Green Gobble-'Ems Garlic Bread Chunks

Green Gobble-'Ems Garlic Bread Chunks (Seriously the best garlic bread I've ever had)
From the Kitchen of Julia Jezowski
Courtesy Of: Rachael Ray, Ghoulish Grub

4 cups spinach leaves, stemmed
4 cloves garlic, cracked from skins
1 stick softened butter
Salt and pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 loaf good quality Italian bread

Preheat broiler or set oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the spinach in a food processor with garlic, butter, salt and pepper and cheese and process, scraping the mixture down if necessary.

Halve bread lengthwise and slather it with spinach butter. Broil or bake to crisp, 3 minutes under broiler, 6 to 7 minutes in hot oven.

Cut into large cubes and serve with pasta.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
From the Kitchen of Margot Bass

2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
(cream together)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
(add to the creamed mixture)
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups oats
2 cups coconut flakes
(mix & add to the creamy egg mixture)


I use my kitchen aide & it really makes the motor groan :) Don't get nervous it's dry dough...
You can easily 1/2 the recipe and that makes things easier on your arm or mixer.
Place a teaspoon mounds on a baking sheet @ 350 for 8-10 minutes.
as soon as they come out of the oven smash one Hershey bar square in the center of each cookie!
Enjoy at least one while the cookie's hot and the chocolate's gooey!

Vegetarian Curry Stew

Vegetarian Curry Stew
From BiggestLoserClub.com

Serve this fragrant and robust stew over steaming brown rice or whole grains for a hearty meal. You can also experiment with different beans or try substituting lentils or tofu.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups finely chopped red onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup diced fire-roasted tomatoes or chopped, seeded, peeled fresh tomatoes, or tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups fat-free, low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (12-ounce) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (about 2 cups)
1 cup cooked black beans (see note)
1 cup cooked chickpeas (see note)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, without stems
Fresh lime wedges

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not brown. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Do not brown the garlic.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon and cook for about 1 minute, or until very fragrant. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the sweet potato and simmer for about 4 minutes. Add the beans and chickpeas and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, sprinkled with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Note: For chicken curry, add 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes, in place of the beans and chickpeas.

Yield: 8 (1-cup) servings

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti
From the kitchen of Diana Brewster

One pound of Ziti noodles (cook for 10 mins)

Ricotta Cheese Mixture:

16oz Ricotta Cheese

1 egg

Half jar of sauce or if your sauce is homemade about 1 ½ cups

Garlic Powder ½ Teaspoon

Italian Seasoning 1 Teaspoon

½ Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup of Grated Mozzarella Cheese

½ teaspoon Salt

Mix Everything together, it should be very moist

Add to the cooked pasta and stir. Add more Mozzarella Cheese if needed up to 1 cup more.

Layer 9x13 pan with sauce and then pour pasta mixture in. Top with sauce, mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Note: ( you can double this recipe very easily, and if you like meat just add to the Ricotta Mixture)

Pumpkin Pie Cobbler

Pumpkin Pie Cobbler
From the Kitchen of Rebecca McGuigan


One 21 oz. can pumpkin filling
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted


Stir pumpkin pie filling and pie spice. Pour into 13 by 9 " baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pie filling. Sprinkle walnuts(optional) over the cake mix. Drizzle melted butter over the cobbler. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Add vanilla icecream. Enjoy!!

BBQ Ribs

BBQ Ribs
From the kitchen of Stephanie (modified version of my Mother-in-Law's...Hilda...recipe)
**Sorry for the lack of pictures, I forgot to take them while I was making these. Next time I make them I will take pictures and add them in.

Ingredients:

To Parboil:
Babyback Pork Ribs (I bought the two half rack pack from Costco and cut each rack in half and made just one of the halves...about 8-9 ribs...for my family of three meat eaters)
1 1/2 Bottles of Beer (one you, or in my case, your husband would drink...we used Fat Tire)
Water
1 large yellow onion (quartered)
Garlic (4-5 minced cloves)

To make rub:
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Pepper (fresh cracked is best)
Salt
Ground Yellow Mustard
Cayenne Pepper

To BBQ:
Favorite BBQ Sauce (We like Randy Jone's All Natural BBQ Sauce)
Grill

Directions:

Parboil Ribs:
1. Place ribs in a deep dish skillet (with lid) that is big enough for all of the ribs
2. Add Onion and Garlic
3. Add one bottle of beer, then fill that empty bottle of beer with water and pour that in as well. If you still need more liquid to have about 90% of the ribs covered, than add 1/2 to a whole bottle of beer along with equal parts water. Cook on Medium to High heat
4. Bring to a boil...turn down heat to medium to low heat (so it's simmering).
5. Add lid and parboil for about an hour (a little more or a little less is fine, you just don't want the meat falling off of the bones when you go to grill.

