Italian Sausage and Potato Soup

Making soup and watching the snow fall are probably the only things that I like about this cold season. I am more a spring/summer girl.  But if I have to be in the cold, a nice hearty soup is what I am dreaming about.  This soup is quick and easy, it has a few steps, but I seemed to do a good job of cleaning up my mess along the way and the soup was perfect for a cold and dreary day.  

The original recipe that I found calls for a plain sausage and added hot pepper flakes. You could do that or just do as I did and use a hot Italian sausage.  If you don't like the heat then you could use mild.  I like to experiment and/or use what i have, no need for a special trip to the store.  

1 lb Italian sausage (I use Hot)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, diced
1 tsp Italian seasonings
2 cups milk
3 oz cream cheese
3 TBSP flour
2 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 cups baby spinach

Remove the sausage from casings and crumble it into a large dutch oven.  Begin cooking the sausage, braking it up as it cooks, over medium heat.  Add the smoked paprika, onion and garlic.  Saute until the sausage is fully cooked. Drain if necessary. Add the chicken stock and Italian seasoning. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling add the potatoes,cover, and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes depending on size.  
While the potatoes are cooking, place the milk, cream cheese, flour and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Heat the butter in a medium size saucepan . When the butter is melted, add the milk mixture and whisk over medium heat until thick.  When potatoes are tender, add the thickened milk mixture and the spinach.  
Serve with salt and pepper to taste or grated Parmesan cheese.

Monkey Munch

Monkey Munch!! It is such a sweet and crunchy snack that all of your little monkeys will love.  No matter how old they are.  You may know this snack by some other name, such as muddy buddy or puppy chow. But my family prefers Monkey Munch.

This is straight off of the Chex cereal box, it is not my recipe at all. But I do sometimes substitute store brand cereal or Crispix cereal. My daughter even used Life cereal once. Whatever I have, I will use.  It all tastes good so it really doesn't matter to me.  

9 cups Chex cereal (any crispy waffle type cereal)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Put cereal in a large bowl and put aside.
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a quart-sized microwavable bowl. Stir together.
Microwave on "high" for one minute. Stir the mixture again and continue to zap in thirty second intervals until it mixes smoothly.  Add the vanilla and then stir in the cereal. Put the combination into 2 gallon sized zip top bags along with the powdered sugar. (3/4 cups sugar in each bag)  Seal the bag and shake to coat cereal mixture.  Keep in airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy.

Sunflower Oatmeal Cookies

I live with the COOKIE MONSTER!! Honestly, my husband eats cookies like they are going out of style.  HOW MANY? I make about 2 batches every week, and my kids have a few in their lunches for school every day, but the hubby eats the majority. I would say that he consumes about 4 dozen cookies any given week.  
So, I try to make better cookies. These cookies have oatmeal, sunflower seeds, and coconut. At least he is getting some fiber, right??  And he is getting his calcium too, because he has a huge glass of milk every time he has cookies. About 3 times a day, or so.  Yes, this is a full grown man in his 50's, haha!!

Sunflower Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup roasted sunflower kernels

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugars, mixing until light and fluffy; add the eggs and the vanilla.  
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, add this to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly. 
Stir in the oats, coconut and sunflower seeds.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheet.
Bake for 8-11 minutes until light brown.
Allow cookies to rest on sheet for 1 minute before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Apple Celery Slaw

January 1, 2014!!  Wow, a new year has begun. Let's hope that is a happy and healthy year for everyone.  I know that many people make a list of resolutions for the new year. And many have the same ones from year to year. The top resolution?? To lose weight/eat better, right.  Well I hope that this little recipe will fit right along with this resolution.  It is just a quick little slaw that is light and refreshing. My only problem is that I can't eat it. I have a pesky allergy to apples. But it doesn't stop me from making this. It smells wonderful and refreshing.Granny smith apples are so crisp and crunchy and add some crunchy celery and this little number will surely quench your church appetite.  
The original recipe calls for sour cream, but I did not have any, a quick substitute of evaporated milk will surely be fine.  


