Dill Chicken Soup

1 lbs of Chicken breast (bone in)
3 stalks of celery (leaves included)
3 large carrots
1 large spanish onion
2 boxes of low sodium Chicken broth
1/8 wine (any type)
1 cup elbow noodles or gnocci's
1 tbsp dill (dry or fresh)

pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Cooked chicken in oven on 225 degrees for 2 hours (until cooked through).
It's important to slowly cook the chicken and not dry it out at a high temp.

1) In a large sauce pan add olive oil and onions. Cook onions until soft.
2) Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
In the meantime cut up the celery and carrots.
3) Add the vegetables to the broth and turn down to medium low.
4) Add the wine and the noodles. Cover and cook for about 20 mins or until noodles are cooked.

Once chicken is cooked through turn the oven on broil and let chicken cook for 2 mins just enough to make the skin cripsy (this is what I usually do for my hubby, otherwise I would just throw the skin out).

5) Peel the skin off and cut the chicken into pieces. Add to the soup.
6) Turn the soup down to low, for 15 mins.
7) Add Dill, salt and pepper and serve.

Make a soup bowl out of bread! Or just serve it with a grilled cheese & tomato. This is a hearty but healthy soup. Substitute the noodles with rice, barley, wheatberry, lentils or just have the soup alone.

Slow Cooked Maple BBQ Ribs

2 lbs of boneless ribs

2 c of BBQ Sauce

1/4 c maple syrup

1/2 sm onion

2 tbsp garlic

3 tbsp Flour

3 tbsp Butter

1/4 c chicken stock

1) Place ribs in crockpot and turn on low.

2) In a bowl mix together BBQ and Syrup.

3) Chop up onion and add.

4) Add Garlic

Let cook 3 hours on low.

5) In a frying pan melt butter, turn down to low, then add the flour, whisk until well blended.

Then slowly add the chicken stock. Add this to the Ribs. This is a thickening agent.

6) Scoop out 2 cups of the sauce from the crockpot and blend together in a blender or the Magic Bullet. Add this back to the ribs. This also will help thicken the sauce.

Cook on low for another hour. Serves 3-4 people.

This is a great recipe to have with rice, polenta or mashed potatoes. I enjoy having this with Slow oven roasted rosemary potatoes, zuchinni and scallions with BBQ Sauce. The recipe is below.

3 large potatoes

1 medium zuchinni

3 scallions

a Sprinkle of garlic salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (takes approx 1 hour 30 mins)

1)In a casserole dish add 3 tbsp of olive oil.

2) peel and quarter the potatoes and slice the zuchini into 1/2 inch slices.

3) rough chop the scallions.

4) Add the veggies and scallions to the casserole dish & sprinkle garlic salt over them, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

5) When the timer goes off, carefully move the vegetables around on the casserole dish.

6) Put back in the oven uncovered for 20 mins.

7) Add the rosemary to the vegetables. and put back in the oven for 5 mins.

8) Scoop a cup of the BBQ sauce from the ribs and pour over the vegatables.

9) Put back in the oven uncovered for 2 min on Broil.

Your done!

I know that was a lot of steps but it is SO worth it. In a bowl, I add the veggies and then put the ribs on top (add some more sauce). DELISH!

No Rush Beef Stew

1.5 lb roast (tied or not) or 1.5 lbs of steak tips
1 small can of beef broth
1 small can of cream of celery soup
1 pkg of onion soup mix
3 cups Carrots chopped into pieces
1 pkg of Mushrooms
10 baby potatoes halved
1/4 c steak sauce



1) Put roast in the crockpot and pour a can of beef broth over it.
2) Pour a can of celery soup over.
3) Add carrots, baby potatoes and mushrooms on top and along the sides.
4) Add soup mix and then the steak sauce. do not mix.

Cover for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.

The broth will create a steam which will cook the carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. The flavors from the different soups and from the roast tie together nicely and create a delicious meal. This is a great meal to have on a rainy day! This is delicious in a bread bowl.

