Italian sausage and tortellini soup

Around these parts, the weather has been fabulous. Still, I keep planning my menus based on the fact that any day now, the weather could turn nasty and stay that way until May. And although I'm not looking forward to snow, I am looking forward to lots of soup and casserole days. Sorry, for the formatting of the recipe. I can't figure out how to get it spaced right and I'm sick of messing with it.  Fixed it!

1 lb hot or mild Italian sausages, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cups beef or chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 can (19oz) tomatoes in juice, chopped (reserve juices)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 pkg (10oz) fresh or frozen cheese-filled tortellini
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage 8-10 minutes, or until browned, stirring to break up meat. With a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker. Add onion, carrots, broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on High 3-4 hours or on low 6-10 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain.

Add zucchini, parsley and tortellini to slow cooker and cook on High 15-20 minutes, or until zucchini is tender. Spoon into individual bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Crisscross Apple Crowns.

1 1/3 cups chopped peeled tart apples.
1/3 cup chopped walnuts.
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
Dash of salt
1pkg. (17.3 oz) large refrigerated flay bisquits
2tsp butter, melted

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the apples, walnuts, raisins, 3 Tbsp. sugar, flour, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon & salt. Microwave on 2-3 minutes or until almost tender.
Flatten each bisquite into a 5 inch circle. Combine remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of sugar mixture over each. Top each with 1/4 cup apple mixture. Bring up the edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal.

Place seam side down in ungreased muffin cups. Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. With a sharp knife, cut an "X" in the top of each.

Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

ENJOY!!!!!


I tried these today and they are so good and so easy! These would be awesome for a busy autumn morning to take to go and with a nice cup of coffee. I only have two left since a few hours ago. I guess brian really likes them too. Of course I used mom and dad's apples and that made them even better. ENJOY them, I know I will be making many more of these.

Hot wing pizza

This is my new favorite kind of pizza. I thought it was going to be very hot, but it wasn't bad. Once everything mixed together it was really good. I used blue cheese dressing, but the recipe said you could also use ranch instead of blue cheese. From Taste of Home magazine.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5oz each)
1 Tbsp steak seasoning
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce
1 prebaked Italian bread shell crust (14 oz)
1/3 cup blue cheese salad dressing
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3 green onions thinly sliced

Sprinkle chicken with steak seasoning on both sides, grill covered over medium heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Cool slightly, cut into strips.

In a small saucepan, bring the tomato sauce, butter, hot sauce, and pepper sauce to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add chicken, heat through.

Place crust on a 12 inch pizza pan, spread with salad dressing. Top with chicken mixture, cheese and green onions. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Onsie grandpa & grandma gross bought Heidi.

She's starting to kick and hit the seasame street gang.

Heidi and daddy having fun together.

During our outing this weekend we walked along the falls.

We had a wicked storm roll through quickly with hail and flooding. My roses on ice.

Brian checking out the side street flooded. It's two houses down from us.

Pineapple Strawberry Punch:

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed

1 can (46 ounce) pineapple juice, chilled

4 cups lemon-lime soda, chilled

*In a food processor or blender, puree the strawberries. Pour into a large punch bowl. Stir in the pineapple juice and soda. Serve Immediately. (I had so much of this left over so I stored it in the fridge. It still was really good after sitting in the fridge for awhile. I used a 2gallon container from walmart ($4.00) that had a pour spout. It worked out great to get some from the fridge quickly.)

Banana Cream Cheesecake:

1 3/4 Cup Graham Cracker crumbs

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup butter,melted

FILLING:
1 package (8ounces) Cream Cheese,softened

1/2 sugar

1 carton (8 ounces)frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

3 to 4 medium firm bananas, sliced

1 3/4 cups cold milk

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant banana cream pudding mix

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar: stir in butter. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch springform pan. Or a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 9-7 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 cups of whipped topping. Arrange half of the banana slices in crust; top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers. (I just mixed the banana slices into the cream cheese mixture to make it easier. Who needs layers?)

(For this next part, I accidentally bought the "Cook & Serve" pudding mix instead of the instant. I still was able to use it. I just let the pudding cool for a little bit so I could pour it on top but didn't let it cool too much so it set in the pan. Then I topped it off with the remaining whipped topping. Still turned out great if you mistakenly buy the wrong pudding mix also.) In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in remaining whipped topping. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set.

