Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

From My Kitchen Cafe

Serves 8

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free or low-fat)
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

*We love soup, but it is just so hot in the summer--not for this treat though!  Definitely a good summer time meal and it makes me feel so good to use vegetables from our garden.  I used cherry tomatoes cut in half (that's what is most proliferate in our garden).  My 5 year old had 2 bowls!  He also liked to add the shredded carrots from our salad into the soup.  That kind of eating makes me think, "Hey, maybe I'm not such a bad mom after all."

Peach Whirligigs

From Allrecipes
Serves 6

Ingredients:
5 large fresh peaches--peeled, pitted and sliced
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 T cornstarch

1 1/3 cups buttermilk baking mix
2 T white sugar
2 T margarine, melted
1/3 cup milk

2 T margarine, softened
1/4 cup white or brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2.  In large saucepan over medium heat, combine peaches, water 1 1/2 cups sugar and cornstarch.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils.  Boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to low to keep warm.
3.  In a large bowl, stir together baking mix, 2 tablespoons sugar, melted margarine and milk to form a soft dough. Remove to floured surface and knead 8 to 10 times. Roll out into a 9 inch square.
4.  Spread softened margarine over dough. Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture over dough. Roll dough into a log shape and cut into 6 - 1 1/2 inch slices. Pour hot peach mixture into an 8x8 inch baking dish. Place roll slices, cut side up, on top of peach mixture.
5.  Bake in preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve warm.


*Silly name, nice treat!  This made a lot of peach syrup--I used just over half of it in the recipe and the rest we ate with our oatmeal.  Love Saturday morning breakfast!  The sweet rolls had the simple biscuit type flavor, but that was to be expected.  Not bad for the amount of time it took to whip up.

Key West Chicken

From Allrecipes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 T soy sauce (2 T)

1 T honey (2 T)

1 T vegetable oil

1 t lime juice (1 T)

1 t chopped garlic

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1.  In a shallow container, blend soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, and garlic.  Place chicken breast halves into the mixture, and turn to coat.  Cover, and marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat grill for high heat.

3.  Lightly oil the grill grate.  Discard marinade, and grill chicken 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

*This was a simple, easy meal that was a pleaser for everyone at the table.  Just a couple of notes:  the soy sauce flavor real shows through, next time I'll decrease the soy sauce to 2 T, increase the honey to 2 T, and use a full T of lime juice.  Our house still survives without an outdoor grill (though we long for one!) so I cooked these on the George.  No problems.  Served with rice, salad, and fruit and it made a great meal.

Grilled Pineapple Slices

from Allrecipes

• 1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and cut into rings
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions

    1.  Preheat a grill for medium heat. When the grill is hot, lightly oil the grate.

    2.  Place the coconut milk and cinnamon sugar into separate dishes. Dip slices of pineapple into coconut milk, then coat in cinnamon sugar.

    3.  Grill slices for 6 minutes on each side. Remove to plates, and serve.

Beef Stroganoff

*This recipe is from my friend Amy. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 t onion flakes
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t parsley flakes
dash pepper
1/2 t salt
1-2 T beef base (or beef bouillon)
2 T flour
2 1/2 c milk
1 c sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of sliced mushrooms (drained)
8 oz pkg egg noodles

Brown ground beef.  Drain.  Sprinkle flour over beef and stir.  Add onions, garlic powder, parsley flakes, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat for approximately 5 min.  In a bowl, mix soup and milk with a wire whip until smooth.  Add to beef.  Stir in beef base, add mushrooms.  Cook on low 10-15 min then add sour cream and simmer 5 min.  Serve over egg noodles or rice.

*Simple and easy,  I let out the mushrooms.  Lots of flavor.

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(Courtesy of Mrs. Fields):
Makes 3 dozen

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp grated orange peel (1 med. orange)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp orange extract
8 oz semisweet chocolate bar, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups--or you can use chocolate chips)

Combine flour, soda, salt, and orange peel. Mix with wire whisk. In a separate bowl blend sugars, butter, eggs, and orange extract. Add the flour mixture and chopped chocolate. Blend on low speed until just combined.

Bake at 300 for 18-22 minutes.

*Do you think the orange in these can count as a fruit serving?  These remind me of Christmas! 


Variation:

I made these again this week only using 1/2 cup shortening and 1 cube margarine.  I also refrigerated the dough before baking.  I liked these better! 

Awesome Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks.
1 (10.75 ounces) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix (2 T)
1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
1 cup water
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions:
1) Cook chicken as desired and shred.  Set the shredded chicken aside.  Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.

2) Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water.  Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

3) Preheat over to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

4) Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.

5) Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas (I used green enchilada sauce, red or green would work--use your preference). Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese.  Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

*These enchiladas had great flavor, but they definitely weren't the easiest enchiladas I've made.  Jeff didn't even mind the onions, but my kids didn't eat them without some encouragement--maybe it was just the night.