Taco Soup

1 1/2 lb ground beef, browned & drained	1 or 2 (14-oz) cans kidney beans w/juice
1 onion, chopped, cook with meat	1 - 2 Cups water
Add:	1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes w/juice	salt & pepper to taste
1 (17-oz) can whole corn w/juice
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

Simmer 15 minutes. Put tortilla chips in bowl, add soup, and top with sour cream, guacamole, grated cheese. Serve with extra chips.

Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Apples

32 ounces white button or crimini mushrooms	1 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
4 Tbsp Canola oil	1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp kosher salt	32 ounces chicken broth
4 cups cornbread, cut in 1" cubes	1 tsp ground thyme
4 cups french bread, cut into 1" cubes	1/2 tsp turmeric
4 cups artisan/crusty bread, cut into 1" cubes	2 tsp rosemary, minced
1/2 lbs Italian sausage	1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups diced onion	black pepper
5 whole granny smith apples, large dice
5 Tbsp brown sugar

1. Allow diced bread to sit out on cookie sheets for several hours or overnight, until dried out. (I used about 15 cups of various dried, diced bread and seasoned dressing I had on hand.)
2.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
3.  Wash mushrooms thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.  Toss in a bowl with canola oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt.  Mushrooms will be very coated, but that's good!  Divide mushrooms between two sheet pans and roast in the upper half of the oven for at least 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through roasting.  Remove from oven when mushrooms are deep brown.  Set aside.
4.  In a large skillet, crumble and brown sausage over medium high heat.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
5.  Add diced onions to skillet and brown for 5 minutes.  Increase heat to high and add diced apples, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cook for 3-5 minutes or until deep golden brown.
6.  Decrease heat to medium and pour in wine (be careful if you're using an open flame).  Stir and cook to reduce liquid by half, about 2 or 3 minutes.  Pour apple/onion mixture over bread cubes.
7.  Return skillet to medium heat; combine chicken stock, thyme, turmeric, rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper.  Heat for a few minutes, then add some to bread cubes.  Stir in sausage and mushrooms.  Use enough liquid to desired moistness. 
8.  Pour dressing into a large baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top.
I made and served this for Thanksgiving 2010 and it was the best dressing ever!  Another winner from The Pioneer Woman.

Corn with Wild Rice

1 1/3 cups wild rice	6 Tbsp butter
4 cups chicken broth	2 whole eggs, beaten
3-4 cups frozen corn	1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream	cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 milk, for thinning

1.  Cook the wild rice in chicken broth until almost done (30-45 min).  Drain rice and allow to cool.  This part of the recipe can be done the night before.
2.  Stir together corn, cream, softened butter, beaten eggs, salt and cayenne pepper.    Add in cooled wild rice.  Add 1/2 cup of milk so mixture is stir-able, but not overly juicy.
3.  Bake for 30-45 min, or until just turning golden brown on top and the mixture is somewhat set.
(*This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.  I first served it at Thanksgiving 2010 and it was a big hit.)

Summer Squash

I stumbled across this recipe a few years ago. Since then it's become a family favorite.

6-8 Cups sliced summer squash	1 Cup shredded carrots
1/4 Cup chopped onion	16-oz pkg stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup	1/2 Cup butter, melted
1 Cup sour cream

1.  In saucepan cook squash and onion until crisp tender.  Drain and set aside.
2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine stuffing and melted butter.  Add soup, sour cream and raw, shredded carrots.  Stir together.  Fold in drained squash & onions.
3.  Spread mixture into 13x9 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Easy Taco Rolls

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.  It was a big hit with those of us who enjoyed it.

1/2 C cooked rice	1 1/2 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 lb ground beef	8 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 pkg taco seasoning	2 C salsa
1 (15 oz) can corn	1 1/2 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 C water

1.  Preheat oven to 450°.
2.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef.  Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly and evenly browned.  Drain and discard any excess grease.
3.   Reduce heat to medium, stir in the taco seasoning, corn, 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, and the cooked rice.  Cook and stir until the cheese has melted and the corn is hot.  Spoon the mixture into the flour tortillas.  Roll into a tight cylinder, and pack into an 8x11-inch baking dish (it will be a tight squeeze).  Pour the salsa over top and sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese.
4.  Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese topping has melted and is beginning to brown, about 10 min.

*After following the recipe as written, we think it would be good with more rice, brown rice, black beans or any of a number of possibilities.  May have to reduce the amount of beef and add extra water; or just make more tortillas for left overs (it tastes great the next day and I'll bet it will freeze nicely.  Serve it topped with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced avocados, sliced olives.

Aebleskivers

2 egg whites	1/2 tsp salt
2 C flour	2 egg yolks
2 tsp baking powder	4 T butter, melted
1 T sugar	2 C buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking sode	butter for frying

1.  In a clean glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they can hold a stiff peak.  Set aside.
2.  Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk at one time and beat until smooth.  Gently fold in the egg whites.
3.  Put about 1 tablespoon butter in the bottom of each aebleskiver pan cup and heat until hot.  pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup.  As soon as they get bubbly around the edge, turn them quickly. (Danish cooks use a long knitting needle, but a fork will work.  We used a small skewer intended for kabobs.)  Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.

Before turning the little bundles of deliciousness, add a bit of jam, a slice of apple or any other fruit you have on hand.  Blueberries work well.

To eat, dip them in jam, powdered sugar or, my favorite, cut them in half and drizzle a little bit of syrup on them.  Trust me you do NOT need to add any extra butter.

We loved these.  Thanks to Candleman who bought the pan and made them the first time.  I'll try to get pictures next time.

Summertime Pasta

I got the original recipe for this dish from Pioneer Woman.  She named her version Farfalle with Zucchini but I changed the name because I thought the farfelle (bowties) was too substantial (heavy) for this dish.  I made it the first time just like she said, but tonight I substituted angel hair for the farfalle and we liked it much better.


Summertime Pasta
1 med onion, diced
4-5 regular sized zucchini, crookneck or other summer squash
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
3 cloves garlic, minced or diced
olive oil
10-oz angel hair pasta
2/3 C chicken broth (or white wine)
1 Tbsp Arrowroot (for thickening)
1/2 - 3/4 C cream
fresh herbs - basil, lemon thyme, chives (whatever you've got)
Parmesan cheese

Set a pan of water to boil for the pasta.  Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables.  I had a banana pepper from the garden so I diced that up, too.  It's very mild and tastes just like a yellow sweet pepper.  I quarter-cut yellow crookneck for the sauce but both crookneck and zucchini together would add more color.

When the water boils cook pasta  for 4-5 minutes.

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over med high heat.  Saute the onions and garlic, until onions are
translucent; add squash (and diced pepper).  When the squash is almost cooked but still has a slight crunch, turn the heat to medium and toss in the tomatoes.  Cook for a minute or two.  Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Stir in the Arrowroot, immediately the sauce will start to thicken.    Remove from heat and pour in the cream.  Stir gently.

To serve, pour the drained pasta into a serving bowl.  Add lots of fresh herbs - I forgot the herbs tonight and that makes me sad because they add so much yumminess to the dish.  I have oregano, basil and rosemary growing in the garden, too.  Pour the sauce over the top.  Add Parmesan cheese and gently stir.