Italian Kale Soup…

I saw a recipe on the back of a cracker box for an Italian soup that used sausage, cannellini beans and spinach. I then came across a recipe for cannellini bean and kale soup. There were things about both recipes I did not like.

 The Italian soup had noodles in it and it just didn’t seem to appetizing to me. It did have sausage,but since I used it the night before in red beans and rice, I didn't have any to add. I thought about putting ground beef in this soup, but didn’t think it would taste right. You could add a pound of sausage to this recipe if you wanted.

The soup is colorful, and full of all those good vitamins we all need, like beta-carotene from carrots, that can help guard against colds and the flu. Then there is Kale, which has quickly become the new super since people have discovered all of its wonder benefits.  

So what is so special about Kale?

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

As it stands right now you could switch the chicken broth out for vegetable broth and make this a vegetarian soup.

 I put salt and pepper on the ingredient list. I personally don't think it needs any salt, but to each their own. I think a few tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese on top when serving would be really good.

Ingredients:

1 med yellow onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons garlic, minced

Olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

6 packed cups raw kale, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 parsnips, chopped

2 cans (15 ounce) Cannellini beans, undrained

1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes

½ teaspoon ground thyme

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garam masala

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil, add in kale and stir until the kale wilts

Add broth, carrots, parsnips, and celery. Drain tomato juice into pot; crush tomatoes before adding to pot.

Add cannellini beans and spices.

Simmer for half hour.

Crock-Pot Sopa de Ajo (Castilian Garlic Soup)

This recipe was sent to me by a reader, the original recipe came from Fox News website. The soup is a chicken base and is made in a crock-pot. With little pre-planning you can come home to savory garlic and chicken soup.

Ingredients

• 2 heads of garlic (approximately 40 cloves)
• 4 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3/4 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 Teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish
• pinch of saffron
• 1/2 Teaspoon cayenne
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 4 Cup chicken broth
• 4 eggs, poached

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2

In a small glass baking dish, place 30 unpeeled cloves of garlic. Drizzle over with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, mixing to ensure that the garlic is evenly coated.

Step 3

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast the garlic for approximately 30 minutes, until it is soft and golden-hued.

Step 4

While the garlic is roasting, peel and mince the remaining 10 cloves of garlic.

Step 5

Heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan; once hot, add the garlic and onion and sauté over medium heat for around 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent and the garlic is fragrant (but not browned). Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 6

Once the garlic has finished roasting, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Gently unpeel the cloves and set aside (the peels should come off very easily). Discard the garlic peels.

Step 7

In a crock pot, add the sautéed garlic and onion mixture, the roasted garlic, and all of the remaining ingredients, except for the eggs, and adding more salt and pepper to taste at this stage. Stir to ensure the ingredients are evenly combined.

Step 8

Cook in the crockpot on low heat for 6-8 hours, stirring very occasionally if possible, until the potatoes are falling apart. Break up any remaining large potato pieces with a wooden spoon or a fork.

Step 9

When the soup has finished cooking, ladle into 4 bowls. Top each with a freshly poached egg and an extra pinch of paprika for color.

Crock-Pot Shepherd’s Pie…

For this recipe, I took two recipes and combined them. I wanted something simple, quick and tasteful that would be warm and savoring to come home after the kids bowling practice.

A traditional shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb. I used ground beef, since it was what was in my freezer.

I also cheated a bit, for the gravy; I used a jar Heinz beef gravy. I made instant mashed potatoes. You could cheat there too and use pre-packaged ones, for me it was a cost over convenience.

When I made the mashed potatoes, after pouring in the milk, I added a handful of finely grated cheddar cheese and half a sleeve of crush Ritz crackers. Again, you can use breadcrumbs, I used what I had on hand.

I did not add in any spices besides garlic and dried Rosemary. I was worried about how salty the dish would come out using the canned soup and gravy. My family thought it was missing something and added salt. They said it was missing… I thought it was fine. You could add a 2 tablespoons of red wine (if you have it on hand) to increase the flavor a bit.

