Jack's Style Salmon

Ok I have promised some fish recipes for a long time. Here is one of our favorites.

Marinade
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/2 cup Sugar ( don't not use sugar substitute like "Splenda")
2 tbls ginger minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 lg jalepeno seeded and minced
4 green onions thinly sliced

Put all ingredients in a zip-lock bag with 4 salmon portions (4 oz.). If you are cooking for more then 4 , double the marinade recipe for up to 8-10 portions. let sit in the fridge for several hours but not more then 24. Then the fish can be broiled on high for 8 min or put on a BBQ grill. Cook until fish is flaky. Mouth watering....:)

Carrabba's Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup

My Mom ordered this at Caraba's Italian Restaurant. It was the best lentil soup I have ever tasted. I found a copycat recipe that tastes just like it.

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup minced onion
* 3/4 cup grated and minced carrot
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1 lb uncooked hot Italian sausage
* 2 ounces diced ham (about 1/2 cup)
* 7 cups water
* 5 cups chicken broth
* 1 lb dry lentils
* 1 medium tomato, diced
* 2 tablespoons vinegar
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Directions


1. Heat up olive oil in a dutch oven or large saucepot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic. Remove sausage from casing, and add it to the pan. Saute for 8 minutes, stirring often. Break up the sausage into bite-size bits as it cooks. Add ham, and cook for an additional minute.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

3.Serve 1 cup for a "cup" portion, or serve 2 cups for a "bowl" serving.

Killer" Chile con Queso

I got this recipe from the Dining Diva. Here is the web site: the Dining Diva

Amy wanted this to make for New Years. It is amazing....if you like Queso.

Serves 10-12

1 can	Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 cup	Evaporated Milk
7oz can	Diced Green Chiles
2 tbsp	Chopped Jalapenos (optional)
4oz jar	Chopped pimento, drained
1 pkg	Ranch dip mix
1 can	Rotel tomatoes and peppers
1 lb	Velveeta, cut into cubes
1/4 cup	Minced, fresh cilantro
	Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish
1 tbsp	Tortilla Chips for dipping

Heat in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts and mixture is combined.

This queso can be made ahead or even frozen and reheated before event. Serve warm with chips!

Sweet Potato Casserole (REALLY YUMMY)

6 sweet potatoes or 1 large can sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 stick butter

Cook the sweet potatoes. Whether they are fresh or canned, reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. To reserved liquid add the other (non-topping) ingredients. Add in potatoes. Mash the mixture. Put in a 9x13 inch dish.
Topping: Mix the sugar, flour and pecans of the topping recipe. Sprinkle this over potatoes. Drizzle on butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until hot.

Perfect Peach Cobbler

This was so good at the Elder's Quorum potluck dinner on Sunday that I had the Farrer's send me the recipe. Mmmmmm this is good. Chris loved it and let me have a little taste:)

1 can (20 oz) peach slices, with juice
1 can (21 oz) peach pie filling (apple pie filling can be substituted)
1 white or yellow cake mix
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut
1/8 cup butter or margarine, thinly sliced

Pour juice from peaches into a separate bowl. Spread pie filling and peaches on bottom of greased 4 1/2 to 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle cake mix, cinnamon, and coconut over top. Pour peach juice over dry ingredients. Place butter slices over the dry areas. Cover and cook on low heat 4 hours or on high heat 2 hours. Makes 10-12 servings.

Manicotti

Allison asked me for this recipe many moons ago and I am finally getting around to doing it.

12 large manicotti shells (the pkg usually has 14 in it and I use every one if they are not too broken)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups ricotta cheese (since I use more shells I use 2 - 16oz tubs of low-fat ricotta cheese)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
1 (26 oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on wax paper or aluminum foil.
3. For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzerella with the ricotta and basil. Using a small spoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.
4. Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzerella.
5. Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately. ENJOY this pretty quick, meatless, yummy meal!!

Note: I use all the shells and can usually fit 10 lenthwise and then put the other four in two rows above the 10 shells. To save a TON of time I cut open each shell lengthwise, fill it up and then close it and make sure the cut part is on the bottom when I put it in the bakeware. You would never know that I cut the shells unless someone told you.

