Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs and leaves, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 12 cups of water
• 3 low sodium chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 can reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
• 1 lb egg noodles
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot to medium-high heat.
2. Melt butter, then add thyme, rosemary, garlic, carrots, celery, and onion.
3. Saute until onions are slightly transparent, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add water, bouillon cubes, bay leaves, and whole chicken breasts.
5. Bring to a boil, cover, then bring back down to medium heat. Let cook for 20 minutes.
6. Carefully remove chicken breasts and shred with two forks. You can also chop, it's your preference.
Add cream of chicken at this time and stir well, until blended.
7. Add chicken back to soup, add egg noodles. Cook covered for an additional 20 minutes.

This recipe is perfect for chilly winter nights, enjoy!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

2.  Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

3. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl.

4. Beat until smooth.

5. Pour into a well greased 8x8 pan, set in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

6. On  a large cutting sheet, sprinkle confectioners' sugar, carefully flip fudge over on to the cutting sheet.
7. Cut in to 1-inch squares, clean knife between cuts for best results. Keep in refrigerator.

Perfect for the holidays, enjoy!

Pecan Brittle

Ingredients

• 2 cups pecans, toasted whole
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoon butter
• 3 teaspoon baking soda

1. In a nonstick saucepan, heat and stir sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Over high heat, using a candy thermometer, cook sugar mixture to a hard crack stage (290 degrees F).

2. Add pecans and butter and cook to 300 degrees F stirring all the time to keep the nuts from burning.

3. Pull off heat at 300 degrees F and stir in baking soda while beating to froth for 30 seconds.

4. Pour at once on to 4 well buttered 15 1/2 by 10 by 1-inch pans. Spread with a spatula as thin as possible. As the brittle cools you may use gloves to hand stretch the brittle which will give it a better eating quality.

Perfect for Christmas time! ENJOY!

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo with Rice

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage or spicy kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering.
2. Add the bell peppers, chopped onion, celery, chopped garlic and cayenne.
3. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and cook them over moderately high heat until they are softened, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the sausage to the vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the flour on top of the sausage and vegetables and stir until evenly coated.
6. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
7. Add the shrimp and scallion to the saucepan, season lightly with salt and simmer, stirring, until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 2 minutes longer.
8. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and let cook 45 minutes.
9. Discard the bay leaves. 
10. Stir the parsley into the gumbo and serve at once.

Serve With Rice! ENJOY!

Parmesan Panko Crusted Tilapia with Parsley Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 large tilapia fillets
• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Nonstick cooking oil spray

Parsley Dipping Sauce:

• 1/3 cup Fat Free/Low fat Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon horseradish

1. To prepare dipping sauce, mix all ingredients together and set in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Tilapia:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place egg whites in one bowl, in another bowl mix together Panko, Parmesan, salt and pepper.
3. Dredge tilapia in egg whites, then toss in bread crumb mixture until fish is completely covered.
4. Place fish 1/2 inch apart in a greased casserole dish.
5. Spray the top of fish with a little bit of cooking spray, it will give the panko a great crunchy texture.
6. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.
7. Serve immediately with dipping sauce!

Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza-Cheese Crisps

Ingredients:

• 4 large flour( or whole wheat) tortillas
• 1/2 lb skim mozzarella block, or 2 cups low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• Pepperonis, cooked
• Italian seasoning
• Olive oil, or low-fat butter

1. Heat up skillet to medium heat.

2.Chop up mozzarella block into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil or butter to skillet.

4. Add tortilla to skillet after butter has melted.

5. Sprinkle one half of tortilla with Italian seasoning, to taste, add mozzarella, and pepperonis to your preference.

6. Fold tortilla in half and allow 3-5 minutes to brown.

7. Flip crisps over and allow another 3-5 minutes to brown.

8. Remove from heat and slice in to thirds, or eat as it!

Gooey cheesiness, can't go wrong with this recipe!

Spicy Stuffed Peppers

If you do not like spicy food, just omit the Hot sausage (use regular ground meat) and tomatoes & chilies (use diced tomatoes).

