Recipe: Old Fashioned Strawberry Soda's

Old fashioned Strawberry Soda's

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed
3 cups strawberry ice cream, divided
2 (12-ounce) cans creme soda, divided
whipped cream
4 whole strawberries

Prep:
mash thawed strawberries with a fork until strawberries are well blended with syrup. Add one cup ice cream and 1/2 cup creme soda, stir well. Spoon equal amounts of strawberry mixture into 4 (14-ounce) glasses; top with remaining ice cream and fill glasses with remaining soda. Garnish each serving with whipped cream and a strawberry.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pudding with Tennessee Whiskey Sauce

Sweet Potato Pudding with Tennessee Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Dash salt
2 1/2 cups uncooked sweet potatoes, shredded
1 1/2 cups milk
Tennessee Whiskey Sauce, recipe follows
Whipped cream
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs into sugar mixture, one at a time, incorporating each egg into the mixture. Add spices and salt. Stir potatoes into sugar mixture; add milk and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased 2-quart baking dish.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

To serve, spoon Tennessee Whiskey Sauce over and top with whipped cream.

Tennessee Whiskey Sauce:
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup Jack Daniel?s whiskey
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
In a small saucepan combine water, sugar, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Combine Jack Daniel?s Whiskey and cornstarch; stir into sugar mixture. Cook until thickened. Blend in butter until melted.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Recipe: Flaming Irish Coffee

Flaming Irish Coffee

Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 cup Irish mist liqeur

6 cups hot coffee, devided

2 tablespoons sugar, devided

ground nutmeg

1/2 cup whipping cream

Prep:

Rinse glass with hot water, dry. Pour 2 tablespoons of irish mist into glass.  Rotate over flame of irish coffee burning until the liquer ignites. Fill with coffee, stir in 1 teaspoon sugar, top with whipping cream and nutmeg.

Recipe: Mimosas

Mimosas

Ingredients:
2 (12-ounce) cans frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed and divided
1 (16-ounce) jar maraschino cherries with stems, drained
6 cups extra dry champagne, chilled mint sprigs

prepare 1 can orange juice concentrate according to can directions. Pour into ice cube trays, place a cherry in each cube, freeze 8 hours or overnight.  Prepare remaining orange juice concentrate according to can directions.  Stir into the champagne just before serving, add ice cubes and garnish with mint.

makes 3 quarts

***TIP: Avoid diluting drinks by freezing a carbonated beverage, tonic, or soda water into cubes instead of using regular ice cubes.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos:


Ingredients

3 whole ancho chiles

3 whole pasilla chiles

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce

1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Kosher salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican

3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks

Freshly ground pepper

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving

Assorted taco toppings, for garnish

Directions

Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl; add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Microwave on high until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.




Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.




Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and transfer to a large slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350 degrees; uncover and cook 30 more




minutes.)




Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with 2 forks; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with toppings.

Recipe: Potato, Cauliflower and Cheddar Bake

Potato, Cauliflower, and Cheddar Bake


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium), peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (6 ounces)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold salted water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then add cauliflower and cook at a rapid simmer until potatoes are just cooked through and cauliflower is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and let sit 5 minutes.

Place half the potatoes and cauliflower in dish, sprinkle with half the thyme and cheddar, and season with pepper. Repeat to make a second layer. Add broth and dot top with butter. Bake until cheese is deep golden and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes.

Note:

Adding cauliflower to a potato bake may seem radical, but it adds great texture. A cheesy topping is a nice change of pace from the usual creamy casserole.

Recipe: Old Fashioneds

Old Fashioneds

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet citrus syrup (recipe follows)
6 cups lemon-lime soda
3 cups canadian whiskey
1/2 teaspoon aromatic bitters
crushed ice
orange, lemon and lime slices
maraschino cherries

combing all ingredients except for crushed ice, fruit slices and cherries. Fill glasses with crushed ice, pour mixture over ice.  Garish with fruit.

Sweet citrus syrup:
Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) can frozen five fruit citrus beverage concentrate
1/2 cup grenadine syrup or maraschino cherry juice
1 tablespoon sugar

combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from heat and let cool, coer and refridgerate for up to two weeks -yields 2 cups.

