April 2016 – Discover Healthy Food

Vegetable Cheese Tortellini Soup Recipe

This soup is light yet flavorful! Even got the double thumbs up from Becki and Lexi! Thanks ladies for a fun lunch date!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked dried tortellini (I used spinach tortellini, but you can use any dried variety)*
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
5 oz fresh spinach
1 head broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
10 cups water

Directions:
1. Boil dried tortellini for 10 minutes, strain.
2. Using the same pot, water saute onion and carrot for 4 minutes.
3. Add celery, all spices and chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the 10 cups water and cooked tortellini. Boil for 7-10 minutes.
5. Turn off heat, add the broccoli and spinach, stir to push under the water. Put lid on pot and let sit for 5 minutes.

* Note: Don’t use more than one cup dried tortellini because it swells up a lot and will continue to absorb water during cooking process. You can see a dried tortellini (in left spoon) becomes quite large after cooking (in right spoon). The first time I made this soup, I made the mistake of putting in two cups of dried tortellini and had to add several cups of water to compensate for the tortellini swell!

Serve with crusty bread. For a little extra love, after ladling soup into individual bowls, add drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast Casserole

This is an easy to make breakfast casserole. These days, I’m all about easy, tasty, and healthy. I wouldn’t put this dish in the healthy category though! It was a hit for teens, preteen and parents alike.

Ingredients:

1 12-oz tube refrigerated biscuits
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb cooked sausage – I used maple and the touch of sweetness was really yummy
1 cup shredded cheese

For the gravy:

4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups milk

Directions:

Cook sausage in pan. Instead of links, I used tube of Jimmy Dean so was crumbly and easy to spread in dish.
Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix the eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Set aside.
In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper, and slowly add the 2 cups of milk. Simmer, stirring, until it’s thickened. This can burn easily so keep stirring. Should only take 2-3 minutes.
In a greased (I sprayed a light layer of Pan) 9×13 glass baking dish, layer the biscuits, sausage, cheese, egg mixture, and gravy.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 35-45 min, until the eggs on the bottom are cooked.
Allow to cool 5 minutes, if you can wait that long!

Serve with Frank’s Red Hot sauce for an awesome vinegar-y kick. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!

Whole Baked Chicken

I love baking a whole chicken because it looks great on the dinner table, tastes great and the left overs are great for making chicken noodle soup.

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with onion slices, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
Lift the skin of the chicken and using your fingers, rub butter on the chicken meat. Try to get this all over the breast, thigh and leg meat. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper on the outside.
Place the whole chicken upside down in the baking pan – that way the juices flow to the breast and keep it moist.
Place the onions and carrots around the chicken in a roasting pan. Place any extra onion slices on top of the chicken.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.
Carefully pour juices from pan into gravy boat and serve as well – nice alternative to gravy if you serve with potatoes too.

I’ll see you at the table!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I could probably eat soup everyday of my life! Creamy soups, broth soups, stews and chilis… doesn’t matter what type of soup it is, I just love them!

Here’s a favorite soup from Taste of Home that everyone enjoys in our household, the Creamy Cauliflower Soup. Not cheesy like the Cream of Broccoli version, rather healthier with more veggies. Also, this recipe is easily doubled and makes great left overs.

Ingredients:

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2 medium side Russet potatoes, cubed (Jen’s Note: I’ve also added roasted parsnip before and that was a hit with the family!)
1 large yellow onion, small dice (Jen’s Note: or use 1/2 cup dehydrated onion and add 1 cup additional water for broth)
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces (Jen’s Note: or use 1 cup dehydrated carrot and add 1 1/2 cup additional water for broth)
6 celery stalks, cut into half-inch pieces (Jen’s Note: I love celery, so often I use 10 stalks and use the leafy tips)
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups chicken broth, may substitute vegetable broth
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
Fresh tarragon, optional (Jen’s Note: I never use this)

Directions

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in 1/4 cup butter until tender. Add cauliflower, potatoes, broth, parsley, salt and pepper, basil and tarragon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the milk and whipping cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add to cauliflower mixture. Cook for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Garnish with tarragon if desired. Yield: 8 servings (about 2 quarts).
If you want a creamier version, remove 1/3 of the mixture and blend until creamy in a high powered blender. Just remember that hot soup will explode easily in the blender, so cover tightly and only pulse blend.

Serve with rolls and a leafy green salad for a healthy meal. Looks great in bread bowls for a more robust dish. Enjoy!

I’ll see you at the table!