Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I used the chopped rotisserie chicken from Trader Joe's)
5 cups chicken broth
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely diced (As to the garlic and onion, I bought the already diced onion, shallot, garlic combo from Trader Joe's)
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 pound potato gnocchi (dry)
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Saute the onion, celery, garlic spinach, carrots and a pinch of salt and pepper in the olive oil until the onion is nearly translucent.  Add the chicken, chicken broth, spices and more salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring to a boil.  Slowly add the gnocchi into the boiling broth.  Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the cream.  Slowly allow the mixture to come to a near boil and turn it off.

I served this with wheat bread, toasted, with cream cheese, fresh fruit (I used plums and ground cherries) and honey.  Yum!

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with Orange Cream

Ingredients
1 cup(s) whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup(s) wheat bran (I used oat bran)
3/4 cup(s) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) Kosher salt
1 cup(s) canned pure pumpkin
2 eggs 2/3 cup(s) buttermilk
1/4 cup(s) canola oil
Orange cream, for serving

Orange Cream:
1/2 cup cream fraiche (can use sour cream)
3 TBSP confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
Whisk together

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat bran, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk and oil.
4. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Divide the batter among the lined muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each) and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. If desired, serve the muffins with orange cream.

Country Captain

Ingredients:

 

4 slices bacon

4 chicken breasts ( I cheated and used 4 rotisserie chicken breasts    

     that I took the skin off, the original recipe calls for chicken thighs.  I                  

     think you could use any chicken parts that you want)

4 peeled and cut carrots

1 medium diced onion

1 diced green pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can pureed tomatoes

1 TBSP grated ginger

1/2 TBSP curry powder

1/2 TBSP garam masala

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/4 cup golden raisins

Salt and pepper to taste

slivered almonds

chopped fresh parsley (or dry)

coconut rice (rice cooked in coconut milk and a little water)

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook bacon in the dutch oven until brown, then move to a bowl and reserve.

Brown chicken in the bacon fat left in the pan, if using raw chicken you may want to cook at least half way through, I just quickly seared both sides of my rotisserie pieces.

Remove chicken and reserve.  Add chopped carrots, onions and pepper to pan and cook for about 6 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic for the last few minutes.  You may need to add more oil, depending on how much is still in the pan.  Add salt and pepper to vegetables.  

After veggies are softened add the tomatoes, curry powder, garam masala, red chili flakes, ginger and raisins and cook down until thickened.  

Nest the chicken pieces in the sauce, put the lid on and put in the oven for about 1/2 hour.  

Serve over coconut rice and stew on top with almonds, parsley and reserved bacon on top.  

 

*Courtesy of Aimee

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 cups cubed Yukon Gold potatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the cubed potatoes into a baking dish. (The cubes of potatoes should be about 3/4 of an inch on all sides) You can spray the baking dish with a baking spray too to eliminate anything possibly sticking
3. Pile on the olive oil, garlic salt, salt, paprika, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Using your fingers, or a spoon if you feel inclined, get in to the potatoes and carefully mix everything around until the seasonings coat each potato.
4. Transfer the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the potatoes with a pair of tongs. Put the baking dish back into the oven and bake for about 15 - 25 minutes more until they are golden and crispy.
5. Season with an little dusting of sea salt if desired and serve.

*Courtesy of:  http://whatsgabycooking.com/parmesan-roasted-potatoes/

Chicken Scallopini with Lemon Butter Pasta

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, fileted
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound of angel hair pasta
• 1 large onion
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 pound apple wood bacon
• 10 strings fresh thyme
• 12 mushrooms, chopped
• 20 cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper

1.  Pound the chicken tenders with meat pounder to flatten them. Season them with salt and pepper. Dice onion and bacon into small pieces and slice garlic.

2.  In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Fry the chicken on both sides until slightly browned. Transfer into a baking dish with a few spoonfuls of the onions and olive oil.

 

3.  In the same frying pan, sauté the onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes.

4.  Add the bacon and cook until onions become translucent.

5.  Add the thyme and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms become soft.

 

6.  Add the tomatoes, cream, butter, and lemon juice. Bring it to a simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you add bacon, it’s already salty so be careful not to make it too salty (keep in mind the pasta will make the sauce more bland). Remove from heat.

7.  Add the cooked angel hair (reserving pasta water) to the pan and toss it in the creamy sauce. Slowly stir in a ladleful or so of pasta water to loosen up and thin out the sauce.

 

8.  Add the chicken to the pan and toss lightly. Serve the pasta on the serving plates, top with the chicken and sauce. Garnish with arugula and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 (14-ounce each) cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup finely diced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups fat free half-and-half, warm
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Croutons for serving (homemade version here)

Directions

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender.
2. About 45 minutes before serving, melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, about 3 minutes. The mixture will be crumbly, but that's ok.
3. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle in 1 cup (or a ladleful) of the hot soup from the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth and bubbly. Add another cup or ladleful and stir again until smooth. Add another cup or two and stir until smooth.
4. Stir the creamy, hot mixture back into the slow cooker. Add the Parmesan cheese, half-and-half, salt and pepper, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
5. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes until ready to serve. Serve with homemade croutons, if desired (and trust me, you'll want to desire it).

Cox Family Roast

Ingredients:

Roast
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of golden mushroom soup
1 lipton beefy onion soup packet
1-2 cans water
hot sauce
rice
seasonings for roast

Directions:

Season roast (I used garlic salt, Montreal Steak Seasoning and cajun seasoning).  Place in crockpot and cover with soups and water.  Cook on low for 10-12 hours.  If gravy is runny, remove roast and whisk in some flour to thicken.  Serve over rice with a dash of hot sauce, if desired.