Minestrone Soup

I found this recipe in my Food Network Magazine.  It is WW friendly and packed with veggies.   A 2 C. serving has 260 calories, 8g. fat, 15g. protein and 10g. fiber.  I can't wait to try this. 

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3lb. green beans trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 28oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 14oz. can crushed tomatoes
6 C. low sodium chicken broth
1 15oz. can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 C. elbow pasta
1/3 C. finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste.  Cook 3 more minutes. 

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender; about 10 minutes.  Season with salt.  Ladle into bowls  and served with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Cran-Orange Pork Roast

Here's another way to cook one of the pork roasts you find on a random Sunday in your freezer.  I love the flavors of cranberries and oranges together. 

1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pork roast

1/2 C. dried cranberries
1/4 C. plus 1 tbsp. orange juice, divided
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Dash ground cloves
1 11oz. can mandarin oranges
1 tbsp. corn starch

In a small bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients; rub over pork.  Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.  Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Meanwhile in a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1/4 C. orange juice, ginger and cloves.  Drain oranges, reserving juice; set oranges aside.  Add reserved juice to cranberry mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Combine cornstarch and reamining orange juice until smooth; stir into saucepan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for about 1 minute or until thickened.  Fold in oranges.  Serve with sliced pork.

Tex-Mex Pork Chops

I have mentioned once or twice that it is not unusual to have a roast or two in our freezer.  Sometimes they are pork roasts.  Sometimes I slice pork roasts into boneless pork chops.  Here's a yummy way to make your chops.

Butter flavored cooking spray
1 small onion, chopped
6 boneless pork chops
1 C. salsa
1 can chopped green chilies
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large skilled coated with the cooking spray, saute the onion until tender.  Add pork chops and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Combine the salsa, chilies, cumin and pepper; pour over pork.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer until heated through.

Southwest Turkey Soup

This soup is on my short list of new soups to try.  I could eat soup 3 meals a day during the cold weather.

I found this recipe in a section offering quick meals to make during the hectic holiday season.  They are pot to bowl to table in a half hour or less.

In a Dutch oven brown 1lb. of ground turkey in 1 tbsp. olive oil, drain.  Add 2 cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 2 14oz. cans of chicken broth, 2 C. frozen corn, 1 C. salsa, 1 4oz. can chopped green chilies and 1 tbsp. chili powder.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve soup topped with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

Creamy Baked Ziti

I have made ziti before and I can't say that "creamy" would be a way to describe it.  Of course, I've never put sour cream in my ziti.  I think the sour cream may be the missing link.  To me, ziti and its cousin lasagna are super easy dishes to make and when you serve them, they look and taste 10 times more complicated than they were to make.

4 C. ziti pasta, uncooked
1 jar (26oz.) marinara sauce or if you make homemade marinara, 26oz. of your own
1 can (14.5oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
6oz. cream cheese, cubed
3/4 C. sour cream
1 8oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 C. grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook pasta in a large saucepan as directed on package.  Remove from pan, drain.  Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to the same pan; cook on medium heat 5 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.  Return pasta to pan, mix well.

Layer half the pasta mixture in a 13x9 inch baking pan; cover with layers of sour cream, mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

French Silk Chocolate Pie

Now that I have found this recipe, it's almost too bad I wasn't tasked with dessert for Thanksgiving.  The family may see this in the not so distant future though.  I bet they won't be sad!

Crust:
1 box Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust; softened as directed on box

Filling:
3oz. unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces
1 C. butter softened (do not use margarine)
1 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs or 1 C. fat free cholesterol free egg product

Topping:
1/2 C. sweetened whipped cream
Chocolate curls, if desired

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Make pie crust as directed on box for one crust baked shell, using a 9-inch glass pie plate.  bake 9-11 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool completely; about 30 minutes.

In a 1 quart saucepan, melt chocolate over low heat; cool.  In a small bowl with electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in cooled chocolate and vanilla until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating on high speed 2 minutes after each addition; beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy.  Pour into cooled baking shell.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. 

Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

A Spin on Cuban Sandwiches

I have had Cuban sandwiches a couple of times in restaurants and I like the different flavors going on at once.  I have a Cuban burger recipe on here but tried this today and got rave reviews from my audience (read Chris).  The pork I used was a pork roast that I cooked yesterday in the crockpot for 6 hours and then shredded.

2 ciabatta rolls, split
3 tbsp. Miracle Whip, salt, pepper, and horseradish powder; mixed together
2 dill pickle slices per half roll (use the flat slices, they stay on the sandwich better)
shredded pork, cover the pickles
1 slice of Gruyere cheese per sandwich half

Take your split ciabatta rolls and spread the Miracle Whip mixture on them.  Place them face down in a hot skillet and toast until golden.  Place toasted buns on a baking sheet, place pickle slices, then pork then cheese on top.  Put them under the broiler for 4 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and turns golden brown.