Tortellini Vegetable Soup

I recently stumbled across this tortellini recipe on Pinterest.
We have had a few cool days and soup sounded so good! I thought it would be a great new eggless recipe that Aubri could eat, too. Sadly, I didn't realize that tortellinis had eggs in them, but I went ahead and made it and
I AM SO GLAD I DID!
It was a huge hit! Wes even ate the leftovers for his nighttime snack.
*oh, by the way, my husband likes his dinner to have meat in it, so I added smoked sausage to the recipe and it was really good.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 5 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (more if fresh)
• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 9 ounces fresh or frozen tortellini
• (cheese or meat filled)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Black pepper, to taste
  
• *about 3/4 cup smoked sausage, sliced
  

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot or large saucepan. Add the onion, zucchini, and carrot. Saute over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent. *I sliced up some smoked sausage and threw them in with the veggies.

2. Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt to the pot. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to a low boil. Cook it for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes longer. Gently stir in the parsley and pepper during the last minute or so. Makes about 5 servings.

ENJOY!

Chicken, zucchini, and prosciutto

I made this dish last night for dinner. Wes liked it a lot! He even ate 6 pieces of zucchini! What a big boy! Ha!

This recipe is from Real Simple Magazine. I changed it up just a bit for convenience sake.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 lb. prosciutto
3 small zucchini, thinly sliced into half moons
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced (I used jarred minced garlic instead-and the equivalent of 2 cloves instead of 1. We LOVE garlic.)
1 lemon

Ok, so, I didn't use prosciutto. I'm sure the recipe would be great with it, but its just too expensive. So, instead I used (which I know is nothing like prosciutto...) Buddig brand Turkey-its in the package sandwich meat section of the grocery store.

Directions:
Heat oven to 4oo. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large oven proof skillet (or if you don't have one, like me, transfer it to a oven safe dish after you use the skillet.) over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes per side. Transfer to oven and roast for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a second skillet, over medium heat, heat the remaining oil. Cook the prosciutto until crisp, 1-2 minutes per side. (I cut up the turkey into small pieces and cooked until brown around the edges.) Transfer to a plate. (I put the turkey in the oven with the chicken to continue browning a little more.) Add zucchini, garlic, and the remaining salt and pepper to the skillet and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the prosciutto, zucchini, and garlic to the skillet with the chicken, squeeze the lemon over the top, and toss. Divide among plates.

Hope you like it!

Mom's Fabulous Chicken Salad

Mom's Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 large cans white meat chicken chunks (I used grilled chicken breast because I had them on hand.)
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 -1 cup chopped grapes
1/4 cup crasins (that have been soaked in water to plump them up)
cashews
drained mandarin oranges
Heavy whipping cream -whipped (this is the dressing)

I used my sister's presentation idea for a Mary Kay party I had at my house. On a Ritz flips side cracker, place a leaf of spinach. On top of the spinach, place a spoonful of chicken salad. It is very pretty and makes this yummy chicken salad a finger food!

Crab Cakes

This recipe originated from Paula Deen. (She is a new love of mine.) I made a few alternations to the recipe because I am married to a VERY PICKY EATER!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
• 1/3 cup crushed crackers (I used whole wheat Ritz)
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped (I sprinkled in some onion powder instead)
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (I pureed one whole Red Pepper, he never knew it was in there! ha!)
  
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dusting
• 1/2 cup peanut oil (I didn't have peanut oil so I used veg oil and it worked fine.)

Mine needed some color because I had omitted the green onions, so I sprinkled in a few parsley leaves to jazz it up a bit.

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve warm with sauce.

This is the sauce I used:

Lemon Aioli:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives (I didn't have any on hand, so I sprinkled in a little onion powder.)
  
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (I didn't have this either... so, I omitted.)
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together.

YUM-O! Enjoy!