Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

This soup comes together very quickly--it's great for dinner right after a long day at work. I added the zucchini because I live in Utah and still have frozen zucchini leftover from my summer garden.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 (16 oz) pkg frozen bell pepper and onion stir fry mix

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp cumin

1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies

1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (9 oz) can whole corn kernels

1 (15 oz) can black beans

1 cup shredded frozen zucchini (optional)

32 oz vegetable broth

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 avocado

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Tortilla strips

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil. Add stir fry mix, garlic, and cumin. Stir and cook until peppers are tender (about 5 minutes). Add chilies, tomatoes, corn, black beans, zucchini, vegetable broth, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Ladle into bowls. Top with chopped avocado, cheese, and tortilla chips.

Peanut Butter Dip for Apples

Plain apples are good, but plain apples + peanut butter dip is even better! This would make a good brownie frosting as well.

Peanut Butter Dip

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2-4 Tbsp milk

Splash of vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients with an electric beater. Add more milk to achieve thinner consistency if desired. Best if chilled.

Tangy Mustard Chicken

I've been using chicken thighs more often lately--they have more flavor than chicken breasts and cost less too. The thighs do have a higher fat content than the breasts do, but still have less fat than beef or pork. Used in moderation, chicken thighs are a good addition to your dinner menu.

Tangy Mustard Chicken

1/4 cup yellow mustard

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp dry mustard powder

1/4-1/2 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

4 chicken thighs

Combine yellow mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 of the sauce in a separate bowl.

Baste chicken thighs with sauce.

Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan. When hot, add chicken thighs. Cook 8-12 minutes (depends on size of thigh) on one side without disturbing. Flip thighs over, baste with sauce, and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes or until done. Top with reserved mustard sauce.

Ham & Corn Sandwiches

This sandwich is one of my favorite childhood foods. It seems to have just the right combination of flavors. These freeze very well--assemble everything and then wrap in plastic wrap and foil. When you're ready, unwrap and put it straight from the freezer into the oven and plan for about 10-15 minutes extra cooking time. This is a great way to use Easter leftovers!

Ham & Corn Sandwiches

1 loaf French bread

4 oz cream cheese

12 oz ham, thinly sliced

24 oz frozen corn in butter sauce

5-6 green onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut french bread in half lengthwise. Place on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Soften cream cheese for about 10 seconds in microwave. Spread over cut french bread halves. Layer ham on top of cream cheese.

Thaw frozen corn pouch in microwave or warm water. In a medium bowl, combine corn, green onions, mayonnaise, mustard, and cheese. Spread evenly over both halves.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. If the edges get too brown, cover in aluminum foil. Let cool for a few minutes, slice, and serve.

Five Minute Fudge

I'll admit that this fudge isn't as delicious as the more labor-intensive fudge recipes. However, it is still pretty good. It's great for those "I need chocolate, and I need it now" kind of days.

Five Minute Fudge

1 12oz pkg chocolate chips

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Line a square baking pan with aluminum foil. Use butter to grease the foil.

Stir together chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Mix in nuts.

Pour fudge into prepared pan. Cool until firm.

Parmesan Ranch Meatballs

I haven't made it to the grocery store for awhile, but I fortunately had all the ingredients for these meatballs. It's always nice to find a recipe that doesn't require a trip to the store (even if it is only a 1/2 mile away).

Parmesan Ranch Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey or beef

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 Tbsp dry ranch dressing mix

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well-combined. Form into meatballs and place into an oiled 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Turn meatballs over and broil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine with sauce and serve. Makes about 20 meatballs.

Sweet Potato Spaghetti

I love sweet potatoes, and this is one of my favorite sweet potato dishes. It comes together very quickly and is a little different than the regular lunch fare around here. If you want it to be more savory, add rosemary.

Sweet Potato Spaghetti

1 medium sweet potato

1/3 cup minced yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Spaghetti

Dash salt

Dash pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

1/2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

Peel and dice sweet potato. Mince onion and garlic.

In a small frying pan, combine approx. 2 Tbsp olive oil and diced sweet potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potato pieces become slightly soft. Add onion and garlic. Continue cooking until sweet potatoes begin to brown and are soft.

Combine sweet potato mixture, drained spaghetti, salt, pepper, and rosemary in a serving bowl. Toss. Add more olive oil if desired. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

These are probably one of the least healthy foods imagainable--which also means they are delicious. I used this recipe for a last-minute New Year's Eve appetizer and everyone loved them!

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

1 lb bacon

14 oz beef cocktail weiners

3/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut bacon into thirds (lengthwise). Wrap each cocktail weiner with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place onto baking sheet.

