evaporates add 1/2 cup of the cream.

Let it cook for a few more minutes, gradually incorporating the rest of the cream and stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Place everything on a platter, drizzle with the remaining sauce and serve.

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Just about every recipe I've tried from the blog "All Day I Dream About Food" has been exceptional and delicious. These donuts are no different. Baking low carb is hard for me. I'm not a fan of the texture Almond Flour usually leaves behind. By adding some Whey Protein powder into the recipe, it changes up the texture perfectly. 

I linked the brands I used to the ingredients below. These have been tested by me and the ones I find the most tolerable when eating low carb. None of them leave any sort of chemical after taste - which I find common in many low carb sugars for some reason. 

The peanut butter glaze is what makes these donuts. I made mine thinner than she did according to the photos on her blog, but I also like a glaze to be loose and run down the sides. More glaze than frosting. If you prefer frosting, don't make it as thin. 

The hardest part of this recipe was determining when they were done. Her instructions say "when they are firm". I find that quite ambiguous. So do like me and give it your best guess. Letting them sit in the pan helps them continue baking too in case you bring them out sooner than "they are firm". 

The number of donuts you get will differ on how thick you make them. I got 12 and I filled the donut tray up to about 3/4 of the way to the top. I wasn't sure how much they'd puff up so I went a bit conservative. 

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes up to 12

Donuts

• 1 ¾ cups almond flour
• 6 tablespoon Swerve Granular
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoon unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
  
• 6 tablespoon butter melted
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water to thin as needed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts for decorating

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 10 wells of a 12 well donut pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, water, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. If your batter is overly thick, add a little more water, a few teaspoons at a time. It should be scoopable but not pourable.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, filling the wells about three quarters full. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until set and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool completely in the pan before flipping out onto a wire rack.

Glaze

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter on high in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt them carefully in a small saucepan over very low heat.

Whisk in the sweetener, whipping cream, and vanilla. If the glaze is very thick, whisk in the water a few teaspoons at a time until a dippable consistency is achieved.

Working quickly, dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze and place on a baking rack to set. If the glaze thickens up too quickly, you also spread it onto the donuts.

Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and let set, about 20 minutes.

Teriyaki Salmon and Broccoli Bowls

Salmon is one of the few fish I like. I don't know why I don't make it more often. I may make that a goal next year. Or just focus on eating more salmon. 

I wasn't sure about teriyaki on salmon, but it turns out it was pretty good. I made this broccoli recipe to go along with it instead of the one in this recipe. Mostly because I needed another new recipe to have a chance of hitting my goal of 170. 

I'd make this again in a heart beat. The teriyaki sauce had a nice flavor. I didn't have honey so skipped that. It might have rounded out the flavor a bit, but I can't say I missed it. I also swapped the brown sugar for low carb brown sugar. 

Also for the rice, I used the Trader Joe's frozen rice. So easy to make and no mess to clean up. 

Teriyaki Salmon and Broccoli Bowls

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 4

• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c brown sugar, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T freshly grated ginger
• 2 T honey
• 4 (5-ounce) salmon fillets 1
• 2 ounces broccoli florets, about 2-3 cups

Get your rice started. Whether on the stove or in a rice cooker.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, honey and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer. Stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes; let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Place salmon filets along with the soy sauce mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 14-15 minutes.

Place broccoli florets into a steamer or colander set over a pan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 mins, or until cooked through and vibrant green.

Serve salmon immediately with rice and broccoli.

Roasted Frozen Broccoli

All this time I've avoided frozen broccoli because it's boring. And we had it WAY too much growing up. Once I realized fresh broccoli was a thing, I never looked back. 

But in an attempt to not throw out as much food as I tend to do (broccoli goes bad faster than I think), I decided to give this recipe a try. And I gotta say, I'm a fan. I never would have thought to put frozen broccoli in the oven. 

I did do something the recipe doesn't say because a friend recommended it today. I put the cookie sheet in the oven while it was heating up and then tossed the frozen broccoli on the sheet. I cooked it for about 10 minutes, then pulled it out and put the oil and seasoning (minus the thyme because blech) on it. 

I'd do this again for sure. I made this as the broccoli that is in this recipe, which I also made tonight. 

Roasted Frozen Broccoli

Recipe from Healthy Recipes blogs

Serves 4

• 2 pounds frozen broccoli florets
• Olive oil spray
• ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper.

