ENTREES

SPOON-TENDER POT ROAST

This one came from the O.C. Register in the "Take Five" column.
Ti tweaked it and the final result was delicious for those moments when you really need a hearty meaty meal for your athletic boys. Here's the recipe:
3-3/12 pound London-broil roast
Black pepper
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 pkg Onion Soup Mix
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup, undiluted

1. Pepper the meat, (the onion soup mix provides enough salt) then brown it in about a tablespoon of oil on the stove to seal in the juices. Place meat in Crockpot.

2. Mix the cornstarch with the dry onion soup mix and sprinkle directly on the meat.

3. Pour the cream of mushroom soup over the top.

Cook in a Crock Pot on low (or high depending on how much time you have) until tender.
We had to add a can of water about halfway through because the sauce was becoming too thick.

COOKING WITH LINDSEY

Lindsey made this for us 5-24-08. Yum!

Frozen Strawberry Dessert
Friend Magazine, June 2005

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 quart fresh strawberries
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes, then let cool.
2. Puree strawberries in a blender.
3. In a large bowl, combine strawberry puree, orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar water. Fold in the cream
4. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan (we decided a square 9 x 9 pan would have been better). Freeze until firm. Makes about 1 quart.

ENTREES

Marci also introduced me to Ellie Krieger's Sloppy Joes during my visit to help with Zachary. The intense flavor is it's trump card. You could double or triple this, freeze it and serve it later on a baked potato, as a sloppy Joe, as a stuffed french bread pizza w/ cheese melted on top, or even as chili. I'd double the amount of beans for chili. Versatile! I should have served these open-faced because my homemade bread was so heavy tonight.


Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can small red or pinto beans, rinsed
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Brown the meat and onion together. Drain off grease. Add red pepper and garlic - cook 5 mins more. Stir in rest of ingredients and simmer. Serve on whole wheat buns.


Here is the link for Ellie's recipe plus nutrition facts:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_35586_PRINT-RECIPE-FULL-PAGE,00.html

Here's her pic: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35586,00.html

BREADS

Fantastic Zucchini Bread

1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups shredded zucchini, unpeeled
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1 cup chocolate chips, optional

A couple of more optional items:
I added about 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten
roughly 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed
I had about 3 Ts of ground pinto beans in my wheat flour
(left over from grinding wheat for bread)

Combine in large bowl, sugar, oil eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
Add dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Fold in zucchini and nuts until well incorporated.

Pour into 2 greased bread pans and bake for 60 minutes at 350.

Notes: The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar,
but with the addition of the chocolate chips this was plenty sweet.

SOUP

Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup

(click on the title for a picture)
Ellie Krieger

4 cups fresh corn kernels or 20 oz, frozen, thawed
2 cups nonfat milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced about 2 cups
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium zucchini, (about 1/2 pound) diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into a blender until smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups corn and the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pureed corn and tomatoes and cook until warmed through, but not boiling. Add the salt and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.