Five Fall Flavored Recipes: Soups and Muffins

John laughs every Fall because as soon as Trader Joe's starts selling acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes by the bushel, baking pumpkins, and brussels sprouts on a stock I cannot contain my excitement. I love Fall cooking and flavors!

In honor of these delicious ingredients, here's some Fall recipes that I've made lately and that I highly suggest you should try out:

Apple Pie - Filled Muffins

John and I devoured these in about 2 days, so I suggest you double the recipe. They are THAT good. When you bite into them you get cinnamon apples in the middle. I followed FitSugar's recipe but used gluten free flour and almond milk instead. 

Pumpkin Muffins with Crumble Topping

As if the apple pie muffins weren't tasty enough, John thought these were even better... probably because they taste like dessert! I used the recipe from Cooking For Isaiah, a cookbook that I highly recommend even if you aren't dairy or gluten free.

Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon Crumbles

The day after I got my Cooking Light issue this month, I made this sweet potato soup. It was so easy but so good. I used my immersion blender which helped it come together quickly. 

Pictured Above: Roasted Broccoli & GF Corn Muffins

Roasting our broccoli was revolutionary. John wasn't a huge fan of broccoli before, but now he loves it roasted. Bon Appetit's recipe is my favorite. The corn muffins are from Cooking For Isaiah.

Chickpea, Butternut Squash, and Lentil Stew

Pictured with Pumpkin Muffins, recipe above.

Ingredients:

1 white onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cardamon

Pinch of black pepper

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 quart chicken broth

1 cup red lentils

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tsp sea salt

Fresh cilantro for topping

Preparation:

1. Toss butternut squash with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until it's softened and done.
2. While squash cooks, heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it starts to brown. 
3. Add jalapeno, garlic, and spices (through black pepper) and stir to combine for about 1 minute.
4. Add chickpeas, diced tomatoes, red lentils, and broth to onion mixture. Stir and turn heat to high until it starts to simmer. Reduce heat and cover until lentils are done, about 25 minutes. 
5. Once lentils are done, add in butternut squash to pot and stir everything together. Season with sea salt and cilantro before serving.

Pumpkin & Potato Soup

In case you missed it on BeEmbraced a couple of weeks ago, this soup is another win for a Fall night.

I promise it tastes so much better than it looks in this picture!

7 Recipes Roundup

I have lots of things to update on the blog, such as seeing John Mayer in concert and attending Alex's wedding in St. Louis! But since I haven't put any recipes up lately, I'll start with that.

Here's the line-up:
Granola Bars
Green Smoothie
Sweet Potato Salad
Chicken Sausage Pizza
"Fried" Sole
Roasted Salmon
Pumpkin Soup

Kitchen Sink Granola Bars, inspired by The Paleo Mom recipe

I call these the kitchen sink granola bars because I basically put everything but the kitchen sink in them. Adding nuts to these would be good as well, but I was using seeds as the main focus for this recipe.

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp. honey

1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened because that's all Trader Joe's had)

1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup oats

1 Tbsp. flax seeds

1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Pinch sea salt

Couple dashes of cinnamon 

Preparation:

1. Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk eggs, honey, salt, and cinnamon together until completely combined.
3. Combine all dry ingredients. Pour egg mixture over top and mix to combine until everything is well coated. 
4. Pour into pan and press down with a rubber spatula to even everything out. Bake for 18 minutes or until edges start to slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool for an hour or so. Cut into squares or just break off as much as you want at a time like I do!

Green Pear Smoothie

Looks gross but it's delicious, pinky promise.

Serves one: Blend together half of a chopped pear, handful of green grapes, half of a frozen banana, half cup of frozen spinach, 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, 3 Tbsp. vanilla hemp protein powder, and enough almond milk to get everything blended together. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Salad

I made up this recipe during our North Carolina weekend getaway based on what ingredients I happened to bring with us. It turned out surprisingly delicious!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (the size of cheese cubes)

1 Tbsp. light extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

1 small onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced (keep in seeds if you want it spicy)

1/2 can, drained and rinsed cannellini beans

Cumin, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Garlic salt seasoning, to taste

Arugula 

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

1. Toss sweet potatoes with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and roast in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. When potatoes are the consistency of french fries, remove from oven and toss with sea salt and pepper .
2. Caramelize onion in olive oil while sweet potatoes cook.
3. Add in red pepper, jalapeno, beans, and remaining spices after onions have cooked for 10 minutes.
4. When potatoes are done, mix everything together and serve over a bed of arugula. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic on top of salad.