Arrange the frozen broccoli florets in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Liberally spray the florets with olive oil, then sprinkle them with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme.

Bake the florets until they are browned and crispy, for about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Frothy Coffee

I'm late to the game....again. This coffee went viral earlier this year and I just got around to making it. I'm kinda bummed it took me so long because it's DELICIOUS!

I've made it twice now, once as the recipe says. And the second time, I added zero sugar chocolate sauce to the milk before I added it to the coffee. Made myself a mocha.

Frothy Coffee

Recipe From Instagram

Makes 1

1 T instant coffee

2 T sugar

2 T water

Ice

Enough milk to your liking

Add the instant coffee, sugar and water to a pint glass. Use a frother to froth these items until they are thick. 

Add splash of milk and ice. Stir and enjoy.

The second day I did this, I added a squirt of zero sugar chocolate sauce to the milk and then to froth. So good.

Arroz Con Pollo (Puerto Rican Rice with Chicken)

Arroz con Pollo used to be my "go-to" whenever we went out for Mexican food. Dad got me hooked on it. I've made arroz con pollo a thousand times. Each recipe has a slight variation and yet somehow they all come out tasting the same.

This was a good recipe. It had enough flavor and seasoning to make it not bland. Sometimes my arroz con pollo turns out mushy and a little gross. Not tonight.

What I didn't do: 

1. It calls for homemade sofrito. I skipped that ingredient somehow, so I just sautéed an onion. I bet this would taste completely different with sofrito.
2. I did not add the optional cilantro. I didn't want to buy an entire bunch of cilantro for 1/4 cup

What made the flavor for this is the Sazon flavor packet. It made it a nice pretty yellow/orange color. I also tossed in a handful of green olives. I like those in my arroz con pollo.

Arroz Con Pollo (Puerto Rican Rice with Chicken)

Recipe from Latin Mom Meals

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 6 drumsticks mix and match with thighs, wings if desired
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

Rice Ingredients

• ⅓ cup of homemade sofrito
• 2 garlic cloves minced (optional)
• ¼ cup of cilantro chopped (optional)
• 4 oz of tomato sauce
• 1-2 packets of Goya Sazon packet
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of adobo optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of long grain rice
• 2 ½ cups of chicken broth 

In a large bowl, season your chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Let sit for ten minutes.

Into a large heavy bottom Dutch oven pan, heat your oil over medium high heat. Then add in your chicken. Brown both sides of chicken, about 3-4 minutes per side. Next, add in everything except for the rice and broth. Mix it all together, and allow to cook for about three minutes.

After three minutes, stir in the rice, allow the rice to absorb all of the sauce for about 1-2 minutes before adding in the broth. Stir rice and broth together, allow it to come to a light boil, for about 5-7 minutes.

Once you're able to see the grains of rice just at the surface, you will lower your heat to medium low, COVER your pot, and let it cook for 20-30 minutes.

After 20 minutes, check on your rice, if there is still any liquid or your rice isn't as soft as desired, let it cook an additional 5-10 minutes. Once liquid is absorbed and rice is soft, remove from heat, let it sit for 5 minutes before giving it a GENTLE fluff with a fork, then serve immediately.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup

Photo from Insanely Good 
Recipes

Soup is the word this time of year. Cold and blustery equal soup or stews to me. Comfort food. 

This was a standard beef soup. All the components are what you'd expect in a beef vegetable soup. I made some modifications, of course. 

1. No canned veggies for me. I used frozen peas and frozen corn
2. I put in just a splash of Worcestershire sauce. The tomato sauce made it a little too sweet for me.

I'd make this again for sure. I've made a dozen vegetable beef soups. The concept is the same for each one. The ingredients vary slightly.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 large onion
• 2-3 celery ribs, diced
• 3 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 2-3 large carrots, diced or sliced
• 2 large potatoes, cubed (or baby potatoes, halved)
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 (15-ounce) can green beans, drained
• 1 (15.25-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8.5 ounce) can peas, drained

In a large pot over medium heat, brown the beef in the olive oil on all sides. Remove to a plate.

Add the onion and celery to the pot and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the browned beef back to the pot, along with the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about an hour.

Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for another hour. Then, stir in the garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, followed by the green beans, corn, and peas. Cook for another 30-45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Serve with crusty bread, and enjoy!

