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life{in}grace

live with more presence, passion, & purpose

from my kitchen

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes {with Nathan}

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chocolatecupcakes

Do you see what I’m trying to do for you here?

First puffy tacos.  Now the best cupcakes in the free world.  Do you see it?

I’m trying to make Mother’s Day beautiful for you, pretty mama.  Puffy tacos and chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.  FOR.THE.MOTHER’S.DAY.WIN.

And you know who you have to thank for this?  Nathan and his awesome mama, Lisa.

chocolate cupcake

Nathan is a 16 year old aspiring chef that goes to my church.  He wanted to come to my house to learn to make pizza in exchange for sharing his cupcake prowess with me.  So I what any woman who lives and dies by buttercream would say, “WHEN CAN YOU BE HERE!!??!??!?” [Read more…] about Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes {with Nathan}

Puffy Tacos {Taco Bar for Cinco de Mayo}

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puffytacos

I’m about to give away the family jewels here.  And listen.  After all the busyness and writing and preparing of the last few weeks, I’d give just about anything away for summer to be here.  Or least to never have to be nicely dressed for 12 straight hours again.  I’ve become such a homebody whiner.

BUT.  I had a wonderful time this weekend with the lovely women of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Milwaukee.  We talked all about transforming our relationships and I’ll make the talk available to you in ebook form for free as soon as I can string a few work days together in a row! I stayed with the loveliest family and already miss their four adorable boys!

I also got to meet some wonderful blog friends, which always serves to remind me that these relationships we make here are important and life-giving. You are dear to me!

Back to the family jewels. [Read more…] about Puffy Tacos {Taco Bar for Cinco de Mayo}

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Dear kind and spicy friends, I took 817 pictures of this soup and I COULD NOT capture the deliciousness of this creamy chicken tortilla soup. Whatsoever. Please believe me when I say that this soup is the mother of all tor-tilla soups.  (We say tortilla like gorilla, for special effects.) This is but a warm up post for puffy tacos, but it’s  a gem in its own right.  Like I’ve said before #foodieismyname #texmexismygame.  This is THE perfect recipe for when you need to phone dinner in but still want it to taste liked you’ve slaved all day.  Also? If you use my easy crock pot method for cooking turkey breast (cook a turkey breast overnight in the crock pot on low and it will be ready by noon), you could eat the turkey breast one day with sides and then use the leftovers for the soup. If beef stew is flirting with your husband 101 then this is the short summer version of that course, except with chicken. Flirt away my flavorful friends!

What you’ll need:

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 3 cups cooked chicken (I actually used leftover turkey from Easter)
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can of green chiles
  • 2 T. cumin powder
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1 8oz package of Mexican melting cheese (queso or queso with jalapeño for the spicy lovers among us).
  • jalapeños, chopped (as much as you like, we use about 2 T.)
  • fresh cilantro for garnish
  • grated cheddar cheese for garnish
  • fried corn tortillas for garnish and general deliciousness

What you’ll do:

  • Saute the onion and green pepper in 2-3 T olive oil.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple minutes and then add the cumin.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients except the cream and cook for 15-20 over medium heat until the cheese is mostly melted.
  • Add the cream, turn off the heat and cover and the rest of the cheese should melt.
  • Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil after the cream is added.
  • Serve with avocado, cheese, cilantro, and tortillas!
  • Now we’ll be jolly friends forever more, more more more.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 3 cups cooked chicken I actually used leftover turkey from Easter
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can of green chiles
  • 2 T. cumin powder
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1 8 oz package of Mexican melting cheese queso or queso with jalapeño for the spicy lovers among us.
  • jalapeños chopped (as much as you like, we use about 2 T.)
  • fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Saute the onion and green pepper in 2-3 T olive oil.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple minutes and then add the cumin.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients except the cream and cook for 15-20 over medium heat until the
  • cheese is mostly melted.
  • Add the cream, turn off the heat and cover and the rest of the cheese should melt.
  • Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil after the cream is added.
  • Serve with avocado, cheese, cilantro, and tortillas!
Now, do tell.  Do you make a version of this already? Would you be willing to add a hint of cream? Because my current philosophy is this:  Life is short.  Add cream. Amen.