Dry Rub:

1. Once ribs are done parboiling, pull them out and place on plate to cool. (you can use the beer/water/onion/garlic mix the next day in a crockpot recipe if you want to get more bang for your buck)
2. While ribs are cooling make rub. In a bowl combine equal parts: garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, paprika, and yellow mustard (I just used the palm of my hand to measure, so about 1.5 TBSP of each). Then add a little bit of salt and pepper (I did about 1/2 of a palm each, so about 2 tsp). Finally add even less cayenne pepper (I did about 1/4 of a palm, so about 1 tsp). Mix seasonings all together (I did this rub in this size quantity b/c I have three other rib racks in the freezer and I wanted enough for those ones too).
3. Rub generous amounts of rub on both sides of the ribs...save the rest of the rub in an air tight container for future use.

Grilling these bad boys:

1. If possibly, place on top rack (bone side down first) of a preheated grill.
2. Close the lid for about 5-7 minutes to let the rub really soak in.
3. Then, I used a basting brush and put BBQ sauce on the meaty part of the ribs (and let cook for another 5-7 minutes or so with the lid closed)...remember these ribs are already cooked through b/c of parboiling them, so you are just grilling to add flavor and texture...so make sure you grill isn't too hot (we kept ours on Med to Low heat)
4. Flip the ribs and baste the bone side with BBQ sauce as well...close lid and let cook for another 5-7 minutes
5. At this point, we took our ribs off b/c we were happy with how they looked and with the texture we'd created...crispy, but not too crispy...feel free to leave them on as long as needed to get them to a "doneness" you are happy with.

Enjoy

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
from Better Homes and Garden (It's their Cheesecake Supreme Recipe with some tweaks)

Here is the recipe I followed:

ingredients

Crust:

•               1 1/2
cups finely crushed graham crackers

•               1 TBSP Sugar

•               1/2
teaspoon ground cinnamon

•               1/2
cup butter, melted

Filling:

•               3
8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened

•               1
cup sugar

•               2
tablespoons all-purpose flour

•               1
teaspoon vanilla

•               3
 slightly beaten eggs

•               1/4
cup milk

•                

Crust::

1.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together crushed graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and about 2 inches up sides of an 8- or 9-inch spring form pan; set aside.

Filling::

2.

Soften cream cheese. In a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla, and lemon peel (if using); beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs all at once, beating on low speed just until combined (do not overbeat). Stir in milk.

3.

Pour filling into crust-lined pan. If desired, top with reserved crumbs. Place on a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 45 to 50 minutes for 8-inch pan, 35 to 40 minutes for 9-inch pan, or until center appears nearly set when shaken gently.

4.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using a sharp, thin bladed knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan; cool for 30 minutes more. Remove the sides of the pan; cool cheesecake completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours before serving. Top cheesecake with sour cream and spoon on seedless red raspberry preserves; swirl with a spoon, if desired. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Click Here for the Recipe

I did not use their "optional" options and I just added half a bag of mini chocolate chips to the top (my friend Diana's idea) and then I topped it with fresh sliced organic strawberries!

Meat loaf Sloppy Joes

Meat loaf Sloppy Joes
From BiggestLoserClub.com

Budget Supper
Meat loaf Sloppy Joes are a great way to save money and still eat amazing food

Leftovers make for delicious, inexpensive, and easy sandwiches to take to work or school the next day.

Olive oil spray
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup canned sloppy joe sauce
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 pound 96% lean ground beef
1/3 cup minced green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

Preheat the oven 350°F. Lightly mist a 9" x 5" x 3" nonstick loaf pan (a slightly smaller one is okay) with the olive oil spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup of the sloppy joe sauce, and the egg whites. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes, or until the oats begin to soften. Add the beef, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. With a fork or clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread so that the top is flat. Spread the remaining 1/4 cup sloppy joe sauce evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink in the center. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 slices and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Per Serving: Calories 229.8, Total Fat 5.4 g, Saturated Fat 1.4 g, Cholesterol 61.8 mg, Sodium 343.5 mg, Total Carbs 15.8 g, Dietary Fiber 1 g, Sugars 3.8 g, Protein 27.5 g

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

by Williams-Sonoma

Pumpkin puree is a key ingredient in fall pies, but it can also be used in breads, custards, ice creams, soups and a host of other dishes. If you’d rather skip the canned stuff, here’s how you can make it at home:

Roast the pumpkin
Place a small whole pumpkin on a baking sheet and roast it in a preheated 350°F oven until it can be easily pierced with a knife, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. For a shorter roasting time, slice the pumpkin in half and roast it, cut side down, in 1 inch of water in a baking dish until tender, about 45 minutes.

Scoop & puree
Let the pumpkin cool, then cut it in half crosswise (if not already done) and scoop out and discard the seeds. Scoop out the flesh with a large spoon and puree the flesh in a blender or food processor or with a food mill.

Now that you have the base ready, try these recipes featuring pumpkin puree. Substitute homemade puree for canned when applicable.

Turkey Lentil Chili with Torta Rolls

Turkey Lentil Chili with Torta Rolls
From the Kitchen of Denise Pugh

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups (48 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups lentils, rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, un-drained
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, cook turkey and onions over medium heat until no longer pink and onions are soft. Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Instead of all lentils I sometimes use a mix of rice, lentils and split-pea. You can also add or subtract the chili powder to your liking.