Recipe: Asian Chicken Sliders

Asian Chicken Sliders:

This is a great, flavorful healthy substitute for a big beef burger, so good!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

1 large white onion

3 cloves whole garlic

2 teaspoons grated ginger

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

6 rolls of choice

My topping suggestions:

8 slices pepper jack cheese

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 red onion, sliced into rings

1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions

Heat grill to medium.

Finely grind the chicken breast, onion, garlic and ginger together and place in a medium bowl. Add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil and mix thoroughly. Shape this mixture into 2 by 1-inch patties and let rest in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Toast the brioche rolls, then grill the chicken patties for about 6 to 8 minutes over a medium heat. (Don't try to cook faster over high heat as the outside will be cooked and not the inside.)

To finish, place 1 patty on the bottom of each toasted bun, top with cheese, sliced tomato, onion and iceberg lettuce and cover with the bun top.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Au Gratin

Sweet Potato Au Gratin

For a healthier/vegan version, remove the milk and heavy cream and substitute with soy, rice or almond milk and use three cups and three tablespoons of corn starch mixed in while the milk is still cold. For the crunchy topping, substitute for a tablespoon of olive oil, garlic and onion powder, regular bread crumbs and a little soy cheese mixed together.  

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 12 sweet potatoes, depending on size), peeled and sliced thin with a mandolin or potato peeler

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Gratin:

2 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks, plus more for baking dish

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Cheddar

Directions

In a large saucepan combine milk, cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Gently fold in sweet potatoes. Bring to a simmer and allow sauce to thicken.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 3-quart baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs, butter and Cheddar to make the gratin topping. Transfer the potato mixture to the baking dish and sprinkle with the gratin topping. Bake until the potatoes are cooked through, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Serve in the baking dish, garnished with chopped parsley.

Recipe: Baked Barbeque Chicken Nuggets

Baked Barbeque Chicken Nuggets

Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ginger powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

Prep:

Pour AVC into small saucepan and whisk in garlic, onion, ginger and chili powders. Bring to a boil and add remaining ingredients. Lower heat and allow to bubble and thicken.

Nuggets:

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 large chicken breasts, cut into nugget sized pieces

Prep:

Heat oven to 425. In large plastic bag shake together dry ingredients and add chicken pieces 1 or 2 at a time to coat. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray (or drizzle with olive oil) and bake for about 15 minutes. Pull out tray, spoon barbeque glaze onto each piece and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve with additional glaze on the side!

Recipe: Mock Lasagna

Mock Lasagna:

One of my personal favorites, great leftover and easy for kids to eat! This recipe can easily be made vegan by leaving out the meat and beef bullion and substituting the cream cheese for a vegan substitute, making the meal even healthier. You can also add broccoli or any other vegetables that you like!

Ingredients:
small noodles of your choice (Ziti, or anything spiral works great for this recipe, it really locks in all of the sauce)
1 lb. ground beef (or more if you prefer a lot of meat in your mock lasagna)
Mama's spaghetti sauce (recipe below)
1 package low fat cream cheese
2 cloves garlic
mozzarella cheese

Prep:
heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil noodles for half as long as the package says, then pour into a casserole dish. brown ground beef in a pan with the 2 cloves of garlic. Drain the meat and mix in with the under cooked noodles, pour in Mama's spaghetti sauce until the mixture is thick, add 1 1/2 cups of water and mix in (because the noodles will continue to cook and absorb the moisture from the sauce) cover with foil, put in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, take it out and mix chunks of cream cheese (roughly tablespoon sized pieces) into the pasta, making sure that they are covered in sauce but not too far below the surface. Remove foil and place back into the oven for another 20 minutes. Take out, stir in the (not completely melted) chunks of cream cheese until the pasta is almost bright orange. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and let melt for a minute or so (put under a broiler if you prefer your cheese bubbly and browned) and serve! Great with garlic bread and salad!


Sauce ingredients:
1 large white onion, diced
2 16-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce if you don't like chunks)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried basil
6 gloves minced garlic
1 cube beef bullion (or 1 tablespoon of powder) dissolved into 1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup of sugar

Prep:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, heat to boiling and let simmer (stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. If you're in a hurry you can start with a jar of spaghetti sauce and cut the spices amount in half. Or add a jar of spaghetti sauce to make this recipe go further the next day!

Recipe: The most amazing pumpkin bread ever.

The most amazing pumpkin bread ever.

So growing up, this was literally my ultimate favorite smell to wake up to in the Fall, before pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, before pumpkin spiced everything, this bread was my favorite. And it still is. It's so good I almost don't want to share it, but I will. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups all-purpose baking flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

Prep:
Cream shortening, gradually add sugar beating well at medium speed.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in pumpkin and water.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves, add to creamed mixture.

Spoon into 2 greased and floured 9x5x3 inch loaf pans, bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a wooden pick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, remove from pans and finish cooling on wire racks.

Recipe: Hot buttered rum

Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients:

2 Cups butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
light rum
whipped cream
cinnamon sticks

Prep:
Combine butters, sugars and spices, beat well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add ice cream, stirring until blended. Spoon mixture into 2 quart container and freeze.  to serve, thaw slightly, place 3 tablespoons butter mixture and 1 jigger rum in a large mug; fill with boiling water and stir well. (Any unused butter mixture can be refrozen) Top with whipped cream and stir with cinnamon stick stirrers.

Recipe: Ten Minute Chili

Ten Minute Chili

This is a great quick, easy vegan recipe that is so easy to customize to your liking -perfect for making a "chili bar" where guests can add their own toppings -Cheddar cheese, fresh onions, hamburger, jalapenos, you name it! And when you're not feeling creative, it's a super easy dinner.

Ingredients:

2 15-ounce cans of kidney beans, drained

2 cups fat free spaghetti sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

2 bay leaves

Prep:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, heat for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls and serve. Makes 4 servings. 

Recipe: Grilled sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro

Grilled sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro

In case you haven't figured out by now, I really like sweet potatoes. Mostly because my fiance prefers sweet potatoes to regular potatoes, and I just like potatoes in general. Sweet potatoes are much better for you, so here's just another way to cook them!

                Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled

Kosher salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup canola oil

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Parcook the potatoes: Place in a pot of water and boil until fork-tender; let cool. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths.

Preheat a grill to medium or place a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl.

Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter; immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

Recipe: Quick, easy brownie in a mug

Quick, Easy brownie in a mug

So as anyone who has Pinterest account knows, I can't take credit for coming up with this recipe, but I can tell you how awesome it is and share it with you! For those days when all you need is just a single serving of a brownie -vegan and delicious! Definitely worth a try!

               

                Ingredients:

                ¼ cup sugar

                ¼ cup flour

                2 tbsp cocoa powder

                Pinch of salt

                2 tbsp olive oil

                3 tbsp water

                Ice cream to top (optional)

Prep:

Mix all dry ingredients in microwavable mug, add wet ingredients and mix, put in the microwave for 1 minute and 40 seconds, take it out and let it set for 30 seconds, top with ice cream if you have it and enjoy!

Recipe: Easy chicken alfredo pizza

This is a great meal if you love chicken, garlic, pizza, or just fast meals! One of my favorites for a busy work week, reheats great!

Easy Chicken Alfredo pizza:

                Ingredients:

                6 chicken tenders (can be frozen or defrosted)

                1 package (2 pizza breads) bobolli pizza bread

                2 packages of dry Alfredo sauce (if you are in a hurry, otherwise you are welcome to make it from scratch)

                7 cloves minced garlic

                ¼ lb mozzarella cheese

                *Other pizza toppings that go well with this recipe: artichoke hearts, mushrooms, parsley, basil, broccoli, asparagus, ect.

Prep:

Follow the bobolli pizza bread directions for oven temperature and time, put the pizza bread in the oven to pre-bake for about 8 minutes (to make sure that the curst is crispy and not soggy), poach the chicken tenders in a skillet (boil for about 12 minutes) and thinly slice when cooked. Follow the directions for making the sauce packets on the stove –if done simultaneously, all three of these steps are finished at about the same time. Pull out the pizza bread, spread sauce, sprinkle chicken pieces, pour remainder of the sauce on both pizzas, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, fresh garlic and any additional toppings that you would like to add and bake for the specified amount of time (or until the cheese and toppings are golden brown and bubbly) –it takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Recipe: Hummus

                Hummus:

                Ingredients:

                1 can garbanzo beans

                1 8oz can tomato paste

                1 small jar of sundried tomatoes (yes, the whole jar)

                2 tbs chili powder

                1 tbs lime juice

                6 cloves garlic

                2 red bell peppers

                1 small onion or 1 half of a large onion

                1 tbs taco seasoning

                Salt & pepper to taste

Prep:

Take all ingredients and blend together in a food processor, whala! Done! This is a fairly mild recipe, I've also added mustard and other vegetables to the recipe, it’s one of those great snacks that you can pull together from just about anything that you have as long as you have tomato paste, sundried tomatoes, and garbanzo beans.

