bacon and cheddar corn chowder

Fall is soup time. Maybe all year is soup time, but for whatever reason, a steaming bowl of soup is one of my favorite pleasures of fall.

bacon and cheddar corn chowder

warm.

topped with croutons and sour cream

full of good things.

bacon and cheddar corn chowder.

1 Tablespoon Olive oil
6 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3 cups corn, frozen or canned
4 cups chicken broth
8 oz. Velveeta
1/2 cup half and half

In a large soup pan, add oil, bacon and onion. Saute until the onion is tender. Add broth, vegetables, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Add Velveeta and half and half. Cook until cheese is melted and mixed in. Serve warm with croutons and sour cream.

pumpkin bread.

I am leaving for China today! Crazy. I bought a ticket a couple of weeks back so that I could visit my brother and sister in law in Beijing.

I am so excited to see them. Our family is a foodie family; we love planning our vacations around what and where we are going to eat. With the coming of fall, I have found myself with a craving for all autumn foods. I made a batch of pumpkin bread. Two loaves we ate at our housewarming party, and the third I hid away so I could bring it with me across the world. Airplane snack :)

pumpkin bread

{very addicting} pumpkin bread.
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, and water until well combined.
Add sugar and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.
Add remaining ingredients and stir in until batter is mostly free of lumps.
Generously grease 2 large or 3 small loaf pans. Distribute batter evenly among pans.
Bake in 2-3 loaf pans for 50 minutes, or until top middle is set.

Let it cool for at least 10 minutes. You can serve warm, or let it cool. Pumpkin bread is great with honey butter!

very veggie pizza

Our friend Ashley joined us for dinner this Monday. She is a lovely friend, and we always enjoy having people for dinner. Ash is a vegetarian, and we were in a bit of a time crunch, so I just threw together a yummy veggie filled pizza with all the leftover vegetables in our refrigerator. Trader Joes allows the pizza process to be a breeze... I like to stock up on their pre-made whole wheat pizza doughs, and pull them out an hour prior to baking.

So good. and full of goodness.

loaded with vegetables and cheese

topped with italian seasoning and garlic

Very Veggie Pizza
1 whole wheat premade pizza dough
1 cup marinara
1 Tablespoon chopped Garlic
fresh basil, oregano, salt, and pepper
2 cups mozzarella or cheddar cheese
2-3 cups assorted thinly chopped vegetables

Preheat oven to 425
In a saucepan, combine marinara, garlic, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, and let it sit while you work the dough.
Lightly dust a pizza stone with cornmeal.
Spread the dough into a large circle on the stone.
Top with prepared sauce, cheeses, and vegetables. Top with extra seasonings and garlic.
Cook for 12-16 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden, and veggies are tender.

Using a pizza slicer, divide the pizza into 8 slices. Serve while hot.

Kiwi, almond, pear salad with a Gorgonzola vinaigrette

blackbean enchilada casserole and homemade chips

We had a bunch of leftover tortillas in our apartment from taco night, so I decided to invent a little Enchilada casserole and fry up some home-made chips. We love any kind of chip and dip in our apartment, so these went over quite well.

Homemade Chips

Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Cheesy and warm and delicious

Homemade Chips:
Leftover tortillas, flour or corn
2 cups canola oil
salt
lime

Heat oil in a large skillet. Slice tortillas into 1/6s or 1/8 triangles.
Place the triangles in the oil, and fry for about 1 minute on each side. Flip them with a spatula. Remove the chips and place on a paper towel to allow the oil to drain and the chips to cool. Sprinkle with salt and lime juice.


Blackbean Enchilada Casserole
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup taco meat (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes with chilis
1 can enchilada sauce
1/2 onion
1/2 sliced peppers
1 teaspoon garlic salt
8-10 tortillas
2 cups cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8inch square baking dish with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, mix black beans, tomatoes, taco meat, onions,  peppers, and garlic salt.
Heat the enchilada sauce in a skillet. Dip a tortilla in the enchilada sauce, coating both sides. Place in the baking dish to fully cover the bottom, using multiple tortillas if necessary. Add 1/3 of the blackbean mixture, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers two more times. Top with one more layer of tortillas, remaining enchilada sauce, and remaining cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cheese is melted and casserole is fully heated through.

Let it cool for 5 minutes, then serve in squares with homemade chips.

Stuffed Plum and Kiwi French Toast

Breakfast on Fridays is back in full swing. Each Friday, our apartment gets to do breakfast with our favorite apartment of Wicker Park women.

Last week we made a fabulous stuffed french toast, with Kiwis, Plums, and a brown sugar stuffing. Yum.

Brown Sugar Stuffed French Toast, with Kiwis and Plums

Stuffed French Toast with Kiwis and Plums
2 Kiwis, peeled and sliced
2 Plums, peeled and sliced
1 French baguette, or loaf of french bread, sliced into 1/2 inch sections
3 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Milk

3 eggs
1/2 milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Yogurt, optional for topping

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add milk a bit at a time to make it a frosting-like consistency.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk and cinnamon.
Take two slices of bread. Place two tablespoons of brown sugar filling, one slice of plum and one slice of kiwi and sandwich in between the two slices of bread. Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture, coating all sides and edges. Place in a separate dish to allow mixture to soak into bread.
Repeat with all the bread, making about 12 mini sandwiches.
Heat a skillet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place sandwiches on skillet and fry for about 3 minutes on each side, or each side is golden brown.

Serve with yogurt, syrup, and extra kiwis and plums.

Roasted Stuffed Red Peppers

Its ridiculous that I have not written since July.

The lack of posting is honestly such a representation of the whirlwind of my life status in the past few months. From moving into a new apartment, to being mugged, to the apartment flooding, to living in a hotel for a month, for Hurricane Irene... I guess I have validation in my absence.

However, I have desperately missed sharing an account of my latest culinary explorations.

August was a month of no cooking. We lived in the Embassy Suites for an entire month, and with a mini-fridge and two-cup coffee maker, our food options were highly limited. My main meal that month consisted of beer and nachos from the daily happy hour.

September was a month of resettling back in to the apartment. While cooking did happen, I had no time or energy left to document delicious indulgences. However, I am back, and ready to enter into my favorite food season; Autumn.

Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers with Quinoa and Garbanzo beans, Roasted Buttercup Squash, and Curried Carrot Soup

We had roommate dinner last night, very fall themed. We ate garbanzo and quinoa stuffed red peppers, curried carrot soup, and buttercup roasted squash.

Roasted Stuffed Red Peppers:
4 red bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped finely 
1/4 cup chopped peppers
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup crumbled feta, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place  the red peppers upside down in a glass baking dish and roast for about 15 minutes.
While the peppers are roasting, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onions, peppers, and garlic, and peas for about two minutes. Add the quinoa and garbanzo beans and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Remove peppers from the oven. Turn them over in the glass dish and stuff with the skillet mixture.
Top with feta if desired, and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve immediately.