Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 lb Italian sausage

2 cloves garlic

5 cups beef broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 8ox can tomato sauce

2 cups canned tomatoes

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1-1/2 cups sliced zucchini

1 green pepper chopped

3 T parsley

8 oz tortellini

Brown sausage.  Remove from pan & saute onion, carrots, garlic - add zucchini and green pepper last.  Add beef broth, water, wine, tomato sauce, tomatoes and seasoning.  Add sausage.  Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.  Skim fat from top.  Add tortellini & simmer for 30-40 minutes.  Serve with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese. 

Zucchini Bread

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional -1 cup raisins, coated with flour

Mix ingredients in order.  Place in 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.  These freeze well.

Strawberry Shortcake

 4 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

* Mix strawberries and sugar, refrigerate

2-1/3 cups Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

* Combine until soft dough forms.  Spread into greased 8x8 cake pan or round pie pan.  Sprinkle top with additional sugar

Bake at 425 approximately 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve sliced with chilled strawberries and whipped cream.

Watermelon Mint Lemonade

 1-1/2 quarts water

1/2 cup sugar

2 sprigs mint, plus more for garnish

5-6 cups cubed watermelon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Bring water and sugar to a light boil until the sugar is dissolved and mixture is clear. Turn off the heat and add the sprigs of mint.  Allow mint syrup to cool and discard sprigs.  Add to a blender with the watermelon. Blend until smooth, then strain to remove seeds and pulp if desired.  Add lemon juice and stir.  Server over ice with mint garnish.

No Churn Lemon Ice Cream with Raspberry Swirl

From Valerie Berteinelli Food Network

Ingredients:

1 cup raspberries

1 teaspoon sugar

One 14-ox can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons lemon zest with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, from 2 lemons

2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

1 Add the raspberries, sugar and 1 teaspoon of water to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low. Use the back of a wooden spoon to slightly break up the raspberries. Cook, stirring regularly, until the raspberries have completely broken up and are saucy, 3 to 4 minutes. Strain mixture over a bowl slightly pressing the pulp to release as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp and seeds.  Cool liquid completely.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest and lemon juice to a large bowl and stir to combine. In a separate large bowl add the heavy cream and whip with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.  In batches, delicately fold the whipped cream int o the sweetened condensed milk mixture, making sure its fully incorporated before adding another batch.

3. Pour half of the whipped cream mixture into a 9x5 loaf pan and spook 1-1/2 tablespoons of the raspberry sauce over th top.  Using a wooden skewer or chop stick, swirl and slightly stir the raspberry sauce into the whipped cream mixture. Top with remaining whipped cream mixture and spoon another tablespoon of the raspberry sauce on to the top. Once again, swirl the sauce into the whipped cream mixture.  Loosely cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer.  Freeze until solid, 6 to 8 hours, preferably overnight. Scoop into bowls and serve. 

Tangy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Boil and debone 1 pound of chicken. Use 3 leg quarters is the to keep cost down. In a sauce pan, combine the chicken broth water, one can of cream of mushroom soup, one can of rotel, (drained), and one can of cheddar cheese soup. Add pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste. Cook and drain 4 lbs of spaghetti noodles. Combine all ingredients in a large 6 quart dish. Heat and serve.

French : Leek and Potato Soup

* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 2 large leeks, washed well and chopped
* 4 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon TABASCO® brand Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Sour cream or yogurt
* Snipped chives for garnish

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat; add leeks and cook 5 minutes or until tender-crisp. Add potatoes; cook 5 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth, TABASCO® Green Sauce, and salt; over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches. To serve, garnish each serving with dollop of sour cream or yogurt and top with chives.

Makes 6 servings.

Daniel Restaurant New York - Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

3 bottles dry red wine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
Salt and crushed black peppercorns
Flour, for dredging
8 large shallots, peeled, trimmed, split, rinsed and dried
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 ribs of celery, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 medium-sized leek (white and light-green parts), coarsely
chopped, washed and dried
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves and 2 thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 quarts unsalted beef broth
Freshly ground white pepper

1. Pour the wine into a large saucepan set over medium heat. When
the wine is hot, carefully set it aflame. Let the flames die out,
then increase the heat so that the wine boils; allow it to boil
until it cooks down by half. Remove from the heat.

2. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F.

3. Warm the oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof pot over medium-high
heat. Season the ribs all over with salt and the crushed pepper.
Dust half of the ribs with about 1 tablespoon flour. Then, when the
oil is hot, slip the ribs into the pot and sear 4 to 5 minutes on
each side, until well-browned. Transfer the ribs to a plate. Repeat
with remaining ribs. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from
the pot, lower the heat under the pot to medium and toss in the
vegetables and herbs. Brown the vegetables lightly, 5 to 7 minutes,
then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add the wine, ribs and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover
tightly and place in the oven to braise for 2 1/2 hours or until
the ribs are very tender. Every 30 minutes, skim and discard fat
from the surface. (It's best to make the recipe to this point, cool
and chill the ribs and broth in the pan overnight; scrape off the
fat the next day. Rewarm before continuing.)

5. Carefully transfer the meat to a platter; keep warm. Boil the
pan liquid until it has reduced to 1 quart. Season with salt and
white pepper and pass through a fine strainer; discard the solids.
Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve.

Tip: the ribs and sauce can be combined and kept covered in the
refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat gently, basting frequently, on
top of the stove or in a 350°F oven.

Serves 8

Chili's Margarita Grilled Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Margarita Mix liquid
1/4 cup tequila
1 Tbs minced garlic
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Pour margarita mix, tequila and garlic over chicken breast and let
marinate for 2 hours in refrigerator. When ready to prepare drain
and dust with black pepper to taste.

Grilling works best, but you can also use an iron skillet and bring
to medium high temperature.

Spray an oil coating into pan and braise chicken breast until done
on each side.

Serve chicken breast on top of black beans and serve with your
favorite Mexican rice and a generous helping of salsa.

Serves 4

Sugared Salmon

This is a quick and easy recipe that we like a lot. It just takes salmon steaks, sugar, ground pepper, soy sauce and a little olive oil.

Take the skin off the salmon steaks, (one for each person)
roll the steaks in a mixture of sugar and pepper ( not alot of pepper, just enough to know it's there)
Place the steaks in a frying pan with enough olive oil so that it just covers the bottom of the skillet.
cook on eash side for 3-4 minutes with medium heat, depending on the thickness of the steaks.
(Keep an eye on them, the sugar will burn if you leave them in too long)
Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle generously with soy sauce and place in a preheated oven at 350 for 8 minutes. They're done!