Cream of Mushroom Soup with Chestnuts

5 Replies

I’ve been so busy making pumpkin dishes, I almost forgot that it is also MUSHROOM season! Yay, love, especially in soup! I’m not that adventurous when it comes to mushrooms in general. I’m mostly familiar with white mushrooms, the kind that come fresh in a package, or those canned button mushrooms. But mushrooms are clearly in season as the local grocery store has been featuring large bins and while I really have no idea what to do with them, I mustered up some courage, picked (well bagged) a pound of mushrooms and made some soup. The chestnuts add some texture in this soft, blended and flavorful soup. It was delish!

Ingredients

1 lbs or so of fresh mushrooms
3 Tbsp minced shallots or onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2.5 cups water
1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (for paleo version)
1 cup chestnuts (bottled or canned, liquid removed)
Springs of thyme
2 or more slices applewood-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 Tbsp sour cream
Olive oil
Dusting of pepper and salt to taste

Ingredients

Sauté mushrooms with a little olive oil for ~15 minutes or until soft
Add shallots, sauté for 1 minute
Remove 1/2 cup mushroom mixture and set aside
Add broth, water, chestnuts and thyme to pan and bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
Remove from heat and discard thyme
Use a hand blender/inversion blender until soup is liquefied
Stir in cream, sour cream, reserved mushroom mixture, salt and pepper to taste
Garnish individual bowls with crumbled bacon

Super mom tip: Mushroom or chicken broth + sliced white mushrooms or a can of mushrooms + milk/cream/coconut milk + whatever garnish you have on hand = toss together heat and serve. That’s the 5 minute version! 🙂

Fun with the fog…or really, just having fun :)

2 Replies

I have been LOVING all the fog we’ve been having here in Seattle. It’s SO much fun to photograph! Clients always get excited by sun (so limiting for pictures!), but fog…love it! Some like sun flare…I like fog flare 😉

You’d think I’d want to wear vibrant colors in the haze, but no….black and gray. My usual. Love that the picture on the left shows the fog rolling in, and the one on the right…it’s passed. In a matter of minutes! Someone found her love of the self timer again. I let her push the button and she thought it was hilarious. Everyone (even strangers!) always says how much Maya looks like my husband, but for anyone that knows me…that is SO MY LAUGH! Love that I captured it. With a self timer no less 😉 Um, see what I mean about the fog??! On me…

Leather Jacket- Doma (similar here and less expensive faux leather here)

Top- Addison (50% off at Shopbop!)

Jeans-DL 1961 (these are the Emma Leggings)

Shoes- Converse (similar)

Scarf- JCrew (similar and on sale!)

On Maya…

Jeans- Gap (similar)

Top- Gap (similar)

Jacket- Circo (thrifted, but this one is so cute)

Shoes- Jack and Lily

Is Halloween for a 2 year old for them…or us?

Paleo Warm Butternut Squash Salad with Apple Cider Dressing

4 Replies

I got this recipe off of the Food Network (scribbled the recipe onto a notebook while watching the actual show not online!). I’ve made a few changes, but feel free to refer back to the original! It’s SO yummy, and relatively easy (especially if you cheat and get the pre-cut butternut squash ha!)

Ingredients

1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch) diced. If I’m in a hurry, I grab 2 bags from Trader Joe’s, but I still cut those pieces in half because they are pretty big.
2 tablespoons Olive Oil (I usually just drizzle over the top of the butternut squash and don’t measure :))
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup.
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 C Dried Cranberries
3/4 C Apple Cider
2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Diced Shallots or I’ve also used 1/3 C diced red onion
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4-5 cups (or really, you choose depending on how many mouths you have to feed!) of spinach or arugula. I personally LOVE arugula, but our boys don’t. When I make this for friends, it’s arugula. When I make it for the family-spinach.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place butternut squash on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle maple syrup and olive oil over the squash, grind a little salt and pepper over and toss around until coated.
Bake squash for a total of 15, but take it out and toss every 5 minutes, and add cranberries on the last 5 minutes (at the 10 minute mark)
While squash is baking combine cider, vinegar, onions/or shallots, and a little salt and pepper in a small sauce pan. Bring that to a boil and stir for about 6-7 minutes so that it reduces. Take off heat and whisk in mustard. (original recipe calls for adding a 1/2 a cup of olive oil now, but I forgot to do that once. It tasted fine, so I’ve left it out ever since :)) You choose!
Place salad greens in a large bowl. Toss in butternut squash mixture and dressing. Pepper to taste.
Online recipe also calls for walnuts and freshly grated Parmesan. I’m fairly certain the tv show didn’t/or I just forgot to write it down. In either case, I’ve never added either, but feel free (and let me know what you think!) I have sprinkled pumpkin seeds on the top for crunch and it was yummy too!

