Chicken Pumpkin Soup

C has recently come down with a pretty rough cold, so of course I had to help him out and make some soup.  This recipe sounded great, and I had some extra pumpkin in the house to use, so it seemed like it was meant to be!  This soup is very tasty, creamy and full of flavor.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add in celery, carrots and onion.  Stir and cook for around 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Add in garlic and stir for another minute or so.

Then add in pumpkin, chicken, chicken broth, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic salt.

Add in cream and continue stirring. 

When hot, stir in cheese and combine.  Season to your taste.

So tasty and full of flavor!  It's amazing even if you're not sick.  I love this time of year and the cooking and ingredients that go along with it, and this soup is no exception.  Hope you enjoy, and have a great weekend! 

Chicken Pumpkin Soup
Adapted from Picky Palate 
Serves 8

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
32 oz reduced sodium chicken broth
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 chopped cilantro
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add onion, celery and carrots, stirring and cooking for around 15 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook for another minute.
Add chicken, chicken broth, pumpkin, cream, salt, pepper, garlic salt and cilantro.
Stir to combine.
When hot, stir in cheese to melt. 
Taste and season accordingly.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

I've been meaning to make homemade dog treats for a while.  Mia's 1st birthday seemed like the perfect occasion to do so!  It was actually really quick to make these and she really likes them.

I got the recipe from the Homemade cookbook.  How cute is this picture?!  I love this cookbook, and the creativity in the photographs is really fun to look through too.

Main ingredients you'll need is an egg, olive oil, garlic cloves and flour.  I doubled the recipe because the more dog treats the better in my opinion!

Combine all ingredients into a firm dough in a bowl.

Roll the dough into a thin sheet, approximately 1/8 inch think on a floured counter top.

Cut the dough into strips or use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes.  C's Mom had given me two sizes of dog bone cookie cutters and they worked perfectly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Bake the biscuits for around 30 minutes until they're golden brown.

They turned out so cute.

Plus Mia really likes them, and she's kind of picky.  Score!

Dog Biscuits

Adapted from Homemade Cookbook

2/3 cup hot water or salt free chicken broth (I used water)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

Combine all ingredients into a firm dough in a bowl.

Roll the dough into a thin sheet, approximately 1/8 inch think on a floured counter top.

Cut the dough into strips or use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  

Bake the biscuits for around 30 minutes until they're golden brown.

Mia is One (or Seven)

I know there are many (most) people that believe dogs are pets and nothing more.  I am not one of these people.  Mia is a dog, but she is also like my child, and I treat her as such.  Enter - Mia's first birthday extravaganza!!  We are very strict about never feeding her human food, so as a treat on her birthday I made her chicken and rice.  This was recommended by the vet when she was a puppy and had an upset stomach.  She really enjoyed it then, so I figured it would be a good treat.  She ate it all up pretty fast!

I also made her some homemade dog treats.  Recipe will be posted tomorrow!  And then might have gone a little too far and made dog friendly frosting and got a candle.  

It is really hard to take a picture of her because she hates the flash, but I snapped a few good ones of the exciting events.  Here she is about to blow out her candle.  She did it all by herself I swear! 

She really liked the dog treats too :)

Opening her gifts.  She really likes to tear paper up, so I had to wrap them for extra birthday fun.

She got some new toys and a new dog bone.

Which she ate in approximately two minutes.

Wrapping paper after the attack of Mia.

Here she is in, what I'm assuming, was a food coma.

Happy 1st (or 7th) birthday Mia!! 

Note: if you feel the need to make a "you need children" comment, please refrain.  My good friends have already let me in on that fact.  Thanks. 

My Happy Place, French Toast

Two breakfast posts in a row?  Yes, you have caught me, I am in love with breakfast.  Homemade, restaurant, airport - doesn't really matter I'm on board.  I particularly love when I don't have grocery shop for the ingredients, I whip something up with the ingredients I have, and it turns out delicious!  

In a big bowl beat the eggs. 

Add the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, orange juice and salt.  Whisk until well combined.

Soak the bread slices in the milk and egg mixture for 1-2 minutes.  You can use any type of bread you like, the thicker the better. 

Coat the bread slices on one side with granola.  I used the granola I buy from Trader Joe's, but you can use your favorite.  Or you can make your own by using this awesome homemade granola recipe.

Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Cook the bread slices on one side to brown then flip to finish cooking.

Cover with fresh fruit of your choice, powdered sugar and syrup.  If you come around my blog a lot you know I'm a huge fan of french toast, and I really enjoyed the different taste added by the granola and orange.  This is definitely added to my list of breakfast favorites!

