Yearly Archives: 2024

Here are a couple of recipes that will keep you warm and cozy until the tulips stick their head out.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients
Serves 6 –  Serving Size 2 cups

• 1 pound bottom round beef roast, cut into 1-inch cubes, all visible fat discarded
• 1 large russet potato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces about 2 cups
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces about 2 cups
• 2 cups thinly sliced carrots
• 10 ounces frozen pearl onions
• 1 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5-ounce can fat-free, low-sodium beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 10 ounces frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

Directions

1. Add the beef, potato, and flour to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, stirring well to combine.
2. Add the sweet potato and carrots to the slow cooker. Top with the onions, tomatoes, broth, water, thyme, and pepper.
3. Cook, covered, on low heat for 10 to 12 hours or high heat for 5 to 6 hours. Quickly stir in the peas and parsley. Re-cover the slow cooker. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

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An easy, healthy favorite: 

Pasta Fagioli pronounced Pasta Fa-zool

This is more like a stew.  If you want it more like a soup see below.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 cloves large garlic chopped
• medium onion chopped
• tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
• teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
• 16 oz. can of tomato sauce (I like Rao’s with basil.)
• 8 oz. cans Cannellini Beans drained and rinsed
• ¾ lb. dried small pasta shells (I like the shells because the beans get nestled in them and they hold the sauce better.)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
• ½ cup dry red wine
• Salt and Pepper
• Crushed red pepper – optional
• Fresh chopped basil – for garnish

Directions:

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil
2. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, wine and herbs
3. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and  pasta and cook another 20-30 minutes until pasta is tender
4. Garnish with basil, more grated cheese and crushed pepper. This will last in the frig for a week and in the freezer for a couple of months
5. Easy peasy

For soup:

add 2 chopped carrots and 3 stalks of chopped celery, and 16 oz. of vegetable of chicken stock – follow same directions

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And of course what would a letter be without GRILLED CHEESE!!!!

Here are a couple of my favorites.  BTW, did you know you can substitute mayonnaise (the real stuff) instead of butter?  I recently discovered that many diners use it in place of butter.

• Grilled Swiss Cheese, Bacon & Tomato – I like it on Rye Bread
• Make sure the bacon is cooked first.
• *Slather up two slices of bread with either butter or mayo. Place slathered side down on medium heat in frying pan.
• Place 2-3 slices of swiss cheese on each slice of bread. When cheese starts to melt top with bacon and a slice of tomato.  Let melt for another minute.  Carefully flip one of the slices over and place on top of the other – cheese meets cheese.

If you want a little tang:

• Sourdough bread
• Provolone
• Cheddar

*Same routine as above substituting cheeses

Even more tang:

• Your choice of bread
• Monterey Jack
• Jalapeno peppers – as much heat as you can stand
• *Same routine as above substituting cheese and adding peppers

Did somebody say food?

Here’s a favorite that will warm you up during the winter months.

CHILI MACARONI BAKE

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained (optional)
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1-2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese  (depending on how much you like cheese.  For me, the cheesier the better.)

Instructions

• Cook macaroni according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat, crumbling beef, until meat is no longer pink. Scoop out oil and discard if there’s too much from the beef.
• Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
• Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture.
• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Transfer mixture into greased 2-qt. baking dish.
• Top with cheese.
• Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and bake another 10 minutes.

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EASY SLOW COOKER CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken (breast or thighs) cut into pieces
• (4) 15 oz. cans of chicken or vegetable broth
• bunch celery – chopped with leaves
• large carrots, peeled and chopped
• (5) cloves of garlic, smashed (wrap in cheese cloth if you want to remove them after the soup is done)
• small bunch of dill – chopped
• small lemon, sliced
• salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Noodles if desired – after soup is finished

Instructions

• Toss everything into the crock pot and cook for 4-6 hours.
• Remove lemon slices and bagged garlic.
• Do not add noodles unless you are planning to serve all of it at the same time.
• By not adding the noodles it makes it easier to freeze and thaw the soup.

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To add a little sweetness into your life:

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Ingredients

For the topping

• 2 cups (200 g) fresh cranberries
• ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (165 g) packed light brown sugar

For the cake

• 1 ¼ cups (162 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, separated
• ½ cup (124 ml) orange juice

Instructions

You’ll need a hand mixer for this.

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
• Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly spray the paper with cooking spray.

Make the topping

• Arrange the cranberries evenly in the bottom of the pan; set aside.
• In a large nonstick pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and cook for 2 minutes.
• Pour evenly over the cranberries; set aside

For the cake

• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk.
• In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well mixed and fluffy.
• Beat in the orange zest and vanilla extract.
• Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until well combined.
• Reduce the speed to low, add half the flour mixture followed by the orange juice.
• Add the remaining flour mixture, mix until just incorporated.
• In a separate bowl: Add egg whites to a separate medium bowl.  Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold stiff peaks.
• Fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
• Pour the batter over the cranberry mixture.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Run a knife around the cake to loosen it from the pan and invert it onto a serving plate.
• Gently peel off the parchment paper if it sticks to the top of the cake.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.
• The cake will keep for up to 2 days covered and stored in the refrigerator.