Here's two recipes I tried for a BBQ with friends. They are so easy to make and taste so refreshing on those hot days. A Good summer dessert and drink. The Punch tastes like a melted strawberry margarita but of course no liquor. I got both of these recipes from Taste of Home Magazine.

Brian and I haven't been up to much lately. I finally organized everything in the house to get some things ready for a garage sale. I can't wait to get rid of some things. I found some clothes from my first year of high school! Yikes.

Heidi is doing great. We went for a nice walk the other day along the falls and there were some bands playing and a bunch of people out feeding the ducks and geese. It was a perfect afternoon and Heidi got some fresh air. By the time we came home from our outing, Heidi was ready for a bottle and then a bath. What a evening for her. She was so tired by time she was done with her bath at 10pm. I think I will have to go for a walk with her every night and keep that routine going so she sleeps. She didn't wake up until 6:30am the next morning. :) She's doing really well with her nights now. She knows when it's late and when it's time to sleep.

In between Heidi's naps this weekend, Brian and I have been planning our trip to Europe. I guess it's going to really happen this time. We have our hotel booked in Germany right now for the first week of November. We will be staying in Schliersee Germany, it's right in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. We are still looking into hotels for the U.K because everything is so expensive there. We are going to ask our friend of where he would recomend to stay near thier wedding location. I can't wait to go. I'm excited but not sure if it quite has sunk-in yet.

Light and fresh potato salad

Fred didn't like this, but I didn't expect him to. I loved it! It is a really good salad for summer. I had some red potatoes I had to use up and this was perfect with our grilled sandwiches tonight. I just left out the orange bell pepper because they're too stinkin expensive. I'm taking leftovers to work tomorrow and probably the next day. Real good alternative to traditional potato salad. Once again from Cooking Light.
Ingredients
Dressing:
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salad:
5 cups cubed red potato (about 2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped peeled cucumber
3/4 cup sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped orange bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (2 1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
Preparation
1. To prepare dressing, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
2. To prepare salad, place potato and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches above potato; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender; drain.
3. Add potato to dressing in bowl, tossing gently to coat; let stand 15 minutes. Stir in cucumber and remaining ingredients; toss well. Cover and chill.

California Chicken Sandwich

I grilled the chicken just because it was easier and one less pan to wash. It turned out great. We didn't have avocado with it, but it was still very good. It's a really good sandwich for the summer. We had corn on the cob too.
Ingredients:

Citrus mayonnaise:
1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce

Sandwiches:
4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
8 (1 1/2-ounce) slices diagonally cut sourdough bread, toasted
4 small romaine lettuce leaves
2 plum tomatoes, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
1 peeled avocado, cut into 8 wedges

Preparation
To prepare citrus mayonnaise, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl.
To prepare the sandwiches, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add chicken. Cook 5 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to low. Cover; cook 5 minutes or until done. Remove from heat. Cut chicken diagonally across grain into thin slices.
Spread 1 tablespoon citrus mayonnaise on each of 4 bread slices. Top with 1 lettuce leaf, 1 chicken breast half, 2 tomato slices, 2 avocado wedges, and remaining bread slices.

Kuchen

Here's Brian and his pal helping him out with homework. Ha ha. Hope everyone has a nice weekend for Valentine's day. Brian and I don't have plans for the weekend which is nice. I have some crafts to finish for baby's room. We might go to a movie this weekend or something.

Here's the Kuchen recipe I used while I was home. It's so easy so I hope someone gets a chance to try it sometime. I haven't used fresh fruit yet, I used pie filling I had already and then rinsed the fruit from the juice. But fresh fruit should work just as well.
Today I made some No Bake Cookies (thanks for the recipe mom) and ooooh did they taste good. I had a craving and I used to know that recipe by heart and I went crazy because I didn't have it. Yum.