1 lbs lean ground beef or lamb

1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (I used PicSweet Brand 12-16-ounce bag of frozen carrots, peas, corn and green beans)

Half of a small onion, diced

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

2 Tablespoons of dried rosemary

2 cups hot cooked mashed potatoes

1 sleeve of Ritz crackers crushed

1 cup of Kraft Cheddar Cheese, finely grated

1 10 ounce can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1 12ounce jar of Heinz Beef Gravy

Optional 2 Tablespoons of red wine

Directions:

Brown ground meat, drain

In crock-pot on low heat, combine meat, vegetables, soup, gravy, 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of garlic. Wine if you chose

Mix ½ cup of cheese, remaining rosemary and garlic with half of the crushed crackers into the mashed potatoes.

Pour and spread potatoes evenly on top of meat mixture.

Top with remaining cheese, cover cook for 4-6 hours.

Prime Rib Roast

I have learned over the years that if you wait until the day after a holiday you can get the best cuts of meat on discounted or clearance prices. The day after Thanksgiving, I bought a four-pound Prime Rib for less than $15.00. At the price, I did not feel guilty about cutting it into steaks.

If you prefer to cook your Prime Rib as roast, I thought you would enjoy this recipe. If you follow the directions, it will turn out perfect!

Chef Noche's Instructions for Making the Best Boneless Prime Rib Roast
INGREDIENTS

1 Boneless Prime Rib Roast 3 Lb
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tsp of pepper
2 tsp of dried thyme
2 tsp of salt
10 cloves of minced garlic

Begin by setting the roast in a roasting pan with the fat side facing up. In a separate, smaller bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tsp of pepper, 2 tsp of dried thyme, 2 tsp of salt and 10 cloves of minced garlic.

Spread this mixture over the roast until it is well coated, and let it sit at room temperature for roughly 1 hour. When the hour has passed, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and once the oven has been preheated for around 10 minutes, bake the roast inside the oven for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, lower the temperature to about 325 degrees Fahrenheit and let it bake for just about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes more. Take it out of the oven when it is done and let it sit for about 15 minutes in order to allow the roast to keep its juices before carving. After carving, it can be prepared in any dish in any way, with an elegant and mouth-watering garlic aroma and taste that will follow it.

The finished roast can be sliced and is excellent when served with a romaine lettuce salad, with crunchy croutons added to provide a breaded taste that will exquisitely complement the taste of the meat and garlic. The salad is best left without dressing, and cherry tomatoes can be added for additional sweet flavor, along with diced sweet onions. The slices of roast can be applied in delicious thin slices, and served with creamed corn on the side along with any other vegetable dish. Peas are a popular choice as the side dish, and asparagus especially will bring out the finer taste that is present in the roast.

Broccoli Beef Recipe…

I use this recipe when I make broccoli beef at home. I found the recipe sometime ago. It is simple to make even though the directions can be a bit overwhelming. I serve with fried rice, you can use steamed it is more a matter of preference.

The recipe can be found at Simply Recipes

Ingredients

3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain

3/4 pound broccoli florets

2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes

2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Chipotle-Cinnamon Chicken

My brother-in-law and his family came over for dinner last night. It was the first time since Easter we have shared a meal. With my husband working out of town during the week and my sister-in-law working strange, shift hours we do not get much time with each other. 

When I did the marketing the day before, I bought a seven and half pound whole frying chicken. It was actually bigger and cheaper than buying a roasting chicken.

What is the difference between a roaster and fryer? Not much, a fryer is younger and weights less. Most frying chickens are 7 to 13 weeks old. A roasting chicken is 3 to 5 months old, and given the time to pack on more weight. In chicken terms, I would be a roaster. *smile*

Last night, I roasted my frying chicken. I used a combination of several recipes to make chipotle-cinnamon chicken rub. It turned out to be one the best-roasted chickens I have cooked in a long time.

 I use a stand up roaster and cooked the bird for twenty minutes a pound at 400°F. Make sure you use a meat thermometer and the temperature of the breast meat is at least 160°F. I rubbed garlic, olive oil on the chicken before coating it with seasonings. The chicken turned out a little sweet with a little bite of spice as an after taste.

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, or half a Knoor brand mini chipotle cube
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

What is in your meatloaf?

