Author Archives: Christy

Homemade “Condensed Cream of Celery” Soup

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CHECK OUT OUR RECIPES PAGE FOR MORE GREAT RECIPES!!!

This is a condensed soup, intended as a substitution in recipes that call for “canned condensed cream of celery soup.” If you’d like to eat it as a soup, dilute this recipe with an equal amount of milk or water!

Condensed Cream of Celery* Soup Recipe

Makes 4 cups (1 cup = 1 can of store-bought soup)

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup (1 stick) butter                              

1 cup finely diced celery*                           

1 cup unbleached white flour                                                   

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups milk

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

*Check out our Grocery Shopping Guide for our tips on selecting the most additive-free versions of these ingredients.

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat.

Add diced celery and sauté until tender (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Add flour, ¼ cup at a time, stirring until combined. (Mixture will have a consistency similar to cookie dough after all of the flour is added.)

Add broth. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until it thickens to a “gravy-like” consistency.

Add milk, salt and pepper. Continue whisking over high heat until “cake batter” consistency is reached (this may take up to 5 more minutes).

Use 1 cup of this soup as a substitute for 1 store-bought can of condensed soup. This soup freezes very well, too, so save time by making more than you need and freezing it in labeled plastic bags or containers in smaller portions for later use.

*This recipe is for cream of celery soup, but you can make condensed cream of mushroom, chicken, potato, etc. by substituting the 1 cup of celery with 1 cup of whatever ingredient you prefer. Just dice the selected ingredient, and sauté it until it is tender. Then follow the instructions here.

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Sweet ‘n’ Savory Steak Stir Fry

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With a little planning the day before, this makes a super tasty and relatively quick meal that the whole family will LOVE!

PRO TIP: Toss the steak in the freezer when you bring it home from the store, so it will slice more easily.

Then, make this delicious marinade the night before… and you can thank me later!

Yum…yum…YUM!!!

We enjoy serving this over white Jasmine rice, but I’m trusting you to choose and prepare the rice on your own for this recipe. Ha! You’ve GOT this! (Of course, if you’re looking for an awesome way to prepare brown rice, click here! I’ve got you!)

Sweet ‘n’ Savory Steak Stir Fry Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4lb top round steak (preferably slightly frozen) *If the steak you find happens to be larger, we’ve used as large as a 0.9lb piece with this recipe just fine. FYI.
  • 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
  • 6 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 5oz shredded carrots
  • 4 green onions, sliced

*Check out our Grocery Shopping Guide for our tips on selecting the most additive-free versions of these ingredients.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Slice steak very thinly, cutting against the grain. (This is easier if the meat is slightly frozen, so plan ahead!)
  2. Make the marinade 24 hours ahead of time by combining the sugar, olive oil, tamari (or soy sauce) and pressed garlic in a small bowl.
  3. Add the sliced steak to a gallon Ziploc bag (or large covered bowl).
  4. Add marinade to the meat, and toss or stir to combine.
  5. Marinate steak in the fridge for 24 hours.
  6. (NOTE: Make sure you time your stir fry cooking with whatever rice you’ve decided to make…so it’s all ready at once. Just sayin’. Okay, let’s make some stir fry…)
  7. Heat a couple TBSP olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat.
  8. Add sliced yellow onion and shredded carrots. (Reserve the green onion for garnish.)
  9. Cook 10-15 minutes until tender-crisp.
  10. Transfer cooked veggies to a plate.
  11. Add steak and marinade to the skillet, and cook about 5 minutes until meat is cooked through. Stir occasionally, so meat browns on both sides.
  12. Return veggies to the pan with the meat and marinade. Stir to combine, and cook until heated through.
  13. Serve over rice of your choice.
  14. Garnish with green onions.

CHECK OUT OUR RECIPES PAGE FOR MORE GREAT RECIPES!!!

Anything can happen!!

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Hey, everybody!!! Long time, no see!!!

Just to catch y’all up to speed…Chad and I are in Colorado for the summer! YAY!

We are working (and living) at a campground in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and it’s SO beautiful here! OMG!