Filling:


3eggs


3 C. cream


1 1/4 t0 1 1/2 c. sugar


1 1/2 tsp. vanilla


3T flour





Mix above ingredients in large microwavable dish and microwave until thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes on high. Thaw one loaf of frozen bread dough until soft and easy to work with. Roll out dough and place in lightly greased large cookie sheet or 2 large pie plates. Let set about 30 minutes. Arrange sliced and drained peaches or whatever fruit you like on dough. Add filling and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tex-Mex Beef and Bean Dip

I tried this dip tonight and it is soooo good. No need to say it, but it came from Cooking Light. I did use a whole pound of beef just because I was too lazy to do anything with the extra 1/2 pound. I also used plain chile powder. And since I could only find a big chunk of queso fresco, we crumbled some of the leftover on top of the chicken tortilla soup that we had tonight too. We were stuffed after dinner.
Ingredients
1/2 pound ground sirloin
2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled queso fresco
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 ounces bite-size baked tortilla chips (about 60, such as Tostitos Scoops)
Preparation
1. Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return beef to pan. Add tomato paste and next 4 ingredients (through diced tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.
2. Spoon meat mixture into a serving bowl; top with crumbled cheese and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Wow-this is so good. I can't believe I have never thought to combine ranch dressing and BBQ sauce. It is soooo good. Of course I have a few modifications so here goes. First, I couldn't find jalapeno jelly so I left it out and it was still really good with just the dry rub. Second, I had some leftover shredded coleslaw (the prewashed bagged kind) in the fridge and topped my sandwich with that. Yummy! I split a sandwich for the boys and gave each a half. Rion wolfed his down and Torii wanted seconds. I think this recipe will be going into heavy rotation. And yes, Kelly, it's from Cooking Light. :) Oh-also, Fred informed about two minutes before getting the grill ready that we are out of propane. (Which begs the questions, Why didn't he tell me that? and Why hasn't he gotten more? We haven't grilled in awhile). Grrrr. Anyway, I put the tenderloins in the oven following the directions on the package.
Ingredients
1/4 cup hot jalapeño jelly
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
Cooking spray
1/4 cup light ranch dressing
1/4 cup sweet hickory smoke tomato-based barbecue sauce (such as Bull's-Eye)
8 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls
Preparation
Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
Combine jelly and water; set aside.
Combine paprika and next 6 ingredients (through pepper); rub evenly over pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 15 minutes, turning pork occasionally. Brush pork with jelly mixture. Grill an additional 5 minutes or until thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink).
Place pork on a cutting surface. Lightly cover with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice pork. Combine ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. Serve pork and ranch mixture with buns.

Horray for Pies

(First Peach Kuchen, it turned out great but a little to thick)

This weekend we haven't done much of anything. We decided to rent an old movie again and we watched "A Street Car Named Desire." I thought the movie reminded me of a soap opera and it just dragged on and on. But, now I can say that I have seen it and tell other people not to rent it.

The cats have been going outside more and more. They practically beg to go outside and play. I forgot that the cats were outside while cleaning and I opened the patio door to go find Victoria and she was running back to the house from the sidewalk! I couldn't believe that she went that far! I'm proud of both cats actually getting some courage to explore but I guess I better be outside watching them from now on.

Also, when I came home from work and brian was leaving the house to get some grocery's, Victoria and I were having a blast playing with a pin-pon ball on the kitchen floor, next to the patio door. The patio door was closed and I happened to notice something in the corner of my eye walk by the door. There is Gingham, sitting with her head tilted and looking at me from outside. Her expression "Ummm, I think he forgot me and closed the door, are you going to let me back in?" Poor kitty, Brian let her out sometime ago or she likes to sneek out and she's so quick. So, he either forgot about her, or didn't know she was outside and just closed the door. I was laughing so hard.

Today we are going to a friends house for a BBQ and I made a pie to bring over. I just talked to Laurie the other day and she mentioned Apple Pie. Ooooh, that sounded good. I mentioned it to brian and he loooves Apple pie. So I had to make one. I made everything from scratch and I found a fresh apple pie filling that is really good. I figured if I'm making pies, I might as well try Kuchen. So I also made two Peach Kuchen's and they turned out great! So everyone will have to tell me their favorite type of Kuchen's and I will make some for Christmas to bring home. I really like peach and cheese Kuchen but let me know if there's any other's that everyone would like.

Apple Pie

Crust:

3 Cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Cups veg. shortening

1 tsp. salt

1 lrg. egg

1 T. vinegar

5 T. water

Mix together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Mix egg, vinegar and water in a cup. Add to flour mixture. Mix together until forms a ball.

~This crust recipe makes alot. So take a little over half of the dough to roll out for the bottom then the rest I roll out for the top piece of the pie. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the top. Cut a few small slits on the top piece for steam.

