Italian Rolls / Bread

by Ellie Weightman, adapted from recipe submitted by Jeanne Reeves

Use a 1 1/2 lb bread machine or larger

Dough Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 pk)

In bread machine, add all the ingredients for the dough, starting with the water, flour, sugar, oil, salt and yeast. Set machine on basic white dough cycle. When complete, remove from pan and place on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper with corn meal lightly sprinkled on it. Punch dough down and reshape following instructions under SHAPE OPTIONS (below).

OPTIONS FOR SHAPE:
Rolls: Shape into rolls or whatever shape and size desired. See crust options below. Let rise 45 minutes. Bake at 375º for 20-25 minutes depending on individual size until brown.

Single Loaf:  Shape into loaf.  Place on parchment paper on baking sheet.  Cover with wax paper and let rise 45 minutes.   Put a slice down the center of loaf with sharp knife. See crust options below. Bake at 375º for 35-40 minutes until brown. Preferred to use the convection cycle (if available) so fan may brown the crust nicely. Let cool 30 minutes before slicing. (Hint: toast slightly in oven or toaster oven until warm, remove and rub a clove of garlic on the warm bread for garlic bread). Can also be made as a smaller, thinner loaf to cut into small slices for Bruschetta.

CRUST OPTIONS for Bread and Rolls:
Option 1: Mix 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp water: brush over tops of loaves / rolls.

Option 2: Spray dough with Pam or olive oil on top (sesame seeds are also nice sprinkled on top).

*In the winter, I like to let the dough rise on top of the stove while the oven is pre-heating.

Proper Care of Cast Iron Cookware

by Ellie Weightman

Cast iron cookware needs special handling after using.  Use a good liquid detergent that DOES NOT HAVE any citrus scents, the best I have found so far is Dawn Original, yes the old Dawn without any special scents or additives.  Use a brush or scrungie to clean the pot/pan. When done, dry completely with a towel.  Put the pan back on your stovetop and pour about 1/2 tsp or any light oil (sunflower works well) into the pan.  Using a paper towel, wipe the oil all over the inside of the pan. Let it sit one hour or so to soak up the oil then wipe again with a dry paper towel, then store.  When storing if you have to stack with other pans, put a towel or paper towel in between the pans.  It is preferred if you can use a special stacker to keep pans separate.  I have one for my cast iron pans and will add a picture soon to show you what I mean.

It is also beneficial to once in a while instead of just letting the pan sit to soak up the oil to put it in a 350 degree oven to prime it.  I usually put my favorite cast iron skillet in the oven after wiping it with oil and the next time I preheat my oven, it will also prime my pan.  Be careful ALL PARTS OF A CAST IRON PAN WILL GET HOT, INCLUDING THE HANDLE.

Cast iron pans (I like the Lodge brand) are great for recipes like home fries or steaks that get seared on the stovetop then put in the oven to finalize.  My favorite Eye Roast of Beef is done this way.

Cracker Barrel's Hash Browns Casserole - Copycat

Posted by Jennifer Bertotti


I got this from recipezaar.com; it is a copycat of Cracker Barrel's famous recipe but I made some changes.  We made it with eggs tonight, and it was fantastic! 

Ingredients


2 lbs frozen hash browns (thaw first)
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 11 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray.  Brown onions if you want before mixing.
Mix the above ingredients together, place in prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.  We had to add 15 minutes.  Make sure you stir halfway through.

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce

Just got done making this for dinner.  Chris and I both thought it was excellent!  Adapted from a recipe in the "Cuisine at Home" magazine.  Had with mixed veggies and teryiaki rice.

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 lb talapia fillets (4-6)
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
  

 

Directions

Mix five-spice powder, salt, and cayenne pepper with 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl.

Pat fillets dry; brush both sides with spice mixture. 

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until skillet is lightly smoking.

Add fillets; saute 3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with scallions. Serve with Hot Orange-Ginger Sauce.

HOT ORANGE-GINGER SAUCE

¼ cup orange marmalade
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Whisk marmalade, orange juice, vinegar, ginger root, and pepper flakes together in small bowl.

Saute garlic in saucepan with oil over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add marmalade mixture and simmer, stirring continuously, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Italian Bread with Oregano

by Ellie Weightman - I adapted this recipe using my Aunt Jeanne Reeves' recipe for Italian Rolls also posted on this blog.  Great for a spaghetti night!

Uses 1 1/2 lb bread machine for dough cycle only.

Can also be made without parmesan, oregano, basil and garlic for a plain Italian Bread.

Bread ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 cup warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

4 cloves roasted garlic, mash

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp water

Set bread machine on white dough cycle. Add all bread ingredients. When complete, roll into Italian bread size, put on cookie sheet on top of parchment paper. Cover with wax paper and let rise 45 minutes. Make a single slice down the center of the loaf or 4 crosswise cuts.  Combine yolk and water in small bowl and whisk. Brush egg wash over top of bread.

Bake at 375º for 25 minutes or until brown. When done, cool on wire rack at least 1 hour before slicing.

Sesame-Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Adapted from Ellie Krieger’s “The Food You Crave” Cookbook Recipe
Ingredients:

Teriyaki Sauce

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp dry sherry
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crush with garlic press
1 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in small bowl, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate left overs for one week.

Chicken:
1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce (prepared as above)
4 bone-in chicken thighs with skin removed
1/2 tblsp sesame seeds

Pour the sauce into a zip-lock bag and add the chicken. Seal the bag and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Preheat the broiler. Remove the chicken form the marinade and arrange it on broiler pan skin side down (as if the chicken still had skin). Discard the marinade. Broil the chicken until brown and crispy about 8 to 10 minutes, then turn the pieces over and broil until amost cooked through, about 8 minutes longer.

Sprinkle the chicken with the sesame seeds and cook until the seeds turn golden brown and the chicken is done, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Perfect Eye-of-Round Roast

by Ellie Weightman - Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe in "Kitchen Classics" Cookbook

A cast iron skillet is needed for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 beef eye-of-round roast (2 ½ to 3 lbs)
1 tblsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 tsp Seasoned Salt (optional)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground or fresh ginger

Directions:
Make sure of the size of your roast, look at the label on the piece of meat or use a kitchen scale if you have one on hand. It matters for the cook time.

Preheat oven to 500º. Mix oil and liquid smoke in small bowl.  Rub the roast with oil/smoke mix. Mix all the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Completely coat all sides of the roast with the seasonings. Place roast in a 12 to 15 inch cast iron skillet. Put roast in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 350º. Roast the beef for 20 minutes per pound (this is where you need to know the weight of your roast). Use a meat thermometer and cook to 125º for medium-rare or 135-140º for medium. Cool for 15 minutes before carving. Cut into thin slices across the grain of the meat.

Good leftover too!

Spinach Fusilli Salad / Side Dish

by Ellie Weightman - I threw together this recipe one night to use as a side dish with chicken teriyaki, you can vary the ingredients and the amount of servings to your liking.  This serves 2-3 adults as a side dish.

Ingredients:
2 cups dry Spinach Fusilli pasta
Olive oil
2 slices bacon, fry and crumble
10-12 cherry tomatoes, sliced OR ½ whole tomato, sliced
1 garlic, minced
1 tblsp dry minced onion
1 tblsp fresh parsley, chop
1/3 tblsp fresh basil, chop
1/4 tsp fresh oregano
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
In a 2 qt saucepan, fill 3/4 with cold water. Add the dry minced onion, a dash of salt and 1 tblsp olive oil.

Bring to boil and add pasta, prepare as directed on box, drain and rinse to cool (some of the minced onions will stick to pasta – that’s fine.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, dash salt and pepper in bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over the mix and stir to blend. Add in crumbled bacon. Pour on top of cooled pasta.

Other ingredients may be added to your liking or substituted for any of the above. Suggestions: mushrooms, sub can diced tomatoes for the cherry tomatoes, fresh onions, broccoli, etc.

Chicken with Lemon Glaze (Low fat)

Posted by Jennifer Bertotti 
 

Chicken with Lemon Glaze (low fat)

My husband and I love this one, this is a must-eat in our house at few times a month!  Found this one on recipezaar.

4 chicken breasts

2 T Dijon Mustard

1-2 large eggs

1 cup of dry breadcrumbs (Panko are my favorite, but can use regular seasoned)

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1-2 T olive oil for frying

Lemon Glaze

1/4 c chicken broth
2 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

4-5 thin lemon slices

fresh parsley

Directions: 

1. Whisk mustard & eggs in small bowl.

2.  Combine dry bread crumbs with poultry seasoning, garlic powder, seasoning salt

3.  Dip chicken in egg mixture (shaking off excess); then coat well with crumb mixture.

4.  Heat olive oil in skillet, add chicken, cook 5 min each side, or until cooked; transfer to plate

5.  Add glaze to skillet -- broth, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt; bring to a boil, scraping any brown bits from the pan.

