Coconut Bars

This past summer I did an Easy Breezy Summer Recipe night and this was my favorite recipe from the whole night. Thank you Heather J!
Coconut Bars

1 & 1/2 C Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 C Butter melted
1 can (14oz) Condensed Milk
1 package (7oz) Coconut
2 C Chocolate chips
1/2 C Peanut Butter

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter and press into 9x13 pan. Combine coconut and milk and spread over crust. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until slightly browned. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter and spread over bars. Keep cool in refrigerator.

Tortilla Soup

This is another soup I make with homemade stock/broth. Here is the link again, with the health benefits and recipe on one page. (I find I crave this for mineral content and especially calcium now that I am no longer drinking milk.)

Tortilla Soup

(my mother-in-law's recipe)

1 pound cooked chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz. can diced green chiles
15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. lemon-pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon hot sauce
4 tablespoons flour
½ cup water

1. Boil water with chicken and bouillon until cooked. Save 4 cups broth and cube chicken. (I don't do this part, I make stock that morning and use the broth and chicken from it. If I am in a pinch and do not have time to do that, I will use bouillon but from the Better Than Bouillon jars, NOT the cubes. (They contain MSG.))
   
2. In a large stockpot, sauté onion, garlic in oil. Add green chiles, tomatoes, saved broth, lemon pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.
3. Add flour and water and cook until thickened. Add chicken and stir to combine.
4. Serve with tortilla chips, guacamole, sour cream and grated cheese on top.

Cheese and Vegetable Chowder

This is, without a doubt, my favorite soup of all time. Seriously. It is good with store bought stock, but I highly recommend buying an organic, free range chicken if you can find a decently priced one (I go to Sprouts), and making your own stock that morning. Then you just use the stock that night for dinner. The reason I go through the trouble is for the massive health benefits from one single recipe and made all in one pot: Broth is Beautiful (recipe included).

Cheese and Vegetable Chowder

2 T. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large leek, split lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 T. whole wheat pastry flour
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 turnip, finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1½ cups light cream or half-and-half
10½ oz. mature Cheddar cheese, grated
fresh chopped parsley, to garnish
salt and pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan or stockpot over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to soften.
2. Stir the flour into the vegetables and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add a little of the stock and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to mix in the flour. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and slowly stir in the rest of the stock.
3. Add the carrots, celery, turnip, potato, thyme and bay leaf. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme branches.
4. Stir in the cream and simmer over a very low heat for 5 minutes. Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring constantly for 1 minute after each addition, to make sure it is completely melted. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, adding salt if needed, and pepper to taste. Ladle immediately into warm bowls, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
   

Vegetable Soup

Now that cold weather has finally turned cold I thought I should share this recipe:
This basic soup can be made with any combination of fresh or frozen vegetables, so you can switch it up and it will taste different each time.
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 C chopped onions or leeks
1 C thinly sliced celery
2 tsp Italian seasoning
3 cans (14.5oz) vegetable or chicken broth
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes with juice
1 Tbsp tomato paste
8 C mixed fresh or frozen vegetables (I like to do carrots, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans but really the sky is the limit. I've also done cabbage and cauliflower.)

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add broth, tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, and 2 1/2 C water to pot; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce and heat to simmer, and cook, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Add vegetables to pot, and return to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Now I know I got this off of a recipe blog 2 years ago but for the life of me don't remember where so special to the mysterious blogger who gave me this recipe.

This recipe is also great to freeze and save for later!

Fresh Mushroom Soup

So, mushrooms were the last food I have taught myself to, if not like, at least appreciate for their "mushroomyness." (I've hated mushrooms for as long as I can remember.)

They were the only food that would make me gag (well, that an gristle, but is gristle really a food?). Still, over the past two years, I've been trying to incorporate them into our meals, and now, I can say, "Mmmm, that's a good mushroom dish." Notot my favorite food, but mushrooms and I get along better now.


I think there's a metaphor for life somewhere in there, but I'll spare you those thoughts.

Really, the ultimate triumph is that I can enjoy this mushroom soup. Not that this is a hard soup to like. It's rich and creamy. Seriously, it could be a sauce over a poached egg and an English muffin for a decadent breakfast or dinner.

Fresh Mushroom Soup
Gourmet Cookbook

2 cups half and half
1 medium onion
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced I used 2 8 oz boxes of creminis with the stems removed because they were looking a little yucky
4 t all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or store-bought broth I used the stock left over from this dish
1/2 Turkish bay leaf or 1/4 California bay leaf
1/4 t salt
1/8 t freshly ground pepper
2 t fresh lemon juice I had the lemon, but forgot to add it

Bring half-and-half just to a boil in a heavy sacuepan, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, cut a 3/4-inch-thick crosswise slice from center of onion; reserve remainder for another use I'm not sure why or how they thought of this, but I'm glad--it would have been weird , kind of disturbing the texture of the soup, to have diced onions floating there, which is what I was tempted to do until I realized this would save me work!

Heat butter in a 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add onion slice, then sprinkle mushrooms with flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add stock in a slow stream, stirring constantly, then add half-and-half, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Discard onion and bay leaf and stir in lemon juice.

Add a loaf of French bread to dip in this soup and a salad for a quick easy dinner!

Escarole, Sausage, and White Bean Stew

My family doesn't like spicy food, but I think the heat here is important to the overall flavor. I found a sprinkling of cayenne did the trick; kids would still eat it and the heat was still there albeit slightly muted. With a loaf of bread and a side of apple slices, this was an easy dinner.

With some minor modifications (dairy-free sausage, no butter or cheese), I think this dish would still be quiet good, definitely lower in calories, and a top-8 allergy-free dish.

Escarole, Sausage, and White Bean Stew
Gourmet Cookbook

1 t olive oil
1 pound bulk Italian sausage (sweet and/or hot) broken into 1-inch pieces I used Trader Joe's chicken sausage with fontina cheese and garlic
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste I sprinkled a bit (less than 1/8 t) of cayenne pepper instead
1 head escarole, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces couldn't find this anywhere! I used 1 C thawed frozen spinach instead
3 c cooked or canned white beans, such as great northern or navy, drained and rinsed if canned I used 2 15 oz cans of great northerns
3 c chicken stock
1/2 stick (4 T) unsalted butter
1/2 c finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or a combination of Parmigiano and pecorino Romans
2 plum tomatoes, diced I drained a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 T choped fresh flat leaf parsley not a bit fan, so I left this out

Kosher salt and pepper

Heat oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown sausage, stirring, for 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is softened, about 2 minutes. Add beans and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add stock and beese, tomatoes, and hal Stir in butter, cheese, tomatoes, and half of parsley and cook, stirring, until butter is melted and stew is heated through.

Magical Mint Kiss Cookies

I didn't know this was a Hershey's recipe until I bought a bag of Mint Kisses two years ago. I thought my mom made it up! Either way, a delicious chocolate-mint recipe for those who are partial to the combination. I know I am.

Magical Mint Kiss Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
48 mint kisses, unwrapped
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixer fitted the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. In another bowl, blend flour and cocoa together; gradually add to butter mixture on low speed. Mold a scant tablespoon of dough around each individual mint kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute and then remove from baking sheet to cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar once and then roll a second time just before serving.