Ham And Potato Soup

This is 'soup-er' yummy! I can pretty much eat all of it myself.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Directions
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

BLT Salad

Ingredients:

6 cups romaine lettuce

1/2 small red onion, diced

3/4 c grape tomatoes, cut in half

3 slices bread (for croutons)

1/2 c mayo

1 T lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 t season salt

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

*Toss lettuce, onion and tomatoes in a salad bowl

*Place bread in toaster or under broiler and toast until golden brown and crispy. Cut each slice of toast into cubes.

*Combine mayo, lemon juice, garlic and season salt. Mix together and toss with salad ingredients. Top with bacon and croutons.

It's fast, it's easy, I have all these things in my house, and it's tasty.

Oriental Cabbage Salad

My whole family loves this one. I have it as a side to meat all the time.

1 Pkg cabbage or as much chopped cabbage as you would like
1pkg ramen noodles crushed
3-4 green onion chopped
2 tsp. sesame seeds or slivered almonds ( I never put this in)

1/4 c.oil
1/4 c. red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Packet of ramen seasoning.

Mix together the dressing and pour over the salad mixture. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Muffins

I make these alot to go with soups and stuff. For those of you who were stuck at my home during the ice storm of 2008, these were "the" muffins. They whip up in literally 5 minutes. Easy as pie!

1/2 c. butter, margarine or applesauce
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. milk or water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter & sugar, add egg and mix in other until blended.

Put into muffin tins and bake on 425 for 12-15 min.

Enjoy

Black Bean Enchiladas

Don't judge until you've eaten them. My entire family devours these! Very good for you when you're trying to watch the calories!

1 or 2 cans black beans
several cloves of pressed garlic
onions diced in the amount of your choice
1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
chili powder (lots)
cumin (little)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans tomato sauce
tortillas
cheese

saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add 1 can of tomato sauce, seasonings, and cilantro. Simmer til all the flavors are nicely mixed. Then add beans and heat through. Spread some tomato sauce in a baking dish, put filling in the tortillas, roll and put in baking dish. Cover with remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 til melted and crusty on the sides.

Enchilada Soup

This recipe is impressive nutritionally and it tastes soooo good! I might also add that it's very easy because you boil everything in 1 big pot all together! Don't worry about the ingredients. You blend it all together so the kids and even the picky husband have no idea what you put into this thing. Rich swears he doesn't like squash but it's in here and he has no idea :)

2 Qts. water
1/2 butternut squash with outside peeled off
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can chopped green chili's
1 large onion chopped
5 medium potatoes, washed and cubed
1 sweet red pepper ( don't leave this out)
2 cloves garlic
1 t salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp Taco seasoning ( or 1 Tbsp chili powder)
2 cans white beans
1 c. sour cream

Cook everything except beans and sour cream in 1 big pot until veggies are tender.
Pull out the chicken when done and cube or shred
Dump the pot into your blender and blend then dump back into your pot. You could blend your beans to disguise them but I don't I add them after I've blended.
Add chicken, beans and sour cream.
Serve.

Texas Chicken

This recipe is great for food storage. All the items in this recipe can be stored.

1 can chicken ( I use 1 big frozen chicken breast boiled if i don't want to use canned) but really you can put as much chicken in it as you want.

1 regular size can enchilada sauce

1 can green chili's

10 corn tortillas ripped up into small pieces or 3 handfuls of tortilla chips crushed.

1-2 cups shredded chedder cheese.

This recipe is really a winger recipe. I don't put hardly any cheese in mine when I'm trying to be "good". Make it how you want it.

Mix well in a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 375* until bubbling around edges of pan. You want the corn tortillas, that are on the top, to get a little crispy. Serve with sour cream, olives and salsa if desired. Can eat by itself or you can dip tortilla chips into it as scoops or plop a glop into a warmed flour tortilla and enjoy! We also love to serve this with spanish rice and put a little rice, a little chicken stuff, sour cream and roll it up in a tortilla. Yum and easy!

Pesto Turkey Burgers

This mediterranean style turkey burger is flavored with basil pesto and crumbled feta cheese. It's delicious, fancy, and ready in only 20 minutes! I served this with pan fried asparagus! Serve on buns with lettuce, miracle whip and tomotoes.

Prep Time: 10 min. Cook Time: 10 min. Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
2 Tbsp basil pesto (I added more)
1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves of garlic pressed
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp seasoned salt ( I didn't do this)

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.

2. Mix together ground turkey, pesto, garlic, feta cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt, and bread crumbs in a bowl until evenly blended. Form into 4 patties.

3. Grill pesto burgers until no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Sprinkle with seasoned salt halfway through cooking.

Spicy Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup medium salsa
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 cup corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Heat a large, nonstick pot over medium-high heat and stir in the ground turkey, onion, garlic, green pepper, and red pepper. Cook and stir until the turkey is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, salsa, barbecue sauce, green chilies, corn, and black beans. Season with lime juice, cumin, red pepper flakes, chili powder, and cilantro. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the flavors develop, 1 to 3 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on each serving.

Chicken Strips

This is a favorite at our house, and I love it because the ingredients are things I usually have on hand!

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
2/3 c Bisquick (or other pancake mix)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t paprika
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 T butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.
3. In a plastic resealable bag, mix Bisquick, parmesan cheese, garlic salt and paprika.
4. Dip half the chicken strips in egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture. Seal the bag and shake to coat.
5. Place chicken on cookie sheet.
6.Repeat using remaining chicken.
7. Drizzle butter over chicken.
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes, turning halfway through bake time.

*I like to melt a little more butter than the recipe calls for.
*I also bake them a few minutes longer than suggested, it makes them crispier.

Spicy Sausage Burgers

Ingredients:

Burgers:
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds coarsely ground pork
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 1 tablespoon

Steak Sauce:
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup tomato sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Burgers:
In a large bowl, combine the pork, red pepper flakes, paprika, fennel, sage, onion, garlic and salt. Form the meat into 4 patties, put on a plate and coat with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Heat a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, add the patties and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Top the patties with a slice of provolone during the last minute of cook time and tent with foil to melt. Place patties on bun and top with your favorite hamburger toppings.

Steak Sauce:
Heat a small pot over medium-low heat and add the brown sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, tomato sauce and black pepper, to taste. Simmer until the mixture becomes a thick steak sauce consistency, about 15 minutes.

Me-Oh-My these were soooooo tasty!