Creamy Pumpkin Tomato Soup

A yummy soup to bring in the fall season.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 an onion, finely diced
Salt & pepper
4 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups finely diced tomatoes
2 cups veggie broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter

Heat the coconut oil in a soup pan and saute the onions with a little salt and pepper for about five minutes. Add the pumpkin, tomatoes, broth, thyme, cinnamon and honey. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.

Add coconut milk, whipping cream, and butter. Stir to mix. Add more salt, pepper, and/or cinnamon to taste. If you want your soup super-smooth, you can blend or puree it before serving. Garnish as desired.

Chocolate Pistachio Ice Cream Pie

Super easy to make, this is a great pie for the busy host!

 

Ingredients
 
Graham cracker pie crust
Chocolate or Rocky Road ice cream
Pistachio ice cream
2 graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
About 40 whole pistachios
Chocolate syrup

Let the ice cream sit out for a few minutes until soft and somewhat melted. Fill the bottom half of the pie crust with chocolate ice cream, using a butter knife to spread it flat.  Cover with a pot lid and put it in the freezer for a few minutes while you're preparing the pistachios.

Sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top of the chocolate ice cream.  Then fill the rest of the pie crust with pistachio ice cream, again smoothing it flat.  If you don't want the toppings mixing in with the melted ice cream, put the covered pie back in the freezer for a few minutes.

Spread the chopped pistachios over the top of the pie and line the edges with whole pistachios.  Drizzle a little chocolate syrup over the top and freeze until ready to serve.

Sloppy Joe with Avocado

 

Ingredients

(for two Sloppy Joes)

1/2 a small onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb. ground beef*
1/8 cup barbeque sauce*
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/8 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 an avocado
bread of your choice (toasted if you like)

*Being vegetarian, I use Fresh 'N Easy's faux barbeque riblets, chopped up. The Sloppy Joes come out great and my cousin was unable to tell it was faux.

Fry the onion in oil until softened. Add the meat and all the other ingredients except avocado. Stir and simmer for a few minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Scoop the slop onto your bread and add avocado slices. Voila!

Green Apple Crisp

An easy and yummy apple crisp for breakfast or dessert.

Ingredients

4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional: vanilla ice cream

Coat a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Slice up apples and put them in the bottom of a the pan.

Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Top the apples with the mixture and bake for 30 minutes at 375°F (190°C). If desired, serve with ice cream.

Lentils with Feta

This is an easy and yummy lentil recipe--and it also helps avoid burnt lentils, which is my tendency when I try to cook them on the stove.

Indgredients
(for two servings)

3/4 cup lentils
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons feta cheese
Optional: 1/2 cup finely shredded spinach or rainbow chard

Combine the lentils, broth, water, and garlic a rice cooker and turn it on to cook. Check on it every so often to see if the water is absorbed and stir if necessary. I like to turn my rice cooker off before it does so automatically to make sure it doesn't overcook the lentils. Taste for texture; if lentils aren't soft enough, add more water. Once the water is absorbed and the lentils are the texture you want, put the rice cooker on the 'keep warm' setting or turn it off.

For extra veggies, toss in finely sliced spinach or rainbow chard, then cover and leave the rice cooker on 'keep warm' for a few minutes.

Serve in dishes and sprinkle feta cheese on top.