Quick Chili Sauce

I found this recipe when I needed a quick chili sauce recipe - when I didn't even have fresh tomatoes. I was trying to replicate the recipe my grandmother used to make. I had to adjust seasonings a bit - but it's a good base to get started. And it's very quick and easy. Thank you Beverly's Back Porch!

Quick Chili Sauce about 2 pints 1 19-ounce can tomatoes, or equivalent of home canned 1 large or 2 small green and red peppers chopped 1 cup coarsely chopped onions 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoons dry mustard powder Spice bag made of 1 teaspoon pickling spice and 2 teaspoon celery seed. Tied loosely in cheesecloth. Bring everything to a boil reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until the consistency you prefer. I had to cook mine longer because I used home canned tomatoes. Remove spice bag fill hot jars and secure lids and can in hot water bath for 10 minutes. (I didn't can mine - we ate it all in one day!

Easy Pumpkin Snack Cake

I love all things pumpkin. This cake is easy and delicious.

Thanks to Kitchen Meets Girl for this wonderful recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin

For the Frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and beat at low speed until combined and the batter is smooth.
4. Spread batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the sugar and milk and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread over cooled bars. Dust lightly with cinnamon, if desired.

60 Second Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie

This is perfect when you are craving a cookie, but don't want the temptation of an entire batch

Thank you to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

60-Second Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie

YIELD: MAKES ONE MUG COOKIE

Little update: I realized after I posted this (and tried it with this variation) that if you are making more than one at a time, try using a whole egg, whisking it, then splitting the egg mixture between the two recipes/mugs. That way you aren't wasting two egg whites. It works just fine that way - give or take, it's about a tablespoon of egg per mug.

Also, to avoid the batter being crumbly (thanks to the commenters who stumbled upon this), mix all the wet ingredients first: butter, egg yolk, sugars and salt. Then gradually add the four and stir in the chocolate chips.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon melted butter or coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chocolate chips (regular size or mini)

DIRECTIONS

1. Very lightly coat the inside of a 6- or 8-ounce mug or ramekin with a smidgeon of cooking spray, butter or coconut oil. Mix all the ingredients together in the mug (to avoid the batter being crumbly, mix the butter, egg yolk, sugars and salt first before gradually stirring in the flour and adding the chocolate chips). 
2. Microwave for one minute at 80% power (I have a 1,000 watt microwave; if your microwave has more or less watts, you may need to adjust the time a bit). The top will look light and yellow and may even seem undercooked but if you gently press the top and it lightly springs back, it's perfect (don't overcook or it will be dry and tough in spots).
3. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Best lentil soup

Thank you to My Material Life blog for posting this recipe

My Favorite Lentil Soup, from Jane Brody’s Good Food Book

• 2 T olive or vegetable oil
• 2 c chopped onions
• 3 carrots, coarsely grated
• 3/4 t marjoram, crumbled
• 3/4 t thyme leaves, crumbled
• 1 28-oz can tomatoes with their juice, coarsely chopped
• 7 c broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)*
• 1 1/2 c dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1/2 t salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 6 oz dry white wine
• 1/3 c chopped fresh parsley or 2 T dried parsley flakes
• 4 oz Cheddar, grated

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and saute the onions, carrots, marjoram, and thyme, stirring the vegetables for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, broth, and lentils.  Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer the soup for about 1 hour or until the lentils are tender.
3. Add the salt, pepper, wine, and parsley, and simmer the soup for a few minutes.  Serve with cheese sprinkled on each portion.

* Instant pot - saute in pot and then cook on manual 10 minutes.
* In place of homemade broth, you can use 3 bouillon cubes with 7 cups of water or 3 1/2 cups of canned broth and 3 1/2 cups of water.

This is quick and easy and quite good, considering it all comes from cans.

In Ghana, I modified a bit - no tomatoes with green chillies so I added some extra red pepper flakes and mexican spices to regular canned diced tomatoes

Canned chicken broth is expensive so I used "Better than Bouillon" that we brought from home - plus water.

and frozen corn was easier to find

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

• Prep
  5 m
• Cook
  15 m
• Ready In
  20 m

Recipe By:Terryn

"Delicious and EASY zesty soup recipe that uses only 6 canned ingredients! Serve over tortilla chips, and top with shredded Cheddar cheese. Throw away the cans and no one will know that it is not from scratch!"

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken

 

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained

Directions

1. Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, chunk chicken, black beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.

German Apple Puff Pancakes

Delicious recipe from Kittencal

I made these this morning and they were gooooood

SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS

                  4 
tablespoons butter, divided (one more tablespoon butter won't hurt)

                  4 
large apples, peeled and sliced

                  3⁄4
cup flour

                  3⁄4
cup milk (or use half and half cream)

                  1⁄2
teaspoon salt

                  1⁄4
teaspoon baking powder

                  1 
tablespoon sugar (optional or to taste)

                  4 
large eggs

                  1⁄3
cup sugar (can use 1/2 cup sugar)

                  1 
teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS

                  Set oven to 400 degrees F.

                  Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray (or one larger pan)

                  Place 2 Tbsp butter in each of the pans.

                  Place the pans in the oven and bake until the butter has melted; remove from oven.

                  In a bowl, beat the flour, 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, sugar (if using) salt, milk and eggs until smooth, then allow to stand for 30 minutes.

                  Arrange the apple slices into the two pans onto the melted butter.

                  Re-whisk the flour/egg mixture again then divide the batter evenly between pans, over the apple slices.

                  Mix the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the batter in each pan.

                        Bake until puffed, and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

French Onion Soup - slow cooker - easy

This is delicious!

from allrecipes

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Rated:  Submitted By: Chandrav Photo By: twilightgrove Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 4 Hours 35 Minutes Ready In: 5 Hours 5 Minutes Servings: 8

"Beefy French onion soup is made in the slow cooker, then topped with the traditional slice of toasted French bread and a savory mixture of four cheeses, then broiled until browned and bubbling. It's fun to let people assemble their own bowls, too."

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons butter 4 large yellow onions, sliced and separated into rings 1 tablespoon white sugar 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup cooking sherry (or fruit juice) 7 cups reduced-sodium beef broth 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 8 slices of French bread 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese 1/3 cup shredded Emmental cheese 1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir onions until they become translucent, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle onions with sugar; reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions are soft and browned, at least 30 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2.	Stir sherry into onion mixture and scrape bottom of pot to dissolve small bits of browned food from the pot. Transfer onions into a slow cooker and pour in beef broth. Season to taste with sea salt; stir in thyme and bay leaf. Cover cooker, set on High, and cook 4 to 6 hours. If desired, set on Low and cook 8 to 10 hours.
3.	About 10 minutes before serving, set oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet.
4.	Broil bread slices until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
5.	Combine Gruyere, Emmental, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses in a bowl, tossing lightly. Fill oven-safe soup crocks 3/4 full of onion soup and float a bread slice in each bowl. Top with about 2 tablespoons of cheese mixture per serving.
6.	Place filled bowls onto a baking sheet and broil until cheese topping is lightly browned and bubbling, about 2 minutes.