Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup?

Please don't let the picture fool you, this tastes a lot better than it looks. And it was supposed to be a soup, but ended up being quite thick, so not sure, maybe its a stew? I guess if you shortened the simmering time it wouldn't end up being quite so thick.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup onions, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup corn
1/2 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 1/2 cups wild rice (or wild rice blend), uncooked
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
3/4 tsp dry mustard powder
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp dry parsley
1 1/2 cups cream (I just used 1% milk cause that's what I had and it worked fine!)

Melt butter over medium heat in soup pot. Stir in the onions, celery, carrots and green pepper and saute a few minutes until tender crisp. Add mushrooms, corn and flour. Stir until well combined. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the chicken, wild rice, all the seasonings and the cream/milk. Simmer until done, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or less if you don't want it too thick).

*Adapted from http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2013/10/wild-rice-blend-soup.html

Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Cookies

Intrigued? I know I was! Pretzels in a cookie? Who would have thought? But it works, so good! What an interesting salty/sweet combo. Good thing I'm taking most of these to work tomorrow, otherwise they wouldn't last long...

1/2 cup salted butter (softened at room temperature)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup M&M's
3/4 cup pretzel pieces

Cream butter and sugars together. Then add in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Fold in the M&M's and pretzel pieces. Chill the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop dough by teaspoonful and mold into ball and press onto ungreased (or lined) cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will be very soft and may appear undone, but they will firm up as they cool. Allow to cool on wire racks.

* from http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/11/01/bite-sized-peanut-butter-pretzel-mm-cookies/

Broccoli Grape Pasta Salad

1/2 (16 oz) box of bow tie pasta
1 lb fresh broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, red onion, red wine vinegar and salt. Toss with broccoli, grapes and cooked pasta. Stir to coat. Cover and chill. Top with crumbled bacon and sunflower seeds before serving.

*Adapted from http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/10/broccoli-grape-harvest-salad.html

Zucchini Cookies

Got lots of zucchini? Here's a delicious way to use up some of those never-ending squash (you know, other than pawning them off on friends, family and co-workers!).

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups zucchini (shredded)
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup walnuts (chopped; optional)

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and beat until fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with the shredded zucchini. Stir in the raisins and walnuts (if adding). Drop onto greased baking sheets and bake in 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Make sure to bake as soon as they are mixed as the batter could get runny if it stands too long. I found the batter to be quite sticky, but still turned out really well. Instead of the raisins and walnuts I actually used craisins as I found out just as I was going to put my raisins in, that they were moldy! Yuck!

You could also omit the spices and raisins and instead add 1 tsp vanilla and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Might have to try this version too!

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

* from Simply in Season

Roasted Cherry Tomato Cappellini

This is a great summer dish. If only the cherry tomatoes in my garden were ripe already. But at least I was able to use some fresh basil from my garden.

2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups cherry tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
pinch red pepper flakes
8 oz. cappellini
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place olive oil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, wine or broth, salt and red pepper flakes in glass pan and roast for 45 minutes.

Near end of roasting time, cook cappellini according to package directions. Drain and combine in bowl with roasted tomato mixture. Add basil and pine nuts and toss to combine. Serve with Parmesan and garnish with additional basil.


*Adapted from http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2012/08/roasted-cherry-tomato-cappellini-two.html

Strawberry Sparkle Cake

It's strawberry season!! My parents (& nephews) went strawberry picking today and I got some freshly picked strawberries delivered to my door. Yum! So good. Anyways, here's a strawberry recipe for you. I actually made it last month for Father's Day.

Now if you are really ambitious, you can make the Angel food cake from scratch, but I cheated and used a boxed mix. Just prepare according to package directions and let cool (upside down).

To make the filling empty a 3 oz box of strawberry jello into a bowl and add 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then add 1 lb of frozen strawberries. Stir to cool the mixture and set aside.

Turn the cooled cake upside down (so the part of the cake that was at the bottom of the pan is now on top). With a sharp serrated knife, cut the top 1 inch for the cake and set aside. With a small knife, cut a trench in the cake by cutting 2 concentric circles. Pull out the extra cake from the trench. Be careful to not cut all the way to the bottom.

By now the filling should be cooled and thickened. Carefully spoon the filling into the trench. Fill slightly above the trench. Then put the top layer back.

Whip 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with 2 Tbps sugar. Spread over cake and chill for awhile before serving. Delicious!

*Adapted from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/strawberry-sparkle-cake/

Sun-dried Tomato Fettuccine

Here's a new twist on a tomato pasta sauce. Really good! The sun-dried tomatoes give it a different twist.

3/4 lb fettuccine
3 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato halves, sliced
1 (19 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
salt & pepper, to taste

In a large pot, cook fettuccine according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, mix together the Greek yogurt and sour cream in a bowl, set aside.

Add olive oil to large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and saute until fragrant. About 2-3 minutes.

Turn heat down to medium low and add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar. Stir until well-incorporated.

Swiftly whisk in the yogurt and sour cream mixture. Add it slowly, but mix quickly so it doesn't curdle. After it has all been added and mixed well, turn heat up to medium high and let simmer and thicken for 5-7 minutes.

Season the sauce with salt & pepper and then add the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted you can turn off the heat and add the pasta. Toss to coat the pasta. Enjoy!

*from http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/02/18/cheesecake-factory-copycat-lightened-up-sundried-tomato-fettuccine/