After doing some research on the meatloaf, I can tell you there is not one pinpoint date or country where it might have come from. Some who say it started with the Romans, 17^th century France or even the Pennsylvanian Dutch in the 18^th century. There is a consensus that meatloaf became popular with Americans around The Depression. The meatloaf filled the need to stretch the family food supply while be filling and nutritious.

The ingredients in a meatloaf are just as diverse as its origins. Most articles I read all agreed that Veal was probably the first meat used since it was cheaper than beef. Other items used in meatloaf, vegetables, breadcrumbs, oatmeal, rice, wheat germ even cornflakes. My mom used to make it with oatmeal onions, carrots and two slices of bacon on top. My mother-in-law makes hers with breadcrumbs. There is one constant ingredient in every meatloaf and that is a single egg.

I make my meatloaf a bit differently from both my mom and mother-in-law. I have also tried experimenting by wrapping the entire loaf in bacon before cooking. The recipe that follows makes a nice juicy meatloaf that freezes and reheats without drying out.

Paige’s Meatloaf:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef, extra lean

1 pound ground pork

1 egg

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon, dried parsley

2 Tablespoons, minced onions

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

4 ounce can of tomato sauce

Bacon grease

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven 400°F

Combine with hands first eight ingredients until fully blended.

Thickly grease 11” X 7” Pyrex glass baking pan with bacon grease

Form meat mixture into a loaf and place into prepared pan

If you have extra bacon grease, gently rub to outside of meatloaf then season with salt and pepper.

Pour tomato sauce over top of meatloaf, covering the entire top and sides.

Bake in oven until internal temperature is 160°F

Make it From Scratch Monday

Not a good day in the kitchen today, my hands just do not want to work. I have tried two times to make a knock-off recipe of Screaming Yellow Zonkers and I burnt the candy. Let me tell you, if you have never smelt burnt sugar, you are very lucky.

Since my right hand will not close enough to grasp a pot, a change of plans today. I have pulled out my headset to use my Dragon Speak Program, I was given for Christmas two years ago. This is a lifesaver on days like this. I can control my entire computer through voice commands. 

I thought I would show you how to make butter from scratch and flavor it. Those of us who were in scouts are probably saying, “I made that when I was _______ and it took forever!” I make mine in my Cuisinart Food Processor; if you do not have a food processor, you can try a blender.

Ingredients for butter:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon of table salt

Directions:

Place cream and salt into bowl of food processor, with the metal chopping in place. I have used the dough blade but it is smaller and the butter does not set up.

Secure lid and turn machine on. This will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to go from cream to butter.

*Note it is best to keep the machine running. I have stopped and taken pictures for you at each stage of making the butter.*



After the first few minutes, you will have whipped cream.





After a few more minutes you will see the whipped cream start to break down




Before turning into butter the cream will appear to start folding in


















We have butter!

 After the butter has formed it will have a cottage cheese look to it. Remove the butter from the bowl, leave the butter milk behind. I suggest placing the butter in a zipper bag or plastic container.

After butter is removed, you have to squeeze the liquid out of it. As suggested above a zipper bag works well. Close all but one corner of the bag and slowly start working the butter from the bottom.I find it is best to roll the bag like you would a tube of toothpaste. Remember you want to keep the butter in the bag, so you may have to unroll the bag and start over a few times.If you do not get the butter milk out, the butter will be liquidity. 

Now for the fun part!

 I split the butter into two containers so we can try two different flavors, garlic and honey.

If you made your own garlic oil and saved the garlic cloves here is where you can use them. For this batch I am going to use about six cloves, you can use more if you prefer.

I use a fork to mash the cloves into the butter. You can use a blender or food processor, but I like to have the garlic a bit chunky.

Blended and ready to use on a nice crusty bread!

For honey butter, choose a honey with a nice taste to it. I prefer to use Burleson's honey from Texas. I was really happy, when I was able to find it in Harris Teeter grocery stores here in North Carolina.



Start off with a half tablespoon of honey and mix into your butter. You can always add more if you would like it sweeter. Our family likes to use the honey butter on cornbread.

Other variations of butter you can try: cinnamon,  or crushed red pepper. If you are going to try adding flavors start small on your additives. I would suggest a teaspoon at a time. 

