White Bean Chicken Chili ~ page 38

Want a great all-weather soup? This one works just as well in the summer as in the winter. It it light and refreshing with chicken and white beans, yet hearty enough for a cold blustery day too. And, it is fast and easy to prepare with rotisserie chicken.

 

To give the broth a nice thickness, puree one can of your Great Northern beans to make a paste to stir into the soup.

Put all your veggies in the food processor to quickly chop them into small pieces. The veggies aren't the star of the show in this soup--the beans and chicken are. I love to pass lots of condiments to be added to white chicken chili: diced avocado, shredded Monterey jack cheese, cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, and tortilla chips. Just let your family or guest put on their favorite toppings. I have never made this soup that there were not lots of compliments!

Biscotti: Chocolate, Chocolate Chip ~ page 200

I love biscotti with morning coffee, but this one is more suited for afternoon or dinner coffee I think. This is chocolaty enough to feel like dessert--but with not butter or fat in it, it is a lighter treat than an ordinary cookie.

 

And this biscoitti has no special mixing steps--just put it all in a mixer, get it combined, then add the chocolate chips and dump the whole mess out on a lightly floured board. Now, there is one hard part though, and that is getting the dough out of the mixing bowl. With no butter in this dough, it is VERY stiff and heavy. I sometimes even get my hubby to do the dumping--that is how stiff the dough is. Now pat the dough into 2 logs, and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet.

After the first baking period, slice the logs for the second baking to crisp them up.  Biscotti with no butter, like this recipe, will last a long time just piled in a pretty covered jar on your counter--although, if you can see them... sitting there enticing you... it does makes you eat more...

Big-Hearted Butter Shortbread ~ page 191

Ok, here is one last Valentine cookie to consider. I like this cookie because it is the grown-up version of a our cut out sugar cookie. This is shortbread--heavy on the butter and light on the sweet! I like to made this cookie for wedding showers and ice just half of the heart with white glaze--it really does look very elegant.

I got some help rolling out cookies on Valentine's day from a little princess that picked me a bouquet from her front yard (with momma's help!).

What makes this shortbread light is the corn starch that is sifted with powdered sugar. Notice this heart cookie cutter? My husband made this for me about 35 years ago--cutting it from a tin can and then bending it into a heart shape. It is rather primitive, but I have never found a store-bought one that I liked the shape as well as this one.

When you mix up the cookie dough, it will look very crumbly at first. But don't worry--it gathers up nicely into a ball.

The dough is easy to work with, and you can roll it out right away--it needs no chilling time in the fridge, which is a big advantage if you are in a hurry.

And I was in a hurry as I had 3 kiddos waiting on cookies! ~ Janice

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies ~ page 193

I was up at midnight making these so Lillian could take them to school today for Valentines Day! I watered down the icing a little so I could ice them really fast, it was almost like a glaze. I was really sleepy and ready to go to bed. They turned out really good, I did think that they weren't as tender and soft as I remember them being last time I made them. Then I remembered that I never put the shortening in! The girls were helping me mix them up and they got me distracted making me forget half the fat! So I guess they were low fat cookies. They still tasted fine, and were easier to ice because they were firmer and didn't crack any when handled. Perfect for transporting to school with Lillian this morning!
The girls had so much fun...actually too much fun icing some themselves before they went to bed. We had icing and sprinkles EVERYWHERE! Happy Valentimes Day to everyone out there!! --Carissa

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies ~ page 213

Need Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

These cookies are for the kind of people that just can't get enough chocolate. Do not serve these to those kinds of people (like my hubby) who can take or leave chocolate--this cookie will put them over their limit. But for me, I love, love, love these scrumptious cookies!

This is the time to hunt down the best dark chocolate you can find.

The dark chocolate and butter are melted in the microwave.

The chocolate mixture is stirred into the beaten egg mixture, then the dry ingredients blended in--very easy!
To this chocolate batter, you add more chocolate chips or chunks!

