Chicken Tortellini Soup

I have been looking for some easy healthy recipes to try lately and found this in my Sunday Dinner Cookbook. I love tortellini and I thought it sounded really good so I gave it a shot. Turns out, it's amazing. My husband actually requested that this recipe be on our meal rotation; it was that good. It is an easy fast meal with very simple directions. Try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/2 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/2 c. finely chopped celery
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 4 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 1 package (16 ounces) cheese-filled tortellini, cooked
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat butter in large saucepan until melted.
2. Cook and stir onion, celery and chicken in butter over medium heat about 8 minutes or until chicken is done.
3. Stir in flour and pepper; gradually add chicken broth.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil 1 minute.
5. Stir in tortellini; heat until warm. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

That's it! It serves 8 and since there are only two of us, I halved the recipe and it turned out great.  Plus one serving is only 245 Calories. Not too bad. :)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is a staple in any home. Especially when any kind of sickness is going around. Recently Greg and I have had colds and what better to help us feel better than homemade chicken noodle soup! I'm not sure where I got this recipe. I think I made it up while I was in high school. Anyways it is super easy and extremely delicious. It's great for when you're not feeling well and great for when you are. Try it out!
 

Ingredients:

• 1 can Chicken Chunks (or 1-2 breasts, shredded)
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 3-4 stocks celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 handfuls of egg noodles (or really any noodle you want and how much you want)
• 5 cups water
• 5 chicken bouillon cubes
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Saute the chopped onions and celery in the butter on medium heat until browned.
2. Add water and bouillon cubes and bring to a boil.
3. Add the carrots and noodles; stir.
4. Cover and simmer over low for about 20 minutes or until carrots are soft.
5. Add chicken and heat until warm.
6. Add salt and pepper if needed and serve.

Pasta e Fagioli

I found this recipe on pinterest and it looked so good that I had to try it. And it is just as good as I thought it would be! I made it for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit. I served it with my Artisan bread and it was fantastic. Perfect for a cold day. And it was a great dinner to celebrate my new job with. :) I just got hired today as the Assistant Director for Crestview Elementary School's after-school program. :) Hooray! I'm so excited! Anyways, here is the recipe. (It is from Olive Garden so you know it has to be good.)

Ingredients:

•  1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I only used 1 clove but that's because I'm not a garlic fan and it was great)
• 1 quart of tomatoes (or 2 14.5-oz. diced tomatoes)
• 1 15-oz. can red kidney beans (w/ liquid)
• 1 15-oz. can Great Northern Beans (w/liquid)
• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 lb. Ditali pasta

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a large stock pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; saute for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often.
4. At 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta according to the package directions; until al dente.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the pot of soup.
6. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

It was easy and incredibly delicious. I was going to do it in the crockpot but my husband had an appointment at 8 and needed to eat early so I did it this way. I'm sure it would be good though and take less time. Try it out! 

(http://farmgirlinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/2011/02/pasta-e-fagioli.html)

Beef Stew & Rolls

While digging through my freezer the other day I discovered some stew meat. What is stew meat? I have never used it ever before in my life. And what do you do with it? Make stew apparently, hence the name. So I gave it a shot. I love stew and I always have because of my Great-Grandpa Wright. He owned a ranch up in the little town of St. Ignatius, Montana. Ever since I can remember, we would go visit every summer and we would get there just in time for dinner. And dinner was always the same; my grandpa's stew, the best stew I have ever had. If only I could make it like he did! Grandpa Stew is the best!!!

Anyways, I was pretty nervous about this recipe simply because I have never done it before but it turned out incredible! The smell of it cooking was fantastic and it tasted even better than it smelled. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 medium potatoes, cubed
• 3-4 medium carrots, sliced (or use whole baby carrots instead)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 celery stock, sliced
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. paprika
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. beef stew meat, cubed
• 3-4 c. beef broth
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf (leave in for only half the time)

Directions:

1.  Combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, and celery in the slow cooker. 
2. In a large resealable bag, combine the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Add the cubed beef, a few pieces at a time and shake to coat. Place meat over vegetable mixture.
3. Combine the broth, garlic and bay leaf; pour over beef.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat and vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaf.

You can really add whatever you want and whatever quantity of each ingredient you want.  


Rolls

For the rolls, I used my bread maker to make the dough. I used the quick dough setting to save some time. The way I cooked them though was my favorite that I have ever done. So here is how I did it:

1. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into equal quarters. Cut each quarter into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.
2. Place one ball in each of 24 greased muffin cups (2 muffin pans).
3. Cover dough and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Vegetable Minestrone

I never really knew or ever had (to my knowledge) minestrone until one Sunday night dinner with my in-laws. My wonderful mother-in-law made it and it was incredible. I decided I needed to try it but I didn't have a recipe. Then one night looking through my handy-dandy crockpot cookbook, I found one. I tried it out today and it turned out amazing! By the way, the artisan bread goes perfect with it. Anyways, it is such a hearty soup and warms you and fills you up. It is delicious and is full of healthy vegetables, bonus. Got my vegetables for the day! What is also great about minestrone is that you can leave out or add almost anything you want. It's up to you!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 lb. ground beef (or however much you want; this wasn't in the recipe but I like meat and I felt like it needed it)
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) beef broth OR 4 cubes of bouillon and 4 c. water
• 1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz.) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded or thinly sliced
• 3/4 c. tomato juice
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 3/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 can cut green beans, thawed
• 1/2 c. chopped spinach (if frozen, thaw before)
• 1/2 c. small shell pasta (or really any pasta you want)
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a 4 or 5 qt. slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Stir in green beans, spinach, and pasta. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until heated all the way through. Sprinkle and serve with cheese.

This was such a good dinner! I got home from school, threw it all in the crockpot and left for most of the day shopping with my sister and nieces. I got home later that night, added the last few things, Greg got home and dinner was ready. Perfect.

Beef Barley Lentil Soup

I am in love with my slow cooker. It makes life so easy and makes me feel like a good wife and cook. I throw everything in, let it cook all day which makes the house smell AMAZING, and by dinner time it is done and delicious. It has also made dinner time earlier when Greg is home from work which makes life nice. It has been especially nice to have a slow cooker this week because we found out at the doctor yesterday that Greg has bronchitis and my Grandpa Walton had surgery yesterday too. What tastes better when you're sick or recovering than soup? It makes me feel like an actual wife taking dinner to people which is kind of funny to me but I enjoy it.

So, remember how I discovered that I own a slow cooker cookbook? This is the first recipe I have made out of it. Two words: super excited.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 c. cubed potatoes
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. dried lentils, rinsed
1/2 c. medium pearl barley
8 c. water
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules (or 2 cubes)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) stewed tomatoes

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pick; drain.
2. Transfer to slow cooker. Layer with the potatoes, celery, carrots, lentils, and barley.
3. Combine the water, bouillon, salt and lemon-pepper; pour over vegetables.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until the vegetables and barley are tender.
5. Add the tomatoes; cook 2 hours longer.

There you go! Super easy and delicious, the perfect combination.