Jani's Homemade Tomato Sauce

Makes approx 6 servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup

6 large tomatoes
1tbsp of tomato paste (equals about 3-4 squirts)
1 green pepper diced up
1 small onion diced up
1 tbsp of crushed garlic
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of flat leaf parsley
pepper & salt
1 tbsp of sugar

**Optional: replace the fresh tomatoes with 1 32 oz of crushed peeled tomatoes, 1 small can of diced tomatoes, and 1 small can of tomato sauce. This may yield a larger amount of sauce.

1) Boil tomatoes with the skin on. Skip this step if you are using canned tomatoes.

2) Let tomatoes cool enough so you can peel off the skin. Again skip if you are using canned tomatoes.

3) In a sauce pan add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add diced up onions.

4) Once the onions are transluscent add the garlic (do not add garlic too early or it will burn and taste bitter).

5) Dice up the tomatoes into small pieces (discard stem & leaves ) and add to the sauce pan.

6)Add diced up peppers to sauce pan.

7) Bring to a boil. Once sauce comes to a boil turn down to low and simmer.

8) Add the sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.

9) Add the dry herbs. If fresh herbs wait until sauce is ready to be served to add.

**It's best if you let simmer all day or at least 3-4 hours. The longer the sauce simmers the thicker it will get. Stir occasionally.

Dress it up!

I love to add chicken to my sauce instead of hamburger. I cook up the chicken first until it is cooked through then will chop it up into pieces and add to the sauce. it's delicious.

For vegetarians, you can add strips of carrots to the sauce by using a peeler, this makes the sauce more sweet!

Freeze it!

I sometimes double this recipe and freeze it.

Mexican Style Meatloaf

Cooking spray

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast

2 large Egg whites

2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

8 oz canned enchilada sauce

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray.



• Combine all ingredients, except for half of the enchilada sauce. set remaining sauce aside.



• Spoon meatloaf mixture into pan.



• Bake for 60 mins.



• Spoon remaining sauce over meatloaf and cook an additional 5 mins.

It's important to use a broiler pan, which is a loaf pan that has holes on the bottom, so the greese can drip out.

Pair this dish with roasted corn polenta (see recipe).

History on Chiles

Chili peppers were discovered in the Caribbean by Columbus, who appended the word "pepper" because of their fiery similarity to the black peppercorns he was familiar with (There is no relationship between the two plants). The first chiles were brought to Spain in 1493 by a physician by the name of Diego Alvarez Chanca, who was on Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies. From there, chiles spread quickly to India, China, and Japan. They were first grown in the monastery gardens of Spain and Portugal as botanical curiosities, but the monks experimented with their culinary potentions and later discovered their pungency offereance and inexpensive subsitute for black peppercorns. Peppercorns were so costly, sometimes they were used as legal currency in some countries.

*data gathered from http://www.thenibble.com/

1-2-3 Pulled Chicken with Rice

1 lbs boneless chicken breast
1 small onion (sliced)
1 8 oz jar of salsa
Rice
Crockpot

1) place chicken breast in crockpot.
2) Add onion
3) Add salsa

Let cook 3-4 hours on low. Prepare rice as directed on package. Once chicken is cooked you will be able to pull the chicken apart with a fork. Serve chicken over rice.

GOT LEFTOVERS?

This is one dish that I don't mind having leftovers of. What I do is take the leftover chicken and add sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and place the mixture in a tortilla. Use a toothpick to hold the sandwich together. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or drizzle a little olive oil and spread around on pan, place sandwiches on sheet. Bake on 350 for 15 mins or until heated through. There you go - 2 meals in one shot!

Roasted Rosemary Baby Potatoes & Carrots

Serves: 3-4 people
Level: Easy
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Temp: 375 degrees


It is comforting to know that we are cooking healthy for our families as well as ourselves.This recipe takes a little bit of time but is well worth the end result. These delicious vegetables are tossed in olive oil then sprinkled with Rosemary.

