Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 pound bacon, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3/4 cup diced celery
10 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups half and half or milk, I used fat free

Directions:

In a 6 – 8 quart stockpot over medium heat, fry bacon until crisp.

Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. In the bacon fat, saute onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are translucent. Add the potatoes and cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle in flour and stir constantly over low heat about 5 to 7 minutes until well distributed over vegetables. Add broth and half of the bacon, reserve the other half for garnish.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste

Bring the soup to a simmer and cook over medium-high heat for 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Mash some of the potatoes for thicker, creamier texture. Add half and half and.or milk and simmer for 5 more minutes. If the soup is too thick you can add more broth or water.  The soup should be creamy. Season to taste, and garnish with chopped green onions, bacon bits, sour cream, and Colby Jack cheese, if desired

Tarragon Chicken Salad in Cantaloupe Boats

Tarragon Chicken Salad in Cantaloupe Boats

Ingredients

3 cups diced grilled chicken, chilled
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
2 tbsp. minced red onion
1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1-1/2 tbsp. orange marmalade
1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cantaloupe, halved and seeded

Directions

Tarragon Chicken Salad in Cantaloupe Bowls Prep time: 15 minutes Place chicken, bell pepper, onion and tarragon in a medium bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients except cantaloupe and pour over chicken mixture; toss well to coat. Place equal amounts in each cantaloupe half. Makes 4 dinner or 6 lunch servings. Tip! For a pretty presentation, serve cantaloupe wedges on a bed of baby spinach.

Shopping List:

Chicken, red bell pepper, red onion, fresh tarragon, extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, 2 cantaloupe

Recipe Bio: I have had this recipe in my book for a while without ever trying it. It just looks fun and delicious! Well, this week Sunflower Market had cantaloupe on sale 3 for $1, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity! I used dried Tarragon since I didn't have fresh and I used regular Balsamic Vinegar since I was pretty sure it would taste as good as White. We also had Mandarin marmalade so I used that instead of Orange marmalade. It was a hit. I served it with a creamy potato soup(by Bear Creek) and some toasted french bread to round out the meal. Yum!!

Oh Yeah! Pork Carnitas

Pork

• 3-4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder (may be called Boston butt) or 4-5lbs of bone-in pork shoulder

Spice rub

Note: This amount of spice works well for the amount of meat we normally use (3-4lbs), but it's a simple ratio so simply scale it for your amount of meat

• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp cumin (freshly toasted and ground if you can--it does make a difference)
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Braising liquid

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• Water to cover (for our pan that's usually about 2 cups)

Technique

1. Heat a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed oven-ready lidded pan over medium high heat with just enough vegetable oil (or lard if you have it) to cover the bottom .
2. Pre-heat oven to 300ºF
3. Cut pork into 1-2" cubes, trimming large sections of fat off (we need fat for the flavor, so just cut off any real large pieces). Toss pork pieces with spice rub.
4. Brown the cubed pork well in the dutch oven, going in batches so there is only one layer of meat at a time.
5. When all the meat is browned, deglaze the pan's bottom with the orange juice, stirring to break up the brown bits. Introduce all of the meat back to the pan and cover with water until it's nearly submerged.
6. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven.
7. Stir the pot after one and two hours, the pork should be very tender towards the third hour. When you're confortable with the tenderness, evacuate all the pork to a platter and begin to boil the braising liquid on the stove top.
8. After letting the pork cool for a few minutes work through with your hands to separate and discard any fat or gristle pieces that hadn't melted in the braise. Tear the meat into smaller pieces.
9. Turn your broiler on to high and place a rack towards the top
10. Toss the now shredded pork with some of the reduced braising liquid (that should have boiled down significantly by now) and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan.
11. Broil the pork for approximately five minutes per side until the outside begins to carmelize
12. Serve! We like it best in tacos, but there's no wrong way to eat carnitas.

Tips

• Carnitas saves in the fridge very nicely, we like to hold back an amount from the last step (broiling) just for the fridge. Later in the week we heat it up, broil and the result is undistinguishable from same-day carnitas.

