POST CATEGORY : Foodie

Valentine’s Day 101: Hot Cocoa Party

chocolate covered smores with sharis berries

Valentine’s day isn’t my thing and it never has been really. I just know that I would rather my husband buy me flowers on some random day in July than on the day when he feels obligated to do so by social pressures. It means much more and it doesn’t put pressure on him to do something like spend A LOT of $$$ on some roses that would normally be half the price. That being said, I love to do fun things like having a party with friends or do something free like going for a hike in the greenbelt.

So, for those of you like me, who prefer not to spend their Valentine’s day squished at a tiny table between two teenage couples making out because they added 10 more tables to their restaurant for the one day….here’s an idea for your party:) Two of my favorite words: hot chocolate. A hot chocolate party can be so much fun!

Hot Chocolate and Smores Hot cocoa party with smores Hot chocolate party with Shari's Berries

You can start by having different TYPES of hot chocolate. Crock Pot Hot Chocolate, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Mint Hot Chocolate, White Hot Chocolate. Once you’ve picked your types, you can start adding booze! Then add in the rest of the bar…chocolate stirring spoons, homemade marshmallows, mints, caramels, and of course a little bit of dessert! I got these chocolate covered s’mores from Shari’s Berries and OMG! First of all, they are HUGE! Second, they just taste so gooooood. I can’t even handle it! They are the perfect dessert to go with your hot cocoa:) The best part? Shari’s Berries makes them and delivers them so that you don’t have to! I may have gotten these ones courtesy of Shari’s Berries, but you can bet your *** I will be buying them again. Totally worth it:)

What are your plans for Valentine’s day?

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Easy Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

Tortilla soup is one of my absolute favorite things to get at a Mexican restaurant. I love the simplicity of it all, and it doesn’t make me feel quite as full and bloated as all of the other Mexican dishes I love so much. I have been making tortilla soup in the crock pot for years now and have JUST about perfected my version. It’s healthy and light and can easily be made paleo or whole30 for those of us that are in to that sort of thing! When I’m being a good paleo girl, I tend to make the entire soup minus the beans and corn and then add those items to Wes’ soup since he likes them. What a good wife I am:)
Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 Chicken breasts (depending on amount of servings you want)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (optional- you can also use ALL fresh tomatoes)
  • 2 fresh tomatoes- diced
  • 1 medium onion- diced
  • 2 jalapeños- diced
  • 1 green bell pepper- chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper- chopped
  • 1 can green chiles (optional- you can also use fresh green chiles)
  • 1 cup of frozen corn (optional for those that are paleo)
  • 1 can black beans (optional for those that are paleo)
  • 4 garlic gloves- chopped
  • 2.5 cups chicken broth (This is the kind I use.)
  • 1 tsp cilantro or 2 tsp fresh cilantro-chopped
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt- to taste
  • Pepper- to taste

Topping Ideas:

  • Jack cheese mix
  • Tortilla chips/strips
  • Avocado
  • Sour Cream
  • Greek Yogurt

Directions:

  1. Start your crock pot and put your chicken breasts in there.
  2. Add your diced tomatoes, and veggies (not including corn and beans) to the crock pot.
  3. Add chicken broth and all spices to the mix.
  4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  5. With 30 minutes left, add your corn and beans.
  6. Serve hot with some lime juice squeezed over top.
  7. Some really awesome topping are tortilla strips, cheddar jack cheese, avocado, sour cream, or Greek yogurt!

Easy tortilla soup

This is one of my all time favorite recipes, it’s great for warming you up in cold weather! I also like to make this in the summer as a light dinner, or for a cook out! Such a versatile soup and so delicious!

I hope you all enjoy!

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Paleo Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Bread

Paleo Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Bread

I really think fall food is the best food. The smells, the flavors…I just love recipes with apples, pumpkins, and let’s be honest, if it goes into a crock pot I am there! This time of year is such a rough time for those of us trying to eat healthy, but I found a really great paleo version of pumpkin bread and that just makes me smile! I am not going to lie to you…this pumpkin bread is still the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted, but the recipe I’m about to share is paleo, has less sugar, and still tastes spectacular! Plus, BONUS, it has chocolate in it!Gluten, dairy, and soy free pumpkin bread

Ingredients:

  • 5 eggs
  • 1/4 cup ghee
  • 1/2 cup coconut or almond flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/2 cup palm sugar
  • 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips- I use this kind, they ares non-dairy, gluten and soy free..and they’re super good!
  • 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions:

  1. Heat up your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray or line your bread pans.
  3. Melt your butter.
  4. Mix all ingredients except for the chocolate chips and coconut oil.
  5. Pour into your bread pan(s).
  6. Melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil together in the microwave or on the stove.
  7. Pour chocolate over the top of the pumpkin bread batter,
  8. Swirl the chocolate in to the pumpkin bread with a knife.
  9. Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on the size of your bread pan(s).
  10. Use a toothpick to test the bread. if you stick it all the way in and nothing comes out on the toothpick, your bread is done!

Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Bread Paleo Pumpkin BreadI love the addition of the chocolate in this one…it gives it a little extra something something:) I had a terrible sweet tooth yesterday and this hit the spot just right! Let me know if you happen to try it in the comments below!All That Glitters Blog Signature

Halloween Zombie Cupcakes

Halloween Zombie Cupcakes

Halloween is one of my absolute favorite holidays! I love the costumes and the decorations, but most of all I love the food! (Yes, there I go again about food!) I saw these gummy teeth at Target last week and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them: Zombies!! Walking Dead anyone?! :) They are super easy to make and the neighbors I gave them to just LOVED them! Let me give you some fair waning though: food coloring+any shirt you like=bad news. Don’t do it!Halloween Monster Cupcakes Bloodspatter Cupcakes Zombie Blood Cupcakes Zombie Cupcakes Bloody Halloween Cupcakes Zombie Monster CupcakesDirections:

  1. Make your Halloween funfetti cupcakes. I made mine with unsweetened applesauce instead of oil. Can’t even taste the difference!
  2. Let your cupcakes cool once they are baked.
  3. Frost with any white frosting.
  4. Mix a little bit of the frosting with some red food color. Add a little bit of water as well until you have a good “splatter” consistency!
  5. Practice splattering your red frosting. I did this in my sink to avoid a mess. (That didn’t work, lol!)
  6. You will want as little red frosting on your spoon as possible. If there is too much your blood will clump and not look real!
  7. Find a safe place (I did this outside) to splatter your cupcakes!
  8. Add gummy teeth…they also had gummy brains as well which would be fun too!
  9. Eat! Yum!

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did! Like I said earlier, don’t wear something you love…because you will get red on it! Haha! Happy Halloween week!All That Glitters Blog Signature

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Mushroom SOup

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a can of cream of mushroom soup? No? Well, first of all the list is way longer than I feel like it should be for such a simple food, but it also has so many words I can’t pronounce it would make your head explode. To be honest, without even looking at the ingredients, the fact that it stays the same shape as the can when it comes out should be some sort of hint that something is wrong. LOL!

So, in order to avoid the cream of mushroom cylinder I searched for a cream of mushroom soup recipe that I felt safe serving my family this Thanksgiving. Not only did I want one without so much crap in it, I also wanted one that went along with my semi-Paleo lifestyle. Well, I didn’t really find one, so I edited a non-paleo version that I found to make it paleo compliant! It’s grain free and dairy free and you would never know the difference!
Paleo Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 carton of baby bella mushrooms (about 12-16oz)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil or ghee
  • 1 onion, diced into small pieces
  • Garlic- I used about 6-7 cloves, but you can use more or less depending on your taste
  • Jalapeño pepper- chopped (Note: If you don’t like spicy foods, I would take the ribbing and seeds out of the jalapeño before putting it in to your mixture.)
  • 1/4 cup white wine of your choice
  • 1 cup chicken broth- you can make your own or use this kind that has less additives
  • 8-10 oz coconut milk
  • Fresh thyme
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Salt and pepper

 Directions:

  1. Add your oil or ghee to your pot and sauté your onions and mushrooms. Season these with your spices.
  2. Cook until your mushrooms are soft.
  3. Add your chopped garlic and jalapeño pepper.
  4. Cook for another minute or two and then add your white wine.
  5. Let the veggies and spices simmer in your wine, stirring intermittently, for a few minutes until it has soaked up a bit of the liquid.
  6. Add your chicken broth and coconut milk to the mix and let the entire concoction simmer again until it thickens up a bit.
  7. Once the soup is to the thickness of your liking, take away from heat.
  8. If you wish to serve your mushroom soup chunky, you can stop here. If you want true cream of mushroom to put into casseroles and use in your cooking continue on.
  9. Put the soup mixture into a blender or food processor. (This one is reasonably priced and ranks pretty high on Amazon.)
  10. Blend your soup.
  11. You can serve as a soup with sprigs of thyme like I did (It’s great with a steak!) or you can use it to cook with! We plan to use this exact recipe for our thanksgiving green bean casserole!

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

This soup is actually really good by itself as well. I LOVE mushrooms and needed a little something extra to go with out steak dinner one night so I made this. So good. Cream of Mushroom Soup Homemade is bestHomemade Mushroom soup- better than the canIf you happen to try the recipe out, you’ll have to let me know how it went! Have you ever tried to make your own base ingredients for recipes to cut out all of the additives and preservatives in your meals? Let me know what you made in the comments below!All That Glitters Blog Signature