6-7 potatoes cut into wedges
5 large carrots chopped into pieces
4-5 Sprigs of Rosemary
1/4 cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1). Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2).Place potatoes and chopped carrot pieces on a baking sheet.
3). Drizzle with Olive Oil.
4). Remove the Rosemary leaves from the stem and rough chop.
5). Cover with Aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 mins on 375 degrees then toss veggies around on pan. Up the temp to 400 degree's and cook another 20 mins. Again toss them around on pan, sprinkle vegetables evenly with the rosemary & put back in the oven on 400 degrees for another 17 mins. Uncover and put in oven on broil for 3 mins (this will create a nice brown color).

Interesting Facts on Rosemary:

• Rosemary is a member of the mint family & is also related to basil, oregano and marjoram.


• Rosemary have small, gray-green leaves that look similar to small pine needles and have a bittersweet, lemony, slightly piney flavor.


• Rosemary is versatile, it can be used in both savory and sweet recipes.


• Rosemary is ranked high on the list of cancer-prevention and reduction foods.

A Little History on Rosemary:

• Rosemary has been used as culinary and medicinal herb by the Ancient Greeks and Romans as far back as 500 b.c.. This is still commonly used as a medicinal herb today.


• Older Europeans loved Rosemary and believed that it improved memory.


• Many would place sprigs of Rosemary under their pillows to ward off evil and nightmares.


• Often the wood that comes from the stems of the Rosemary plant was used to make musical instruments.

Today wreaths are made of rosemary as a symbol of remembrance.

Slow Cooked BBQ Pork Loin

Serves: Approx. 3-4 people
Level: Easy
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 4-5 hours in slow cooker

Temp: Low

This is a simple and flavorful dish. Just follow the directions below, then continue on with your plans for the day! Don't be surprised if you find yourself going back for seconds, it's that good.

1 lb Pork Tenderloin

1 bottle of BBQ sauce (or see recipe below for homemade)

1 small onion (red or white, I used a combo of both in the picture)

salt & pepper

1). Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper on both sides. Then place in the crockpot.

2). Dice up the onion and add to the crockpot.

3) Pour half the bottle of BBQ sauce on top ( or see BBQ sauce recipes below).
**Optional: Add 2 tbps of honey.

Let cook for 3 hours, then add the rest of the BBQ sauce. Then cook another 1-2 hours.
I suggest taking the tenderloin out of the crockpot, spooning the onions/sauce over it, then letting it sit for a 5-7 mins before cutting into it. This way all the wonderful flavor from the juices doesn't escape. You can either serve it by cutting it into pieces or by pulling it apart with a fork (pulled pork). This makes a delicious sandwich on Portuguese Pops or other types of hard bread. I suggest pairing this with Roasted Rosemary Baby Potatoes.

Original BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar, preferably cider or wine vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp garlic powder, or more

1 tbsp canola or or other mild vegetable oil

**For a kick add 3/4 cup of chili sauce

• Mix all ingredients together and simmer for about 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
• When covered, it will keep in the refridgerator for several weeks.

Sweet Curry Chicken Salad

1 lb Cooked Chicken (bone in or boneless)
1/2 Red Onion
Green Olives
1/2 c Red bell pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo (can also substitute with 3 wedges of soft laughing cow cheese)
1 tbps Sweet Curry seasoning (I recommend Penzey's)
1 tbsp butter & 1 tsp of olive oil

1) Cut the onion and pepper into small piece (almost minced).
2) melt butter in a frying pan then add olive oil.
3) Add in the onion and pepper. Cook until onion is transluscent and peppers are no longer firm. Remove and put in a small bowl to cool.
4) Cut up chicken into small pieces and add in the sour cream and mayo (or Laughing Cow).
5) Add the onion and pepper.
6) Chop olives up and add (I normally will cut each olive into four pieces)
7) Add in the Sweet Curry seasoning and stir.

Optional: Salt and Pepper. Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Raisins, grapes or apple piece.

This chicken salad is great on portuguese pops, italian breads or just your everyday sliced bread. Make a chicken melt or just toast up the bread and add a slice of your favorite cheese. Add it to a salad- pasta or green.
Bon Appetit!