Recipe: Fresh salsa

Fresh salsa:

                After being sorely disappointed in store bought salsa, I have come up with my own recipe, and so here I share it with you! One rule for salsa, all fresh tomatoes or all canned, no mixing –it creates a weird texture that isn't always good.

                Ingredients:

                3 cans diced tomatoes

                1 large onion (I usually do red, but whatever you have works)

                6 cloves garlic

                1 large cucumber, 1 ½ if you want a really fresh salsa

                2-3 large red or orange bell peppers

                4 jalapenos (no seeds) –more or less depending on your preference

                1 tsp Tabasco

                3 tbs of sugar –to cut the bitter of the jalapenos and tomatoes. If you really don’t want to add sugar then oregano can sometimes cut the bitter as well.

2 tbs lime juice (or lemon if you’re out of lime)

                Dash of chili powder

                Salt and pepper to taste (lots!)

Prep:

Pour tomatoes (keep the juice) in a large mixing bowl, chop up all vegetables to desired size (mince garlic) mix in bowl with tomatoes and add spices –lime, tabasco, sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder. If you want more juice or smaller pieces, I usually take half of the amount of salsa and blend it into much smaller pieces in the blender and mix it back in. Tweak recipe to your own taste buds, freezes moderately well and lasts for a week in the fridge –enjoy!

Recipe: Chickpea-sweet potato burgers

I'm always on the lookout for a good vegan meal that actually has flavor and doesn't resemble a salad, and this particular one meets my standards! Delicious, feel free to play around with some spices, chili powder and fresh garlic spice up any burger quite well.

Chickpea–Sweet Potato Burgers

Hearty sweet potatoes and chickpeas create a burger that's about as meaty as it gets without using any meat.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups (roughly 2 drained cans) chickpeas

Olive oil cooking spray

3 tablespoons tahini

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 small sweet potato, peeled and grated

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 375°. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a food processor, process chickpeas, tahini, black pepper, baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt, scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture holds together when pinched, 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Stir in sweet potato. Form chickpea–sweet potato mixture into 4 burgers; place on baking sheet; cover tightly with foil; bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; coat burgers with spray; bake until crisp and golden underneath, 20 to 25 minutes. Flip burgers; coat with cooking spray; bake until crisp on other side, 10 to 15 minutes. 

Recipe: Bacon wrapped sweet potatoes

Need something to keep people munching at a party? Here you go!

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potatoes

1 Large sweet potato, peeled

4-6 slices bacon

olive oil

chili powder

toothpicks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a rimmed baking pan with foil and place a wire rack on top.  Cut the sweet potato into 1″ chunks.  Slice the bacon in half crosswise and then lengthwise to yield 16-24 strips, use enough bacon to have one strip per sweet potato chunk.  Wrap each sweet potato chunk with a strip of bacon and secure with a tooth pick, place on baking pan/wire rack. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and flip over. Place back in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes until the bacon and sweet potatoes are browned. Best served warm!

Recipe: Baked beans

Sometimes the hardest part of making a meal is figuring out what on earth to serve with it.  This recipe is of my own invention and is delicious, very smokey and flavorful -and easy to alter to your own preference, be that sweet, spicy, smokey or mild. Goes great with sandwiches, baked chicken, or barbecued anything! Also very easy to make vegan -just leave out the bacon (which I rarely have on hand anyways) and the Worcestershire sauce.

Baked beans

                Ingredients:

                2 cans pinto beans

                ¾ cup of favorite barbeque sauce

                ½ cup of sugar

                3 tablespoons molasses

                2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

                ¾ tablespoon chili powder

                Dash of Worcestershire sauce

                Tsp of liquid smoke

                6 chopped strips cooked bacon

Instructions:

Drain beans, combine all ingredients in saucepan (or slow cooker if you double the recipe and leave it for 4 hours) and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Best served warm.

Recipe: Crock pot minestrone soup

So this recipe is one that I'm trying this week, I haven't tried it yet but it looks delicious! My favorite part may possibly be that you can put everything in a crock pot and leave it to cook alllll day! So when you get home from work you have an amazing smelling house and dinner all ready - enjoy!