Banana Bread Cookies

Here we are again craving banana bread but knowing its not something I should put in my pie hole. 

I saw these on Instagram and thought I'd give them a try. They are DENSE, but really good. 

I made just a couple modifications to keep them low glycemic. 

1. I used sugar free peanut butter (Jiff Creamy to be clear)

2. I used sugar free chocolate chips. (Hershey brand)

Both sugar free options are surprisingly good. 

These cookies scratched the banana bread itch for me. I'm set for a couple of weeks. I froze half of them to have later. 

Banana Bread Cookies

Recipe from The Big Man's World

Makes 12 cookies

• 3 large bananas mashed
• 2 cups rolled oats can sub for rolled or quick oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter can sub for any nut or seed butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking tray with baking paper, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, oats, and peanut butter and mix very well. If the batter is too thin, add more oats. Fold through chocolate chips if using them.

Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form into 12 balls and set them on the lined baking tray. Press each ball into a cookie shape and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly firm on the edges, and remove. Allow to cool on the tray completely.

Cuban Picadillo

The great debate. You either like them or you don't. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I love Picadillo. I've made it a few times. 

This one. 

This One. Or

This One.

Really they are all similar in the ingredients. The ONE ingredient that people will debate over is raisins. You either like them in savory dishes or you don't. 

I'm not a raisin fan in anything BUT savory dishes. They add a nice, surprising sweetness to each bite.

This was a good one too. I'd make this or any of the others again.

Cuban Picadillo

Recipe from Hola Jalapeno

Serves 4

• 3 T olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 ounces Spanish, dry-cured chorizo, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 c pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 1/3 c raisins
• 2 T capers
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add chorizo and garlic and cook another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers, cumin, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered until meat is cooked through and flavors have melded, about 15 minutes.

Stir in parsley then taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve with steamed rice or potatoes.

The BEST-EVER Salad with Strawberries & Manchego Cheese

I needed a salad to go with Sunday dinner. I wanted it to be a light salad, but flavorful. I found this one while trolling around looking for Spanish recipes.

I think the only thing Spanish about this recipe is the Manchego cheese. I  happen to LOVE Manchego cheese. I should remember that. I don't eat it enough. 

I had a bit of a problem with the balsamic glaze I had. I had to dump it and then just use regular balsamic. It turned out fine. 

Oh and I had to swap out the strawberries. I know that's a major ingredient in this recipe, but the strawberries at the store just looked sad. And were super expensive. I chose blueberries instead and, you know, I think I liked it better.

The BEST-EVER Salad with Strawberries & Manchego Cheese

Recipe from Spain On a Fork

Serves 2

FOR THE SALAD:

• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 small red onion
• 8 fresh strawberries
• 2 ounces Manchego cheese
• 10 walnuts
• pinch sea salt
• dash black pepper

FOR THE BALSAMIC DRESSING:

• 1 tbsp glazed balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp agave syrup
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• pinch sea salt
• dash black pepper

Remove the leaves from a head of romaine lettuce and stack them up, tightly roll the leaves together like a cigar, cut it right down the middle and into 1 inch pieces, add to a strainer and rinse under cold running water, dry the lettuce either with a salad spinner or dishcloth, add the cleaned dry lettuce into a large shallow bowl

Thinly slice 1 small red onion and add over the lettuce, wash & pat dry 8 fresh strawberries and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, add the slices of strawberry into the salad, season everything with sea salt & black pepper

Add some thin shavings of Manchego cheese over the salad (I used a potato peeler) and crumble 10 walnuts over the salad

To make the dressing, add 1 tbsp balsamic glaze into a bowl, along with 1 tbsp Dijon mustard and 1 tbsp agave syrup, lightly season with sea salt & black pepper, start whisking together and at the same time slowly add in 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, once all the olive oil is incorporated and you end up with a creamy texture the dressing is done

Using a spoon drizzle some of the dressing over the salad and serve at once, enjoy!

Shepherd’s Pie

To be accurate, I made, technically, Cottage Pie. Shepherd's Pie is with lamb. Cottage Pie is with beef. I am not a fan of lamb, so beef it is. 

Photo from My Incredible Recipes

This is one of the simplest meals that serves a ton of people. It's December Sunday Dinner perfect. 

