Egg Roll Soup GF/DF

This post is super exciting for me because it's a first. Guest post!! This comes from my good friend who is also an amazing cook. So, without further ado, here's Vanessa:

I am so excited to do a post for Let Go Hobby! Having Jess as my neighbor is like winning the house lottery. She got me into sewing, inspires me to be a better gardener, and both of us live outside all summer with our kids. When we're not working shovels, chasing our high energy kids together, practicing yoga after the kids are in bed, or talking non-stop about fabric and patterns, we talk food. If I remember correctly, our love of cooking brought us together.

I was asked to share my egg roll soup recipe. I love soup, nothing comes closer to a hug in food than soup. Having celiac disease, gluten free Chinese food is only found at home. Restaurant egg rolls and egg drop soup are definitely the foods I miss the most. So this recipe is a combination of the two. Though it started as a gluten free option, it’s enjoyable for everyone. It’s made with: lean ground turkey, beef gelatin (found on Amazon for $10) and chicken base which gives the soup a smooth texture that tastes like it took hours to make plus it’s loaded with veggies. I also will give a list of add-ins for endless variety and to accommodate everyone’s taste.

This soup comes in at: 208 calories, 17.2g of carbs, 6.8g of fat, and a whopping 23.6g of protein. I make this soup whenever I need a lunch reset. It’s great for dinners, but having a warm healthy meal waiting for me on a cold day is great. This recipe is made opposite of how soups are traditionally made. I like to sauté each ingredient before building the broth; that way every vegetable shines, and the broth has a smooth taste. I also tried to keep the ingredient list short and the items easy to find. This one pot meal might become your favorite faux take-out healthy cheat!

Egg Roll Soup (GF/DF)

Ingredients

1 LB Lean Ground Turkey 

¼ tsp Ground Ginger Powder

¼ tsp Granulated Garlic Powder

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp oil (I use avocado, but any light flavor oil will do)

 1 10 oz bag of shredded carrots (or 3 large carrots shredded)

3 stocks of celery, diced

1 large head of cabbage, finely shredded

½ cup gelatin (you can omit this ingredient, I love adding collagen or gelatin for extra protein)   

3 Tbsp chicken base (you can use chicken broth instead of water and base. I like the flavor of chicken base   more)

2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Add turkey, ginger, garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp ground pepper in large soup pot on medium high heat. Brown turkey until cooked through.  Remove the cooked turkey and set aside. 
Add oil and onion and sauté onion until clear. Then add carrots, celery, and ¼ tsp of both salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until brown. Remove veggies from pot and set aside. 
Add cabbage and an additional ¼ tsp of both salt and pepper to pot. Sauté until brown pieces appear. 
Add turkey and vegetables back to the pot with the cooked cabbage. Add water until everything is covered by two inches. 
Add gelatin and stir until combined.
Add chicken base and soy sauce (or coconut aminos). Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
Taste and add more salt, pepper, soy sauce, and ginger to taste.

Click HERE to print.

Great add-ins are:

A few drops of Sesame seed oil
Cilantro
Chili garlic paste
Frozen peas
Soft boiled egg
Sriracha
Red pepper flakes

Use your imagination for tons of yummy taste combinations.

Thanks for your time!

Vanessa

Watermelon Juice

Have you ever had half a watermelon or more go bad in the fridge? Or maybe you grew watermelons and they were all ready to pick at the same time. What to do with that extra watermelon? Watermelon Juice!

This one is so simple, you don't even need to print a recipe.

Step 1. Chop the watermelon into large chunks and put it in a blender seeds and all.

Step 2. Add lemon or lime juice. You can use fresh or concentrate, whatever you have on hand.

Step 3. Blend!

Want to make it extra special for a party? Add a bit of sparkling water and you could even pop a lime or lemon slice on top of each cup.

Still too much watermelon leftover? After blending, freeze it and enjoy watermelon sorbet tomorrow!

Watermelon has lots of great benefits. According to WebMD, watermelon has more lycopene than tomatoes and  "Studies show it [lycopene] may help curb your risk of cancer and diabetes (source)." Other benefits of watermelon include slight protection from sun burns, heart health, vitamin A for your eyes, and it can even help with reduce joint inflammation. So drink up!

Enjoy!

Homemade Hummus

I made this hummus after going to visit family.  My Aunt and I had a cooking night and made some Lebanese family recipes (Grape leaves, Hushwey, and Halise). We picked up some hummus, baba ganoush, pita bread, and falafel from a local Middle Eastern restaurant for our appetizer. The hummus was sooo good, that I just had to try it again at home.

In the past I've had a problem with the garlic being too powerful and chunky and the consistency of the hummus giving one dry mouth. I read up on some recipes, tips, and techniques and here's what I came up with. By adding the garlic and a few other ingredients in and blending them well before the chickpeas are added, you ensure that each bite tastes the same and you don't get any "whoa garlic" bites. If you don't like a really strong garlic flavor, just do one clove this recipe. Extra lemon juice adds that "zing" on the tongue and paprika leaves that slightly warming sensation in the mouth. The soy sauce add that extra little "wow that's really good" bit.

Best hummus I've ever had in my life, no joke, seriously yummy and slightly addicting. Try it!

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Hummus

Ingredients

1-2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp, plus 1 tsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp paprika
pinch of ground pepper
juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 15 oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 warm water
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Instructions

1. Add garlic clove(s) to a food processor along with most of the lemon juice, salt, paprika, pepper, tahini, and parsley. Run food processor. Slowly add the 2 tsp of olive while machine is running. Scrape down the sides, as needed, until ingredients form a minced paste.

