Quick Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) finely chopped ham

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cans beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Place bean mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Return soup to pan. Add remaining 1/2 can of beans to pan; cook 2 minutes. Stir in juice; set aside.

2. Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ham to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Mix ham into soup. Garnish soup with sour cream and shredded cheese if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Minestrone Soup

In this recipe, the mix of fresh and canned veggies makes for a quick, but fresh tasting soup.

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 1/4 cup water

2 tsp vegetable bouillon granules

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 oz) great northern beans, undrained

1 can (8 oz) kidney beans, undrained

1 can (8 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained

Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat all ingredients except cheese to boiling in a large

pot, breaking up tomatoes; reduce heat. Cover and

simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until

macaroni is tender. Serve with cheese. 6 servings

Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

Pack the cucumber-yogurt dressing in a separate container to serve with the sandwiches. The dressing is my favorite part of this recipe and I pile it on. You can substitute fresh baby spinach for the arugula, if you want to. Marc doesn't like me to make vegetarian meals because they aren't filling enough, but this is an exception.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, split
• 1 cup arugula
• 1/2 cup Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

Preparation

Combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended (mixture will be wet).

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup chickpea mixture per patty into pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Line each pita half with 1/4 cup arugula, add 1 patty to each pita half, and spoon 2 tablespoons Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing into each pita half.

CUCUMBER-YOGURT DRESSING

This makes more than you need for the pita recipe, but it keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator. It's tasty drizzled over sliced tomatoes, or pack it in your lunch later in the week as a dip for carrot sticks.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/2 cup diced seedless cucumber
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

Shrimp and Feta Linguine

This is a quick and yummy recipe, but still elegant.

6 oz uncooked linguine

1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups sliced plum tomatoes, or 2 cans (14 oz each) diced tomatoes drained and rinsed

1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the shrimp, onion and garlic in oil for 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turns pink.

Add tomatoes, wine or broth, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper flakes.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Drain linguine; top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Homemade Yogurt

Someday I might get a yogurt machine, but I've been doing it in the oven with great success, so maybe not. Here's my recipe:

1 C dry milk
4 C water
1 yogurt start

Your yogurt start is either a store bought start, or 2-4 T active yogurt. I buy a quart container of plain yogurt and freeze it in 2 T dollops. Makes about 25 starts.

Combine dry milk and water in a saucepan. Stir and slowly heat to 180F. Pull off heat and cool to 110-120F. Preheat oven to the lowest setting. Stir in yogurt start until dissolved and place mixture in a clean dish. Turn off the oven, and turn on the inside light. Place the dish in the oven and let it incubate for 6-8 hrs or until doesn't slosh around when jiggled (I do about 6 ½ for a mild flavor). Oven should hold at around 120-110F if the light is on. Keep the oven closed to retain heat.

Chill for several hours.

Eat plain, with fruit chunks and/or granola. To flavor, add blueberry or strawberry syrup. For a simple flavor add ¼ to 1 t sugar and ¼ t jello mix to every cup of yogurt. I've also used crystal light drink mix plus sugar to the rave of all.

Strawberry Syrup:
1 T cornstarch
¼ C sugar
½ C water
¾ C mashed strawberries

Blueberry Syrup:
1 t cornstarch
2 T sugar
1 C blueberries
¼ C water

Mix sugar and cornstarch and add to fruit and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil until desired consistency.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

• I adore this cake in the fall! it is a Fantastic twist on pumpkin pie. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, but I like it with more, so i double it. A quick tip about buttermilk, if you only have sweet milk, put a splash of vinegar in to curdle the milk. I never buy buttermilk.

  Ingredients

  • CAKE:
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 
  GLAZE:
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, lightly coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with flour. Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels. Let stand about 10 minutes. Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl.

Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

Simple Sausage Pasta Toss

This recipe is easily halved for a nice 2 person meal.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked multigrain spaghetti
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 pound Italian turkey sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast bread crumbs in oil over medium heat; remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes and olives. Cook and stir until heated through. Drain pasta; add to skillet. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Yield: 5 servings.