Chicken Sausage Pizza

There's not much of a recipe here; I just wanted to give you another idea for a quick, yummy meal. I make gluten-free dough using Cooking For Isaiah's recipe. John uses Trader Joe's pre-made dough. We then top with pizza sauce, onions, tomato, spinach, mushrooms, and Trader Joe's chicken sausage. We add garlic and herbs to the top, and John adds cheese to his. We cook them according to the directions. Easy and delicious!  

"Fried" Sole with Dill and Side of Lentils

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten free (or regular) flour 

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten

4 small sole fillets

Relish: 1 tomato chopped, 3 green onions, chopped, sea salt, pepper, dill, lime juice, and olive oil

Preparation:

1. Combine flour with spices. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. 
2. Dredge fish with eggs, then coat with flour mixture. 
3. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil to coat. Add fish fillets and cook 2 minutes per side. Add extra oil in between fillets. Repeat until all fillets are cooked.
4. Combine relish ingredients and serve on top of fish. 

Lentils: Cook lentils according to instructions. While lentils cook, caramelize an onion. Add in two cloves of minced garlic and mushrooms once onions start to brown. When lentils are done, add to onion mixture and stir in spinach, ground pepper, a few dashes of red wine vinegar, and a squirt of lime juice.

Roasted Jalapeno Salmon with Broccoli, inspired by Bon Appetit

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 skinless salmon fillets

1 jalapeno, sliced into rings (we kept seeds in)

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. drained capers

2 Tbsp. chives, chopped

Juice from a half lime, divided

Zest from a half lime, divided

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli on a large rimmed baking sheet with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
2. Rub salmon with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Push broccoli to edges of baking sheet and put salmon in the middle. Roast for 10 minutes, or until salmon is opaque.
3. While salmon roasts, combine jalapeno, vinegar, pinch of salt, capers, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, pepper, chives, and zest and juice from a 1/4 of a lime
4. When salmon is done top with remaining lime juice and zest. Serve jalapeno mix on top of salmon.

Pumpkin, Potato, and Kale Soup, inspired by FBG's recipe

I love Fall vegetables, so I was super excited to make this soup this week! And it didn't disappoint! I served it with gluten free corn muffins (using a mix from Williams-Sonoma).

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

4 c peeled and 1½-inch cubed baking pumpkin
 (4 cups = about 1 pumpkin)

2 russet potatoes, 1½-inch cubed 

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


3 large cloves garlic, minced
 and divided

Dried herbs, to coat 

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped


2 red bell peppers, coarsely chopped


4 c low-sodium chicken broth

5 dashes cayenne pepper


3 c chopped kale 

2 large carrots, coarsely chopped


1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped


1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped


1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped


Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Chop vegetables, making sure to keep them all the same size. Place pumpkin and potato in a large roasting pan and toss with oil, 2 cloves garlic and herbs. I used dried oregano, dried Italian seasoning, dried savory, and sea salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, uncovered. 
2. Add remaining vegetables to roasting pan except carrots and kale. Then, roast for another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are starting to brown.
3. Remove pan from oven and put roasted vegetables and stock in a large pot. Add the cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a dash of salt. Stir everything together. Heat over medium-high heat until soup starts to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add chopped carrots, kale, 1 garlic clove minced, fresh herbs, and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes.

I hope you're able to enjoy some of these recipes! And be sure to check back soon for updates on our weekend adventures!

Three 20-Minute Summer Salads

Nothing says dinnertime during summer than salads loaded with summery fruits and vegetables. Here's three that I've made recently that were delightfully easy, healthy, and summery!

Southwestern Chicken Salad

I had a variation of this salad at my friend Malorie's house and loved it. Here's my re-creation below.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. dijon mustard

Juice from 1 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp chili powder

Salt/pepper to taste

1 bag of spinach

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 tomato, diced

1 red onion, chopped

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 avocado, chopped

2 corn on the cob, boiled and cut off the cob

2 jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe's (or bacon)

Cilantro, sea salt, pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Whisk together dijon, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper. Brush over chicken breasts and cook in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until done.
2. Combine the remaining salad ingredients (spinach through corn).
3. Cook sausage or bacon and crumble on top of salad. 
4. When chicken is done, cut it into bite sized pieces, add to salad, and top with fresh cilantro and salt/pepper to taste.