My Happy Place French Toast (aka K.C. Goes to Oz)

Adapted from The Black Dog Tavern Cookbook

Serves 2

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon orange juice

pinch of salt

4 thick slices of bread

1 cup granola

1 tablespoon butter

fresh fruit

In a big bowl beat the eggs. 

Add the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, orange juice and salt.  

Whisk until well combined.

Soak the bread slices in the milk and egg mixture for 1-2 minutes.

Coat the bread slices on one side with granola.

Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  

Cook the bread slices on one side to brown then flip to finish cooking.

Cover with fresh fruit of your choice, powdered sugar and syrup.  

Brant Point Grill, White Elephant - Nantucket, MA

Welcome back from the holiday weekend.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, Black Friday and long weekend with your family.  Onto the food!  Part of the bike ride package is breakfast every morning at whatever hotel we were staying at.  Brant Point Grill is connected to the White Elephant Hotel and serves a pretty amazing breakfast. Starting with coffee, OJ and water.

And a beautiful view! 

The first morning I went really low key and opted for the oatmeal, but had waves of jealousy after watching what everyone else ordered and enjoyed!  Go big or go home.  The second morning I ordered the Left Coast omelet, and was so happy I did!  Eggs, chorizo, avocado, scallions all mixed together with salsa verde and queso on top.  Yum!

Served with amazing potatoes and fresh toast.  Now that is a breakfast of champions!  Anyone else hungry?

5 Things I Loved about Thanksgiving

Fall, leaves, and cold weather.  Very different from Phoenix and perfect for the holidays.

Wisconsin classics - Spotted Cow beer and some venison sausage.

Generation picture of all the boys!  Including new addition, Roman.

Turkeyyyyyy. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm a apple and pumpkin pie fan on Thanksgiving, but this was my favorite dessert yesterday.  Caramel cheesecake...ahhh I can still taste it! 

Have a great holiday weekend! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Brought to you by etsy.

I hope you all have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  Full of family, pumpkin pie, drinks, and gobbling!

Banana Muffins w/ Nutella

I have an idea for the perfect after Thanksgiving breakfast addition, and you should really take me up on it because these are delicious!  I've posted this banana bread recipe in the past, and this is just an update to it.  Please excuse my pictures, it was a month after I started this blog and I like to think I've learned a lot!  

You can make a loaf of bread or muffins, I made muffins.  Spray the tins well and divide batter into cups. 

Scoop 1 teaspoons of Nutella on top of the batter and mix around on top.  I used a knife that I sprayed with nonstick and just kind of cut through the Nutella so it formed a topping.  Bake at 300 degrees for around 35 minutes.

Voila!  This recipe is so amazing because no matter what you add it turns out tasty.  I added an extra banana this time for an extra kick of flavor and think I'll be doing that go forward!  

Better starting cooking and baking, Thanksgiving is tomorrow!!!

Banana Muffins w/ Nutella

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

handful of chocolate chips

6 teaspoons Nutella

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

Spray whatever pan you are using with non-stick spray.

Start by mixing the sugar and butter together.

Continue with the rest of the ingredients, ending with the dry ingredients.

Divide batter into muffin tins.

Add 1 teaspoons of Nutella on top of the batter and swirl around with a knife or toothpick.

For muffins bake for around 33-35 minutes. 

American Seasons - Nantucket, MA

Our last dinner in Nantucket was at American Seasons.  It's a quaint restaurant with large flavor and character.  They're known for their twist on American dishes and extensive creativity so I was really excited to get going and try things out! 

The waitress talked my Mom and I into getting a lavender martini.  We were a little hesitant, but it was so tasty!  You could really taste and smell the lavender.  I'm not a huge fan of martinis, mainly because I like some fruit flavor not just liquor, but I would happily drink a few of these, and did! 

Dinner by candlelight, the tables and decor were very cozy and gave a very relaxed feel for the whole meal.

My Mom and I (and another shot of the awesome martini.)

Their menu is constantly changing because they use all seasonal vegetables.  It's really cool because you could go back a week later and have very different options for dinner.  I started with the day boat scallops.  They were flavorful and soft! 

For my entree I ordered the roasted salmon.  Yes, it had popcorn  on top.  It really was a twist on the regular salmon you might order, the different textures of the popcorn and fish and sauces was really interesting and unique. 

I had to try the carrot cake for dessert.  Such a classic dessert, but it tasted very different and good!  No coconut and ice cream on top, delicious! 

I really enjoyed the meal here, the ambiance was unique and comfortable and the food was so different you'll be talking about it way after dinner.