Sweet Potato Avacado Soup

Today's recipe comes from a facebook page called 10 Pound Challenge with Melanie Douglass. I have followed this page for a few January's now, but I have never actually, officially joined. I just really enjoy the tips and food and workout suggestions. This was actually shared a year ago, but I finally tried it this weekend. 

This is what I did: 

1 sweet potato, as long as my hand and half as wide

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp lime juice

Freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup milk

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

I peeled and baked the sweet potato on a foil covered baking sheet, at 425* for close to 2 hours. I pulled it off the foil, lol, and put all the ingredients in my blendtec. I pureed it on the "whole juice" setting. I did scrape it down once and pulsed a few times to really blend it. Then I microwaved it for 2 minutes to get it hot! haha!

It says it makes 2 servings, and I ate probably 2/3 of it.

Full disclosure: I grew tired of it after a while, and I finally added a small pinch of shaved Parmesan to it. I wouldn't want this regularly, but every so often, it would be just fine. Pretty sure this will be lunch tomorrow!

I made two dinners that night: My daughter could live off spaghetti if we let her, and since it's quick and easy, we make it a lot....and I am tired of it!!! But I know the rest of my family really enjoys it, and, I knew they would not enjoy this so much. So I made spaghetti for them and this soup for me. I had them all try it and they all three pulled quite a face, haha, so no, this won't be a common meal around here. Still- a good one for my lunches!
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And here's the information with the original recipe.

1 large sweet potato (baked to soft flesh)
1 ripe avocado
Peel and put flesh in a blender with 1 cup of water. Puree.
Add juice from 1/2 a lime and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper. Puree a few more seconds. If you want it thinner, add a bit of milk or water.
Stir in some Crushed Red Pepper flakes and serve! Cold or hot. It's a thick creamy soup. Yummy! (er, on the scale of a "cleanse" recipe that has no sodium or junk and tons of fiber to promote weight loss wink emoticon. You can play around with other seasonings, like chipotle, cayenne or nutmeg, etc. But red pepper flakes did it for me!

Makes 2 servings and packs some powerful nutrition:
240 calories (per serving)
50% heart-healthy monounsaturated fat
10 grams fiber
4 grams protein (not as high as I like, but it's a complete protein)
350% Vitamin A (want healthy glowing skin?)
50% Vitamin C
30% Potassium, Vit K, Folate, Manganese

Apple Nachos!

Originally I saw this recipe all over Pinterest and I pinned the idea HERE.
I started making it just after school started last August, as a welcome-home-after-school-snack....and then we sort of forgot about it. Today my daughter asked if we still knew how to make that, haha, so I thought I'd blog it.

1 apple, thinly sliced
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
small handful shredded coconut
smaller handful semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I only used green apples until today- this time I used a Gala apple. I slice it into a lot of thin slices and arrange them flat on a plate. I microwave a tablespoon or so of peanut butter til it's more runny (about 15-25 seconds). Drizzle that over the apple slices. Sprinkle shredded coconut and a few chocolate chips on top.
Depending on the size of your apple, it can serve a quick snack for 1-2 kids.

Autumn Oatmeal

While grocery shopping recently I saw a box of instant oatmeal with 'applesauce & cranberry' as it's listed flavor. At first glance I thought that sounded good then I instantly realized I could make it myself. That's almost always healthier anyway, right?

These were the ingredients I pulled from my cupboard...

These are the measurements I put in my bowl....
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp craisins
1/2 tbsp pecans cookie bits (which means almost pulverized)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk

I stirred it together and microwaved it all for 2 minutes.
And here was my breakfast!

It was very quick and easy. And it was tasty just as it was! I think you could add more water or milk, but I like my oatmeal "dry". Just note that it does get drier as it sits there...haha. You could add some cinnamon or nutmeg, but really, the applesauce and craisins add enough sweetness for me, and that's saying something.

The Moist Perfect Cinnamon Rolls I Have Ever Made

This is a recipe that I took ideas and methods from a recipe that I found on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Here's a link to original. Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. Mostly I adapted it to make a smaller batch and so that I could do it in a bread maker on the dough setting. Much of the recipe is my bagel recipe with some idea's taken from the Mel. The frosting is copied exactly from Mel minus the maple flavoring. I also added nutmeg and clove to the cinnamon filling because I really like them. One warning, you will use 3 sticks of butter in these, so definitely not an treat to make everyday. However the cinnamon rolls freeze wonderfully and can be saved for enjoyment later. A short 45 seconds in the microwave and it's like they just came out of the oven.

Yeast Proof:
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast-Active Dry
2 tbsp sugar

Into the bread maker
6 cups bread flour (720 grams)
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter (melted in the scalded milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk powder
1/4 cup potato flakes
3 tsp salt
1 tbsp dough enhancer
1 egg

Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt (not needed if using sweet cream or salted butter)
2 pounds powdered sugar
3 tbsp of milk (NOT SKIM!!!!!! 1% or higher only) or cream.

Bake on 350 for 18 to 22 minutes.