Apple Celery Slaw

1/4 c evaporated milk
3 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced into matchsticks
1 granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks

Combine the first 4 ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Add the celery and apple sticks. Toss until everything is well coated.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Fruity French Toast

I think that starting your families day off with a good breakfast is a great way to start the day.  My kids were never the crack of dawn kind of kids. They just love to sleep, always have.  So the best way to get them up on a Sunday morning is to make a great breakfast. Who doesn't like to wake yo to an amazing smelling  breakfast ? 
The original recipe calls for only berries, but you can substitute any frozen fruit. But it is best with at least half of it with berries.   A mixture of frozen peaches and berries is the best for me.  

2 1/2 cups frozen berries

2 1/2 cups frozen peaches (any fruit)

3/4 cup sugar

1 TBSP cornstarch

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cooking spray

1 cup milk

1tsp vanilla

4 egg whites, slightly beaten

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 8oz loaf of French bread, sliced into 1 inch thick slices

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP powdered sugar

Combine the frozen fruit, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and pour into a 13x9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Whisk together the milk,vanilla, egg whites and egg together in a large dish. Add the bread, turning to coat all sides, let stand for bread to absorb the milk mixture for about 5 minutes. 

Lay the bread slices over the fruit mixture. Sprinkle with the TBSP of sugar. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is a favorite comfort food, and a great way to stretch a little leftover chicken.  of course you can always substitute turkey too. 

I used fresh chopped onions, carrots and celery because that is what I like. But you can certainly use some left over veggies also. If you have a bit of leftover corn, peas or green beans, they would only make this even more comforting.  Use what you have and it will not disappoint you.  

 4 stalks of celery

4 carrots

1 large onion

4 TBSP butter

2 cups cooked chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 tsp chicken bouillon base

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp kosher salt 

Black pepper to taste

Freshly chopped thyme, rosemary and sage

( a few sprigs of each) optional

1pre made pie crust

Preheat oven to 400. 

Finely dice the celery, carrots, and onion. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the veggies and sauté until they turn translucent. ( if using leftover veggies, add them now)Add the chicken and stir to combine.  Sprinkle the flour over the veggie, chicken mixture stirring until combined. 

Pour the chicken broth in and stir to incorporate.  Add the bouillon base and the wine.  Continue stirring as you pour in the cream.  Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the seasoning, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.  Remove from the heat.  

Pour the mixture into a deep dish pie pan or a small round casserole.  

Unroll the prepared pie crust on the top of the veggie chicken mixture. Press the edges to the side of the dish to seal. Cut a few steam slices on the top of the crust.

Bake for 30 minutes until nicely golden brown. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, cut and serve. 

Sweet and Sassy Joes

Sometimes life can be very hectic, and it would be easy to just open up a can and heat whatever ina pan. But I am trying to keep my family healthy and trying to eat fresh foods with little or no preservatives. Kind of hard these days with all of the prepackaged foods that are available.  When my kids were younger we always had sloppy joes from a can and they were fine, but then I got to thinking about what was in them. If the can can last on the shelf for years, is that really what I want to put in my body? The answer was NO!! so I stumbled upon this recipe for homemade sloppy joes. And they are so much better than the canned version. In my opinion anyway!! A little homemade sauce, some veggies and ground turkey is a great way to have a quick convenient meal.


Sweet and Sassy Joes


2 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 cups tomato sauce (homemade)
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP Baby Bam ( recipe follows)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook, stirring until browned.
Remove excess liquid.
To the skillet, add the onion, carrots and celery and cook until soft. About 3-5 minutes.
Adfd garlic and cook until fragrant, add the red wine vinegar.
Add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, baby bam , Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer  for 15 minutes. Serve on a hearty bun. A side salad would complete the meal.

Baby Bam

3 TBSP paprika
2 TBSP salt
2 TBSP dried parsley
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp celery salt

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.