Pepperoni Pizza Soup

I made Oh Bite It's "Grilled Cheese Pull Apart Rolls" tonight for dinner and wanted a soup to go with it, since it is rainy and cold out. This was the perfect match for it.

One of the things I find I miss most is pizza, and I don't always want to go all out and make a fancy pizza on a puff pastry crust, so I created pizza soup to mimic the flavor of pizza without the crust. I use shortcuts, like canned tomato soup, so that I can whip up a pot of soup in no time at all.

This particular recipe is for a Pepperoni Pizza Soup, but you are welcome to omit that and make it a vegetarian soup, adding mushrooms and roasted red peppers, or onions, or whatever topping you like. Be creative!

Ingredients:
2 11 oz. cans of condensed tomato soup + 3 cans of water
2 tablespoons of butter
2 green onions, sliced
About 2 oz of pepperoni, sliced
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano and thyme)
1 cup or more of Italian blend cheese
½ cup shredded parmesan blend
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional - ½ can of heavy cream

In a soup pot, melt butter over medium heat.
Sweat the onions in the melted butter and add sliced pepperoni.
Allow the pepperoni to crisp up, which will allow the fats to render.
Add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir until fragrant, a few moments, then add the condensed soup.
Stir well, add water and stir.
Allow to come to a boil, stirring periodically.
Once hot, add cheeses, allowing them to melt.
Add salt and pepper to taste, adjust seasoning as needed.
Finish with heavy cream, if desired, and serve hot with a little extra cheese on top.

Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

So, for the past year about, I have been taking Amitriptyline for my fibromyalgia (yay, comorbidities!) which doesn't do much for the fibro, but does work as an antihistamine, so I am no longer reactive to baking soda or baking powder (amongst other things, like corn), which means, OMG CUPCAKES!

I missed cupcakes so much. I mean, sponge cakes are fine and dandy, and pound cake is all right, but it isn't a soft delicious cupcake.

So I made some cupcakes today. It took me four days to build up the motivation to do it, but they are way delicious, and beautiful!

I used a regular boxed cake, but if you know that baking powder doesn't work for you, there are plenty of cake recipes out there (and in this blog), to choose from.

And I also totally didn't use measuring cups when I made this, so my measurements are approximate. You can do that with frosting. Not so much with cake recipes.

Ingredients:

-Cake-

Boxed chocolate cake mix (I used german chocolate) + the stuff it says you need to make it (likely oil, water, eggs)

1 cup chocolate toffee chips (you can find it on the baking aisle near the chocolate chips, or just break up toffee bars)

-Frosting-

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 12 oz. jar of caramel (I used Smucker's Hot Caramel sauce at room temperature- you can make your own but I have no energy to do that)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 cups or more of organic corn-free powdered sugar (to taste... I really didn't measure, so just keep tasting it and add slowly to get sweet but not too sweet) 

Directions:

Make the cake according to its instructions, mix in toffee chips at the very end and portion into lined cupcake tins (makes 24), about 3/4 full. Bake according to package instructions. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Whip in the caramel and salt. Add the powdered sugar to the frosting at low speed, taste and add more as needed. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and continue to whip until it is all incorporated and a pleasing consistency (you know, like frosting and neither like soup, nor like a lumpy mess of sadness). Place in a piping bag, or a ziplock if you are super fancy like me, and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Garnish with extra toffee chips, or perhaps some fancy salt.  

Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

I created this recipe to use up leftover grilled burgers my husband had made.  The smoked paprika gives it a great barbecue flavor. I can’t wait to make it again!

Turkey Club Meatloaf

Served with a simple salad of lettuce and tomato, this makes a warm and filling recreation of the classic club sandwich.

Zucchini Latkes

After a friend of mine online posted pictures of her zucchini pasta, I had a craving for fried zucchini.  Instead of starting up my deep fryer, I opted to adapt my latke recipe to make these delicious zucchini pancakes.  The result is a crispy creamy pancake that will have people requesting this recipe often.

Remember to peel the zucchini to get rid of the yeast!