Prep Time: 10-15 min
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers, tops, seeds, and ribs removed
• 3 hot Italian turkey-sausage links, casings removed (or 2 cups ground beef, pork, or turkey)
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup diced tomatoes & chilies
• 1 cup cooked rice (brown or white)
• 1/2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion tops
• 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese ( Mexican mix is good too!)
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup hot water ( or 1 cup beef broth, chicken and veggie work as well)
• 1 low-sodium beef bouillon cube (disregard if using broth)

1. Remove casing from sausages, I find it easiest to twist in half, then squeeze sausage out of both ends.

2. In a large pot, heat to medium high.

3. Dice onion and garlic.

4. Saute sausage, onion,  and garlic until meat is cooked through (about 7- 10 minutes). Use a large spoon or spatula to break sausage pieces apart.

5. Lower heat to medium-low, then add chili powder, ground cumin, tomatoes, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, green onions, and pepper.

6. Combine well, cover and let cook together about 15 minutes.

7. Turn heat off.

8. Add cooked riced, combine well.

9. Fold in sour cream and cheese (this can be frozen for a future meal for up to 6 months).

You don't want to stir too hard, rice will turn to mush, so folding seems to work best for me!

10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a casserole dish add hot water and bouillon cube (or broth), allow it to dissolve completely.

11. Fill bell peppers with rice mixture and carefully place them upright in the casserole dish.
Cover casserole dish with tinfoil.

12. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

13. Remove tinfoil and carefully spoon the juice from the bottom of the casserole dish over the stuffed peppers.
14. You can add extra shredded cheese on top at this point (you can never have too much cheese!)
15. Bake uncovered, an additional 10-15 minutes.

Beautiful and delicious.
Serve immediately & enjoy!

Harvest Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

• 1 stick or 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin/ or cumin seeds
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 can diced tomatoes & chilies, with juices (optional, if you like a little kick. If not use 2 cans of regular diced tomatoes, with juices)m                               
• 2 cups beef broth (chicken or veggie broth works too!) or 2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 celery stalks, cut in to 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 carrots, cut in to 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, ribs/seeds removed and chopped in to bite size pieces
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained (for fresh/frozen ingredients, 1 1/2 cup)
• 1 can green beans, drained (for fresh/frozen ingredients, 1 1/2 cup)
• 8 small red potatoes, rinsed and quartered
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large 5-quart Dutch oven, heat on stove top to medium high. Add butter and garlic, saute until butter has melted (about 2-3 minutes)

2. Add flour, mix well and simmer for 3 minutes, then quickly turn down to medium-low heat. The flour will turn brown and have a burnt taste if you don't lower the heat.

3. Add canned tomatoes (with juices), tomatoes & chilies (with juices), bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, ground cumin, dried basil, beef broth, and salt and pepper to Dutch oven. Bring heat back up to medium-high.

4. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and carrots. Stir until combined well. (DO NOT add corn, potatoes, or green beans yet!) Bring veggies to a boil, then turn off stove top.

Doesn't that look delicious already?

5. Turn off stove completely and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

6. Cover Dutch oven, and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Stir stew every every 30 minutes!

7. Carefully remove Dutch oven, it's very heavy and HOT. NOW, add corn, green beans and potatoes. Stir until combined well.

8.  Return to oven and bake for an additional hour.

In the mean time, I slice a French loaf, buttered it up and add sharp cheddar cheese.

put it underneath the broiler for a couple minutes and set aside.

 

 

Oh my yum.

Allow stew to sit for at least 10 minutes, it's still going to be VERY hot so be careful, please!

Voila!

Serve in a bread bowl, or add toasted bread on the side.

*Can be frozen and reheated for up to 6 months. Do not refreeze.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

• Pumpkin seeds
• Salt water
• Chili powder
• Garlic salt

1. Remove seeds from pumpkin and rinse well with cold water.

2. In a large bowl add enough water to cover seeds and add 1 tablespoon of salt.

3. Let seeds soak in salt water overnight.

4. Drain seeds and toss in olive oil.

5. Place seeds on a roasting stone in a single layer.

6. Lightly sprinkle seeds with garlic salt and chili powder.

7. Roast in a 300 degree oven for 45 minutes, stirring seeds halfway through.

8. Allow seeds to cool & enjoy!

* You can also make a sweet version of roasted seeds;

Follow the same directions, but sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon.