Zuppa Toscana

This is a favorite of Aaron's and mine. We now have dubbed it Chelsea Soup, named after our wonderful neighbor. Anna loves Chelsea and so to get her to eat dinner the other night, I told her we were having Chelsea soup. It didn't work perfectly but, I did have her saying "Yum! Chelsea (it kind of sounds like Chatzie when she says it) soup. So, my neighbor came up with this great soup via an Olive Garden soup. Now, I have never had the soup at Olive Garden, but I love this version.

16 oz. package of sausage
4 potatoes sliced with skins
3/4 cup chopped onion
11/2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 cups kale, washed and shredded
2 Tbsp. chicken bullion (I use chicken base..same thing)
1 qt water
1 pint heavy cream (or less)
pinch of red pepper flakes

Cook ground sausage until brown. Place onion and garlic in pot and cook until tender. Add chicken bullion, water and potatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add kale, cream, and pepper flakes. Simmer 4 minutes more.

Crab Stuffed Sole

Here's a recipe I tried tonight. I was a little nervous because when I've tried to make things that are "stuffed" they usually end up being a lot of work and then fall apart and become a casserole when I'm done but this one was great – stuffed, moist and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup cooked or canned crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage removed (I used chopped up fake crab and it was still good)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
4 sole flounder pieces or fillets of any thin white fish
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
Grated parmesan cheese
Sliced almonds (optional)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, crab (or krab!), onion, egg, salt and cayenne. Spoon onto fillets; roll up and secure with a toothpick. Place in a greased 2-quart broiler-proof dish; Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, for sauce, place remaining butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Drain liquid from baking dish.

Spoon sauce over fillets; sprinkle with cheese and almonds. Broil 5 inches from the heat until cheese is melted and almonds are lightly browned. Discard toothpicks.

Apple-fest

So, Here is one of my favorite fall treats. This year we have had the pleasure of having apples from our very own tree. They are small and there is only about eight of them but, they are sweet and Delicious. Aaron dubbed last night our apple celebration. We read Robert Frost and took ceremonious first bites of our first-picked apple. Then we had apple crisp. Anyway I thought I'd extend the fun and give a challenge to all to post their favorite apple recipe. To get it started here are my two. My apple crisp is a bit different to what I consider traditional. It is really good, it might be our favorite recipe

Carmel Fondue

1 stick butter

2 Cups brown sugar

1 Cup white corn syrup

2 Tbsp water.

Bring above ingredients to a a boil, then add 1 can sweetened condensed milk (stirring constantly. Stir constantly until thick. Cut up apples and dip in.

Apple Crisp

8 Cups Apples

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/3 cup water

Topping

11/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

11/2 Cubes butter softened

Peel , core, and slice apples. Place in a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle apples with salt, cinnamon, and water. Combine ingredients for topping until crumbs form. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 for forty minutes or until topping is golden.

Everything is Better with a Breadstick

That is what Aaron and I decided last night as we braved through leftover night. The only disadvantage is the calories. Nonetheless, we all loved leftover night. We had spinach canolli, hamburger soup, and chicken cordon bleu pasta. That soup was even better two days later. So, as promised, here is the best breadstick recipe ever. I really didn't change much except that I brushed a bit of the garlic butter on after they came out of the oven. Another thing I didn't raise them for the full thirty minutes either time (about 20) and they turned out fine. Also, no cheese this batch.

Divine Breadsticks1 ½ cup warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

Butter for the pan (I used 6 tbsp. and that seemed to be perfect.)

1 tsp garlic salt

Parmesan cheese

Mix first 5 ingredients and knead for three minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt desired amount of butter and mix in garlic salt . Roll out dough into approximately 9 x 13 rectangle and cut into 12 strips. Roll in butter mixture, twist dough and put on baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

I made this for dinner last night along with blitz bread. Last week I found this recipe on Real Moms Kitchen blog, this is definitely one of my best finds. She has so many easy and good recipes. In fact, tonight I am making the breadstick recipe I discovered on her blog, again. That is how easy and good it was. Check it out. Anyway, I did make a few adjustments to the recipe because I wanted a bit more flavor. I added about a 1/2 tablespoon of mustard and a shake of garlic and onion powder. Also, this is a huge recipe, we had a lot leftover. Good thing it is leftover night tonight. Aaron (hubby) gave it two thumbs up, Anna (22 months) sang "Pata, Pata" all through dinner while gobbling it up (Anna loves any form or shape of pasta..no matter the sauce.) Harris( almost 9) liked it o.k., I think, he was in a bit of a hurry to get to scouts. As for the Blitz bread, I think I rushed it and need a do over. The taste was fine but, it was a bit heavy. Aaron and I agree it might have something to do with gluten. Anyway, I'll post that when I perfect it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
6 oz deli ham, diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
cooked pasta (I used a shells)
milk (I needed to add some to make the sauce the right consistency)

if you like: mustard, garlic powder, onion powder
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan until cheese is melted, smooth, and creamy. Serve over whatever pasta you like. I used shellsand tossed the pasta and the sauce together. You can just spoon it over the past if you like.

Savory Chicken Chili

also known as white chili. My kids love this, and it is so easy and healthy.

its 3 15 oz cans great northern or cannellini beans drained
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 med chopped onion
2 medium red peppers seeded and chopped (I never add these cause I don't like them)
1 4 oz can diced green chillis
3 cloves of garlic ( I just sprinkle in some garlic powder)
3 1/2 cups chicken broth ( I buy the lower sodium kind)
2 tsp ground cumin ( I don't add because I don't have it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano ( again I dont have this)

Combine all igredients in crosk pot, mix, cover, cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5

The way I make it is even easier because I leave out stuff I think is unneccesary but its still good.