I have been thinking about trying to make a sun dried tomato and basil butter for a mock-burschetta. I think if you spread that on a baguette then top with a slice of fresh mozzarella and broil for a few minutes might be really good.

Green Bean Supreme and Honey Smoked Pork Chops



It is well know I cannot leave a recipe alone, I have to tinker with each of them. The green bean supreme recipe came from my mother-in-law, when I married her son. This dish is a staple on our holiday table, and to be honest, I did not really tinker with this one too much until the other day.

Green Bean Supreme
Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 small yellow onion minced

2 Tablespoons of flour

2 Tablespoons of water

½ teaspoon of fresh lemon peel

1 large 28-33 ounce can of French style green beans (drained) I prefer Del-Monte brand

1 cup sour cream

½ cup of crushed Ritz crackers

1 cup Kraft Colby/Jack finely shredded cheese

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

In skillet melt butter add onion and sauté until translucent.

Gradually stir in flour, lemon peel, and then water making a roux.

Add drained green beans and sour cream into skillet mix well.

Pour into a 2 quart baking dish, sprinkle with crushed red pepper.

Cover top with cheese then crushed Ritz crackers

Bake for 30 minutes

** You can omit the red peppers, if you prefer. They give a bit of spice and heat but not enough to be spicy**

Honey Smoked Pork Chops

3 Tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

3 Tablespoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon hot Chinese mustard

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

4 thick center cut pork chops

Ingredients:

Pre-heat oven 350°F

Mix ginger, sage, garlic, liquid smoke and honey in bowl.

 Line small baking pan with aluminum foil,

Brush all sides of pork chop with butter then place on pan.

Brush honey smoke mix on chops, place in oven for 15 minutes

After 15 minutes flip chops over and brush with remaining mix cook an additional twenty minutes

Crock-pot Chicken Fajitas

I have been making this recipe for close to thirteen years. When I came up with the idea for this recipe “it was let me throw all of these ingredients into the bowl and see what comes out.” This is quick, versatile, simple, tasty, and most off all inexpensive to make

Ingredients:

1 can of Rotel (heat and style is up to you)

2 cans of Black Beans, undrained (we like Ranch Style Brand)

Onion, small and chopped

2 boneless skinless frozen Chicken Breasts

1 clove Garlic, minced

Cumin, ground to taste

1 bunch of Cilantro

Place chicken in bottom of pot.  My family does not care for cilantro chopped up in their food so I lay the entire bunch on top of the chicken. Pour black beans, onion, garlic and Rotel over chicken, lightly dust with cumin. Cover cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When done gently push back beans and Rotel, lift out and discard cilantro. Carefully lift out the chicken, which will be very tender, slice or shred into preferred size.

Serve a variety of ways: over rice, tortilla chips or in tortillas (wheat, flour or corn.) I will usually serve with spanish rice, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, and sliced avocado in tortillas

Serves 4 people

Flavored Olive Oils

The holiday season will soon be here. The season also brings parties, family gatherings, and yummy food. One of those tasty treats might be crusty bread and infused olive oil.

 These infused oils can be costly if you purchase them in the store. On average,the lowest price I found for a garlic olive oil was $19.95. Why pay that much, when you can make it for a fraction of the cost?

 Around the holidays, infused oils work well when you need a host gift. Why show up with the traditional bottle of wine or plant, when you can bring homemade flavored olive oil?

Stop shaking your head in doubt, and saying this is too difficult or you do not have the time. I promise this is simple to make and takes little effort or time on your part.

The first step, deciding on your olive oil. Since I am going to flavor it, I usually get an inexpensive brand of extra virgin olive oil. If you keep an eye out for sales advertisements, you can sometimes get great deals. The Food Lion grocery stores sometimes have the pint bottles on sale for buy one get one free. World Market/Cost Plus will also have excellent same day sales on olive oil.

Next, you will need to decide what flavors you want to make. I have made, garlic, rosemary garlic and cayenne pepper. For garlic, you will need one head of garlic peeled. Leaving the cloves whole is preferred, but you can crack the cloves to remove the skin. Place garlic in your crock-pot and add olive oil, I use either a 16-ounce or a 24-ounce bottle. Cook on low for six hours, turn off heat and cool. When the pot is cool enough to handle, remove garlic and place in bowl for later. Strain oil through doubled cheesecloth into the jar or container you will be storing your oil. It is important there are no bits of garlic in the container. The reason is because garlic is water based, and we do not want to grow any botchalism.

