Ham and Bean Soup

Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

·         8 cups water

·         1 pound Great Northern beans or navy beans

·         2 cups cubed ham

·         1 ham bone or ham hock, optional

·         1/2 cup chopped onion

·         1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste

·         1 bay leaf

·         3 carrots, chopped

·         3 ribs celery, chopped or sliced thinly

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

Bring water and beans to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

Stir in ham, ham bone or hock, pepper, bay leaf, carrot and celery. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender (skim foam from top), about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If soup is too thick, add a little water.

Remove ham bone or ham hock (if used) and trim meat from bone. Return meat to soup with tomato sauce and salt; simmer for about 15 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf.
Ham and bean soup serves 6.

Mini Chicken Tikka Burgers with Mint Chutney

For the Burgers:

1 tbs tikka paste or ½ tbs curry powder

1 tbs. plain yogurt

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp ground cardamom

1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

¾ “ piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 crushed garlic clove

14 oz ground chicken (I use 1 pkg which is 18 oz)

For the Mint Chutney:

1 small bunch fresh mint

¾ “ piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 small green chili-chopped

Juice of half a lime

½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1/3 c. plain yogurt

S/P- to taste

To assemble: Cooking oil, 4 small Naan (Indian Flatbread) toothpicks

In a large bowl, combine the burger ingredients. Mix well. With wet hands, mold the mixture into 12 small patties. Place the patties on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hr. Make the chutney. In a blender, combine the chutney ingredients. Pulse to produce a thick sauce. Season to taste with S/P. Set aside. Heat a grill or grill pan over med-hi. Brush the burgers with cooking oil, and then grill for 5 min/per side until cooked through. Set aside. Cut each Naan bread into 3 wedges and toast or grill until crisp. Top each wedge with a burger, then spear with a skewer. Spoon a bit of chutney on each burger.

Served with curried chick peas or curried vegetables.

Lemon Turkey Soup with Fresh Spinach and Farfalle

Makes 4-6 servings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
8 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups dried mini-farfalle (bow-tie) pasta

2 cups diced cooked turkey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 10-ounce package ready-to-use spinach leaves (about 6 cups)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and stir 1 minute. Add celery, carrots and red bell pepper and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add 8 cups broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes. Add pasta and simmer until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Mix turkey, lemon juice and lemon peel into soup.

Add spinach. Simmer until spinach wilts but is still bright green, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Thin soup with additional chicken broth, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Lasagna Soup

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper                                                                                      2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not overcook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Grilled Pork Chops with Chipotle Sauce

Prep 40 min.

2 tbs. oil

1 chopped onion

Salt and pepper

2 c. chopped tomatoes

½ c. water

3 dried chipotle peppers

¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro

4 pork chops

Chopped cilantro for garnish

4 lime wedges

Put oil in skillet, med. Heat. Add onion and cook until onion begins to brown, 5-10 min. Add the chilies, tomatoes, and ½ c. water, and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers steadily but not violently. Cook about 15 min, stirring occasionally, until chilies are soft and tomatoes are broken up. When sauce is ready, taste, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cool for a few min, then remove the stems from the chipotles. Put the mixture in a blender and puree. Season pork with salt and pepper and grill 5 min per side. Brush with chipotle sauce on both sides. Serve pork garnished with cilantro and lime, and pass remaining sauce on the side.

Chicken Fajitas

1 ½ lb. chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 c. sliced onions

2 sliced green peppers

2 sliced red peppers

Marinade:

1/3 c olive oil

2 tbs soy sauce

1/3 c lime juice

¼ c. tequila

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

Mix and put in Ziploc bag-add add the chicken and vegetables and marinate for 2-4 hrs.

Condiments:

Flour tortillas

Sour cream

Guacamole

Diced tomatoes

Salsa

Mexican cheese

Chopped cilantro

Chopped green chilies

Take the food out of the marinade and sauté until cooked. Serve in a bowl beside fajita fixings-sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, chopped cilantro, heated flour tortillas, and chilies. Wrap in a heated flour tortilla. Serve w/ refried beans.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

¼ c. fresh lime juice

2 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 or 2 pizza crusts

1 lb. chicken, diced

16 oz. jar salsa

2 c. Mexican blend cheese

1 diced red bell pepper

Sour cream

2 tbs. sliced scallions

2 tbs. chopped cilantro

Combine lime juice, oil and garlic in a bag and add chicken. Marinate 15 min. Saute chicken for 5 min-drain. Place crust on baking stone. Spread salsa on crust, top with chicken, cheese and red bell pepper. Bake in 400 degree oven 15-20 min. or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with scallions and cilantro.