Quick Sausage Ragu

This is not a true Italian ragu, but a quick version with a cream base.  This can be cooked up in about 20 minutes total and makes a hearty meal in a flash. Here it is served over paperadelli pasta.  Notice that the recipe calls for pasta water.  After your pasta has cooked for a while, ladle out about a half a cup to reserve.
This allows you to control the consistency, for those who prefer a thinner sauce on their pasta.

Crawfish Bisque

The cream in this soup really mutes the salt and it takes quite a bit to season it properly, as it should be slightly salty in flavor.  Tasting as you go is really important to get it right. The crawfish can be replaced with crab or lobster if you prefer.

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

I created this for the challenge at Double Take. The ingredients for this time were Spinach and Cheese.  I just happened to have some fancy pizza dough in my house I have been meaning to use that is yeast free ( I used a Great Value brand, but it also comes in that Pillsbury brand I have mentioned before that is leavened with Glucono Delta Lactone and Baking Soda), so a delicious white pizza sounded great.  If the fancy strikes you, you can butter the crust when it comes out of the oven and sprinkle it with parmesan.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Since I no longer eat hamburgers on rolls, I make a big deal about dressing them up. During the summer, my husband loves to grill and loves to grow a garden full of herbs and veggies.  That gives me a great opportunity to make a southern favorite, Fried Green Tomatoes.  While I pretty much abhor fully ripened tomatoes, unless they are finely pureed in a sauce, green tomatoes have a wonderful tangy taste and a firm texture that I really enjoy.
Here, the fried green tomatoes are paired with thick cut bacon, a cheddar cheese sauce, and homemade ranch dressing, which suits them best!

S.O.S.

S.O.S is not the prettiest dish (which is how it got its name) but it  can be made fast, is fairly easy, and quite delicious. Usually you can use a can of cream of mushroom soup, which really cuts down the prep time, but in case you cannot find any, the recipe below is easy enough.

This can also be made with ground turkey or chicken.

Always great served on a baked potato or egg noodles!

Pepperoni Bread

Pillsbury makes a pizza dough that is leavened with baking soda and Glucono delta-lactone that I have found to be tolerable and quite useful.  Tonight, I made pepperoni bread out of it, that I served with a side of tomato sauce for dipping.  It's easy and delicious.

Salted Hot Chocolate for One

If you wanted to make it for more than one,just multiply the recipe as needed.

You'll need:
Milk (and cream if you wish)
Chocolate Chips
Kosher or Sea Salt
Vanilla (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
A whisk

Fill the mug you plan on using up, most of the way, with milk (or a mixture of 75% milk and 25% cream if you want it really rich).
Pour measured milk into a small sauce pan, over medium heat.
Measure out a handful of chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup).
Place chocolate chips into heating milk.
Add a large pinch of kosher salt and whisk.
If you have vanilla powder handy, add a pinch and continue to whisk until the milk just begins to boil, turn off the heat.
Pour into cup, garnish with whipped cream, and an additional sprinkle of salt.
Enjoy, but don't burn your mouth (Sorry, I always need this advice because I always do!).

Chocolate Covered Salted Toffee Almond Matzo

I was looking for matzo cookie recipes and came across this recipe from about.com and adapted it to create a super delicious treat.  I'm even posting it early to give you a chance to make it before Passover is over, because it is really amazing.  It tastes very much like a Skor bar, which is one of my favorite candies ever. It is relatively easy to make and I hope you will!

Matzo Brie

It's Passover and that means there is a bounty of yeast-free products to be bought.  Passover lasts for a week, so after it is over, you can buy discounted Matzo (a big cracker made of just flour and water) and use it throughout the rest of the year (as long as it lasts) to make all sorts of safe goodies including thin-crust pizzas, stuffing, and Matzo brie, which is the Passover equivalence of French toast, only it can be made sweet or savory, and it is one of my favorite applications for Matzo. 

Although the pancake shape of this is easier, as pictured, it can also be agitated like scrambled eggs for a loose brie (pronounced so it rhymes with try).