I put my cookie dough in the fridge, then baked the cookies the next day; this made kind of round cookie balls. If you bake them right after mixing them however, your cookie will be flatter, which works just as well, they will just look different. I do it whichever way is most convenient at the time. If you need something very chocolatey for Valentines Day--this outrageous chocolate cookie will meet your needs!

Chicken Tortilla Soup ~ page 44

This soup is really fast to make since it uses a rotisserie chicken. I made it one afternoon, then once it cooled, stuck the whole pan in the fridge till the next day, then just heated it right back up. Tasted even better once it sat overnight. All the toppings make it extra special, so don't leave those off! If you need a little heat, try getting a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and either just add some of the sauce to the soup or chop up one of the chipotle peppers and add it. Chipotle flavor goes really well this this soup. A friend brought me a pot of this soup when Lillian was born, I have been making it ever since. --Carissa

Butter Crisp Cookies ~ page 205

Oh, my. I had forgotten how good these are! They are so easy and fast to make and any pretty nut dresses them up. You have to try this recipe if you haven't already. I might try a big chocolate chip next time...

Microwave Peanut Brittle ~ page 256

This is my first attempt at this. I am not sure it worked right. Is this one of those things that doesn't double well? It tastes good, but after 3 hours it isn't hard. It is more like peanut candy. I was able to cut it, but it is too soft to "break". Any ideas, Big Sis?

Zucchini and Parmesan Orzo ~ page 108

I know this doesn't look like much in a pile here, but it was very tasty to make up for it's simple look. I just had two zucchini on hand, the recipe calls for 2-3...I usually do three. So it felt a little skimpy on the veggie part, but still very flavorful. I think chopped fresh spinach would be a great addition to this, I might try that next time.
Here is Evelyn happily stirring away! She sure loves to cook and she always does it in style! Check out the old flower girl dress (that we use as a dress up dress) she is sporting!!
This went very well with salmon and steamed broccoli. I diced the zucchini pretty small so my girls wouldn't detect it as easily, it worked like a charm! They gobbled it up without realizing they were eating a veggie.
The following day I was sick...with a sore throat. All I wanted was a brothy soup. After searching the fridge for something to make a soup out of I saw these orzo leftovers. I heated up 2 cups of broth on the stove and added 1 1/4 cup of the orzo leftovers. It was quite good for an instant soup! Although the zucchini floated to the top and the orzo to the bottom making the zucchini more noticeable...Evelyn wised up and asked me to take all the "green squares" out of her soup! I hope everyone is staying warm out there! --Carissa

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana ~ page 51

With practically the whole country cold this week--I figured it should be the week of soups, so here is my favorite. This is the soup I always order at Olive Garden--remember, the place where I don't like the bread-sticks!--But I do love this soup, so I found a copy-cat recipe for it.

The recipe calls for spicy link sausage. This time I used a jalapeño sausage that I had on hand, but I usually use a spicy Italian sausage. If your sausage is not as spicy as you would like, then add a few shakes of red pepper to the soup.

 

After you brown the sausage and set it aside to drain--cook the bacon in the same pot, then set it aside to crumble for the topping. Drain off some of the bacon grease, then add the chopped onions to cook in the rest of the drippings. This give great smoky bacon flavor to the soup.

I couldn't find kale at the grocery store this week, so I used collard greens, which is a fine substitute. Oh, and when you are preparing the potatoes, leave the peels on. This is a rustic soup and the peels are welcome!

I had some homemade chicken broth in the fridge today--which is a great addition if you have some. Otherwise, broth from a box or bouillon is fine to use. The potatoes and greens cook up fast--this looks good just like it is...

but the addition of a small amount of cream takes this soup in the cozy comfort level.

You can also add freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top each serving--I remembered that after the meal--oh well, next time. Now, imagine this with Carissa's bread-sticks....yummm, very good. ~ stay warm, Janice