I changed up just a couple of things: 

• I added parmesan to my mashed potatoes. Just a handful - give or take
• I added frozen peas to the meat

Y'all...one of the best meals ever. It's going into the favorites category for sure. Then general consensus was it was a winner recipe. 

Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe from My Incredible Recipes

Serves 8

POTATOES

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 2 tsp of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ c half & half

MEAT FILLING

• 2 T of oil
• 1 c chopped yellow onion
• 2 lb of ground beef or Lamb if you want traditional
• 1 T minced garlic
• 3 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 &½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 3 T flour
• 3 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T tomato ketchup
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 &½ c beef broth/bullion
• 1 8.75 oz can corn
• 1 14.5 oz can carrots

POTATOES

Peel the potatoes and slice them into smaller pieces. Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce it to a simmer.

Depending on the size of your potatoes, simmer them on medium heat for 15-18 min. You want the potatoes to be soft enough that a knife will slice through them easily. Drain the water off the potatoes and return them back to the pot.

Break the potatoes up with a potato masher and add the butter, garlic, salt, black pepper and half & half.

Continue mashing until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.

MEAT FILLING

Preheat the oven to 350

Heat up the oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry until soft. Add meat to the onions and brown.

Once the meat has started to brown sprinkle in the flour. Combine the flour with the meat and stir continuously for 1-2 min. Pour in the beef broth and mix well. It will thicken as it cooks.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and cook for 5 min. Stirring occasionally so the meat doesn’t stick to the pan. Pour the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish.

Spread the potatoes evenly on top.

Place the casserole dish into the oven and bake for 30-40 min.

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies

Y'all...I am without words. 

Tomorrow is the Annual Christmas Sunday Dinner cookie exchange and this year I chose Molasses Cookies. I love a good crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside molasses cookie and these hit the mark dead on.

I have never made molasses cookies and have relied on other people making them or **gasp** buying them. No more. These will be on my rotation forever. 

I did make a modification. I used Swerve sugar (low carb) and Swerve Brown Sugar. Swerve's Brown Sugar tends to have a stronger molasses flavor and I think that really added to this cookie. 

It's taking every ounce of my will power to not go grab another to "test". 

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Makes 24

• 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until well blended.

In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Turn the mixer to low and blend in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract one by one until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix gently by hand until just combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Scoop the chilled cookie dough into 1-1 1/2 tablespoon portions and roll it into balls. Roll each ball in the remaining granulated sugar until fully coated on all sides.

Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers are still soft.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Pan-Grilled Steak with Olive Sauce

I'm so very close to my goal of 170 new recipes this year. I really need to hunker down and cook for the next couple of weeks, but I can do that no problem. In fact, I may go over the goal. We'll see.

Tonight I made this steak with olive sauce. You can be sure I did not pan grill the steak. Grilling all the way. 

The Olive Sauce was what made this recipe though. I make olive tapenade all the time, but this recipe was slightly different. The mustard and lemon juice really set this sauce off above all other tapenades. 

Pan-Grilled Steak with Olive Sauce

Recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen

Serves 4

• 4 lean, tender steaks, about 6 oz. each  
• 2 tsp olive oil, to rub steak
• 1 tsp Steak Rub  
• salt and fresh ground pepper to rub steak

OLIVE SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 tsp garlic puree (ground garlic, or use finely-minced fresh garlic)
• pinch salt
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
• one 6 oz. can good-quality pitted black olives (slightly over 1 cup of olives)
• 1/2 c pitted green olives (without pimento preferred)
• 1/4 c pitted Kalamata olives
• 4 T olive oil

Remove steaks from refrigerator and let come to room temperature.

This recipe uses canned black olives, green olives, and Kalamata olives for the olive sauce, but feel free to substitute any olives you prefer.

Put garlic, salt, dijon mustard, lemon juice,olives, and half of olive oil in food processor or mini-chopper.

Pulse until olives are coarsely chopped, then blend at full speed for a few seconds to combine all ingredients.

Remove from processor and put in large glass measuring cup or a bowl, stir in the rest of the olive oil.

Trim fat from the steak (as much as you prefer). I cut two very large New York Steaks in half to make four 6 oz. servings.

Rub steak on both sides with olive oil, salt, pepper, and steak rub.

Put cast iron grill pan on top of stove, turn on burner to medium, and heat pan for a few minutes before putting meat in pan. (If the pan starts to slightly smoke, it’s hot enough!)

Lay steaks at a diagonal and cook until grill marks are showing, about 3 minutes.

Rotate and cook about 3 minutes more on first side, or until you see nice grill marks when you lift up the corner.

Then turn and cook 3-5 minutes more on second side, depending on how done you like it.

I cooked my one-inch thick steaks exactly 10 minutes and they were perfectly medium-rare.

Of course, the steak could also be cooked on any type of outdoor grill.

Remove steak from pan and let rest about 5 minutes, then serve with olive sauce spooned over the top.

Hatch Green Chile Vinaigrette

Book Club night! We have a nice "grid" that schedules what we bring depending on who's hosting. This time it was Janet (and her book was Four Winds from Kristen Hannah...so good). My assignment was to bring a side dish or a salad. 

Janet mentioned she was making Santa Fe Chicken, so I thought I'd bring something to go with that theme. Enter this green chili vinaigrette. 

I sliced up cucs and tomatoes and let them sit in this vinaigrette. It was so good. Nice chili flavor with no heat. 

Hatch Green Chile Vinaigrette

Recipe from Flippindelicious.com

Makes about 1 cup, enough for 4 -6 dinner salads

• 5 tablespoons lime juice (approx 2 limes)
• 2-3 tablespoons honey
• 2-4 tablespoons roasted hatch green chile (more means more heat)
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ cup oil (I used a light flavored vegetable oil, but olive oil would be great too)

For the Hatch Green Chile Dressing:

In a blender, pulse the lime juice, 2-3 tablespoons honey (depending on how sweet you like it), 2 tablespoons of hatch green chile, oregano, and cumin until smooth.

While blending on low speed, pour the oil in a steady stream. Continue to blend until smooth and emulsified.

Taste the dressing with a piece of arugula, and add more green chile as desired, pulsing until smooth.

Ciao Bella Balsamic Grilled Chicken

I had high hopes for this recipe. I love balsamic based marinades so I thought this one would be good. The problem, for me anyhow, is too much Italian Seasoning. Way too much. In fact, I'd prefer it be left out all together. 

I marinaded it for only 4 hours today. I forgot to put it together at lunch in time for dinner. I think it was fine. The Italian Seasoning is what ruined it for me. 

Ciao Bella Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Recipe from Just A Pinch

Serves 4

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lb chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, and Dijon mustard.

Pour marinade over chicken in a zip top bag. Refrigerate for 4-24 hours.

Grill over direct heat for about 7 minutes per side.

This marinade can easily be doubled or tripled for family size packages of chicken.

Slow Cooker Nacho Soup

Its C-O-L-D outside! Sunny, but cold. Thank goodness I had planned a soup today. And not just any soup, but Slow Cooker Nacho Soup.

This one is being added to this years favorites. It's that good. I cooked mine for 6 hours on low - I prefer low over high for some reason. The house smelled amazing all day and I just kept getting hungrier and hungrier. 

I was so hungry, in fact, I forgot to put any toppings on it. Honestly, it was fine as it was. I did make one small modification and that was I used a canned of Pinto beans instead of black beans. I had the pinto beans in my pantry and I wanted to use them up. And I prefer pinto over black. 

I also just realized reading the recipe again I completely forgot to put in the shredded cheddar cheese. That would have made this THAT much more amazing. Oh well, guess I have to make it again. 

Slow Cooker Nacho Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

For the Soup:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Rotel)
• 1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (optional) - I definitely added this
• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• salt and pepper, to taste

For Toppings (optional but recommended)

• sour cream
• extra shredded cheese
• tortilla chips (for crunch)
• sliced avocado or guacamole
• diced tomatoes
• sliced black olives
• green onions
• fresh cilantro

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until browned and fully cooked. Break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Sauté until the onion is translucent. (About 3-4 minutes.) Drain any excess fat.

Transfer the cooked meat, onion, and garlic mixture to the slow cooker. Add the black beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, corn, chicken broth, taco seasoning, cumin, smoked paprika, and jalapeño (if using).

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the cubed cream cheese and shredded cheddar. Mix well until fully melted and incorporated into the soup. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve warm and enjoy the hearty, cheesy, nacho-flavored goodness.