Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup:

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup:
Author: Pinch of Yum

Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 3 cups
Makes the equivalent of about 2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup.
Ingredients:
•2½ cups chicken broth (I used 2 cans)
•1½ cups milk
•¾ cup flour
•1 tablespoon seasoning mix (or on your own, ½ tsp. onion powder, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. parsley, etc)
Instructions:
1.Combine the chicken broth and ½ cup of the milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
2.Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour and seasonings into the remaining 1 cup milk until a smooth, thick mixture forms.
3.Pour the flour and milk mixture into the saucepan with the broth mixture over low heat and stir continuously, whisking as the mixture simmers. Continue to simmer and stir/whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick, 5-10 minutes. The mixture will thicken a bit as it cools.
Notes:
The seasoning possibilities are really open-ended. I change the spices I use every time I make this depending on what I'm going to use the soup for. The texture can get lumpy really quickly so I suggest keeping the heat as low as possible and whisking continuously for a more smooth consistency.

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce:

Red Enchilada Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: About 1 1/4 cups (depends on how much you reduce down your sauce)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. whole-wheat or whatever healthy flour you have or gluten-free flour
4 Tbsp. chili powder (*see note below if you do not like heat*)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Method:
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add flour and stir together over the heat for one minute.
Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through oregano).
Then gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps.
Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick.

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cup Oat flour (or 2 3/4 cup old fashioned oats, ground into flour in blender/food processor)
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
2 tbs Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Baking stevia or 2 cups sweetener that measures like sugar
1 oz Red food coloring (1 individual bottle) or Beet Juice---1/2 c to 1 c.
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup Plain low fat Greek yogurt
2 Large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (you can use 1 cup regular milk and add 1 T lemon Juice)
To Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, and the wet in another bowl.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and pour into prepared baking dish.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool and cut into 1 inch squares in pan.

Ranch Flavored Dip:

Ranch Flavored Dip:
(It does taste better if you let it sit overnight in the fridge after mixing in the sour cream.)
Ingredients:
•2 tablespoon dried parsley
•1 teaspoon dried dill
•1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
•½ teaspoon dried basil
•½ teaspoon pepper
•Sour cream, for serving
Instructions:
1.Mix together the first six ingredients down to the pepper. Store in an airtight container.
2.When you are ready to make the dip stir 1 tablespoon of the spice mixture together with ½ cup sour cream. Serve with fresh sliced veggies or whole-wheat pretzels.
3.Save the remaining dry spice mixture in spice cabinet or pantry for another day.

Morning Muffins:

Ingredients: 1 cup sour milk (Sour milk is easy to make -- add a tablespoon of vinegar to a one cup measure and fill to the top with milk. Let stand for 5 minutes) 1/2 cup applesauce 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1/3 cup raw sugar 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup oat flour (Oat flour doesn't need to be bought -- make your own by pureeing instant oatmeal in the blender until a fine dry powder is formed) 1 cup instant oats 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped (opt.) 1/4 cup almonds, chopped (opt.) Directions: --Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 12 muffin cups. --Combine sour milk, applesauce, butter, vanilla extract, egg and brown sugar and blend well. --Stir together oat flour, wheat flour, baking soda and cinnamon. --Add flour mixture to wet mixture and blend well. --Fold in oats, almonds and apricots. --Fill muffin tins. These do not rise very high, so a full muffin cup is fine. --Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. I left out the dried apricots when I made them.

Orange juice and Pineapple Salad Dressing:

To make this delicious, healthy salad dressing you'll need an orange, a pineapple, a citrus juicer, and a blender (can be a small personal one). Juice the orange using the citrus juicer. Next cut up a fresh pineapple and add a few pieces to a blender with the fresh squeeze orange juice. You can keep this dressing in a sealed container up to several days in the refrigerator. I love this salad dressing on a bed of spinach leaves and if I have any some kale also. Chop up an apple and add some raisins then drizzle on the O.J./Pineapple dressing. Mmmm....delicious!

Simple Summer Spaghetti:

Ingredients: 12 oz. packaged dry spaghetti Yt cup extra-virgin olive oil 5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped Pinch crushed red pepper, or more to taste 2 cups cut-up grilled zucchini and/or summer squash 2 cups red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or Italian parsley Directions: 1. Bring large pot of salted water to boiling. Stir in spaghetti. Cook 9 to 10 minutes, just until tender. Strain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. 2. Meanwhile, in extra-large skillet combine olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium heat about 3 minutes, until garlic begins to soften. Do not let garlic brown. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, and torn basil. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Reduce heat to low; stir pasta liquid and spaghetti into vegetables in skillet. (If skillet is too small, mix all ingredients in large pot.) Heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Transfer to large serving bowl. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil.