La Madeleine's Tomato-Basil Soup

From RecipeZaar
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
• 4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed
• 4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
• 12-14 basil leaves, washed fresh
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter
• salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Alteration:
"Once a year, in January I run a column of our most requested recipes -- This year, that column included the recipe for La Madeleine's popular tomato basil soup. I continue to get at least 10 calls a week asking for the recipe. So here it is, once again -- " This soup is wonderful. I used 2 jars of canned tomatoes. I sauted 1 med. onion and 12 cloves of garlic (cut in half) in olive oil until translucent. I added it to the tomato base mixture. I also added sugar. I used 1% milk, no butter, and used corn starch to thicken. The texture and flavor are completely awesome!. Excerpted from an article by Beverly Bundy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram around May 20. 1994.

****As for me, I thought it was a little runnier than I would have liked, so next time I'll add a 2 tbsp water/1 tbsp cornstarch mixture to the soup.****

Jamie
Kentucky

Fusilli alla Caprese

from Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 4 - 6 servings


Ingredients:

1 pound fusilli pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 pints)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. As the tomatoes cook and soften, smash them with a fork. Continue to cook until the tomatoes make a chunky style sauce, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to the bowl with the pasta. Toss to combine. Add the basil leaves and mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the pasta is moist. Serve.

Jamie

Kentucky

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

From AllRecipes

"This tortilla soup tastes better than anything you can get at a restaurant. And it's healthy too! Don't let the long list of ingredients fool you. All you do is dump everything into the slow cooker and walk away. Garnish with grated Cheddar, avocadoes, and a splash of fresh lime juice."

INGREDIENTS
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) diced tomatoes Rotel
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (or 1 packet of taco seasoning)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 can of black beans
1 can of kidney beans, drained
Chopped red pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

Jamie
Kentucky

Last Minute Lasagna

Adapted from Real Simple

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 24- or 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
2 18-20-ounce refrigerated large cheese ravioli
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed dry

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 zucchini, quartered

1 red pepper, diced
1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 F. Saute mushrooms, zucchini, and red pepper in a 1 tbsp of olive oil. Spoon a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover with a single layer of ravioli. Top with half the spinach, half sauteed vegetables, half the mozzarella, and a third of the sauce. Repeat with another layer of ravioli and the remaining spinach, sauteed vegetables, mozzarella, and half the remaining sauce. Top with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce (not all the ravioli may be needed). Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

From Carrie's Cooking

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
6 pork chops, trimmed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce. Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 160 degrees.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

From The Sisters' Cafe

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Banana Nut Bread

From A Bushel and a Peck

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar (although I use 1 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 med bananas, mashed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts, chopped

Directions:
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together all other ingredients (except nuts). Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in nuts. Pour into a lightly greased and flour or parchment line 9X5X3 loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 mins. Cool on wire rack. NOTE: this recipe does not double well.

Zucchini Mozzarella Medley

From My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
3 cups sliced zucchini or other summer squash
1 cup sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tomato, cut into 12 wedges
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute the zucchini, onion, garlic and seasonings in olive oil until crisp-tender (about five minutes). Gently stir in the tomato; sprinkle with cheese. Remove from the heat and let stand until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

California Chicken Marinade

From You Got Served

Ingredients:

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Marinate chicken strips all day. Broil for 10 minutes or so, depending on how thick you cut the strips. This also works great on chicken breasts on the grill.