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March Meal Plan

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marchmeal

I hope you enjoy this meal plan, which honors the Lenten season with fish or shrimp on Fridays and honors the Irish on and around March 17!  It’s a little brighter and fresher in celebration of oncoming Spring.  Happy cooking and happier eating!

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

 

Old Fashioned Fudge Pie

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Y’all.  I’m so nervous.  I wrote an article for the Lutheran Witness magazine that comes out this weekend on Vocation and finding God’s will for your life.  In less than an hour, I’ll be doing a radio interview about the article on my very favorite internet radio station in THE entire world, Issues, Etc.

In other words, I’m breaking out into hives and sweating profusely.  And then there’s the whole thing of the interview being at 12:30 central time.  Despite the fact that I have advanced degrees, I’ve been looking at the clock all morning and saying, Okay, it’s 10 here, so it’s 9 there.  Because hello, my name is dumb and dumber and I’d like to talk to you about your calling in life.

Maybe I should stick to making pies.  Because pies are what I know and love and I have never broken out into a single hive whilst making one.

I’ve been eating and making this pie for 20 years, as my thighs will gladly attest.  It’s rustic and delicious and let’s face it—it’s fudge in pie form—so what’s not to love?  Why have I let this precious Southern dessert go without its due?  I do not know, but I plan to fully redeem myself. Also? I ran 4 miles this morning to try to make peace with my thighs, but that’s another blog post for another sad day.
fudgepie

It’s so easy to make, with ingredients you probably have on hand and it doesn’t even require that you get your Kitchen Aid dirty.  Just about the end of February, when you feel like it’s been a long time since you’ve had Grannie’s Fudge, this pie will come to the rescue.  You can top it with whatever you want, but honestly, I prefer mine plain.  Or warm out of the oven with ice cream.  You can even freeze it and then eat it frozen or in various stages of thawing.  There’s no wrong way to have it, just have it, dear ones.

fudgepie2

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 3/4 cups cocoa powder
  • 2 sticks butter, melted
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4  eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • a dash of cinnamon
  • 2   (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts (I use my homemade crust recipe, but the frozen ones work fine!)

Here’s what you’ll do:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Melt the chocolate, butter, and sugar together in a heavy saucepan over low heat.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and let cool a few minutes.
  • Add  then the eggs and beat well.
  • Pour the filling into the pie crust(s).  (You can make this into one thick pie or two shallow pies.  It’s so rich that I prefer two shallow pies!)
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until just set.
  • Serve warm or cold or in various states of frozen.  Serve by its lonesome or with ice cream or whipped cream!

Hurry and bake it before you do something crazy and give up chocolate for Lent.

Okay, so it’s 12:30 here so it’s 11:30 there.  I gotta go!

Old Fashioned Fudge Pie

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Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cups cocoa powder
  • 2 sticks butter melted
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • a dash of cinnamon
  • 2 9-inch unbaked pie crusts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Melt the chocolate, butter, and sugar together in a heavy saucepan over low heat.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and let cool a few minutes.
  • Add then the eggs and beat well.
  • Pour the filling into the pie crust(s). (You can make this into one thick pie or two shallow pies. It's so rich that I prefer two shallow pies!)
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until just set.
  • Serve warm or cold or in various states of frozen with your favorite toppings. (I like mine plain!)

Italian Wedding Soup

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Italian Wedding Soup via lifeingrace

Well.  First of all, let me say that I love weddings.  EVERY last thing about them. I get all teary eyed for the bride and groom.  I always imagine that I’m the photographer, looking for those candid moments that can’t be missed.  I love the wedding liturgy, the familiar words, the dancing, all of it.  I love shopping for wedding gifts and remembering what’s it’s like to be newly married.  I want to remind the bride and groom (they all look 12 to me now)  not to take themselves too seriously and that marriage is hard.  But, mostly, I want to eat cake.  I’ve got no lies to tell.  I’m a wedding crasher in search of cake.

And wedding soup was one of the first foods Stevie and I learned to love together.  There was a fly by night hole in the wall italian restaurant near the hospital where we worked and we’d meet there for lunch and eat wedding soup.  I’ve had a soft spot for it ever since. If you’ve never tried it, you’re in for a treat!