~If you still have some left over dough from trimming the edges, roll it out and make a fancy top with cookie cutters. Or roll out the dough thin and flat and sprinkle alot of cinnamon and sugar on top and bake until golden brown (good snack).

Filling:

6 Cups sliced apples

1 cup sugar

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 T. butter/margarine (melted)

In a bowl, combine the entire mixture. Put apples in pie pan and pour mixture over apples. Cover with top crust. Trim and seal edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 mintues, then reduce heat to 350 degrees . Bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely brown and the juice has come up and bubbled.

~ You can also use 1/2 cup honey instead of the one cup sugar but I didn't try it yet.

Fudgy Mocha-Toffee Brownies

These brownies are soooooooo good. Thick and gooey. I got this recipe from Cooking Light. They have the best desserts. I copied and paste the recipe from their website and read the reviews and have to agree with one thing. I only had an 8X8 pan like most people so I would increase the baking time by 3-5 minutes. My brownies weren't quite done in the middle so I will do just that next time. And I will probably be making another batch this weekend. It's nice that these recipes come from Cooking Light, but they are so good that I keep making them and eating too many sweets. Oh well.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup toffee chips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine coffee granules and 1/4 cup hot water, stirring until the coffee granules dissolve.
Combine butter and semisweet chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until butter melts; stir until chocolate is smooth.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine coffee mixture, butter mixture, vanilla extract, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coffee mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with toffee chips. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Monday night football

We are starting a Monday Night Football tradition of sorts. I saw this from a reader's tip in a magazine and thought it was a great idea. On Monday nights we (and I really mean me) are planning our dinners around the home team of that night's game. They usually show food from the area during games and we always say that sure looks good. So this might end those mouth watering moments. I've been trying to figure out some of the upcoming games and it's been fun looking for new recipes based on a city. Tonight there are actually two games for opening weekend, but we are going just with the Minn/Green Bay game. Since it's in Green Bay we are having Brats (Johnsonville Stadium Brats) and Deep Fried Cheese Curds. I wish I could really make it authentic and wash it down with a Miller Lite, but I still have a few weeks before that can happen. Next week is Dallas I believe so we are having Tex-Mex, but I haven't decided exactly what.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds

2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb cheese curds
oil for frying

Mix milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Coat the cheese curds. Deep fry in the oil until golden, taking care to only fry a few at a time.

Pina Colada Cheesecake bars

These were soooo good. I of course had some slight modifications. I was half way through the recipe when I realized I didn't have egg substitute so I used two eggs. I also used regular sugar instead of turbinado sugar. I don't have a food processor so I used my blender and it worked great. You could actually make a couple of batches since you'll still have leftovers from a lot of the ingredients. I hate using only part of a block of cream cheese because I never seem to use the rest so I'll have to make another batch.

Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons coconut flour or all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon water
Cooking spray
Filling:
1 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
3/4 cup egg substitute
Remaining ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare crust, combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add butter, oil, and 1 tablespoon water; toss well. Press mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare filling, combine cottage cheese and the next 7 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add egg substitute, and process until blended. Spread cheese mixture over cooled crust. Bake at 350° for 33 minutes or until set. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Top with pineapple and coconut. Cut into 16 bars.

Grilled deli sandwiches

I bought a magazine the other day that you have to get if you see it. It's a Taste of Home magazine and it's called Fun Food. There's cookies decorated as people at the beach on the cover. It is filled with really good recipes. If you don't get it, I'll just have to fill the blog with recipes. This is the first one I've tried from the magazine. It was so good. It tastes like something from Quiznos. The only differences I had was I didn't use red pepper and I used Provolone instead of Swiss because I had some Provolone on hand. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I'm sure you can sub lots of other meats and cheeses and it would still be really good. Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup julienned green pepper

1 cup julienned sweet red pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 slices sourdough bread

1/2 pound each thinly sliced deli ham, smoked turkey and pastrami

6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

6 slices process American cheese

6 slices Swiss cheese

In a large skillet saute the onion, mushrooms, and peppers in oil until tender. Layer six bread slices with ham, turkey, pastrami, bacon, vegetables and cheese; top with remaining bread. Wrap each sandwich in foil. Grill, covered over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until heated through.