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.