Mom's Kale Soup

This might make a kale lover out of you, if you are not already.  *Personally, I think if you are serving a Kale newbie, 1 pound is way to much to put in the soup so you might want to eyeball the amount until you are satisfied.  And having a family with growing boys, I always add more potatoes.  

Yields: 6 main course servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 large onions, finely diced (I get the frozen chopped onion)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
10 cups vegetable stock or broth
1 (16 oz) can petite-diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed well, or 1 1/2 cups freshly cooked beans
*1 pound kale, leaves torn from stems and finely chopped (10 cups leaves)
*3 medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons paprika
dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat.  Stir in the onions and garlic, and saute until onions are golden and tender, about 10 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, stir in all the remaining ingredients, bring soup to a boil.  Lower the heat to a lively simmer and cook about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened.

Discard the bay leaves.  Remove about 2 cups of the soup and puree in a blender or food processor.  Return it to the soup and stir to blend.  The soups flavor will intensify with time, so don't hesitate to make a few days in advance.

Two Bean Mexican Chicken Chili

This recipe is so easy and is wonderful on a cold night.  If you can open a can, you can do this!

Ingredients:
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 16oz jar mild chunky salsa
1 clove fresh garlic, pressed
1 1/2 T chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cans veggie or chicken broth
1 large can chunk white chicken or 3 cups shredded cooked chicken

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle Fritos on top

Sweet Potato Hummus with Cinnamon Pita Chips

Suggested by Katie Clark,  I took a chance and made this for one of Evie Sitterding's Bridal Showers.  It was a hit!  The Cinnamon Pita Chips were a great complement, but guests got creative and dipped veggies in, as well.  You might be able to substitute pumpkin for the sweet potato.  If only serving with veggies, you would probably want to add cinnamon to taste.  It might be nice to make a day ahead to let the spices and flavors permeate the hummus.

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T tahini
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t lemon zest
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground white pepper
sea salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Poke holes in sweet potatoes with a fork and roast for about 45 minutes (until soft).  Let cool.  Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.

Combine garbanzo beans and olive oil in a blender and pulse several times to mash.  Scoop flesh out of sweet potato peels and add to the blender.  Pulse to combine.  Add tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and sea salt to mixture.  Blend until smooth, adding reserved garbanzo bean liquid as needed to make a smooth, creamy hummus.

Katie's Cranberry Chicken Phyllo Cups

1 pkg. frozen mini phyllo shells (15 shells)
1/4 C. chopped dried cranberries
3/4 C finely chopped cooked chicken breast
1 container Greek fat-free plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts, toasted
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Thaw phyllo shells as directed on package.

2. In medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the cranberries and the remaining ingredients.

3. Spoon generous teaspoonfuls of mixture into the shells. Garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons cranberries and, if desired, rosemary sprigs.

When Katie served these at Evie's bridal shower, she simply purchased a high-quality, pre-made, chunk chicken salad and used that. So easy and pretty!

The original recipe is from Betty Crocker.

Katie's Lemony Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
1/2 large lemon (zest and juice)
Softened butter for spreading on bread slices (prevents sogginess)
Salt and pepper
6 slices of hearty white or whole-grain bread
1/2 large cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced, dried with paper

1. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, dill, lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Butter each slice of bread (prevents sogginess). Lay slices with butter side up on a work surface.

3. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture onto each slice. Arrange towel-dried cucumber slices on top of the first three slices of buttered bread. Top with remaining bread. Slice off the crusts.

4. If not serving immediately, wrap tightly in cling wrap and chill for up to 24 hours.

5. When ready to serve, slice into 4 triangles per sandwich.

This was modified from the original recipe at the Chew Out Loud blog.

Katie's Tomato Pesto Tea Sandwiches

This yummy appetizer was served by Katie C. at Evie's bridal shower. So yummy and easy!


1/4 C. + 1 Tbsp. basil pesto, or to taste
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 container cherry or Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 small French baguette, sliced to desired thickness

Combine pesto and cream cheese well. Spread onto slices of French bread.

Add a slice of tomato to each, and either a small blob or a piped, decorative swirl of cream cheese mixture on top.

Garnish with sprig of parsley or basil, if desired.

This recipe was adapted from this recipe for Fancy Tomato Pesto Tea Sandwiches on the Pink Piccadilly Pastries blog. (The original recipe used sliced white bread and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.)


These were such a hit that we served them again on the passed appetizer trays at Evie's wedding. Again, we used slices of slightly toasted French bread as the base. They looked lovely on the trays and tasted delicious!

Deluxe Coleslaw (from the More-with-Less Cookbook)

My friend Regina, from Germany, requested this recipe. She ate it at our house once, when Elanore requested spaghetti, coleslaw, and yams for the dinner at her birthday gathering. (Yes, I let them choose whatever they want, and yes, she chose that delightful combo. I believe she was turning four or five at the time.)

Combine following vegetables:
1 medium head cabbage, shredded (reserve a few outer leaves for presentation, if desired)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2/3 C. celery, diced
2/3 C. carrots, finely shredded
1/2 C. radishes, diced
2 Tbsp. minced onion

Combine following ingredients for dressing:
1 C. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix well. Pour over vegetables and toss gently. Cover and chill.

When ready to serve, you may arrange coleslaw on reserved cabbage leaves, if desired.

Original recipe is from Anne Weaver, published in the More With Less cookbook, copyright 1976, 39th edition from May 1991.

Oma's Rotkraut – German Red Cabbage

1.5 lbs red cabbage, shredded

4 slices bacon, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 tart apples, diced

1 C. water

1 tsp. salt

1.5 tsp. sugar

1.5 tsp. caraway seeds

1/2 C. red wine vinegar

pepper to taste

In a large kettle fry bacon until crisp. 

Add onion and and sauté until golden.  

Stir in sugar and cook until lightly brown.

Add cabbage, apples, and half a cup of water.

Mix well, cover, and cook approximately 30 minutes on medium heat.

Add vinegar, half cup water, and caraway seeds.

Cover and cook another 20 minutes.

Season to taste.

Laurie J.'s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ¾ c. flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ sticks of butter (softened)

½ c. sugar

½ c. light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla (a generous one!)

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (one 12 oz. bag)

Directions:

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, and soda in a separate bowl.

Mix the butter and sugars together.  Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until blended.

Mix half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture.  Add in the other half of the flour mixture and mix until well blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake for 9-12 minutes depending on how big your cookie scoop is.  

* I use that big Pampered Chef scoop and generously fill it to overflowing.  Also, I use a little more vanilla than the recipe calls for.

* This is from the Baker’s chocolate chunk bag. I just use the chips instead.

Cheri's Snickers Cookies

1 c. butter (2 sticks)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 c. flour
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
6 Snickers bars

Mix butters and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir together dry ingredients and mix into sugars. Cut each snickers bar into 8 pieces. I divide the dough into quarters and then each quarter into about 12 portions. Flatten each blob into your hand and put in a piece of candy. Cover it up and roll it a bit. Bake at 350 for 10-14 min.