Summer Vegetable Ceviche 

This dish was inspired by a Food and Wine recipe. See my variation below.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tomatoes, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced (with seeds)

2 nectarines, chopped

1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 orange bell pepper, chopped

2 corn on cob, boiled and cut off the cob

Juice from 1/2 lime

1/4 cup cilantro

Olive oil, sea salt, and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Mix everything together and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt/pepper to taste.
2. Would be good to add in avocado too!

Quinoa Mango Salad

Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 bag of kale
Olive oil
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup cilantro
Salt/pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Cook quinoa according to directions. (Usually: In 2 cups of water, bring quinoa to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.) Remove from heat when done.
2. Add kale to a bowl and remove any stems. Drizzle with olive oil and massage with your hands until kale is tender.
3. Add in vegetables to salad.
4. Add in quinoa. Stir everything together with cilantro and salt/pepper to taste.

I served this with a side of chicken jalapeno sausage and black beans simmered together over low heat with red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and black ground pepper. Delicious!

GuiltLESS Pleasures: Not-so Nachos & Good-for-you Grilled Cheese

One thing I'm loving this month? The new Cooking Light issue! This week I've made two recipes from their newest issue for "healthified" comfort food.

This is one of John's busiest times at work, so I've been focused on making meals that are quick yet hearty and comforting. When John saw the array of nachos recipes as I was reading Cooking Light Sunday night he was very excited to try one out this week. (See picture below!)

Here was his nachos pick (that earned a 10 out of 10!):

Huevos Nachos

Inspired by Cooking Light

The original Cooking Light recipe is pretty simple, but I made some tweaks to it, and it was still a big success! (For dairy free and gluten free eaters like myself, I still broiled my chips, I just didn't add cheese to my half. I also use corn chips so they're gluten free.)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese  (optional if you're dairy free)

4 ounces tortilla chips

3/4 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans

1/2 red onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, diced (I kept seeds in so it was spicy)

Juice from 1/2 lime

3 small spicy chicken sausages (I used Trader Joe's spicy jalapeno and roasted red pepper all natural chicken sausage)

4 eggs

Preparation:

1. Preheat broiler. 
2. Mix together beans, onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice.
3. Heat sausage in a pan for 7-9 minutes, or until heated through completely. Remove from pan and cut into small pieces. Stir into bean mixture.
4. Scramble the four eggs in the pan. Remove from heat when done.
5. Arrange chips on a baking sheet and top with cheese. Broil for 3 minutes or until cheese melts.
6. Add the bean and sausage mixture to the chips and top with eggs. 

The second recipe that I've made this week is:

Cooking Light's Kale and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese 

with Poblano-Tomato Soup

Again, I made some changes to make it both faster to prepare and with a gluten/dairy free option. I used hummus instead of cheese for mine and made them on gluten free bread. This was another recipe winner!

Ingredients:

Grilled Cheese

1-2 cups chopped kale (depending on how much you want)

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 red onions, sliced

Ground pepper and sea salt to taste

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (Cooking Light calls for this, but I forgot to add it in and it was fine!)

8 slices bread

2 Tbsp. hummus (optional)

Cooking spray

4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

Jalapeno Tomato Soup

2 tomatoes, halved

3 large garlic cloves, halved

3 shallots, halved

1 seeded red bell pepper, halved

1 jalapeno pepper, halved (I kept seeds in for spiciness)

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 can diced, fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

Preparation: I am writing it in the order that I prepared everything since it went quickest this way.

1. For soup: Preheat broiler. Place tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and peppers on jelly roll pan. Toss with canola oil. Broil for 10 minutes or until blackened.
2. For sandwich: While vegetables for the soup cook, heat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil to pan. Add in onion and cook for 10 minutes or until it's tender and browned. Add in kale, salt, and pepper until kale wilts. Remove from heat. Add in vinegar.
3. For soup: Remove vegetables from broiler once they're browned. Coarsely chop them and add to a large pot. Add in the canned tomatoes and chicken broth. Use an immersion blender to blend everything together until it is a chunky broth. Let simmer, covered, over low heat while you finish the sandwiches.
4. For sandwiches: Lower oven heat to 300 degrees. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add in bread slices, and when they start to brown, flip them over for another 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat this with all of the bread slices and reapply cooking spray when needed. 
5. For sandwiches: Arrange 4 bread slices on a baking sheet. Top each with kale and onion mixture then add cheese to top. (For dairy free option, spread hummus on bread instead of using cheese.) Top with the other 4 bread slices to make a sandwich. Bake sandwiches for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. 

PS The next day, I took the soup with me as lunch on the go and ate it cold. It was still delicious and tasted like gazpacho!