Rosemary garlic olive oil is made the exact way as the garlic. Add a sprig or two of fresh rosemary to the pot with the garlic and olive oil. Again make sure to remove the entire sprig when done.

Cayenne pepper uses the same amount of oil and the same cooking time. I use four or five whole dried cayenne peppers instead of fresh. Dried peppers will float in liquid. What I suggest is make tiny little slices along the pepper so the oil can get in and the flavor out. When cool you will still need to strain the oil through the cheesecloth. If the peppers are intact you can add them or fresh (dried) peppers to the bottle.

I usually make the pepper oil once a year. I only use it when I want to spice something up like roast vegetables or when making pot stickers. I make the garlic several times a year and use it  daily for cooking.

Now for those garlic cloves you set aside. You can make your own garlic butter, by either making your own butter or soften 1 cup of whole unsalted butter and blend together with the cloves. On the other hand, you can skip the butter. Slice a baguette and spread the cloves on the slices like butter.

Time to make more....

Southwest Potatoes

Please pass this page on to your friends! http://ohthatisyummy.blogspot.com/

Pan-fried then baked these potatoes pack a lot of flavor. This versatile side dish that could be used in many ways. Without the cheese topping, these would be great with scrambled eggs or take it step further and serve in tortillas with eggs, bacon or sausage and a little salsa.

Serve with the cheese and sour cream for a Taco Bell knock-off dish, or add left over roast chicken and serve in tortillas. Whichever way you choose these potatoes will have your family coming back for more.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of small potatoes diced into 1 inch pieces     

2 tablespoons of cumin

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

1 small package of Velveeta

1/3 cup of salsa

2 tablespoons of canola oil (vegetable oil, bacon grease would be the wonderful!)

¼ cup of sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475°F

Place potatoes, cumin and garlic powder in plastic storage bag or large bowl, toss until potatoes are well coated.

In large oven safe skillet warm oil, add potatoes and pan fry for ten minutes or until golden brown and tender.

Place skillet in oven for ten minutes stirring at five minutes.  If needed cook an additional five minutes (15 minutes total) until potatoes are crispy.

Slice Velveeta into 1 inch cubes, place in microwave safe bowl (I prefer my 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup) with salsa, cook on high, two minutes at time. Stir between intervals until the cheese is melted and smooth.  

Place ¼ to ½ cup portions of potatoes on dish, topping with cheese and a teaspoon of sour cream

We get 4 to 6 servings from this dish

Oven Roasted Green Beans Almondine

Last year for Thanksgiving, I made Green beans Almondine. I did not really care for the part of pre-cooking the beans then dunking them in ice water. I took that step out and roasted the beans in the oven. This summer at the farmers market, I bought several different varieties of beans and subjected the kids to taste testing. We have decided that the Eagles variety is the ones we like the best. They have a great taste, not stringy and freeze really well.

I have been buying a pound or two at a time and freezing them throughout the summer. Saturday I was buying another pound and half and the women told me it was their last weekend until spring. They were gracious enough for me to take their photo at way to early before seven clock in the morning.

Oven Roasted Green Beans Almondine

¼ cup of butter or margarine

1 pound of green beans, whole

1 cup of slivered of sliced Almonds

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350°F

Wash and snap ends of bean, leaving whole.

Melt butter in a 2qt baking dish, add almonds and toast lightly. When almonds are brown, add garlic and beans to the dish, making sure beans are coated with remaining butter.

Bake for ten minutes before turning beans over, cook for another 5 to 8 minutes before removing from oven. Salt and pepper to taste, sometimes I will sprinkle crushed red peppers on beans. Beans should have a small amount of crispness to them.

There are 4,001,892 ways to cook a potato

I am not sure about everyone else, but I feel like I have gained ten pounds just writing all the recipes this week. How about we lighten up with Scalloped Potatoes? I know you hear Scalloped Potatoes, the last thing you have in mind is light and healthy. 
Like most recipes this calls for salt, I do not add salt to my recipes. Most of the time you do not notice the difference, we get enough salt in our diets from processed foods. When my husband and I got married. I noticed that every time we ate, he loaded his food with salt and pepper even before tasting it. I figured he was going to salt his food before tasting it, there was no reason to add the salt. Over the years, he has given up this mind-set and now tastes before salting. That being said if you would like to add salt to this recipe please add ¼ teaspoon.