6.  Add lemon slices & parsley - combine one minute.

7.  Spoon glaze over chicken.

Organizing recipes in binders

Posted by Jennifer Bertotti  


I found this post on another blog called Cheat Day Cafe - it's a great post about the best way to organize your recipes that you find online, or recipes you've typed up yourself into a binder.  I know a lot of people like to save them on the computer, but I also love to have a hard copy.  I started doing this today and it is working out wonderfully!

 Here is how you start:

1. Create a new document in Microsoft Word.

2. Go to File/Page Setup, and then go to "Orientation" and click on "landscape". Change both top and bottom margins to 1".

3. Click Format on the toolbar and go down to "Columns". In presets, click on "two columns". Click "OK". This will make it so you can get two recipes on one page.

4. Save your file.

5.  Find your favorite recipes and paste, changing the font if you wish, etc. and make sure you give each one a title.   If you do not want to include pictures, just cut them out.  If you find a recipe on a recipe website, you might have more luck hitting the "print" option on that recipe site and copying from that page before you paste into your Word Document.
 

6. Put the cursor on the the beginning of the next page to start your next recipe.

7.  Make sure you save your recipes!

Here is what you need when you are ready to make the books:

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Memo Size Binders
8 1/2 x 5 1/2 Memo Size Sheet Protectors
Paper cutter
Tabs to mark categories

Garden Salad

by Jeanne B.

This is just a regular salad that I make with dinner every week.  I got most of this from my mother-in-law. It's yummy!

Lettuce (any kind you prefer)
1 cucumber
1 tomato
Onion (I only use a little bit to taste)
2 stalks of celery
1 green pepper
2 stalks of carrots
Extra sharp cheddar cheese
Croutons
Almonds or soy nuts
Raisins


Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

You can use any dressing you like.  I like to make the Zesty Italian with those packets.

Herbed Chicken

Posted by Jennifer Bertotti


Source:  Recipezaar
 

This is great if you need a fast meal, and you most likely have all of the ingredients on hand.  I keep a bottle of Pinot Grigio on hand for the white wine since I think it tastes better than the cooking wine, but I'm sure it's fine with cooking wine too.

I baked it for 30 minutes and then my husband grilled it for the last 5 minutes ... we had to add more wine in the pan because the sauce started to reduce in the pan.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 4-6 chicken breasts 

Directions

• Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a large Ziploc bag and mix.
• When all ingredients are well combined, add chicken breasts.
• Marinate in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, no longer then that.
• When ready to cook, brush BBQ with oil and cook chicken until no longer pink inside.
• Throw out the Ziploc bag and marinade.
• Serve over pasta with a red sauce or on it’s own with a salad.

Chicken Nuggets

by Peg Gries

Ingredients:

Chicken breast cutlets
1 cup club soda
All-purpose flour
salt
pepper
1 cup Complete Pancake Mix

Adjust ingredients according to amount of chicken used.

Cut cutlets into bite-size pieces and wash.  Combine flour, salt and pepper together and stir with fork.  Pour into a plastic or paper bag.  Put chicken in the bag and shake (this is pre-coating). 

Combine club soda and pancake mix in a deep bowl.  Mix well.  Remove chicken from the flour bag and dip into the pancake mix.  Deep fry.

NOTES:  For a variety of flavors, add seasonings such as paprika, garlic powder, etc to your liking.  Let us know how it is.

Chicken Noodle Soup

by Ellie Weightman, Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Recipe
Crock pot option - allow more time

Ingredients for Stock:

1 tblsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground chicken
3 small boiler onions (cut in half) OR 1 small onion, chopped med (about 1 cup)
1 med carrot, peeled and chopped medium (1/2 cup)
1 med celery stalk, chop medium
3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1 quart water
2 quarts (64 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsp table salt
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 oz each), cut in half crosswise

Ingredients for Soup:

3 tblsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin (1 cup)
1 med celery stalk, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces (1/2 cup)
1 med russet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cup)
4 oz egg noodles (1 cup)
2 cups Collard Greens (frozen or fresh)
1 tblsp minced fresh parsley or 1/2 tblsp dried

Stock:  Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until simmering.  Add ground chicken, onion, carrot, garlic and celery.  Cook, stirring frequently until chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes but do not brown.

Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add water, broth, bay leaves, salt and chicken breasts: cover and cook 30 minutes.  Remove lid, increase heat to high and bring to boil.  (If liquid is already boiling when lid is removed, remove chicken breasts immediately and continue with recipe).  Transfer chicken breasts to large plate and set aside.  Continue to cook stock for 20 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain gentle boil.  Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large pot or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Allow liquid to settle 5 minues and skim off fat

Soup:  Return stock to Dutch oven set over medium-high heat.  In small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth slurry forms; stir into stock and bring to gentle boil. 

____

Option 1:  Add onion, carrots, celery and potato and cook until potato pieces are almost tender, 10-15 minutes, adjusting as necessary to maintain gentle boil.  Add egg noodles and continue to cook until all vegetables and noodles are tender, about 5 minutes longer.j

Remove skin and bones from reserved cooked chicken and discard.  Shred meat with fingers or 2 forks.  Add shredded chicken, collard greens and parsley to soup and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

______

Option 2 - Crock Pot:  In a crock pot, add onion, carrots, celery and potato and cook on high until potato pieces are almost tender (approximately 2 1/2 - 3 hours depending on the size you cut your potatoes).  Meanwhile, remove bone and skin from chicken and shred chicken with fingers.

Once the vegetables are tender, add egg noodles, shredded chicken, collard greens and parsley to soup and cook until heated through, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Oatmeal Cake with Raisins and Pecans

by Ellie Weightman, adapted recipe from Southern Cakes Book, 2007

BEST MAKING A DAY IN ADVANCE AS IT FIRMS UP WHEN SITTING ONE DAY.  THIS IS THE SAME CONSISTENCY OF A REALLY GOOD RESTAURANT CARROT CAKE.

Who says oatmeal is only for breakfast!!  Not your traditional cake but a little less guilt with all the fiber. If you love oatmeal cookies, you will love this one!

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 6 chunks
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar OR vanilla sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Coconut-Pecan Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or one 13 x 9 inch pan. 

In a medium bowl, combine the oatmeal, butter, and boiling water and stir to mix them together.  Set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and stir with a fork to mix well. 

In a mixing bowl, combine both sugars with the eggs and vanilla and beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl until thick and light colored.

Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 2 batches, beating just long enough each time to make the flour disappear.  Mix in the oatmeal, raisins and chopped pecans folding well to combine everything into a nubby but well-mixed batter.

Fill prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center and begin pulling away from the sides of the pan.  Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  For round cakes, turn over onto wire racks, top side up and finish cooling.  For the rectangular pan, just continue to cool in the pan.

Frosting:

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, evaporated milk and sugar and place over medium heat.  Bring to a gentle boil, stirring often.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, pecans and coconut.  Beat well with a spoon or spatula until it is thickened.  Cool. 

Spread frosting between the two layers and then on the top of the cake - do not frost sides.  If using a rectangular pan, spread icing on top and serve right from pan.

Ellie's Breakfast Home Fries

Created by Ellie Weightman

4 red potatoes, peeled and sliced (found that the red ones worked best)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
Pepper
Table salt
1/4 - 1/2 stick butter or margarine

Place potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl and fill bowl with water covering potatoes.  Add the kosher salt.  Microwave on high for 10 minutes (adjust to number of potatoes you are making).  When complete, drain and rinse the potatoes.

Preheat a skillet (cast iron best) and melt butter.  Add rinsed and drained potatoes and the onions.  Salt (table) and pepper to your preference.

Cover skillet and cook potatoes on medium heat until they feel softer to touch.  Once they are softer, remove lid and increase heat to med-high and turn potatoes every few minutes so they brown evenly.

Russian Dressing

(Ellie Weightman - Adapted from Allrecipes.com recipe)

1 cup mayonnaise (lite or reg)
1/2 cup sour cream (lite or reg)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tblsp grated onion* (see below)
1 tsp fresh chives, minced (optional)
1/2 tsp ground dry mustard (or DiJon mustard)
4 drops Tabasco hot sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tblsp heavy cream (can sub with light cream)
2 tblsp minced fresh parsley

*Grated Onion – This is really the grated juice of an onion. Either grate an onion using the fine teeth of a hand grater or microplane. You can also put one small onion in a food processor using the grating blade, should not be chunky, but rather like ice slush.  Two tablespoons is usually 1 small onion.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Chill overnight to let ingredients incorporate.

