Tomato Pumpkin Soup

Today, Wayne and I decided to stay in for Halloween. I still feel sick and I don't feel up for dressing up and going out to a bar. I had fun in college going to Halloween parties and such, but now the glamour of getting drunk and wearing a costume doesn't seem so fun. I am instead going to stay inside, wear my pajamas and watch scary movies with Wayne. I chose Sleepy Hallow (with Johnny Depp) for my movie. I forget what movie Wayne chose. But I think I'm looking forward to just relaxing and not doing anything for a night. Tonight I made a Paleo Tomato Pumpkin Soup and also leftover Sticky Chocolate Cups (seriously surprised we didn't devour them all.) 

Flash back...Awwww wasn't I adorable? Yeah, I know. My face has NOT changed at all...FYI - I'm deathly allergic to bees. Like if I get stung, my throat will close up and I'll die. I found out I was allergic when I was in preschool and my mom thought it would be hilarious to dress me up as a bumble bee for Halloween. Gotta give my mom major props though! She sewed the entire costume herself! Not pictured, my big ass stinger. Not joking, this thing was huge. I had fun annoying my older brother with it. :)

Speaking of sweet...These are effing amazing. I'm seriously addicted to these. Okay, okay not a serious addiction but for my go to Halloween candy these are it. There's only three ingredients in them and they taste like a honey peppermint york patty. Plus who doesn't love dark chocolate? 

Let's get started!

First, I heated up some coconut oil in a skillet pan. 

Then I added a chopped up medium yellow onion to the pan.

Then, I added a can of Organic Pumpkin Puree. 

I also added a can of Organic Diced tomatoes. 

It is turning into a wonderful and colorful mess.

Then I added 2 cups of Organic Chicken Stock Broth. 

Some honey...and spices

I ate a Sticky Chocolate Cup... :) Hey, it's Halloween! I am entitled to eat some semi-healthy (Okay not really) treats!

Then I let it simmer for like 20 minutes or so.

After it cooked down, I added some Organic Coconut Milk to the mix.

Ta-da! Finished Product. I topped the soup with some pumpkin seeds and then 

The Paleo Kitchen: Finding Primal Joy in Modern Cooking found here.

Juli (from Paleomg) and George made a great cookbook. Their paleo recipes look delicious and I can't wait until I try out more recipes. 

Emma

Sticky Chocolate Cups

My work is having a Halloween party tomorrow. We have a crock pot and baking challenge for the office. It is nice because you get to see what other people make. Plus the proceeds from "Rock the Crock" and "Bake-off" go to a selected charity.I decided to make Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies for the bake off.  To be honest, I'm kind of regretting signing up to bake something. I wasn't really into baking them and I don't think they turned out as well as they could have.

Wayne wasn't feeling 100% earlier this week and I've slowly am feeling run down. I haven't been able to get a lot of sleep lately and my allergies are flaring up from the weather change. Plus I had a really shitty day. While I was making the cookies, Wayne helped me make Paleo Sticky Chocolate Cups with almond butter!

Anyway, let's get started with the steps.

I got these adorable spider web cupcake liners!

First, I mixed all the ingredients together. The almond butter with maple syrup is one of my favs!

Wayne measuring it out.

Then we melted the chocolate in a dish. These are nice since they're dairy, nut and soy free chocolate chips. It would be great to use these if you know you'll be with a group of people that have allergies. 

Then we dolloped the chocolate into the lined muffin tins.

Next, we dolloped the almond butter mixture on top and then added more chocolate on top to make it look like a peanut butter cup. We then frozen them for a couple hours till hardened.

Ta-da! Finished product! OMG these were awesome! They made my day even though I felt like crap and had a shitty day. It was a plus in my book how easy-peasy they were to make too! I think next time if I have an event to bring a dessert into work, I might just do these instead. 

Paleomg's Halloween Sticky Cups Recipe here. 

Emma

Spicy Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas

Today I made Spicy Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas. I didn't really try to make this one paleo-friendly. But I figure that beans every now and then aren't going to kill me. Well...then again being around Wayne with black beans...Whoo! Might need a gas mask. One time I made a black bean burger and our stomachs were dying with gas. It was pretty bad but also really funny. :)

Ugh, I'm pretty much counting down the days until we look at apartments. I won't know what we can keep or what we need to get rid of until we see the space of the apartments to get a feel of it. I think we'll know which apartment is the right one once we walk in. Most of the places we are looking at are on the pricier end. But they have more amenities. Like a gym in the lobby, in-unit washer and dryer, dishwasher, dog-friendly and roof top communal areas. It makes sense why we are paying a little bit more because we'll have more things in the actual apartment.

Aside from having a nice gym (with a lot of good equipment like kettle-bells, boxes, medicine balls or bosu balls), I know we also want to scope out a good taco joint. Why do I want a good taco place in Seattle? If I have a crappy day at work or want to catch up with someone, I want a good joint where I can go and get a good margarita! It will also depend on what type of utilities are paid for. In Chicago it's nice we don't have to worry about water bills (at least in the city.) While I think out west, they have you pay water, electricity, trash removal and heat. But we'll see.
Anyways, let's get started!

 First, I chopped up two onions and sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil over a big saucepan. 

Wayne helped me by chopping up the jalapeno. We then tossed that in the onion mixture.

I then chopped up four garlic cloves and tossed them in. 

