Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

About a year ago I discovered this delicious soup at Olive Garden and since have not been able to order anything else there. I tried this recipe this weekend and loved it. It's pretty close (although no one can beat the combination of this soup with Olive Garden's addictive breadsticks!)

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

First, sautee Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients. In the same pan, sautee bacon, onions and garlic for approxiamtly 15 mins. or until the onions are soft. Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling. Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour. Add heavy cream and cook until thoughouly heated. Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving.

Cheesy Potato soup

Time: 35 min
Serves: makes 8 cups

1 Chicken boulion cube
5 - 6 med potatoes
1 T oil
1 med onion
2 garlic cloves minced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c milk
2 tsp salt
1 tsp peper
2 c cheese (for this i use sharp cheddar)
1 1/2 c chopped broccoli

Boil Water for potaoes in med pan. Peel and chop potaoes then boil for 15 min
Mince onions and cook with garlic in pan with oil till translucent and slightly browned. Drain potatoes and mash in pan. Mix onions, cream of chicken, milk, salt and pepper with mashed potatoes. Stir in cheese and broccoli.

Burrito Pie

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Serves: 4-6

1 1/2 c shedded meat (i used pork beacause those were the leftovers i had from a pork roast)
2 T taco seasoning
1/4 c water
1 can refried beans
2 c cheese
1 c corn
4 flour tortillas
3 T chopped green onions
1/2 c sour cream
toppings optional: chopped lettuce, chopped tomatos, olives

Preheat oven to 400*. Simmer taco seasoning with shredded meat in a pan. In a 9 in round pan place 1 flour tortilla. Spread 1/3 beans, 1/3 meat, 1/4 cheese, 1/3 corn, 1 T green onions and 1/3 sour cream. Repeat layer 2 times. Place last tortilla on top and sprinkle with the last of the cheese. Bake in oven for 25 min. Serve and top with toppings.

Sour Cream Gravy

Time: 10 min

Serves: 4

1 can cream of chicken

1/2 c sour cream

1/3 c green onions chopped

1/2 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over cooked chicken in pan and simmer for 8 min. Serve.

Spinich Meatball Sandwiches

Prep: 15 min
Bake: 35 min
Serves: 4 per pound

Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2/3 c bread crumbs
1 garlic clove minced
2/3 c finley chopped fresh spinich
2/3 c finley chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T BBQ sauce

Sauce:
1 lb Prego Meat Spaghetti sauce
1/3 c BBQ sauce
2 T white vinigar

4 Sub rolls 6 in

Preheat oven to 400*. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with your hands until evenly mixed. Roll into 1 1/2 in balls and drop onto tin foil covered 9 x 9 in pan. Bake for 25 min or until thouroughly cooked. Drain fat out of pan. Mix sauce ingredients in a med bowl an pour over meatballs in pan. Bake for another 10 min. I like to toast the sub rolls. Put meatballs in sandwich and serve. Its also good with some swiss or munster or mozzerella cheese.

Blueberry and Blackberry Muffins

makes: 15 muffins
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min

3/4 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c applesauce
1/3 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 c baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c blueberries
1/2 c blackberries chopped
1 T flour

Preheat oven to 400*. Cream butter and sugar together. Add applesauce, milk, vanilla and egg and beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. (only mix till blended or youll get coned and tough muffins). Toss blueberries and blackberries in T flour and fold into batter. Spoon into well greased muffin pan 2/3 full or use muffin cups. Bake at 400* for 20 min.

Shepards Pie

Time: 45 min
Serves: 4-6

1 T Butter
1/2 c chopped carrots
1 med onion chopped
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1 lb ground beef
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c spaghetti sauce
1 pkg gravy mix
1//3 c worcestershire sauce
1 c water
1 c frozen peas
4 c mashed potatos
2 c cheddar cheese grated

preheat oven to 400*

Add butter to skillet and saute onions and carrots till soft (4 min). Season to taste with salt and pepper. add garlic, 2 T warcestershire sauce and ground beef, and brown. add spagetti sauce, water, gravy mix, and 1/2 c worcestshire sauce and mix. simmer for 10 min. Add peas. Make mashed potatos (I use instant) and mix in 1 cup cheese. In a 9 in round 3 in high pan pour in meat mixture to bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1/2 c cheese on top of that then layer with mashed potatoes, spreading evenly. Rake through potatoes with fork to make peaks that will brown. Sprinkle on rest of cheese. Bake in oven for 20 min. Spoon out Shepards pie and serve.

