CTR Soup

Clean The Refrigerator Soup

1 Tbsp coconut oil or butter

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 1/2 - 3 cups milk (I used rice milk)

1 Tbsp chicken base or bouillon 

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (don't need to use if you used REAL milk)

2-3 large leftover baked potatoes, diced

1 cup leftover cooked broccoli, chopped

2 cups corn

Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic until soft. Add the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir for 1 minute. Add milk, bouillon, and white beans (if used). Bring to boiling. Blend with a stick blender until creamy. Add the potatoes, broccoli, and corn. Heat through. Top with bacon. 

This soup turned out better than I hoped, so I needed to get the recipe down before I forgot it!  I had way too many bits and bobs in the fridge that were on the brink of being tossed. What better way to use them up than throw them in a pot!

The Best Butt Cream

I wish I could put before and after pictures because, wow!  My daughters butt went from raw and purple to splotchy-pink in a day. This is a recipe from a doc in Arizona that my sister used to go to. My sister swears by this recipe and now so do I. 

Butt Cream

Small tube of zinc oxide (1 oz)

2 Tbsp bacitracin (1 oz tube)

2 Tbsp Maalox or Mylanta (I could only find a generic brand version at Walgreens)

Small tube A&D ointment (I used an almost-full 1.5 oz tube)

Mix together. Put on diaper rash after every diaper change or as needed. 

We also blow dry our babies' butts on warm/low before putting this cream on to get it really dry. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies (high altitude)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup natural peanut butter OR natural applesauce

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Beat above ingredients until smooth and well combined, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

2 1/3 cups (347 grams) gluten-free flour mix

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl and add to butter mixture.  Mix well to combine, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Stir goodies in to cookie dough

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-16 minutes or until edges are golden.  Cool on wire rack and freeze any leftovers.

(Recipe created at 4,000 feet)

My Pesto is the Best-o

Lots of basil from my herb garden.

Almost 2 quarts of organic pesto...so good!

Pesto
Fannie Farmer pg 329 - revised

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine-nuts, toasted
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt

Put basil, garlic, and nuts in a food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add the oil and process until smooth.  Salt to taste. 

**I froze this in quart jars with a film of olive oil over the top so it doesn't turn black.  Next time I will freeze it in a muffin tin (sprayed with Pam, maybe???) so it will be in dinner sized pieces.

Summer Pasta Salad

Summer Pasta Salad 

24 oz pasta, cooked (we use this or this)
4 cups (more or less) summer squash, diced and sauteed in coconut oil with salt and pepper
6 cups (more or less) tomatoes, diced
2-4 cups chicken, cooked and diced

For the sauce whisk together:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup pesto
1 cup milk (we use raw milk)
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
2 Tbsp lime juice

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.

GF/DF...It's What's for Dinner

Thai Peanut

from: Better Homes & Gardens

12 ounces dried fettuccine or linguine

3 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 cups cooked chicken, thawed

2 cups diced pineapple (big can)

½ cup water

½ tsp chicken bouillon (We use Better Than Bouillon)

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp soy sauce (We use La Choy)

2 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Cook pasta according to package directions. Put peas, chicken, and pineapple in colander and pour hot cooking liquid from pasta over. Drain well and return to pan.

For sauce, in a small saucepan stir water, bouillon and peanut butter. Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts. Stir in soy sauce, lime juice, red pepper, and garlic; heat through.

Add sauce to pasta mixture. Gently stir to coat pasta with sauce.

GF/DF...It's What's for Dinner

This recipe has been lost for about 4 years. I found it about 7 years ago on a coupon forum that I belonged to and we absolutely loved the light, simple flavors of this recipe. Then one day it was gone. I'm sure I cleaned up the kitchen and put it somewhere "safe." Anyway I was beside myself and tried a few different recipes before I finally gave up and decided that it was useless.

Then, the day before my daughter was born I went through a freakish cleaning streak and started unpacking boxes from our move and getting rid of a lot of old gluten-y recipes from my stash. I was about to just dump my whole recipe box in the trash when a little voice in my head said: "Go through your recipes." All but this one and another recipe went in the trash. I was so over the moon about finding it, that later that night (or early the next morning??) when I was in transition and feeling quite uncomfortable I had to show my mom that I found the recipe I had been searching for for YEARS! Now it's digitized so it can never be lost again (hopefully).

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Lime

(Coupon Sense forums)

4 cups water

3 tsp chicken bouillon (we use Better Than Bouillon)

1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with juices (we just used regular diced tomatoes)

1 can corn, drained (or 2 cups frozen corn)

1 bay leaf

2-3 garlic cloves, pressed

½ tsp cumin

½ cup raw rice, prepared (or 1 ½ cups cooked rice)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

12 oz chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked in oil

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime

In enameled Dutch oven or soup pot combine water, bouillon, tomatoes, corn, bay leaf, garlic, cumin, prepared rice, and black beans. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice just before serving.