Then I added the spices to the mixture. 

Next, I added a can of pumpkin puree and increased the heat until the sauce mixture was boiling.

A big goop mess.

Then I got the Organic Mexican Cheese out and Trader Joe's Chia seed tortillas. 

I rinsed only two cans of black beans even though the recipe called for three cans.

Next we began making our enchiladas! I put 1 cup of the pumpkin mix in the bottom of my casserole pan. Then added 1/4 cup of the pumpkin mixture on the tortilla, added 2/4 cup of black beans and then a bunch of cheese on top. Wayne makes a good hand model...lols!

Then I squished them together tightly and dolloped more pumpkin sauce on top.

I baked the dish for 30 minutes. It was a bubbly yummy mess. The enchiladas kind of fell apart when trying to put them on a plate. But they smelled really good!

Next, I added some Greek Yogurt on top of the enchiladas. In the recipe it called for sour cream, but I wanted to go for a more healthier route. 

Then I chopped up an avocado to also put on top. 

Ta-da! Finished product with a Strawberry, Cranberry Banana smoothie. I was kind of bummed though. It wasn't that spicy. I think next time I should add the Serrano pepper or double the jalapenos to the recipe. That way it'll give it more of a kick. The nice thing about this was the enchilada's weren't that pumpkin-y. The pumpkin just added the texture and slight flavor to the enchilada. However, I think the avocado and Greek yogurt added more dimension to the dish. The tartness of the yogurt brought the whole dish together. While the avocado added a touch of creaminess to it. In short, not bad! 

Spicy Pumpkin-Black Bean Enchiladas Recipe here. 

Another good one from Foodess!

Emma

Figgy Pudding Butter Cookies

I was still at my parent's place when I made these Figgy Pudding Butter Cookies with a Brandy Glaze. I never used dried figs before. I have eaten them like bacon wrapped figs or a mango fig salsa. But I've never used them in any dishes. I was excited to see how it would go. I started making these on Sunday night then finished them up on Monday.

Let's get started!

Beautiful Figs!

First, I sifted together the flour,  salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl. My hand started to feel sore after sifting... I think I need to start working out my forearms more...

The nutmeg and cinnamon smelled amazing. 

Sifted product!

Next, I diced up the dried figs into small chunks. (Smaller than the size pictured) You want to use Turkish or Calimyrna Figs.  Did  you know? Figs were one of the first plants cultivated by humans.  I think I might try using fresh figs for another meal....So, I sliced up about 10 figs into chunks. In the recipe it calls for whole milk but I used almond milk instead. It was the only type available at my parent's place.

Then I let the figs simmer in the milk on low heat and stirred them occasionally. After 15 minutes or so, I took it off the heat and strained out the milk and put the fig pieces into a bowl. 

I mixed the softened butter and confectioners sugar together. Then I added one egg and mixed it in. Once the egg was in the batter, I added the flour mixture until it was all incorporated. Then I refrigerated the batter overnight. You can put it in the fridge for 2 hours if you have the time. I didn't was getting sleepy since it was like 8pm on Sunday night. 

I took out the dough on Monday and began to make the Brandy Glaze for the cookies. I mixed 1/2 cup of butter, 1 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons of Brandy and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Then cooked it on medium/low heat until it became like a glaze. 

I then rolled out the dough into circles (or in my case, pumpkins.) Then baked them for 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. They look like messed up pumpkins because all I could find was a pumpkin cookie cutter. 

Ta-da! Finished product. They don't look too pretty. They were a bit heavy for a cookie. I could see where it would be a nice holiday cookie with egg nog or actually more Brandy. But I really liked them! It was something new and different. 

Figgy Pudding Butter Cookie Recipe here.

Another awesome recipe from Food52. Food52 is one of my favorite websites to find new creations.

Emma 

Apple Caramel Cookies

Today I decided to make some Apple Caramel Cookies by Foodess.

I made some apple crisp last night and was totally bummed! The recipe was from How to Cook Like a Top Chef from Bravo and the topping totally sucked. I think more flour was needed and the oats needed to be baked longer...I don't know where it got messed up but either way I was very disappointed with the results. Wayne still ate it though. lols.

So, anyways, it's a brand new day and I'm going to make cookies instead!

 
 Ta-da! Finished cookies! They taste like Fall. Apples, sweetness and caramel. Yum!

Let's get started!

First, I preheated the oven and lined baking sheets with parchment paper. I'm really not digging my gas stove. I know gas heat is easier to control than electric ovens and professional chef's prefer them. But I don't like how hot the oven gets when you're baking and how messy the stove top can get.  

I forgot to melt the butter first, so I guided the butter out of my mixing bowl and put it in the microwave for a while. Then I mixed the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together.

Next,I added the flour, baking soda and salt.

I chopped up the apples.

Then I cut the soft caramel chews into thirds. Make sure you have a sharp knife or even sharp scissors may work. This took a while! After those were done, I mixed them into the batter.

Then I dolloped them onto the baking sheets. Next time, I would instead just mix in the apple chunks first. Dollop. Then add the caramels in the cookies. That way the caramel won't run off and spread on the cookie sheet! Anyways, I baked them for 8 minutes, moving the pan after every 4 minutes. I let them cool for a bit, and then enjoyed! They're very yummy! :) Wayne couldn't get enough of them!

Apple Caramel Cookies found here

Emma