2. Add chickpeas to processor then slowly add the last tsp of olive oil, last of the lemon juice, water, and soy sauce while machine is running.

3. After processing for at least 2 minutes, check consistency of hummus and process longer and/or add more water if too thick or dry. Salt to taste.

4. Serve with minced parsley, sprinkled paprika, and a drizzle of olive oil over top.

Click HERE to print.

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You can dip vegetables, pita bread, or crackers. It's also very good on a veggie sandwich with cucumbers, sprouts, lettuce, roasted red peppers, cheese... topped off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

If you have any comments or questions, let me know below.

Happy Cooking!

    

Need a sweet, but healthy side? Something simple and easy? This one is perfect. It is sweet, but not too sweet with a slight hint of savory. You could replace the brown sugar with another sweetener if you choose.

A recipe great for barbecues and thanksgiving dinner alike.

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Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled if desired and chopped into 1" cubes 3 Tbsp coconut oil 2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon
salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Whisk together coconut oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Add cubed sweet potatoes and mix to coat potatoes entirely.
4. Spread potatoes out onto a sheet pan (cookie sheet)
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and slightly crisp on the outsides.
6. Sprinkle lightly with salt to bring out the flavor. Serve.



To print recipe, click HERE.

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We had ours with burnt ends (brisket) and green beans for dinner last night.

Enjoy! 

Let me know if you have any questions or comments below.

Happy Cooking!

Fancy Frozen Peas

If you've been following my blog, you might have noticed all my recipes so far have been simple and veggie based. Great tasting fruit and vegetable sides encourage healthy eating whether you're an adult or a child. And who couldn't use more fruits and vegetables in their diet? So here's another recipe you can whip up fast. It's cheap, simple, and delicious. Plus it looks and tastes way fancier than plain old frozen peas.

Fancy Frozen Peas

Ingredients

1.5 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 Cups frozen peas
1/2 Tbsp white italian condiment(a mixture of basalmic and white wine vinegar), balsamic vinegar, or a wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions


1. Add oil to pan on medium high.
2. Once oil is hot, add minced garlic, tarragon, and basil. Saute until fragrant.
3. Add peas to pan .
4. Stir to coat peas in spices. Warm peas until warmed through, stirring occasionally.
5. Add vinegar and stir to coat peas, cook 1 additional minute.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Click HERE to print recipe.

My kids usually fight eating their peas, but they ate these. Especially my youngest, he had 3 servings. If you like your peas more sweet, you can add extra vinegar (one Tbsp instead of a half).

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Check out the Food label for more great recipes!

Leave your comments and questions below.

Happy Cooking!

Out of all the vegetables I offer my kids, broccoli is the most accepted. And growing up, broccoli was my favorite vegetable, still is. There's a good reason for that. The way my mom cooked broccoli growing up is the same way I cook it for my family. Today, I'll share the secret to the best tasting simple broccoli.

The recipe itself is quite simple, but there are a few pointers here that will make or break the taste, so read carefully.

Mom's Garlic Steamed Broccoli 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp of oil (canola, olive, etc.)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 broccoli crowns, chopped so that floret is bite sized (stems can be long)
1/2 C water, plus
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Add oil to pan on medium high.
2. Once oil is hot, add minced garlic and saute until fragrant.
3. Add broccoli to pan . Stir to coat broccoli in garlic oil.
4. Add water to pan, then cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Steam until broccoli is fork tender.
5. Remove lid from pan and allow broccoli edges to darken and caramelize by not stirring often. Watch it closely! You don't want the broccoli to burn. Once you see brown from the caramelizing on the bottom of the pan, add a bit of water and scrape the pan clean. Allow the water to cook off, then remove pan from heat.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Click HERE to print recipe.

Best Quick Blender Tomato Soup

This recipe came about one day when my son asked for tomato soup and we didn't have any canned varieties on hand. Plus, my amazing husband bought me a Vitamix blender for Christmas (gotta love Black Friday deals!). Now, you don't need a heavy duty blender to make this soup, since tomatoes are easy to blend even in the cheapest blender on the market. The only difference will be that you will need to warm the soup after blending it (the more robust blenders actually heat the soup when left on high speed for a few minutes). Not really a big deal! The end result is still super yummy tomato soup, better than Campbell's, in just minutes.

This recipe uses canned soup, but I fully intend on using garden fresh tomatoes this summer. If you use fresh tomatoes, let me know how it turns out in the comments! You would use just under 2 cups of fresh tomatoes. I used regular old cows milk for the soup, but I believe any unflavored, unsweetened plant based milk would also work.

You'll notice in the pictures, there are air bubbles in the soup because it's essentially whipped, this makes the soup taste even better. Trust me. Try it.

                                                                                                                                                                 

Best Quick Blender Tomato Soup 

Ingredients

• 1 14.5 oz can tomatoes (diced, whole, crushed, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/8 tsp garlic salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp cane sugar
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to the blender

2. Blend until creamy smooth 

3. If using a high power blender (vitamix, blendtec, etc.), continue to blend on high power until steaming. If using a basic blender, pour blended soup into a pot and heat on medium until warmed through. 

4. Salt to taste

Click HERE to print.

                                                                                                                                                                 

I don't bother buying cans of tomato soup anymore, this is super quick and tastes a lot better. Kid approved too.

Don't forget to dip your grilled cheese in it!

Questions or comments? Let me know below.

Happy Cooking!