(Only problem is that one of my MANY fears is…BEARS! And they definitely call these mountains home! Ahhhhh!!!!)

Anywhooo…

We just LOVE all of the biking and outdoorsy activities in this area!!! So, we pretty much spend ALL of our free time OUTDOORS!

It’s been a looooong time since we’ve hit the mountain bike trails, though, because I’ve been recovering from some post-viral symptoms, so Chad was SUPER excited for us to finally get back out there the other day.

Sooooo… you can imagine the disappointment I felt when… just a few minutes into our ride, I whizzed by a huge mound of bear poop! Ugh!!! 😫🐻

Chad was riding a bit ahead of me, and he just kept pedaling (surely hoping with all of his might that I wouldn’t notice it because he knows darn well there’s no WAY I would keep riding if I did)!!!

I call out to him to wait up. Sure enough, he’d seen it and hoped that I hadn’t!! 🤣🤣🤣 (Ha! I just KNEW it!!!)

I see all joy instantly drain from his face as he politely (??) asks if I’d like to turn back. Without hesitation, I’m like, “uhhhh…YES!” 🚴‍♀️💨

Buuuuut…then I remembered these darn ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN bands on my wrist, and I just KNEW that I needed to readjust my perception… 🤔

I remind myself that if “ANYTHING can happen,” then it MUST be possible for me to finish this ride without being mauled by a bear…and hopefully without even SEEING one! Ya know, just like the MAJORITY of people who wander the trails in bear country.

Much to Chad’s delight, I decide to (try to) press on. 💪🤗 It definitely wasn’t “pretty” at first…I heard a LOT of “bears rustling in the bushes”! And, since you weren’t there… you have ZERO proof that I was ringing my bike bell like a maniac! Lmao!!! But, I was out THERE riding!! 👏👏👏

Eventually, even iiiiiii was annoyed by the sound of my own bike bell!! So, it was time to adjust my mindset even further…

I realized that…if “ANYTHING can happen,” then it MUST be possible for me to relax and enjoy this ride…without FEAR!!!! 🧘‍♀️😌 Wow…THAT proposal was a MUCH harder sell to my nervous system!!! But, eventually I got there! And, boy was THAT version of the ride WAY more fun!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (Scroll down for more pics from this beautiful ride at Lory State Park…)

Do YOU need a little reminder to stay optimistic these days? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋 Or know someone *else* who could use a little boost right now?? ❤️ My new inspirational wristband set is now available on Etsy by clicking here!! 🥰

Grab a set for yourself…or order a set as a gift…or BOTH! 🙃

Either way, keep scrolling down to see even more of that Colorado beauty I promised…

We are really trying to soak it all in because in about a month, we are heading back to Arizona for the winter!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (dairy-free)

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Hey, everybody!!!

(It’s me…Christy! The additive-free recipes gal!)

Long time, no see!!!!

Wow! It’s been soooooooo long since I’ve posted here that you’ve probably forgotten who I am! LOL!

Well, it’s been a long and crazy past couple of years…for everyone! Am I right?!?! So I’ve been distracted with a bazillion other things.

Just to catch you up to speed…

Chad and I are still living full-time in our RV, buuuuuuuuuuut…..we are no longer in California! I know…hard to believe, huh?!

We are working at a campground in Arizona right now for the winter, and we are soaking in this amazing warm winter weather here! Yay!

Next, we plan to work at a campground in Colorado for the summer. And, then???? Who knows!

Anywhoooooooooo….It’s 80 degrees here today, so we decided to make this yummy, additive-free smoothie. And I thought I’d share it with all of you here, too! Enjoy! 🙂

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (dairy-free)

The peanut butter and frozen bananas make this smoothie so smooth that you won’t even miss the dairy!

Makes 16 ounces

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cold water
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
3 TBSP peanut butter
1 TBSP honey
2 frozen bananas, broken into chunks

*Check out our Grocery Shopping Guide for our tips on selecting the most additive-free versions of these ingredients.

DIRECTIONS:
Add all ingredients, except bananas, to a blender. Blend.
Add bananas, and blend until smooth. Enjoy!