Black Bean Chili Soup. Made this for our Thursday night dinner club and it was spicy and warm, just what was perfect for our colder days lately. I made 3 lbs. of dried beans, so let’s say we have leftovers for days!

Couscous, Crab, Tomato & Feta Cheese Salad. I kind of threw lots of things together for this. It’s probably more summery, but since True can’t have real crab, and some of us were having crab cakes, this was a good option on the dinner table.

Crab Cakes and Kale Crispies. Seriously so, so good! It’s a spin off this recipe, but I’ve learn to adapt it and make it my own. It’s not quite as golden brown as most crab cakes, but it’s cause ours isn’t fried, but baked. I think I’m going to make this again as an appetizer for our Christmas dinner.

Week of 12/15 – 12/20
Monday: Black Bean Chili leftovers
Tuesday: Kimchi Soup
Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza night

Ben and I are trying to figure out our Christmas menu; we’re thinking of going with a fish dish. What’s on your Christmas dinner menu? Do you have some traditions or do you do something different each year?

Prosciutto and Caramelized Onion Pizza. It’s one of my go-to pizzas. It’s absolutely delicious (and easy!). o is my go-to recipe for whole wheat crust.

Vietnamese Chicken Pho. I was sick and wanting some pho badly. I made a big pot full that I think I’ve had this 4 days in a row. Our stove went out and I couldn’t boil water for the noodles, so I ended up just having to use fresh udon noodles as a substitute, it’s not the same, but it did the job.

Week 12/9 – 12/13
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Crab cakes
Wednesday: Ben’s birthday dinner
Thursday: Black Bean Soup
Friday: Sushi/pizza night

It’s been cold and soups (and spicy things) are all I’ve been craving. If you have a yummy, spicy soup to share, please do!

Oatmeal Pecan Pie
lightened up, but still delicious

Ingredients for the pie crust (adapted from this recipe):
1 1/4 cups flour
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
4 – 6 tbsp ice water, may need more or less depending on the consistency of the dough
Ingredients for the pie filling:
1 cup mixed sugar: 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup Splenda, 1/3 cup erythritol* OR 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup Light Log Cabin pancake syrup
1 tbsp light molasses (use 2 tbsp if using 1/2 sugar & 1/2 Splenda mixture)
2/3 cup quick oats
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped pecans

*Erythritol is a granulated sugar substitute available at health stores.

To make the pie crust 
1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor and mix thoroughly. Slowly add in butter by pulsing. Add a tbsp of water a little bit at a time, pulsing between each addition. Pinch mixture together, if it sticks together, the dough is ready.

2. Pour out dough onto a clean work surface and lightly knead together. It may take a bit of work to get all the pieces together. Form the dough into a ball and wrap with a plastic wrap. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour (I threw mine in the freezer for 30 minutes).

3. On a clean, floured surface, roll out the ball of dough until 1/4″ thick and about a 14″ circle. Place pie tin upside down on the dough and cut out a circle approximately 1″ – 1 1/2″ wider than the circumference of the pie tin.

4. Lightly coat the pie tin with flour (or butter) to help prevent crust from sticking. Place the dough into the tin and gently press down until it is resting on the bottom and sides of the tin. Cut away any excess dough, and using a fork, press it all around to crimp the pie edges. I’m not an expert pie crust fluter (would that even be the right term?!), but it did the job, and this was a homemade pie after all!

If you aren’t up for making pie crust, you could also use a 9 inch unbaked, ready-made pie crust, and it comes out just as delicious.
Putting together the pie
5. Preheat the oven to 450°.

6. Combine all the pie filling ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Once it is completely combined, pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust.

7. Place in the hot oven, and immediately lower heat to 325°, and bake for about 55-60 minutes or until the center is set. I find determining when a pecan pie is done to be slightly tricky. You want the center to be jiggly and no longer runny. Give the pie a little tap, and if the center jiggles, take it out, and the pie will continue setting outside of the oven. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
This recipe was made by Ben’s co-worker, Julianne, who is a registered dietitian, so this is her version of a sort of “healthier” pecan pie (this recipe was another one she shared with me). She had brought some pie to work, and he came home with a slice for me. Actually, all that he left me was a sliver. Once I had the little sliver, I knew I wanted the recipe. I love all things sweet, so it’s not hard for me to find a new dessert to love.

I know some people are hesitant about Splenda, but it’s just another thing to have in moderation. Just like with most things anyway, right? Ben will share it as an option for some of his patients (he’s a dietitian), because for some people with diabetes, who still need to satisfy their sweet tooth craving, it’s a good alternative. I usually don’t like the taste of artificial sweeteners, but in this pie, I can’t taste it. Obviously, if you’re anti-artificial sweetener, then just use 1 cup of sugar for the recipe.

Nutritional information per 1/12th slice: Calories, 200; Fat: 10g; Cholesterol, 60mg; Sodium, 210mg; Protein, 3g; Carbohydrate, 24g; Fiber 1g; Sugars, 15g. Calories may vary slightly between pre-made and homemade crust.

Obviously, you still don’t want to eat the whole pie! But imagine what a regular pecan pie might be like! Lightened up or not, something like pecan pie is still a sometimes food, but I’ll never object to having it on Thanksgiving or Christmas. I have another ball of pie dough sitting in the freezer, so this pie may be getting made again soon.

Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies 
makes about 32 cookies, adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
1. 2 1/4 cup flour
2. 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar splenda
4. 1/2 cup sugar
5. 12 Kraft caramels (cut them in half)
6. Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter
7. 1/2 cup powdered sugar
8. 1/4 tsp salt
9. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
10. 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
11. 1 tsp cinnamon
12. 1 stick butter (softened)
13. 2 eggs
14. 1 tbsp vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, spices, and baking powder. Separate the powdered sugar into two smaller bowls with each containing 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and set aside (this does not go in the batter). In the bowl of an electric mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, whip together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Proceed to add the eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture. Stir until combined. Slowly, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Dough will be quite sticky.

Scoop out dough 1 heaping tablespoon at a time and roll into a ball. Press thumb into the center of the ball and insert caramel (or teaspoon of cookie dough). Press the dough around the filling to completely cover the caramel or cookie dough with the batter (For some, we also chopped up some chocolate and put it in the center too!). Once dough is shaped back into a ball, roll in the powdered sugar and coat well. Bake the cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on the cooling rack, once it is cooled down enough, roll in the second bowl of powdered sugar to coat again.

Note: There are two small bowls of powdered sugar because you don’t want to cross contaminate the raw eggs from the uncooked cookie dough from the first bowl of powdered sugar used before baking.
The caramel filled cookies are best eaten warm, so they are nice and gooey! Otherwise, they harden a bit and become more chewy than gooey. Our favorites were the ones with the cookie butter center! I also found that the cookies tasted better the next day, as the pumpkin flavors seems to be a bit stronger (but I’d make sure to eat the caramel filled ones straight from the oven). In my experience making pumpkin cookies, they always come out more cake-y than your typical cookie, so if cake-y cookies aren’t your thing, I’m not sure you’d like pumpkin cookies.

Soul was telling Ben she wanted to eat Mommy’s “high-nu” cookies for snack. Ben told her, “Soulie, just because it has pumpkin doesn’t mean it’s high nutrition.” I guess that kind of bursted her “healthy” snack bubble because these cookies for sure aren’t high nutrition, but they do taste good, and it is definitely something that doesn’t hurt to have once in awhile. Plus, we had to kick off our Thanksgiving week with some baking. We actually doubled the recipe and delivered some cookies to a few of our neighbors. Hopefully, they liked it just as much as we did!

I have plans to make a healthier version of pecan pie this week too! Oh Thanksgiving, you are dangerous…

Last Minute Korean Soup of sorts. It was a cold, rainy day and instead of what I originally planned to make, I was really wanting some soup. Since it was an emergency, I called the BFF for some Korean soup ideas based on what we had in our fridge, and she definitely came to the rescue. A little bit of this and a little of that, some chicken broth and a couple cups of kimchi later, we had a very yummy (and spicy) seafood soup. Two thumbs up definitely. If I can remember what I put in, I will share it. It was an easy soup to make using things we already had on hand.

Shrimp Scampi Pizza. I used my focaccia crust recipe and this recipe for the pizza. I did a slight change of using 1 tablespoon of butter instead of the 3 tablespoons it called for, and I also left out the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Even with that little change, it tasted fine (and still delicious) to us. I love homemade pizza!

Week 11/25 – 11/29
Monday: Crab cakes
Tuesday: Pho
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Thanksgiving feasting with family
Friday: Thanksgiving leftovers

The three big girls will be staying with their Auntie Linda and Uncle John’s until Thursday morning, so meals will be a little easier. Maybe Ben and I can sneak in a date or two with Glow in tow. I don’t have to worry about cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving and honestly, I’m kind of intimidated to do so, but I will be baking pie and some side dish to bring to our family gatherings. If your stateside, what are your Thanksgiving meal plans this week?

Chicken Adobo. It’s a recipe I shared on the blog a long time ago and it came from my friend Tiff. I kind of healthified it, so it’s probably not an authentic Filipino recipe. We rarely eat Filipino food. This night though, I was craving it, so I made some. I even busted out the banana and ate it with the chicken and rice. The girls were loving the banana with the chicken. It may sound strange to eat a banana with chicken and rice, but with chicken adobo, it’s really good. By the way, did you know that Filipino ketchup is made with a banana base instead of tomatoes? I haven’t had it in almost a decade, but I remember it tasted good. I liked eating it with fried fish. Filipino food isn’t the healthiest, so we never really eat it. Filipino dessert on the other hand, I love it all!!! My parents brought me mango cake for my birthday… yum!!!

Ground Turkey and White Bean Chili. I don’t even know what to call this dish, I kind of made it up based on a few recipes I made in the past. This was for our Thursday night dinner club where I don’t know if 6 people are coming or 20, so it’s the easiest thing to make a big pot of. Add tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and chips and well, you’ve got a party in your tummy for sure!

Week 11/18 – 11/21
Monday: Leftovers (We’re having a big pot luck dinner tonight, so I’m thinking there might be leftovers.)
Tuesday: Crab cakes
Wednesday: Enchiladas
Thursday: Black bean soup
Friday: Pizza/sushi night

I’m ready to cozy up and eat some fall soups. Does anyone have a good recipe to share?