Turkey Tortilla Soup

Soup stock (if you have some)
2-3 cups turkey or chicken pieces
2 quarts chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
juice from two limes
Serve with cubed pepper jack (or plain monterey jack cheese), tortilla chips sour cream.

Take your turkey soup stock and add about 2 quarts of chicken bullion. (You can use the canned kind or the dried cubes with water). Chop a large onion and add to the broth. You can add 1tsp garlic powder or one clove of fresh garlic. Add 1 tsp. black pepper. Add about 2-3 c. of turkey or chicken. Add 1/2 bunch of cilantro (or more). Add juice from 2 limes. Bring soup to a boil and then simmer.Just before serving add 1c. cubed pepper jack cheese (or have this on the table so you can serve yourself) and tortilla chips. Serve with sour cream. Jennifer S. Kreutzer

Pumpkin Pancakes

This was a fun fall breakfast. I made this on a weekend when Parker was home because its a little more time consuming than regular pancakes. It made some extra for our family so I put it in the fridge and we ate them for the rest of the week (heated them in the toaster or microwave). Lark

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 Cups Flour
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 ½ Cup Milk
4 Eggs, Separated
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
¼ Cup melted butter

Sift together dry ingredients. Combine milk, egg yolks, syrup, butter and pumpkin puree. Stir into dry ingredients until just blended. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter. Pour onto hot, oiled griddle, about 1/3 cup at a time. Cook until tops bubble, turn, and cook other side. Serve with maple syrup or whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon.

Brisket

This was a yummy dinner I made on Sunday. We hardly ever treat ourselves to meat except an occasional roast. I decided to try Brisket when I found this simple recipe. It is kind of pricey and I had to go to 2 supermarkets to find it (Albertsons was out but Vons had some). The kids liked it too.
Lark

Marinated Brisket

In a 9x13 pan add:
2-3 lbs. Beef Brisket
1 bottle of Liquid Smoke
¼ Cup Worcestershire Sauce
A dash of garlic, onion and celery salt

Marinate overnight, cover with foil

Bake covered at 400 for ½ hour, then at 275 for 4-5 hours. 1 hour before end, pour on 1 small bottle of BBQ sauce.


Mashed Potatoes
Red potatoes, washed and diced (leave skin on)
Milk
Butter
Cheddar cheese
Green onion
Fresh minced garlic
Salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until very soft. Drain and return to pot. Add a dash of milk and a few Tbsp. butter and mash potatoes. Add more milk and butter if needed to make creamy. Before completely mashed, add remaining ingredients until blended.

Fresh Green Beans
Cut off ends of beans; blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes or until desired tenderness. Toss with butter or oil olive and salt and pepper. Lemon Pepper and garlic salt are also good.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

This was a BIG hit. My husband told me how delicious it was even before I had tasted it. And usually with new recipes I have to ask him how he likes it. My kids ate it up too. I forgot the spaghetti sauce and it still tasted great. The cheese filling helped keep it moist. And I only used 2 chicken breasts, halved, since my family doesn't eat huge servings, so I eye-balled the amount of spinach and moz. to make just enough cheese filling for our chicken. And my kids didn't say anything about the "green stuff" in the filling. ;-) I served it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower and brussel sprouts and with a fruit salad. We didn't need any rice or potatoes with all the fruits and potatoes. Delicious!

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup) or bread crumbs
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated

PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 3 Tbsp. of the Parmesan cheese until well blended; spread evenly onto chicken breasts. Starting at one of the short ends of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

BEAT egg in shallow bowl or pie plate. Mix remaining 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese and the cracker crumbs in separate shallow bowl or pie plate. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with the spaghetti sauce and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

Bacon, Cheese and Potato Chowder

Supper fast and easy! Why didn't I think of this soup before? The hashbrowns saves time instead of chopping potatoes. Serves 4. Easy to double for larger family or leftovers. Even my baby likes it. Yummy!


3 cups fat-free milk
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup
1 can corn
2 cups frozen Southern-style hash browns (the squares)
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 slices Bacon, crisply cooked, drained and crumbled
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

MIX milk and soup in large saucepan. Stir in hash browns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 min., stirring frequently.

LADLE into six soup bowls.

TOP evenly with the cheese, bacon and onions.

I served this with sourdough baguettes that had been toasted and with a side salad.

Cinnamon Crisps

Here is a delicious way to end any Mexican dinner night. This dessert is the best.

4 T. butter
6 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream

Heat oven to 450. Put butter on a large baking sheet and melt in oven, about 2 min. Place tortillas on baking sheet (they may overlap a bit) and coat with butter, turning each once to coat both sides. Bake for 6-7 min, until golden and puffed in spots.
Stir together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the tortillas. Top with scoops of ice cream and let it melt just a little. Serve them warm. Delicious!

Pork Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

This is a GREAT new recipe that I just tried. I got it out of a Cooking Light magazine (thanks Paige!) It was a BIG hit with my family--and my kids don't usually eat tacos when I serve them. Must have been the pineapple salsa! Pretty easy to make and you could make it in advance and refrigerate it until dinner. I served it with watermelon and chips and salsa, quacamole and afterwards:dessert--Cinnamon Crisps (another Mexican inspiration). The recipe for that will also be posted. Enjoy! Laura

T=tablespoon
t=teaspoon

Salsa:
1 15 oz. can crushed pineapple minus about 1 large spoonful, drained
1 C. minced apple (any kind will do)
1/4 C. minced shallots (I don't know what these are so I used green onion instead)
2 T. chopped cilantro
1 T. lime juice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. Salt

Combine ingredients, stir until blended. Cover and chill

Tacos:
1 T. canola/vegetable oil
1 C. thinly sliced yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs. pork (see below for cooking instructions. You can either cook in crock pot or in pot on stove. Cooking in crock pot will produce very moist and tender meat--this is the method I recommend, but if time doesn't permit you can cook it on the stove).
1/2 C. chicken broth
1 T. cider vinegar
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 1-2 large tomatoes diced)
1 can diced green chilies (how ever spicy your family likes it!)
corn tortillas, warmed according to package (tip:warm tortillas in the microwave wrapped up in a dish towel )

Cook pork in crock pot in 1 C. water for 4 hours on High. When cooked through, shred/dice pork. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 2 min. or until tender. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add pork to pan and add chicken broth (If you don't have time to cook the pork in the crock pot, cut meat into chunks and add it to the pot); cook for 7 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients (through chilies). Cover pot if meat was not pre-cooked in crock pot (no need to cover is meat is pre-cooked). Let simmer for 10 minutes (or until meat is cooked through) and liquid is nearly evaporated. Warm tortillas according to package and serve with salsa. Yields 6 servings