This recipe was passed out at a Weight Watchers meeting: 

Scalloped Potatoes

Makes 4 servings

2 large baking potatoes, thinly sliced

2 onions, thinly sliced

¼ cup of minced parsley, fresh

3 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt (try using garlic powder instead of salt!)

2 cups of hot skim milk

1/3 cup of shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese ( I always used more)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10” X 6” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray

Layer one-third of potatoes and onions in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle evenly with half of the parsley and flour. Repeat the layering once more, ending with the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle evenly with pepper and salt (garlic)

Pour the milk over the top and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the potatoes are tender and the top is browned, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

If you make this recipe with salt, here are the nutritional values per serving:

Calories 215, total fat 2g, Saturated fat 1g

Cholesterol 9mg, Sodium 284 mg,

Total Carbohydrate 38g, Dietary Fiber 4g,

Protein 11g, Calcium 267mg

So you have roasted a whole chicken for dinner, what do you with the leftovers?

We all have a million and one recipes for chicken, it is so adaptable. When I roast a whole chicken, I pick every tinny tiny bit of meat off the bone I can. I might seem time consuming but between the wings, back, and those bits of the breastbones, you can gather almost a cup of meat. Why throw away enough food for another meal? Why throw away money?

You have played vulture and stripped the meat from the bones, now what? You can always use it in a salad, but have you thought about making a warm, fork licking, savory potpie? Now do not cringe and say "no, too much work" or "I don’t have time to make a potpie!" Ah but you do, and I promise it is easy to make. You can make it when you get home from work today if you have the ingredients.

I never made a potpie before because:

A.      I thought it was difficult and it intimidated me.

B.      I cannot make a beautiful piecrust to save my life. I keep trying, but it just is not blue ribbon, fair pretty.

C.      Always went to the store and bought frozen ones, not any more!

One day last winter, I sat and looked at recipes for Chicken Potpie. I then printed out my four favorite recipes, combined what I liked best about each to make one recipe.

Next came the piecrust. I can make a crust scratch, and do not even mind doing it. But what about when I am short on time or do not want to tackle making a piecrust? No problem, I cheat and go buy the dough already made. Mine still is not pretty, but I will only improve with practice.

My family loves this recipe and usually gorge themselves to the point there are no leftovers... pitty

Chicken potpie

Ingredients:

1 double piecrust dough for 9 inch pie (I used a Food Lion Brand)

1 cup boneless skinless chicken (you can use a breast, cut into small bite size pieces)

1 cup sliced carrots

1 small potato, peeled and cubed into bite size pieces

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup of butter (yes-real butter, unsalted would be best)

1/3 cup of all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon of salt*

2 teaspoon of pepper*

1 teaspoon of garlic* or one fresh minced clove

* I usually just eyeball and go by shakes of container, but those should be good estimates

2/3 cup of milk (1%)

2  chicken bouillon cubes (I use Knorr)

1 3/4 water drained from vegetables

1 can of Campbell’s cream of chicken soup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In saucepan, combine carrots, peas, potato, celery, salt, garlic and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (If using uncooked chicken add to pot) Add enough water to cover vegetables, add bouillon boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In skillet over medium heat, melt butter and cook onions until soft and translucent.

 Drain off 1 ¾ cup of broth from the vegetables and reserve. Drain any remaining liquid from vegetables and set aside.

To your skillet, stir in flour and pepper then slowly stir in milk, cream of chicken soup then the reserved broth until well-blended making thick gravy.

Place bottom piecrust in pie plate; add chicken and vegetables making sure bottom is well covered. Pour hot liquid over mixture. (Depending on your pie plate you might have extra vegetables and gravy mixture. Reserve them, and pour over a baked potato the next day for a hearty lunch!)

 Place top crust over mixture, seal edges, and trim any excess. Make several slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Wrap edges of pie with foil to prevent burning.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.