Pot Stickers with soy-ginger sauce

Makes: 50-60

Time: 60 min

1 pound ground pork

1 cup finely chopped scallions

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 pound green cabbage,* finely chopped (use a food processor or blender)

1 1-pound package round dumpling wrappers (gyoza), 3 inches in diameter

Soy-Ginger Sauce

In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallions, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Mix well so that the flavors will penetrate the meat. Then add the cabbage and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. The filling will not taste right if you try to combine all the ingredients at once. Place 1 dumpling wrapper on a plate or a board. Place 1 scant tablespoon of pork mixture in the center. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with a little water, then fold them over the filling to form a half-moon shape then pinch the sides like a pie to seal. Or you can get a dough press and use that. (Recommended when you do a batch of 60 like this. They are inexpensive and so worth the trip to the kitchen store in your area). You can freeze (uncooked) what you dont use for up to 3 months. So you can make a big batch and just pull out what you want for dinner. (Freeze individually on baking sheets on waxed paper then place in bags. Its worth the extra effort.) To pan fry heat a nonstick pan with 1/3 c oil on a little hotter than med high heat. Place dumplings in pan (not touching) and brown one side for 3 or 4 min. Flip dumplings with chopsticks or tongs, put in 2 TBL water and cover with lid to steam dumplings. watch out it will splatter. Cook for 5 min or until browned. Use tongs to remove from the pan and place on paper towels to drain. You will have to to a few batches. Add oil as needed so they wont burn. Serve Hot with ginger sauce for dipping.

Soy-Ginger Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon peeled, julienned gingerroot, soaked in ice water

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly and serve. This sauce will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Swiss Crockpot Chicken

Yay! Crockpot meals. I've got tons of crockpot recipes. Here's one I found not too long ago and you can even add your favorite vegies to it. This is easy and yummy!

For ingredients and directions, please click on the image above for a larger view.
Recipe courtesy of Sherelle Christensen. Don't you just love her recipe layouts? Cute, huh?

Chicken Enchiladas

I love enchiladas because you can add so many odds and ends to them. It is a great time to try new things in them. This is great for the family when you go out of town because you can freeze it and bake later. Im making this for a family who just had a baby. Im taking it uncooked and they can cook it whenever they are ready for dinner. This is one of Daves favorites. I make it half corn and half flour tortilla for us because thats how we like it.
Here is my basic recipie that I use.

Prep: 25 min
Cook Time: 30-40 min
Serves: 6

2 cups shredded chicken
1 pkg of Toco seasoning
1 15 oz. can beans drained ( i like black)
1 10.5 oz. can cream of chicken
1 3.5 oz green chiles diced or about 1/4 cup
1 14 oz of diced tomatos (drained)
1 cup of grated cheese (any kind you have)
10 - 20 corn tortillas or you can use flour if you like it softer.

Cook chiken on the stove with water till cooked. Using 2 forks shred the chicken into bite sized chunks. Add Toco seasoning and let it simmer in some water for about 3 min. To the pan on the stove add beans, cream of chicken, chiles, tomatos (drained) and 1/2 cup cheese. Preheat oven to 425*. In a 9x9 pan spoon some of the mixture on the bottom to coat. (Caserole version follows, start from here) Heat up the corn tortillas so that they are soft and wont break when rolled. you can do this in the microwave on a plate with a damp paper towel on top of stack of tortillas for about 1 min or so. Using a hand towel, (to keep your hand protected from hot ingredients) place warm tortilla on towel and spoon mixture into center of tortilla, about a little less than 1/4 cup. Roll the tortilla up and place in pan. Repeat until pan is full. I usually stuff it. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for about 30-40 min or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. You can also do a caserole version of this.
Caserole instructions:
Cut Tortilas up like a pie so you have triangles. Spoon some mixture on bottom of the pan to cover. Place cut tortillas in pan overlaping. cover with 1/4 mixture. Repeat 3 more times. Sprinkle with cheese and bake the same.