Super Mom Tip

I’ve turned this into a meal (not vegetarian), by adding some sliced aidells smoked chicken and apple sausages into the butternut squash mix at the same time as the dried cranberries. The flavors all go so well together!

Paleo Salmon Chowder

2 Replies

I’m taking a break from pumpkin today and making this hot and delicious salmon chowder that is full of veggies and protein! I love making this with a combination of canned AND fresh salmon – but you can do one or both – whatever is easier for you! As there are no flour/grains, dairy or legumes in this recipe, it’s very paleo friendly!

Ingredients

3 slices of bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried dill or 1 Tbsp fresh dill
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
black pepper to taste
2 stalks celery
1-2 cups finely chopped or small cauliflower florets
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
One 7.5oz can salmon (red, pink or other) including juices
One 14 oz can coconut milk, full fat
Extra minced dill for garnish

Directions

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until bacon fat is released. Add onion, dill, bay leaf, black pepper, cayenne, and cook until bacon is firm but not crispy
Add celery, cauliflower and chicken broth and simmer until vegetables are almost tender, 5-7 minutes
Add salmon chunks and juices and simmer for a few more minutes
Stir in coconut milk and simmer
Remove bay leaf before serving

Super mom tip: This recipe does great in the freezer. Freeze small batches of soup for easy re-heating later!

How to make a chalkboard banner | DIY

Shades of grey….not 50, just two :)

What to do with pumpkin seeds!

6 Replies

It’s pumpkin season.. OK, I get a little obsessed when pumpkin lattes arrive and then it just takes off from there. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin frosted cupcakes :-), pumpkin soup, pumpkin curry.. I’ve been feeding fresh cooked pumpkin to baby Anders who is 7 months and chowing it down! And let’s not forget pumpkin seeds! Roasted and salted.. YUM!

Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds (if you are digging them out of a pumpkin, first rinse and pat dry w/paper towels)
Oil or cooking spray
Salt

Directions

Oven to 350*
Toss pumpkin seeds with oil or just spray a large pan with some cooking spray
Bake for 20 minutes or until you hear them start to pop or they start turning golden
Salt

Pulled Pork Sandwiches | Slowcooker does 90% of the work-win!

3 Replies

This recipe is in no way original (nor is it Paleo-sorry!), but it’s SO easy and good that I had to share. The best part? You take about 10 minutes to get it going in the morning/afternoon, your house smells delicious all day, and then you take about 10 minutes and it’s ready for dinner. LOVE THAT!

Added bonus-Teenage sons and toddler girl approved 🙂

Ingredients

Pork Loin (amount depends on how many people you have to feed)
1 Onion
1 Can of coke (or any regular sugared soft drink-most of it gets poured out after!)
2-3 shredded carrots (I cheat and buy the shredded bags from Trader Joe’s :))
Jar of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

Chop onion and place in your slowcooker/crockpot
Place the Pork tenderloin on top of the onions
Pour the Coke/whatever soft drink you use over the top until it almost covers it.
Cook on low for 6+ hours (it won’t get dried out)
About an hour before it’s done (or less), add the shredded carrots (you don’t need the carrots. I just added these the last time I made them for some extra veggies.)
When it’s done cooking, drain all but about 1 cup of the liquid. Shred the pork and add BBQ sauce.

Serve on your favorite bun (we did ciabatta this last time), or serve on a salad for a low carb option!

Wide leg jeans + HEELS + Leather Jacket…must be date night! :)

3 Replies

We were having dinner with my parents over the weekend and they offered to babysit Maya Tuesday so we could go on a date night. I think it took us all of about .000003 seconds to say “YES!”

They were also nice enough to give me a break from the self timer and took some pics before we left 🙂 The sales places are having are killing me! haha. I scooped this top up when Shopbop announced a 25% off friends and family discount on Facebook. It was already marked down 70% off, so I scored! I had been eyeing this little lariat necklace from Gorjana-Griffin for a while. When they announced having an extra 40% off their sale items, and I couldn’t resist (it’s 50% now!!) I may have gotten the earrings and a few other things too! 😉 I love how classic and timeless all their pieces are. I’m still mourning the bee pendant I lost from them… 😦 “Wait, no self timer??” haha On me…