Thursday, October 18, 2012

Crockpot Hearty Minestrone Soup Inspired by Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli



Childhood memories are stirred up whenever I cook up a batch of soup.  Nothing was better than the smell of a big pot of simmering soup and homemade bread.

Enjoy this soup, and I hope it provides your family with many happy memories.  

Crockpot Hearty Minestrone Soup 

 

In a crockpot add the following, cook on high one hour and switch to low for at least 5 more hours:

half pound precooked ground beef and one small diced onion cooked (I cook up a large batch of ground beef and freeze it in portions, then defrost as needed)
1 can of 15 ounce tomato sauce
1 can of 14.5 ounce reduced sodium beef broth
1/2 cup water
2 small diced tomatoes
1 can of 15.5 ounce cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of 15.5 ounce navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of 15.5 ounce red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 celery stalks chopped
10 small baby carrots or 1 large diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon of white cooking wine
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
optional salt to taste

When you are ready to serve your soup, cook separately:
1/3 box Ditalini pasta

For pasta, cook it separately following package directions then add it to your bowl as you serve your soup.

Optional, garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

Notes:  If you under cook your pasta then add it to your soup, it will soak up all of your broth, and will no longer be soup.  For this reason, I like to keep my noodles separate.  Also, the can sizes given are what I found at my local store, and vary by manufacturer, so select a size that is close.




Monday, October 15, 2012

Herb Roasted Potatoes






A delight to behold and savor, these potatoes are easy to make, flavorful and delicious.  Herb Roasted Potatoes is a recipe from Family Circle Magazine, November 2012.

3 pounds of small red skinned potatotes, about 2 inches round, scrubbed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Halve potatoes and toss in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place a piece of rosemary or thyme on the cut side of the potato then gently press cut side down (with the herb) on a baking pan brushed with olive oil.  Bake for 35 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.


Notes:  If the potato is large, slice so your potatoes have uniform thickness.  Next time I make these I'm going to try sea salt instead of regular salt to season.  Also, 3 pounds makes a lot so you might want to try a half batch. 

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Easy and Healthy Baked Egg Rolls


Baked egg rolls are a quick, healthy and easy alternative to fried egg rolls.  I used to make pizza egg rolls for my family and cooked them in a deep, greasy, fat bath, ewwww.  This new healthy egg roll recipe inspired by Emily from Joyful Abode is refreshingly crunchy, not dripping with fat, and healthy.

The beauty of an egg roll is being able to use any filling you want, including pizza :)  


Easy and Healthy Baked Egg Rolls

16 ounce bag of cole slaw mix
12 ounce bag of broccoli slaw
Egg roll wrappers
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, low sodium
1-2 cooked chicken tenders diced 
1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce 
1 Tablespoon minced garlic 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place cole slaw and broccoli slaw in covered dish and microwave on high for 6 minutes.  Remove from microwave and add diced chicken, garlic, soy sauce and hoisin sauce (or season to taste). 

Place a small handful of slaw mix on egg roll wrapper and follow package directions for folding.

Place egg rolls on baking sheet brushed with olive oil, or sprayed with no stick cooking spray.  Spray or brush tops of egg rolls.

Bake in oven for 15 min. remove from oven and turn egg rolls over, bake for another 12-15 min or until browned.

Serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauce, yum!