Recipe Bio: I was at the store with Mom and found Pork Carnitas for just over $1 a lb. I bought 2 packages knowing that I had been wanting to try to make Carnitas for dinner sometime. I found this recipe on www.itsfordinner.com . We had them tonight for dinner and they were a HUGE hit! We ate them on warmed corn tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese and avocado slices, complimented with black beans, basmati lime cilantro rice and Juanitas Tortilla chips(LOVED these as well! got 'em at Winco) It was better than a restaurant and worth the work!

Delicious Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

• 3 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 quart half-and-half cream
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Fry 2-6 Slices of Bacon in a Large Skillet. Remove Bacon to drain off fat. Add onions, celery, potatoes and carrots to the skillet and coat with bacon grease. Then add clam juice(from cans). Add water to cover the vegies, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.
3. Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe Bio: A cold, dreary December day in Penryn and we needed something warm us up. I found this recipe online at www.allrecipes.com. We ate this with a warm loaf of Sourdough bread, YUM!

Chicken and Black Bean Tostizzas

It's a pizza… it's a tostada… it's a tostizza!

Prep Time: 15 Min

Total Time: 40 Min

Makes: 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
• 1 cup Progresso® black beans, drained (from 15- or 19-oz can)
• 1/2 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
• 2 tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup bell pepper strips (1 inch long)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used reduced fat shredded cheese blend)
  

DIRECTIONS:

• 1) Heat oven to 350°F. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. On ungreased cookie sheets, press or roll each biscuit to form 5 1/2-inch round.
• 2) In medium bowl, mix chicken, beans, salsa and taco seasoning mix. Spread evenly over biscuits to within 1/4 inch of edges. Top evenly with onions, bell pepper and cheese.
• 3) Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melted, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking time. If desired, garnish with sour cream and guacamole.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Mini Pizza)

• Calories 340
• (Calories from Fat 150),

• Total Fat 17g
• (Saturated Fat 7g,
• Trans Fat 3 1/2g),
• Cholesterol 35mg;
• Sodium 970mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 32g
• (Dietary Fiber 2g,
• Sugars 6g),
• Protein 16g;

Recipe Bio: I got a smoking deal on Grands Biscuits and had some grilled Chicken breast to use up. This is what I found on the Pillsbury website and it was a hit at our house. We ate cantaloupe, Avocado, spinach, and chips and salsa with it.

Corn Chowder

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 55 min

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups canned vegetable stock (we used Chicken broth)
  
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced(we used 5 medium potatoes)
  
• 6 ears corn(we used 3 ears)
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture).

Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley and give it another little drink of olive oil. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Recipe Bio: Jacob and I visited San Francisco for our 12 anniversary. We decided that it would be fun to have Sourdough breadbowls and Clam Chowder like we did when we visited SF in our dating era. We had a delicious dinner at Boudins on the Wharf and later decided to bring the yumminess home for our kids to try. We purchased 4 small bread bowls at a supermarket called Mollie Stone's in Sausalito the next day before we went home. We didn't have any clams to make clam chowder so we found this recipe online and it was great in the mini sourdough breadbowls. Yum!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Meatballs:
1lb Ground Turkey(or Ground Beef)
1 Egg
1 TBSP Cornstarch
1 tsp Salt
3 tsp Chopped Onion(I used red onion and it was good!)
Dash of Pepper

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with your hands. It will be somewhat sticky. Form into balls .
Brown the meatballs in a small amount of oil.

When cooked through, remove from frying pan and set aside. Now for the sauce...

Sauce:
1 Can Pineapple Tidbits and the juice
3TBSP Cornstarch
6 TBSP Cold Water
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
3 TBSP Vinegar
1/2 C Sugar

In a small bowl, combine cold water and cornstarch, mix well so that when added to other ingredients it will not be lumpy.
In the frying pan, mix remaining ingredients and the cornstarch mixture together until it thickens. Once sauce is thick, add the Meatballs back into sauce and heat through. Serve over Rice and enjoy!