Chili-Lime Chicken Breasts with Turmeric

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 4
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes


Ingredients
• 1 cup dry, quick-cooking brown rice (I used regular brown rice and it still worked well)
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp Roasted Garlic Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp grated lime zest
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves, divided
• 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp pepper, or to taste

Instructions
• Cook rice according to package directions adding turmeric and 1 tablespoon oil to the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with chili powder and cook until no longer pink in center, about 6 minutes per side.
• In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, lime zest, lime juice and 2 tablespoons cilantro.
• Remove chicken from heat; add vinegar mixture to skillet. Flip chicken several times to coat with vinegar mixture; cover and let stand to absorb flavors, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Spoon rice into a serving bowl; toss with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro and remaining tablespoon oil. Place chicken on top and drizzle with pan drippings; Season with salt and pepper. Yields about 3 ounces chicken, 3/4 cup rice and 1 tablespoon sauce per serving.
• Cook’s Tip: Turmeric gives a brilliant yellow color to the rice.

I couldn't find Roasted Garlic Red Wine Vinegar. I only found Red Wine Vinegar, so I used that and then added some garlic that I cooked in the skillet. It still tasted really, really good! This was also a little time consuming, but well worth it!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple-Ginger Sauce

POINTS® Value: 5
Servings: 4
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Prep time : 38 minutes
Roasting time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
• 4 sprays olive oil cooking spray, divided
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal 1/4-inch thick
• 2 medium cippolini onions, peeled and each cut into 6 wedges
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 small turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives (optional)
• Apple-Ginger Sauce
• 2/3 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon brandy OR apple cider
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions
• Pre-heat oven to 425ºF. Coat inside of large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Combine carrots, onions, sweet potato and turnip in pan. Coat vegetables with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Roast for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, ginger and pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle and rub evenly over surfaces of pork. Coat a large heavy skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat. Lightly brown pork over medium-high heat about 2-4 minutes; transfer to a plate.
• Off heat, recoat roasting pan with cooking spray. Stir and push vegetables to edge of roasting pan; place tenderloin in center of pan. Continue roasting in for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature of pork tenderloin reaches 155ºF. about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pork to cutting board and loosely cover with foil; let rest for 5 minutes. Turn oven off. Stir and return vegetables to oven to keep warm. While tenderloin is roasting, prepare sauce.
• Combine 2/3 cup apple cider and chicken broth in small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup.
• Combine water, brandy (or apple cider) and cornstarch in a small bowl. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into broth mixture using a wire whisk. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, butter and ginger. Makes 1/2 cup of sauce or 2 tablespoons per serving.
• To serve, cut pork tenderloin into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with roasted vegetables and apple-ginger sauce. Garnish with chives if desired.
• Makes 4 servings. Yields about 3 ounces of pork, 1 cup of vegetables and 2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.


This recipe took awhile to prepare, but we thought it was very tasty! The pork was very tender and juicy. It took longer to cook for me. Check it after 25 minutes and take it out when it is no longer pink in the middle.

Butternut Squash Soup

To make this recipe more healthy I halved the butter and used less cream cheese. I also made sure I used low fat cream cheese. I also used my whole squash which was more then 6 cups. Low sodium chicken stock could be used in place of the bouillon and water. for nutritional info go here.
This recipe makes 6, 2 cup servings. That is huge. If you half the portion and add a green salad and a whole wheat roll, this meal is not bad at all. (around 400 cal.) depending on the dressing you use on your salad. For dessert, I love cutting up 1 Granny smith apple with some warm caramel dipping sauce. (170 cal 0g fat)

Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS
* 6 tablespoons chopped onion
* 4 tablespoons margarine
* 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
* 3 cups water
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Crusty White BRAIDS

I got this from a bread class that I went to at Sister Durda's house. I finally got around to making it and it turned out really good and I was so proud of myself for making bread from scratch without using the breadmaker and it was all fancy-shmancy. I love that it is a loaf of bread that is braided. We had it with soup and just pulled it apart. Chris was so impressed with me when he came home from school that not only did I make bread all by myself but that is was braided.

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
Mix all - knead several minutes. Let rise in greased bowl, covered 1 1/2 hours until doubled. Divide into 6 balls. Cover and let rest 10 mins. Roll each to a 16" rope. Put on greased baking sheet 1" apart. Braid each from center to ends. Pinch ends and tuck under. Let rise again 45 minutes. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.