Broccoli Cheese Soup

This reminds me of Panera Bread's Broccoli Cheese soup but it's loaded with more veggies I think. We love this soup and stole this recipe from Lulu the Baker.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a large soup pot.

Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.

Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.

Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.

Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.

Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.

Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Instant Chocolate Pudding

Yet another stolen recipe. This time from betterwithcake.com. Apparently she fed this to someone who HATES avocados and they loved it so those avocados are easily disguised :) I changed this recipe to non-healthy. I'm not afraid of sugar :) She uses Stevia and Maple Syrup and I tried it that way but I wasn't thrilled.

Healthy Homemade Instant Chocolate Pudding
Makes approximately 2 cups of pudding

Ingredients:
2 avocados
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Directions:
1) Slice your avocado in half and remove the pit.

2) Scoop out the flesh and place into your blender/food processor Of you dont have a food processor or blender you could just use your stand/hand held mixer)

3) Blend/pulse/whisk until smooth

4) Add cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt and blend/pulse/whisk again until smooth, glossy and well combined.

5) Taste and add extra sugar accordingly.

Her pic :)

Note:
You can also spoon the mix into a Ziplock bag and snip off a corner to pipe into cute little cups which is what she did.

One Pan Chocolate Fudge Cake & Frosting

I don't know how I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest or how out of all the dessert recipes I pin I picked this one to try but I'm so grateful I did! This is one of the best and easiest chocolate cake recipes ever! I'm posting this because if the link to Simply Sweet Home ever fails, I will have a copy of the recipe.

Fudge Cake (Taken from Simply Sweet Home)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In an ungreased 9 x 13 pan (yes--UN-greased!) sift all dry ingredients.

Add the liquids and stir just until blended.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Top with hot fudge or frost with your favorite frosting. Cake will be extremely moist so care must be taken that you don't tear up the top of the cake.

Pic stolen from Simply Sweet Home

Simple Vanilla Frosting (taken from Simply Scratch)

YIELD: 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups Powdered Sugar
4 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
4-6 tablespoons of Whole Milk

DIRECTIONS:
In your mixing bowl add the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. Turn your mixer on medium low and slowly add your whole milk. Adding more milk if needed. Increase the speed to medium until fluffy.

*for special occasions tint the frosting with food color!

Shawna's Whole Wheat Pancake/Waffle Mix

Do you like waffles?

Ya we like waffles!

Do you like pancakes?

Ya we like pancakes!

Do you like French Toast?

Ya we like French Toast!

Do dododo Can't wait to get a mouthful!

Oh, Parry Gripp! You have penned the words of my soul! I love breakfast foods! These two recipes come from my beloved mother-in-law. We adore her and we adore these recipes! I'm just posting these for my own reference; it's easier to find them on Pinterest rather than hunt through my recipe box. Enjoy!

To Make Pancakes or Waffles
INGREDIENTS: 

1 egg

1 1/2 cup water

2 1/4 cups Pancake/Waffle Mix

DIRECTIONS:

1) Mix water and eggs

2) Add in mix until just moistened

3) Cook on hot griddle 3-4 minutes (or in waffle iron)

Yields about 7 medium pancakes or waffles

Whole Wheat Waffle/Pancake Mix

INGREDIENTS:

18 cups flour 

3 cups dry milk

3 Tablespoons salt

2 1/3 cups sugar

3/4 cups baking powder

3 cups butter

2 cups corn (optional)

2 cups rice (optional)

1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Mix dry ingredients

2) Mix in butter

3) Store in cool, dry place. Will keep for about 10-12 weeks.