Recipe Bio: I was able to get 2.5lbs of Free Jennie O ground turkey. I didn't know what to do with it to make it tasty for the whole family so I went searching for a good recipe. This one is originally for ground beef but I thought "Hey, that should work for Turkey too!" And it did. The whole family enjoyed it. We had it over brown rice and stirred in steamed broccoli. I also doubled the batch and froze half for a meal in the near future. If my kids had it their way, that would be tomorrow~

BBQ Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 head red leaf lettuce, rinsed and torn
• 1 head green leaf lettuce, rinsed and torn
• 1 fresh tomato, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (2.8 ounce) can French fried onions or crushed Tortilla chips
  
• 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the grill for high heat.
2. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the grill, and cook 6 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and slice.
3. In a large bowl, mix the red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, tomato, cilantro, corn, and black beans. Top with the grilled chicken slices and French fried onions.
4. In a small bowl, mix the Ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. Serve on the side as a dipping sauce, or toss with the salad to coat.

Recipe Bio: We had Chilis BBQ Chicken salad and thought we could make something similar at home. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it was delicious!

Asian Chicken Roll Ups

2	tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
2	tablespoons teriyaki baste and glaze (from 12-oz bottle)
1	tablespoon packed brown sugar
1	tablespoon hot water
1	teaspoon sesame or canola oil
4	Old El Paso® flour tortillas for burritos (8 inch; from 11-oz package)
8	slices (1 oz each) deli cooked chicken breast
1 1/2	cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 1/2	cups shredded carrots
1/2	cup chopped fresh cilantro

1.

In small bowl, beat peanut butter, teriyaki baste and glaze, brown sugar, water and oil with wire whisk until smooth.

2.

Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter mixture over each tortilla. Top each with 2 slices chicken, about 1/3 cup lettuce, about 1/3 cup carrots and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Roll up tortillas.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 330 (Calories from Fat 110); Total Fat 12g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 1g); Cholesterol 50mg; Sodium 850mg; Total Carbohydrate 32g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 9g); Protein 23g

Recipe Bio: Found on the internet at Bettycrocker.com Good!

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

Mix together:
1 1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/8 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Pepper

Use in place of store bought Fajita Seasoning

Recipe Bio: Jacob wanted to make a really yummy meal for me on Valentines day 2010. He decided to make homemade tortillas and make Faijitas. He found this recipe on the internet but we don't know which site it was from. The meal turned out delicious and I don't think we will ever go back to the store bought seasoning!

BBQ Beef

3-4lb Beef Roast(Chuck Roast works best because it will shred easiest)
1 Bottle BBQ sauce(I like Sweet Baby Rays)
1/2 small bottle Russian Dressing
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

Cook for 4-6 hours on low.


Mix the BBQ sauce, dressing and sugar together in separate bowl. Shred the beef and pour the BBQ sauce mixture over the roast, stir to mix it in. Let cook for another 1-2 hours. Serve on buns or rolls. Delicious!

note: I have found some roasts fall apart easily and others are very hard to shred. I haven't figured out which ones are best so if anyone has a tip for me on that, I would love to hear it!

Recipe Bio: We went to visit Jacobs cousins in Utah and had this for dinner. I liked it so much, I had to ask for the recipe!

Luau Chicken

Ingredients:
15 Chicken Drumsticks, Wings, wings or thighs.
Marinade:
1/4 Cup dark cork syrup
2 Tbsp Lime juice
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 C chili sauce
1/4 C pineapple juice
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Rinse Chicken and pat dry. In a heavy plastic bag or large bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Marinate chicken in sauce at least 8 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.
2.Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken in pan and reserve marinade.
3. Roast chicken 50-60 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink when cut into, brushing occasionally with marinade.

This was delicious served with Sweet Rice, Steamed Broccoli and pineapple slices.

Bio: This recipe is a little too spicy for the kids but we loved it. We froze half of it and plan on trying it grilled next time. If you are making it for kids too, you could just cut back on the chili sauce. Found on the internet-just yummy!