Rolling for Pasta

This is a delicious cold pasta dish. A nice twist and I believe good for vegans.

2 C cooked mini wagon wheel pasta

1 sm apple, cored and chopped

½ cucumber, seeded and chopped

¼ C chopped pecans

¼ C regular or golden raisins

2 T olive oil

¼ t salt, 1/8 t ground pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T chopped fresh parsley

In a large bowl, combine pasta, apple, cucumber, pecans, raisins, olive oil, salt and pepper. Squeeze on lemon juice. Cover and let pasta salad chill until serving time or 1 hour. Stir in parsley when serving.

For the guys - Saucy Ribs!

It's never too early to grill, and you can always sub in the oven if you're craving those luscious ribs. Here's one for the guys to get them out of the house and keep an eye on the kids outside. This will give you some quiet time while you prep sides without kids under your feet!

5 lbs back ribs 1 T salt 1 t black pepper 16 oz Pomegranate Juice

2/3 C ketchup 1 T molasses 1 T soy sauce 2 Scallions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Preheat grill to medium heat. Turn off burners/move coal where ribs go, or use a pan so they’re not directly on heat. Lightly oil cooking grate. Place ribs over indirect heat (over drip pan or unlit burner). Close grill and cook until ribs are tender, about 2 hours at 325-350 deg.

Meanwhile, bring pomegranate juice to a boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Boil until thickened, and reduced to 1/3 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir in ketchup, molasses, soy sauce, scallions and garlic. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking ribs, baste ribs with sauce. Ribs are done when meat pulls away from bone.

Warm Harvest Soup

Sure, it may not be fall anymore, but it's still cold. This soup is full of nutrients and sure to please. I have not tried it yet, so if you do - let me know how it turns out.

1 T olive oil 1/2C chopped carrot ½ C chopped celery

1/3 C chopped onion 1 ½ lb butternut squash, seeded & cut into 1” cubes

2 Med apples, cored, cut into 1” pieces 4 C chicken broth

Black Pepper Croutons

1) In a big pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook, stiring occasionally for 8-10 minutes or until tender and starting to brown. Add squash, apples, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly.

2) Puree soup, in two batches if needed, in a blender or food processor. Add pepper and croutons.

Yield: 6 cups

Double chunk Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was at MD Anderson the other day getting bloodwork done and they had a lady serving cookies in the waiting room. Fresh out of the oven! they were delicious with my cup of coffee that was freshly made as well. Made for a lovely morning. Also made my hungry for some nice, warm cookies! Enjoy.

2 C flour 2/3 C unsweeted cocoa powder 1 t baking soda

¼ t salt 1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 C granulated sugar

2/3 C firmly packed light brown sugar 2 eggs

1 t McCormick Pure Peppermint Extract 6 oz chocolate chips

1 C coarsely chopped walnuts

Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and extract, mix well. Gradually stir in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate and nuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2” apart on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at preheated 350 deg oven for 8-10 minutes or just until cookies are set. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

Yield: 4 dozen

Corn Casserole

This dish goes great with Cilantro Chicken, posted 09/19/11 (I believe). It's a different taste, but the flavors just explode in your mouth! You can add spice to your liking (ex: hot sauce).

3 1/2-4 C corn (fresh, frozen, or drained canned)

1/2 pkg bacon (about 8 slices)

2 T diced garlic

1 med onion, chopped

2 T flour

1 t each: salt and pepper

1 C sour cream

Cook bacon on frying pan. Dry bacon on a paper towel. Crumble all the bacon except for 2-4 slices. Saute onion and garlic in bacon drippings until onions are soft. Add salt, pepper and flour. When it starts to bubble cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. (at this point you can either mix in the pan or transfer to a bowl if you are using a small frying pan) Mix in sour cream. *This is where I would add any heat. Mix hot sauce, chili powder, or whatever you like into your sour cream Before you mix it into your onion mix.* Next, mix in bacon crumbles and corn. Transfer to a 1.5 qt baking dish. Top with bacon slices. Bake at 350 deg for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Skillet Chili

Last night I had two hungry little boys and ground beef in the fridge. I didn't want to make the same old thing and wanted to feed my kids - Fast! Came across this recipe and tweaked it a little. In 30 minutes I had dinner and the kids scarfed it down! As always, add flavors to taste, sub meat for whatever you have on hand and noodles too!

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 - 15 oz can kidney beans, drained

1/2 C salsa

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 C macaroni noodles

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat, onions, and garlic in a deep sided pan (that has a lid). Drain fat. Add all other ingredients, except cheddar cheese. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until noodles are cooked. Sprinkle cheese on top, remove from heat and replace lid until cheese melts - about 2 minutes. Serve.

You could add veggies to this dish if you want to slide in some extra nutrients for your kids. Zucchini, beats, eggplant, whatever.

Turkey and Sausage Chili

We had this inside Publix one afternoon, Scott and I. He ate the whole thing and asked the sweet lady for more!

2 C cooked turkey breast, coarsely chopped

12 oz (3 links) Italian chicken sausage

2 small onions, coarsely chopped

2 poblano peppers, coarsely chopped (it's not spicy, but you can use 1 if you like)

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans nacy beans, drained

2 C chicken broth

1 t cumin

1 C whole milk

1 t canola oil

1 t chili powder

1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t pepper

Prep: Chop turney, onions, pepper (toss seeds)

Preheat large pot on medium-high with oil. Add peppers and onions. Cook 2-3 minutes until tender.

Reduce heat to medium. Remove casing from sausage and add to pan. Cook 5-6 minutes or until meat is browned, stirring frequently crumbling meat.

Stir in cumin, chili powder, oregano, pepper, beans and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir in turkey and milk, cook 2-3 minutes.

Serve in bowls, top with cheese.