Sprinkle brown sugar generously over the bacon wrapped smokies. Bake for 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Chef Salad

Chef Salad is one of my favorite comfort foods. It works well for a quick lunch, or for dinner when you don't feel like turning on the stove.

Chef Salad

Mixed Salad Greens

Chopped turkey breast

Chopped cheddar cheese

Chopped hardboiled egg

Alfalfa sprouts

Tomatoes

My other favorite additions are pickled beets, croutons, cold green peas, cucumbers, peppers of any variety, olives, and fresh mushrooms.

Mix everything together and then enjoy!

Here is my method for perfect hardboiled eggs: Place desired number of eggs in a cooking pot and fill with cool water until water is 1" above eggs. Cook uncovered until water boils. When water boils, cover pot with a lid and remove from heat. Let stand for 12 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 10 minutes.

Simple Apple Dumplings

In the search for a quick dessert to use up a few items I had on hand, I came across this simple recipe.

Simple Apple Dumplings

1 granny smith apple

1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup Sprite, Ginger Ale, or Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 8" or 9" square baking pan.

Cut apple into 8 wedges. Remove core and peel.

Separate the roll dough into triangles. Starting at the small end, roll each apple wedge into a triangle of dough. Place into baking dish.

Combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over the dumplings. Pour desired soda pop over dumplings.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until dumplings are golden brown.

Serve immediately, topped with vanilla ice cream.

Pizza Sauce

This delicious pizza sauce takes less than two minutes to make and is delicious! It tastes best if allowed to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Once you taste it, you'll be impressed that something so yummy came from such a quick and simple recipe.

Pizza Sauce

28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate overnight (or up to one week) if time allows.

This recipe makes enough sauce for about six medium-sized pizzas.

Quick & Easy Applesauce

It's a bit hard to make applesauce look appealing in a picture, but I promise this is delicious. It's really quick too! This is a great way to use up apples that are getting past their prime. Serve the applesauce warm with a bit of whipped cream to make a fairly healthy dessert, or plain for breakfast.

Applesauce

4 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup water

2-4 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whipped cream (if desired)

Cut apples into wedges. Remove seeds and peels. Chop into pieces.

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash with a potato masher, fork, or electric mixer immediately.

Serves 2

Lemon Pots de Crème with Raspberries

This custard-like dessert is delicious and fast. The tartness of the lemons mixes well with the sweet raspberries for a great summertime treat.

Lemon Pots de Crème with Raspberries

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Food coloring (if desired)

1 cup raspberries

1 Tbsp sugar

Combine cream and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium pot and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches a vigorous boil. Continue cooking for three minutes while constantly stirring.

Remove mixture from heat. Add lemon juice and a few drops of yellow food coloring. Stir well. Allow to cool for five minutes.

Pour into four to six small ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least six hours.

For raspberry sauce, I combined raspberries with about 1 Tbsp of sugar in a food processor and pulsed until smooth.

Top cream pots with raspberry sauce, and a dollop of whipped cream (if desired).

Strawberry Freezer Jam

What do you do when it is 11:30pm and you realize you have a garden full of overripe strawberries? Make freezer jam! If you don't have a garden, please go to a Farmers' Market to get fresh fruit for the jam--grocery store produce just won't cut it for this one.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

4 cups crushed strawberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 pkg Freezer Jam Pectin

Overripe strawberries work the best. Wash strawberries and cut off the tops. I chose to put half of the strawberries in the blender to puree them and then crushed the other half with a potato masher. This created a good overall texture for the jam. You need four cups of mashed strawberries--not four cups of strawberries pre-mashing.

Combine freezer pectin and sugar in a medium bowl. Add strawberries. Stir vigorously for 3 minutes.

Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour into freezer containers. This recipe makes about four pints.

Store in the freezer for up to one year or the refrigerator for three weeks. I prefer the refrigerator version.

Teriyaki Chicken

This teriyaki chicken is quick and absolutely delicious. It's my new favorite recipe. It's good hot for dinner and then cold for lunch the next day. Plus, chicken thighs tend to be fairly cheap.

Teriyaki Chicken

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 chicken thighs

2 tsp sesame seeds

Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, pepper, and garlic in a large plastic bag. Add chicken thighs and toss to coat. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for one hour, tossing chicken every 15 minutes or so.

Place chicken skin side down on a broiler pan. Broil for 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, and cook for an additional 6 minutes. Top with sesame seeds. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and move oven rack to middle shelf. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!

Last Minute Cookies

I took dinner to someone last week--and realized at the last minute that I'd forgotten to plan dessert. Eek! That's where this recipe came in handy. It's a good quick cookie recipe for those last minute projects.

Last Minute Cookies

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix

1/2 cup oats

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup chocolate chips

2 1/2 Tbsp flour

Combine all ingredients. Roll into balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing.