RECIPES

MAIN DISHES, SOUPS & APPETIZERS:

Black Bean Soup

2 15 oz cans of black beans
1 cup veggie broth
1 cup chunky salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
     Blend 1/4 of the beans with the veggie broth, salsa and cumin. Pour into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining beans. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Makes 4 servings. It's really good served over rice. Adding 1 cup of frozen corn to the mixture in the saucepan before you start to cook it is another good addition to this simple soup.
 

Minestrone

4 cups veggie broth
4 cups tomato juice
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup medium shells or rotini
1 cup beans (your choice)
1 cup corn
1 cup green beans
1 cup carrots (chopped)
     Stovetop: Add all ingredients except pasta into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add pasta. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Slow Cooker: Add all ingredients except pasta into crock. Cook on low 6-7 hours or until veggies are tender. Add pasta, turn to high heat and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until pasta is tender.
 

Quesadillas

2 8" tortillas
1 tbsp salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheese
     Spread salsa onto 1 tortilla. Sprinkle cheese over top. Place the other tortilla on top. Spray large frying pan with cooking oil. Over medium-low heat cook until each tortilla is golden brown, turning every minute or so. About 6 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces with a pizza cutter.
 

Bruschetta

2 slices of french bread
1 tomato
olive oil
italian seasoning
garlic salt
     Dice the tomato. I do it on a plate, so the juices can be added. Put roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sealable container. Add about 5 shakes of italian seasoning and 5 shakes of garlic salt. Mix together. Add tomato and juice into container and mix. Put lid on and store in fridge until you have toasted the 2 slices of french bread drizzled with olive oil. (400° for 4-5 minutes in the oven works well.) After toasting, spoon tomato mixture over the top and enjoy. It tastes better if you let the mixture sit in the fridge for the afternoon or overnight. If you want to add more or less seasoning and salt... go for it... I just guess each time.
 

Twice-Baked Potatoes

2 jumbo baking potatoes
3/4 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
     Bake potatoes until tender. (400° for 1 hour in the oven or 12 minutes on high in the microwave) Cut 1" thick slice from the top of each potato. Carefully scoop pulp into a bowl, leaving the shells intact. Add 1/2 cup cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper to the pulp and mash. Stuff shells with potato mixture and top with remaining cheese. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until thouroughly heated.
 

Artichoke Tomato Alfredo

1 can artichokes
4 fresh roma tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
1 medium onion, chopped (or 1 tsp onion powder)
1 clove garlic, chopped (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tbsp italian seasoning (basil, oregano, thyme)
ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup skim milk
pasta (your choice)
     Prepare pasta al dente. The sauce tastes about 10 minutes to cook. Place onion, tomato, garlic, italian seasoning and pepper in a non-stick pan and saute in the olive oil. Cut the artichokes into small pieces. Add the artichokes (and liquid from can) into the saute. Mix thoroughly, adding milk and flour to desired thickness. Simmer until your pasta is ready and top the pasta with the artichoke sauce. Serves 4. The leftovers are pretty good. The tomatoes and artichoke are pretty flavorful and it smells wonderful. But the alfredo sauce needs a little zing. I'm trying to come up with some ways to add some more flavor. Also, you could easily add fresh spinach to this sauce and it would still be good.
 

DRINKS & DESSERTS:

Smoothies

1 cup frozen fruit (your choice)
1/3 cup water (or other liquid)
1/3 cup milk (or other liquid)
1/8 cup lemonade mix
1/2 sherbet
     Blend. Makes 1-2 servings.
 

Puppy Chow

1 cup margarine
1 cup creamy peanut butter
12 oz bag of chocolate chips
12 cups of Crispex
1-2 cups of powdered sugar
      Melt butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Works in microwave as well as the stovetop. Stir the mixture until smooth. Pour over cereal and stir carefully until evenly coated. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and stir or shake to coat the cereal.