Minestrone

This is a hearty, versatile soup perfect for cold winter nights. The vegetables can be mixed and matched to suit your tastes.

1/4 lb. pancetta (Italian cured pork belly) or bacon, chopped
1/3 c. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 small zucchini, 1/2 inch dice
1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 lb. potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
4 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 lb. kale, leaves chopped
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 cans white beans

In a heavy soup pot, cook the pancetta in oil over moderate heat. Omit oil if using bacon. Cook until crisp and drain excess oil. Add the onion and cook until onion is soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about four minutes. Add the zucchini, green beans and potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another four minutes. Add the cabbage and kale and cook until wilted, just a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and broth and simmer, covered, for about an hour.

Drain beans, reserving some liquid. In a blender or food processor puree one can of beans and add to the soup. Add remaining can of beans to the soup and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Thin if necessary with the reserved bean liquid (or just use water.) Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe can be made however you like it. I leave out the cabbage. It's great with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. You can also add pasta to the soup if you'd like.

Thai Noodle Salad

My friend Stacy cooked this recipe for us and it was fantastic! Hope you enjoy it!

Thai Noodle Salad

6 oz. dried vermicelli
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
2 Tbs. peanut butter
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 red sweet pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 green onions, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
lime wedges for garnish

1. Cook vermicelli according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
2. Brown chicken in skillet. Add sweet red pepper and green onions the last few minutes.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, broth, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until peanut butter is melted.
4. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.
5. Stir in chicken, sweet red pepper, green onions, and cilantro.
6. Serve with lime wedges.

The original recipe doesn't cook the red pepper and green onions, but I prefer them a little stir-fried. This recipe can be served either warm or cold. We like it best warm.

Cherry Eggnog Bread

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. rum extract
1-1/2 cups eggnog
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup maraschino cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and oil. Beat in the sugar, extracts and eggnog. Combine 2-1/2 cups four, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to egg mixture. Toss the cherries with remaining flour; stir into batter. Fold in nuts.

2. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing pants to wire racks to cool completely.

Orange-Almond Spiral Rolls

These rolls are very flavorful and the glaze is the best part! The original recipe called for hazelnuts, but I couldn't find any so I used almonds instead.


Dough:
5 to 5 1/2 c. flour, divided
1 c. mashed potato flakes
1/4 c. sugar
2 packages quick-rise yeast (about 4 1/2 tsp. total)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. grated orange peel
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, cubed
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. water
2 eggs

Filling:
1/3 c. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. ground almonds

Glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange juice concentrate
1/4 c. sour cream
2 Tbs. butter

1. In a large bowl, combine 4 c. flour, potato flakes, sugar, yeast, salt and orange peel. In saucepan, heat the milk, butter, sour cream and water to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.

2. Turn onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (I let my Kitchen Aid do the kneading) Cover, let dough rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; roll into a 22-in. x 14-in. rectangle. For filling, combine butter, powdered sugar and nuts. Spread lengthwise over half the dough. Fold dough over filling, forming a 22-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Cut into 7-in x 3/4 in. strips.

4. Twist each strip 4 or 5 times and shape into a ring. Pinch ends together. Place on two greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled.

5. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine glaze ingredients over medium heat. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Drizzle over warm rolls.

*To grind almonds, pulse in food processor until finely chopped. Stop before it turns into almond paste!

Cake Balls

Dave and I made 538 of these cake balls for neighbor Christmas gifts this year. It's surprising to bite into one and get a mouthful of yummy cake goodness.

Ingredients:

1 cake mix baked according to directions on box

3/4 can of coordinating frosting

24 oz almond bark

Sprinkles, nuts, etc.

After cake has cooled, crumble it into fine pieces. I use my mixer. Some people do it by hand. Add frosting and mix well. Put mixture in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Roll into balls and place on waxed paper in a freezer safe container. Freeze for 6 hours. Melt almond bark. Stick a toothpick in a frozen ball of cake and dip in the almond bark. Cover hole where toothpick was with chocolate. Sprinkle on sprinkles. These can be left at room temperature or frozen. One cake mix makes about 34 balls if you use Pampered Chef's small cookie scoop. Be sure to roll balls for smooth sides when dipping.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients

U.S.

Metric

Conversion chart

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cup(s) (5.35 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 cup(s) creamy peanut butter (do not use "natural")
• 2/3 cup(s) sugar
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup(s) chopped walnuts or chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup(s) miniature chocolate chips (optional)

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Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt with a fork. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the peanut butter and sugar together until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in the mashed banana and eggs; mix well.
3. Using a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter–banana mixture, mixing until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula if needed. Stir in the chopped nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using.
4. Pour the batter into the pan and gently smooth the top with the flexible spatula. Bake 45 minutes. Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes in the pan.
5. Remove the bread by running a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen it, then inverting the pan to release the bread onto a wire rack. Carefully turn the bread right-side up and cool completely. Slice and serve. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and foil; keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

For those of you with mixers it definitely will be easy, but on the other hand you won't have the tommy-gun forearms that I have!
And also I thought about putting pumpkin in instead of banana, I might try that next time!