Kinda Mom's Thai Noodles

This is my version of my mom’s Thai Noodles.  They are a favorite of mine.  I always make more than I need because the leftovers make a great lunch.  Wonderful with grilled shrimp or chicken satay.

Product Recommendation- CJ's Mini Wontons

They had a sample of these delicious Chicken and Cilantro Mini Wantons at my local Costco and I was ecstatic to find that they were a safe food.  It comes in a large bag that has about 120 one inch potstickers for about $13 bucks. They are cute, and ity bity, and delicious as can be.  Somewhat reminiscent of a Vietnamese spring roll.
Looking at their website, I hope to taste other flavors in the future! http://www.cjomni.com/

Product Recommendation- Handi-Snacks

Yay! Another pretzel product!

I love pretzels, I love cheese, I love dipping things- this is a perfect snack for me.  They are great to shove into your purse, or bag, or stash in your drawer at work, if you have a job, of course.  I got the Oreo and pretzel kinds, but I do believe the cracker version is safe too.  These make me really happy!

Kraft Handi-Snacks Pretzels 'n Cheese Dip, Mister Salty,5.25oz, (pack of 2)

Basic Yeast- Free Pizza

The recipe below is the general methodology for plain yeast-free pizza, it is meant to be a base for customization.  This is in NO way low-calorie, but it is great when the craving for pizza overtakes you and you can't take one more pizza delivery commercial without losing your mind. The pizza pictured above was a sausage and bacon with provolone, mozzarella, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The toppings are only limited  by your imagination, and your food intolerances.

Since pizzas are such a fun and personal thing, all toppings are estimated for this recipe instead of using specific measurements. Cater it to your tastes.  Just remember, a well covered pizza is good, but adding too many topping can interfere with baking all the way through.  

Product Recommendation- Mini Croccantini

Made by La Panzanella (http://www.lapanzanella.com/), I first found these delicious gourmet unleavened crackers while visiting in Spokane, WA.  I bought the large size croccantini and carefully portioned them to make them last until my next visit, though they didn't quite make it.

I was thrilled to find them in the deli area of our Super Walmart in their mini version. They cost $3.98, which is slightly expensive for crackers, but they really are convenient and delicious.  I use them for all sorts of mini open face sandwiches, from smoked turkey, bacon, and cheddar, to brie and fruit.

I've also found their large rosemary croccantini at Costco for about 8 dollars for 3 packages.  All the varieties I have tried are wonderful, and as an added bonus, they can be ground to use as breadcrumbs for meatballs and meatloafs, as well as for coating chicken or pork for pan frying or baking.

Product Recommendation- Pretzel Crisps

One of my favorite snacks before discovering my yeast intolerance was pretzels.  I knew there were flat pretzels on the market (remember Mr. Phipp's Pretzel Chips from the early 90s?) and so I went on the search for ones that truly had no yeast and no additional ingredients that would make me sick.

I found Snack Factory's Pretzel Crisps.  They come in several different flavors but several have powdered flavors with yeast extract (darn you delicious sounding but so unsafe Buffalo Wing Pretzels, darn you! *shakes fist*) so check the ingredients (that will quickly become a mantra for anyone with food issues).

And then, with the recent holidays, I found these:

I actually found the White Chocolate and Peppermint before Christmas and sat out a bowl of them for my guests, but today at Walmart, I found these two additional varieties, Peanut Butter Crunch and Dark Chocolate Crunch. They were $2.78 each, for a 5 oz bag, which isn't the greatest value ever, but they are quite delicious (I popped open the peanut butter crunch to snack on and they are really quite nice, the white chocolate and peppermint are just divine! Haven't gotten to the dark chocolate yet, but I an not the greatest fan of dark chocolate-- I have to be in the mood).

So if you like your salty with some sweet, look around for these delicious safe treats.

You can see more at: http://pretzelcrisps.com/

*This recommendation was not sponsored or paid for.  If that is ever the case, I will most certainly make it very clear in the review. I just want to share things I find that make life easier and more delicious for my fellow yeast-free brethren!