Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup (my style)

Nick really likes sausage and this is a great soup that doesn't have too many ingredients.  The only thing I had to buy is the Kale.  The finished product was really good!  I really liked it to and I am not a sausage fan.  Hope you enjoy :)

Ingredients:
1 lb OR 1 cup cooked sausage (spicy if you prefer more heat)
5-7 slices of bacon OR 1/4 cup crumbed bacon
5 medium russet potatoes (with skin)
1 1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 cups kale, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream OR 1/3 cup sour cream with 1/3 cup water
1 qt water
2 cans of chicken broth
1/2 large onion OR 1 onion, chopped
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook sausage and bacon then set aside.

2. Slice potatoes between 1/8" and 1/4".  Try to make the slices about the same so they will cook evenly.  Dice up the onion and mince the garlic.  Throw the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into a large pot on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.

3. Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Prepare the kale by chopping into bite sized pieces.  Kale is wonderful for soups because it holds up to the heat so well.  It's also delicious!

5. During this time the potatoes will start breaking apart into smaller bite sized pieces because they are so tender.  Turn the heat to low and add in the kale and heavy cream.  Let soup heat through and serve.  You can serve this with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

For things that I changed I marked in the purple color.  The directions are a little different in the original but I think it makes more sense this way.  And I cooked the whole thing in the pressure cooker on the saute setting.  One dish to clean up!  That is the best part!

For the original recipe click here.

Whole Wheat Bread (Myra Holt)

3/4 cup warm water
3 Tbs yeast
18 cups whole wheat flour
7 1/2 cups hot water
1 1/2 cup powder milk (opt)
1 cup cooking oil
1 cup honey or brown sugar
3 Tbs salt
3 eggs (opt)

Dissolve yeast in 3/4 cup water and set aside.

Combine and beat 10 cups flour with 7 1/2 cups hot water and milk for ten minutes.  (This is a very important step to develop gluten).

Add oil, honey or brown sugar, salt, and eggs and beat until blended.  Add yeast mixture and blend

Then add 8 cups of flour.  Mix by hand.

Let rise.  Punch down and knead for about 3 minutes.  Let rise again.

Punch down and divide into loaves.  Let rest 10 minutes and shape into loaves.  Let rise until double.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes longer.

Makes 6 loaves.

* Eggs make the bread lighter.  Milk gives it more body and makes it more uniform.

Gingerdoodles or Snickersnaps

Snickerdoodle Dough

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon + 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well, until creamy.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar and mix until combined.  Dough will be a little crumbly, but it'll come together when you roll them into balls.

Combine cinnamon and 3 Tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in.

Gingersnap Dough

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add molasses and egg and continue beating.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Put 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease baking sheets with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Roll a small amount of gingersnap dough into a ball and toss in sugar.  Roll a small amount of snickerdoodle dough in a ball and toss in cinnamon-sugar.

Place both doughs together and gently roll or squeeze together.  OR I rolled a normal cookie and out of the other cut a heart shape out of it and placed it on top.  I dipped it into the sugar or cinnamon sugar and push it down.  that is how they looked so good.

Place on the baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool on a rack.  So yummy!

I got this recipe from here.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

This recipe is for a full cookie sheet.

Brownies:
1 1/2 cup margarine
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup cocoa
2 1/4 cup flour

Green layer
1 1/2 lb powdered sugar
8 Tbs margarine, melted
4 Tbl evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
3-5 drops green food coloring

Top layer
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbl margarine
4 Tbl evaporated milk

Brownies:
Cream margarine, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.  Add salt, cocoa, and flour.  Bake at 350 in a cookie sheet for 25 - 30 minutes.  Cool.

Green layer:
Beat ingredients until fluffy.  Spread on brownies and refrigerate.

Top layer:
Melt chocolate chips and margarine together.  Stir in evaporated milk to make smooth.  Spread on brownies. Refrigerate.

Steph's Baked Chicken & Vegetable Pasta Bake

½ lb. pasta (I use whatever kind I have)

1 tsp salt

1 TB olive oil

1 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper

1 cup chopped cabbage

½ cup dried tomatoes

1 Cup chopped rotisserie chicken

A bunch of pepperoni (Nick thought that would be yummy)

2 big handfuls of spinach

½ spaghetti sauce

2 cups cheese

Preheat the oven to 350.  Set a large pot of water to boil.  Once it comes to a rolling boil, salt it and cook the pasta until al dente (which I think means still a little tough).  Drain.

I use the pressure cooker and set it to sauté and add the olive oil.  Throw in onion, garlic, green pepper, and cabbage.  Sauté for 10 minutes, add chicken.  Stir in chicken and pepperoni then stir for 3 minutes.  Add spinach (as much as you want) and spaghetti sauce then put the lid on for 5 minutes.  When it’s done put in a casserole dish.  Cover with cheese and bake for 25 minutes (I did only 20).  It’s so tasty too!

(I got this recipe from here and changed it to what I wanted)

Cabbage Salad

3 cups chopped cabbage
1 cup chopped red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 sunflower seeds (optional)
1 pkg roman noodles (optional)

Cut and mix cabbages, carrots, and green onions.  Mix well the vinegar, oil, sugar, pepper, and salt.  Mix very well and drizzle over salad.  Add nuts and mix.  Brake up noodles and let people put on their own salads.  The noodles can get soggy so I like to put them on as I eat them.

Christmas Granola

Christmas Granola

Ingredients:

8 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup finely chopped almonds

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons salt   

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups raisins or sweetened dried

cranberries

Directions:

1.         Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

2.         Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.

3.         Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.