Debbie's Cheese Soup (No idea who Debbie is) Potato, Cauliflower, and Cheese Soup

3 qts. chicken broth
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
4 small potatoes, diced
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. cauliflower
1 c. carrots, sliced
1 c. frozen corn
8 oz. Velveeta cheese

Combine on pot broth, potatoes, carrots, onions, cauliflower and corn.  Boil until tender. In microwave or on stove top, melt butter. Add flour to butter and mix until it becomes like paste.  Add this to your soup, stirring until smooth. Cut cheese into slices and add.  Stir till melted.  Add salt and pepper.

Sausage, Potato and Spinach Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound red potatoes, diced
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.

Stir in garlic, onion, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Stir in chicken broth and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove bay leaf. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Crockpot Tortellini

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage (We like to use Jimmy Dean's Hot sausage)
• 1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce
• 1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms (and if you are silly like Larry and don't like mushrooms, just forgo them)
• 1 14.5 oz. can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 9 oz. package refrigerated or fresh cheese tortellini
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain.Combine the ground meats, marinara sauce, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a slow cooker. Cover, and cook on LOW heat for 6 to 8 hours.

Stir in the tortellini, and sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the top. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes on LOW, or until the tortellini is tender.

Taco Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning (We like Old El Paso Hot and Spicy seasoning packet)
1 can black beans, drained
1 to 2 cups frozen corn (or 1 can)
1 - 28 oz can crushed or pureed tomatoes
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti

Very Easy! Start by browning the ground beef, add taco seasoning. Once fully browned.  Add black beans, corn and tomatoes.  Let simmer while making the spaghetti. We like to top with cheese and sour cream.

Koolaid Popcorn

3 quarts popped popcorn*
1 c. sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 packet of unsweetened koolaid**

Sort unpopped kernels from popcorn. Place popcorn in a large bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, combine sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat; boil and stir until mixture is golden, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and koolaid. Pour over popcorn and toss to coat. Cool slightly; break apart while warm. Store in air tight container.

*it is about 1/2 c. of unpopped kernels.
**if you don't want to make koolaid flavored popcorn, substitute 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Makes a pretty tasty vanilla popcorn as well.

Curried Couscous and Chickpea Salad

Super fast! Super easy!

1 c. water
1 c. chicken stock
2 tsp. curry powder
2 c. couscous
2 -15 oz.cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 c. crumbled feta
1 c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh lemon zest (I just skipped this because I didn't want to buy a lemon :)
1/2 c. lemon juice (or I bet lime juice would be marvelous)

Bring the water, stock and curry powder to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous, cover and let stand for about 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff it with a fork one or two times in between. Stir in remaining ingredients.

 

Other vegatables and fruit for that matter would be delicious in this salad. Tomatoes, cucumbers, cranberries, apples...Go wild!

Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans and Zucchini

Original Recipe: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/spaghetti-squash-with-black-beans-and-zucchini-recipe.htm

But this is what I did, mostly because I like doing things my way :)

1 spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 - inch-thick slices
2 c. diced tomatoes
1 can (about 15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 T chopped fresh basil
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced

Of course this would be tasty with brown rice or real spaghetti noodles. You choose, I like spaghetti squash so I stuck with it. So first get the squash cooking because that will take awhile. Here's a few tips as to how: Ways to cook spaghetti squash.

Sauté your zucchini in the olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic, about 4 minutes until zucchini is tender. Remove from heat. In a bowl combine zucchini mixture with black beans, tomatoes and and basil, toss gently. Serve with your spaghetti squash. This was delicious.