I’m sure you thought that surely there had to be an end to the soups I make and love.  But then you would be forgetting that I call myself the Soup Whisperer.  I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to soups.  And speaking of Pinterest, I confess to having a wedding board.  FOR A FRIEND, y’all.  I’m kinda relieved I had my wedding before Pinterest because OH THE PRESSURE.  I created the board  way before Adriane ever found her husband.  They  recently married and are the most adorable two people on the planet.  She’s a writer/editor (with a book coming out soon) and he’s a dairy farmer.  I DIE!

Screenshot_2_12_14_12_46_PM

(via Ashley Lowry Photography)

I know I keep digressing, but I love soups and I love people in love.  This one is a keeper.  It marries the worlds of men (beef) and women (vegetables) and uses the flavor and stability of parmesan cheese to bind all hearts together.  But, I digress.

Make it this weekend for you sweetie pie.  And?  Invite me to all your weddings.  Amen.

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 1/2  pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 4 cloves minced garlic (Add half of it to the meatballs and half to the soup)
  • 1 large onion (half of it grated into the meatballs, the other half chopped and sauteed in the soup.)
  • 1 tsp salt and pepper
  • 1 cup small pasta (stellate or acini de pepe is what I normally use but basically find the smallest pasta you can)
  • 3 boxes of good chicken stock  (I use Kitchen Basics in the yellow box, which CANNOT be beat.  Each box is 32 oz)
  • 1 bag of fresh spinach (Or as much as you like.  I use alot, maybe 3 big handfuls, but it will wilt down and you’ll wish you had added more)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Good freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish (the green can stuff is okay in a pinch, but freshly grated parmesan is almost as good as wedding cake.  I said almost.)

What You’ll Do:

For the meatballs—

  • Mix the raw beef, cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, onion, and salt and pepper.  
  • Combine until mixed well and form into small (about 1 inch) meatballs that you will drop into the hot broth.

For the soup—

  • Chop and saute the leftover half of the onion in 2 T. olive oil over medium high heat for 3-4 min
  • Add salt and pepper to the onion at this stage so you don’t have to correct the seasoning so much at the end (maybe a teaspoon of salt)
  • Add chopped garlic and saute another minute or two.
  • Add the chicken stock and let the mixture come to a near boil
  • Begin to drop the meatballs into the hot broth
  • After all the meatballs are added, let them cook for a few minutes until the meatballs begin to rise to the surface
  • Turn the heat down to low and add the pasta and the spinach
  • Cover and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking
  • Uncover and check the flavor.  It will likely need more salt and pepper and I often add a teaspoon or two of honey
  • Beat the two egg yolks well and ladle a little of the soup into the eggs and mix well
  • Add the egg/soup mixture back to the soup and stir.
  • Serve with crusty bread, grated parmesan cheese and smooches!

 

italianweddingsoup

Italian Wedding Soup

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 4 cloves minced garlic Add half of it to the meatballs and half to the soup
  • 1 large onion half of it grated into the meatballs, the other half chopped and sauteed in the soup.
  • 1 tsp salt and pepper
  • 1 cup small pasta stellate or acini de pepe is what I normally use but basically find the smallest pasta you can
  • 3 boxes of good chicken stock I use Kitchen Basics in the yellow box, which CANNOT be beat. Each box is 32 oz
  • 1 bag of fresh spinach Or as much as you like. I use alot, maybe 3 big handfuls, but it will wilt down and you'll wish you had added more
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Good freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish the green can stuff is okay in a pinch, but freshly grated parmesan is almost as good as wedding cake. I said almost.

Instructions
 

  • Chop and saute the leftover half of the onion in 2 T. olive oil over medium high heat for 3-4 min
  • Add salt and pepper to the onion at this stage so you don't have to correct the seasoning so much at the end (maybe a teaspoon of salt)
  • Add chopped garlic and saute another minute or two.
  • Add the chicken stock and let the mixture come to a near boil
  • Begin to drop the meatballs into the hot broth
  • After all the meatballs are added, let them cook for a few minutes until the meatballs begin to rise to the surface
  • Turn the heat down to low and add the pasta and the spinach
  • Cover and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking
  • Uncover and check the flavor. It will likely need more salt and pepper and I often add a teaspoon or two of honey
  • Beat the two egg yolks well and ladle a little of the soup into the eggs and mix well
  • Add the egg/soup mixture back to the soup and stir.
  • Serve with crusty bread, grated parmesan cheese and smooches!