Brussels Sprouts to Brag About

We love these Brussels Sprouts.  Even the grandchildren beg for more!!

1 bag of fresh Brussels Sprouts
- Olive Oil
- 1.5 TBSP Butter
- 1/2 Diced onion
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 TBSP Sugar
- 1 TBSP Balsamic vinegar
- 3 TBSP Dried Cranberries

-1.5 TBSP Pine Nuts (optional)

Trim the stock and cut Brussels sprouts in half. Put in a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and microwave for 3 minutes. Add olive oil and butter to the hot griddle with diced onions, and cook onions for a minute or two. Add Brussels sprouts. Salt and pepper to taste. Continually stir the Brussels sprouts until they begin to brown. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar (adjust amounts to taste). Add dried cranberries at the end and cook for an additional minute or two.

Bow Tie Spinach Salad

This delicious salad is a family favorite for lunch or dinner; it's a wonderful meal.

Bow Tie Spinach Salad

8 c. baby spinach                                                      1/4  c. salted sunflower seeds

8 oz. bow-tie pasta, cooked & cooled                     1/2 each: red & yellow pepper, chopped
1/2  bunch green onions, chopped                           4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded or diced

1 - 2 T. parsley, chopped (optional)

Dressing:

1/2 c. oil                                                                    6 T. sugar

2/3 c. soy sauce (or tamari for GF)                           1/2 t. pepper

2/3 c. rice vinegar                                                     1/4 c. sesame seeds

Combine dressing ingredients in a large zip-lock bag or Tupperware bowl. Add cooked-shredded chicken and marinate overnight in refrigerator. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving toss with dressing and chicken mixture.

Wonderful Sloppy Joes

I was home with a terrible sneezing cold when this recipe was featured on a local television channel by a local grocer.  I was too under-the-weather to write it down, but went to the grocer later to get it.  We’ve used it for years.

~Dana~

Wonderful Sloppy Joes

2 lbs ground meat (beef, pork, etc.)

1 chopped onion

½ t. salt

½ t. black pepper

1 cup catsup

½ cup water

6 T. BBQ sauce

3 T cider vinegar

2 T prepared mustard

4 t. Worcestershire sauce

4 drops tobasco sauce

Brown: meat and onion with salt and pepper.  Add: remaining ingredients. 

Heat through.

  May be placed in a crock-pot and kept warm for many hours on low.

Bean & Ham Soup

I searched the internet for the perfect Bean and Ham Soup recipe.  

This is a combination of several recipes that makes a soup we love.

Bean and Ham Soup

Ø 1 tbsp olive oil

Ø 1 yellow sweet onion

Ø 1 cup of carrots sliced

Ø 1 cup of celery, sliced

Ø 1 clove of garlic minced

Ø 1 1/2 cups of cooked diced ham

Ø 4, 14oz cans of white beans or navy beans (rinsed & drained) OR cook your own beans, 2 cups, dried

Ø 4 cans of chicken stock

Ø 2 bay leaves

Ø Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper (to taste)


Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add ham and cook for 30-60 seconds before adding 3 cans of stock and 2 cans of beans (rinsed well), bay leaf, and pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves and blend soup in pot with immersion blender 0r regular blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. Add the remaining 2 cans of beans and remaining can of stock. Simmer to heat beans through, 10-15 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. (The ham often provides enough salt.)

We love this with crusty bread or good old fashioned soda crackers.