Crock pot minestrone soup

Minestrone soup is a classic hearty Italian soup with tomatoes, white beans, pasta and vegetables. You can use Swiss chard or kale instead of spinach if you wish and you don't have to puree the beans, it's just my preference. I modified this for the crock pot but I prefer to make this soup on the stove and let it simmer for about 45 minutes before adding the zucchini and pasta. The crock pot however is so convenient when you are working all day and want to come home to a cooked meal. I highly recommend adding the Parmesan cheese rind. This is also great with mini turkey meatballs, or even some sauteed crumbled turkey sausage.

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups

Calories: 215.7 • Fat: 0.7 g • Protein: 8.7 g • Carb: 42.0 g • Fiber: 6.7 g  

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)

3 cups fat free chicken or vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

salt and fresh pepper

3 potatoes, chopped

2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach

2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)

(Optional) parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender.

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parmesan cheese.

Recipe: Sweet potato pumpkin soup

So this recipe is something that sounded amaaaazing to me, and not exactly tasty to my fiance, but low and behold when I made it, EVERYONE loved it! Super healthy, very easy to make vegan (I didn't use butter and thought that it tasted just fine, although the original recipe called for butter so I've included the measurement below) This is quickly becoming one of my favorites, and I hope that you agree!

Sweet potato pumpkin soup:

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 ½ cups of cut up carrots (3 large carrots)

5 sweet potatoes

5 cloves of garlic

1 can of pumpkin puree

3 ½ (1 regular container) of vegetable stock

1 cup apple cider

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs maple syrup

½ tbs ginger

2 tbs soy sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

1 stick Butter (optional)

Instructions:

Chop up the onion, garlic and carrots and boil in the vegetable stock until cooked. Puree in blender until smooth and pour back into pot. Skin and chop sweet potatoes into small chunks and pour all remaining ingredients into pot to cook. Heat to boiling and then simmer for 20 minutes, take all or half (depending on how chunky or smooth you like your soup) of the amount of soup and blend it in the blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Reheats well.

Recipe: Sweet potato gnocchi

Sweet potato gnocchi

Ingredients:

Makes: 8 to 10 servings (about 150 pieces)

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the gnocchi:

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (yams), halved lengthwise

1/2 pound Russet potatoes, halved lengthwise

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour

Instructions:

TIP

Gnocchi can be made through this step up to 1 month ahead. To store, place on a flat surface and freeze until frozen through. Transfer to an airtight container and keep frozen up to 1 month before using.

Heat an oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, season with a few good pinches of salt and a few cranks of pepper, place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast until fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Set aside until cool enough to handle. Scoop flesh out of skins then pass flesh through a potato ricer (or mash with back of a fork) and stir in cheese, egg, honey, and sat. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms. Taste and add additional salt, as needed. You’ve added flour when you touch the back of the dough and it is damp but not sticking to you hand.

Turn dough out onto floured surface and shape into a square. Divide into 16 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into a rope (about 1/2 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. However, don’t add too much additional flour as too much will make for heavy gnocchi. Cut each rope into 1/2 -inch pieces. Stop here or, as desired, use your thumb, roll each piece down over tines of a fork to indent.

Bring large pot of heavily salted water to a slow boil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, simmer gnocchi until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet.

Serve with favorite sauce (garlic Alfredo or a butter parmesan is best!)

Recipe: Jack Daniels Marinated Steak

So I have some seriously awesome recipes that I've been trying (Not super healthy, but hey, I'm working on it!) And I've decided to share them with you all :) Let me know what you think!

Jack Daniels Marinated Steak

6 tablespoons Jack Daniels (or your favorite whiskey/bourbon)

1/2 cup PLUS 1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup PLUS 1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, chopped, or garlic powder

2 New York Strip Steaks (8-10 ounces each)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients (except the steak) in a medium bowl.  Whisk till well blended.  Place steaks in a large Ziploc bag.  Pour in marinade over the steaks.  Seal bag.  Marinate the meat for 4 hours, or overnight if you have the time, making sure marinade is all over the steaks.

Preheat broiler or grill to medium.  Remove steak from the marinade and grill or broil to desired doneness. (20 minutes on each side is perfect) Discard marinade.