Mexican Chicky-Rice Soup
I don’t know about your part of the country–but where I live this has been the coolest, rainiest and generally delightful spring/early summer we’ve ever had. That being said, on one of our rainier days my sister & I were craving some warm soup. She checked her pantry and came up with this salsa-tasting soup in about 3 minutes flat, this is her recipe. The fresh lemon juice and cilantro give this salsa-soup a very light, bright, fresh flavor–perfect for summer. Also, the lemon cuts the sodium overtones from the chicken soup base, so don’t leave it out! Read more…
Baking Powder Biscuits
Growing up we had biscuits for breakfast all the time. It wasn’t until I lived in my second or third apartment that I realized you can buy biscuits from the store–you know those pop-tube ones with obscene amounts of oil and fat? My roommates kept making fun of me for my having a box of baking powder. “Who uses baking powder?” they’d ask. Well, if you’re making *real* biscuits, everyone uses baking powder. To this day the pop-tube variety frighten me, I can’t help but get scared every time I open them.
These biscuits are one of my all-time favorite foods, and you can mix them up in less time than it takes for the oven to pre-heat, so don’t tell me “they’re just so much harder!” Add this recipe to your cooking repertoire immediately, if not sooner.
Almond-Coconut “Aloha” Cookies
It’s official. I have found the best cookie in the world–coincidentally, it is a recipe I formulated and tested myself. Now, before you get all skeptical, keep in mind this isn’t like saying my 6th grade science project is in the running for a Nobel Prize. This is like saying that Almond-Coconut “Aloha” cookies (trademark pending) is one, big batch of Awesome-Sauce. A few weeks ago I was reading on my friend Lauren’s blog and she mentioned bits of what became a beautiful idea. She said her boyfriend added handfuls of coconut and almonds ground in the food processor to regular chocolate chip cookies and they were delicious. Hello, idea. Almond flour, a bit of almond flavoring, coconut, white chocolate chips–it’s like a tropical sunrise in your mouth! Sold and sold. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for a week or so and I’ve finally got the measurements just right for deliciously addicting cookies.
heidikins’ Banana Bread
I have tried several different banana bread recipes, some are lovely, most are middle-of-the-road, and one was entirely too oily for my taste. I finally decided to combine the bits and pieces I liked from each of these recipes and come up with my own, blue-ribbon winning Banana Bread. I have made 3 batches of this in less than a week and have decided this is definitely a keeper!
Mushroom-Tomato Bisque
Everyone has comfort food; pasta, meat & potatoes, casseroles. That’s all fine and good as far as comfort food goes, but my ultimate choice for bad days and hard times is tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. As a kid I remember having a picnic underneath our kitchen table–checked table-cloth and everything—with grilled tuna & cheese sandwiches and bowls of Campbell’s tomato soup. I wanted a “grown up” version of this meal, and I think I might have found it.
I had to do a LOT of tweaking to a basic tomato soup recipe to find something that I liked, but I think I’ve finally got it.
heidikins cooks 