Greek Wedding Soup

from Rachel Ray


two 32 oz containers chicken broth
3/4 pound ground lamb, or beef, or our staple, ground turkey
2/3 c finely chopped flat leaf parlsey
1/3 c breadcrumbs
1/4 c feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs oregano, finely chopped
salt /pepper
1 c orzo pasta
grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 c mint leaves, chopped

1. in skillet or dutch oven bring chicken broth to boil. lowe heat and bring to simmer

2. meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the lamb(turkey), half of the parsley, the breadcrumbs, feta, egg, garlic and oregano. season with salt/pepper. form into 1 inch balls. add to the simmering broth along with the orzo and cook for 8 minutes. stir in the lemon peel, lemon juice, and remaining parsley and mint.


**super yummy!!!! the turkey doesn't have enough fat to stay together as meat balls though. so next time i would actually try ground beef. it had a wonderful light flavor b/c of the lemon juice, and we had a lot for leftovers! soooo good!**

hot chocolate fudge cakes

from cooking light

3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 tsp instant espresso powder (i think you could omit this if you wanted)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c butter, softened
2/3 c granulate sugar
2/3 c brown sugar
1 c egg substitute (i think it's trying to be all 'light' or something. i used 5 eggs to equal 1 cup)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 2.6 oz bar dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbspn powdered sugar

1. sift together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder and salt.

2. place butter in large bowl. beat with mixer at medium sped 1 minute. add granulated and brown sugars, beating until well blended (about 5 minutes). add egg substitute and vanilla, beating until well blended. fold flour mixture into sugar mixture. fold in chocolate. divide batter evenly among 10 (4oz) ramekins. arrange ramekins on a jelly-roll pan. cover and refridgerate 4 hours up to 2 days.

3. preheat oven 350

4. let ramekins stand at room temp for 10 minutes. uncover and bake at 350 for 21 minutes or until cakes are puffy and slightly crusty on top. sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar and serve warm.



*** i have only tasted the batter as these are in the fridge right now, but my oh my i think it's going to blow my mind how yummy it's going to be!!! i'll let you know. i'm pretty sure it's a must make though.**

healthy banana blueberry muffins

from every day food

1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, room temp
1/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c frozen blueberries

1. preheat oven to 375 and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. in a bowl whisk together flours, what germ, baking soda and salt.

2. in large bowl beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. in a nother bowl mash bananas with a fork and stir in milk and vanilla.

3. with mixer on low alternately add flour mix and banana mix to butter mix. beginning and ending with flour mix. mix just until combined. fold in frozen blueberries.

4. divide batter among muffin cups. bake 25-28 minutes. cool.


these are pretty yummy. i like baking them and then freezing so we can pull them out for breakfasts quickly.

Banana Pancakes

A new favorite.  We ate it 3x this week- breakfast is darin's favorite meal

1 c flour

1 T sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 egg

1 c milk

2 T oil

2 bananas, mashed

mix dry together; mix wet together.  mix together....etc

Sangria

1/4 c sugar

2 bottles red wine

1/2 c orange juice

1/2 c peach nectar

1/4 c. orange liqueur

2-3 c. club soda, chilled

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 granny smith, thinly slice

here's my modified ingredients:

1/4 c sugar

1 bottle merlot

1/2 c orange juice

1/2 c peach nectar

the fruit

1/2 bottle or so of orange soda

dissolve the sugar in 1 1/4 c hot water.  combine all ingredients minus the fruit and soda and chill for 3 hours.  add fruit and soda just before serving

BBQ Beef Brisket

1 beef brisket (5-6 lbs or more for more leftovers :)

4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp salt

1/4  tsp pepper

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1/3 c. cider vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp mustard

2 large onions sliced

Preheat oven to 350.  trim excess fat from brisket and place fat side up in a baker.  press garlic over brisket, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  combine ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce and mustard in another bowl and pour over brisket.  Slice onions and arrange over brisket.  cover with aluminum foil.  bake 2-3 hours or until fork tender.  keep all the juices for leftovers.  slice brisket thinly across the grain.  

leftovers ideas:

BBQ Beef and Peppers sub sandwich

1 loaf Italian bread

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

8 slices colby monterey jack cheese

saute bell peppers in oil until crisp-tender.  combine 1/2 cup juices from brisket with 1 tsp cornstarch; bring to boil. reduce heat; simmer 1 minute and add 1 lb cooked beef brisket (2 cups) and onions; simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until heated through.  Cut bread in half horizontally and pull out the interior of the bread leaving 1/2 inch thick bread shell.  Heap the meat and onions into the bread and top with bell peppers and cheese.  cover with top of bread and bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes.  YUMMMMMM!

Stew:

add however much frozen mixed vegetables to a pot of leftover brisket and heat through.  serve with biscuits.

Apple Squares

I know you don't like making pastry that much, but this one is tasty!

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2/3 c. shortening

1 egg yolk

1/2 c. milk

5 c. sliced apples

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter

sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening.  add egg and 1/2 c. milk; stir with a fork.  form into a ball; pat half the dough into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  place apples on dough; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and 2 Tbsp flour.  dot with butter.  roll other half of dough out thin; cover the apples. bake at 350 for 45 minutes.