FYI - this makes a thick, creamy dressing.  It is still good using the light mayo, cream and sour cream but will not be as thick.

WARNING:  Store in a mayonnaise jar with tight lid and label.  Watch date on ingredients to gain the most time for storing (especially sour cream and liquid cream and use within 2 weeks if ingredients had expirations dates a few weeks out). There are no other preservatives used except what is in the original ingredients.

Meatballs

Ellie Weightman - Adapted from recipe on America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 lb mild Italian sausage (remove from casings and break up)
2 1/2 lb ground meat
1 x-large onion, minced
4 slices of white bread – broken into pieces
3 tblsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp tomato paste (tube type)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup parmesan
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1/4 cup dry parsley
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Saute onions in olive oil. Add garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and tomato paste and saute for 30 seconds.

In bowl, place bread pieces and milk and mash together with a fork  Add onion saute mix and blend again with fork. Add parmesan, parsley, eggs and salt. Mash again using fork or use clean or gloved hands.   Add meats and blend with clean or gloved hands.  Form meatballs to your desired size (makes approximately 45 medium size).  Pictured below.

Place on foil on baking sheet.

Bake in 475 degree oven for 20 minutes for the medium meatballs - allow more time for larger meatballs. 


Remove from oven and place in sauce and simmer on very low for 30 minutes.
My sauce recipe can be viewed here:  http://therecipegals.blogspot.com/2010/09/ellies-work-night-tomato-sauce.html 

Can be frozen in sauce or by itself.  To freeze by itself, lay the meatballs on a cookie sheet and place in freezer for 1-3 hours, once frozen they can be thrown in a freezer zip lock bag. 

DO NOT FREEZE IN BAG BEFORE FREEZING SEPARATELY ON A COOKIE SHEET OR THE MEATBALLS WILL STICK TOGETHER.

Medium size - before baking

After baking

Ham & Potato Soup

by Jennifer Bertotti, adapted from allrecipes.com
 

This is a variation of allrecipes.com's recipe - I changed a few things.  I made this on a day when we had 2 foot of snow, and my husband raved about it!!  He said this is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

•      4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
•      1/3 cup diced celery
•      1/3 cup finely chopped onion
•      3/4 cup diced cooked ham
•      1 cup water 
•      1 can of chicken broth
•      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, chicken broth, 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 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.

You can also add some shredded cheddar cheese to the top!

Note:  My husband had leftovers the next day, said to just add a little bit of water because the fridge can make it a little thick. 

Couscous

Created by Ellie Weightman

Couscous and Beans


Ingredients:


8 oz Couscous
1 small onion, chopped
1 can black beans (14 oz) rinsed and drain
1 tsp dill weed
1 Tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp cumin ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp grated FRESH ginger
1 clove garlic (grated)
2 cups chicken broth (heat in microwave for 2 minutes)
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce


Directions


In a large skillet, saute onion in olive oil until golden brown.  Add couscous, ginger and garlic and keep stirring until couscous slightly browned.  Add salt, pepper, parsley, cumin, dill weed, soy sauce.  Add 2 cups broth and the beans.  Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often (may stick to pan).


You can add more or less spices to taste.  I made this recipe up so just play with it.  If you come up with anything else that would be good to add, let me know.  We were thinking of adding corn next time.

Breakfast Home Fries

by Jennifer Bertotti

I love to make these on the weekends with eggs and bacon!

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 medium potatoes, quartered
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• paprika
• chopped onion
• crumbled bacon

Directions

• Boil potatoes until soft.
• Use a colander to drain the water, and then put the potatoes back into the pot to help evaporate the excess water.
• Turn on a skillet to about 325 degrees. Put the butter in the skillet, and mix the potatoes until coated with butter.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Put lid on the skillet and let cook without touching them for approximately 10-15 minutes.
• After time is up, take off the lid and flip the potatoes every few minutes for another 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle paprika, garlic powder, chopped onion during this time.
• (Optional) Sprinkle with crumbled bacon.