Too-Easy Tortellini Soup

This recipe is ready in 30 minutes or less

4 cups chicken broth

1 package (9 oz.) Refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 can (15 oz.) White kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Coarsely ground pepper, optional

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil.  Stir in tortellini.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the beans, tomatoes and basil.  Simmer for 4-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.  Stir in the vinegar.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and pepper if desired.  YIELD: 6 servings.

Weekly Menu 10/23/11- Elise

Baked Ziti, french bread
Tacos, pinto beans
cheeseburger eggrolls, potato salad
wontons, rice, broccoli

Weekly Menu 10/23/11 -Amy

Ham and Swiss rolls, veggie platter, fresh fruit
Chicken noodle soup, rolls
Loaded baked potato
Chili, cornbread
Lasagna

Weekly Menu 10/23/11 -Jeanine

Spaghetti, green beans, french bread
Pizza, smoothies
Waffles, scrambled eggs
Chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie

Cheeseburger Eggrolls

Cheeseburger Eggrolls

From The Rachel Ray Show

Square Wontons

(It's up to you how big you want them. The small square are good if you want bite sized cheeseburgers)

1/2 pound Hamburger

Cheddar Cheese (at least medium)

garlic, onion and salt to taste

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup relish

1/4 cup sour cream (or mayo)

Salt and Pepper

Cook hamburger with onion, garlic and salt. Drain fat. Fill each wonton square with cheese and hamburger. Fold in the sides and roll. Seal the edge with water. Place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet (with sides). Place wontons on top of cooling rack and spray with cooking spray (or brush with butter or olive oil). Cook in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Mix sauce (play around with the amounts and do what tastes best to you).

Enjoy!

*Rachel Ray doesn't really use a lot of measurements so play around with the amounts and do what you like best!

Weekly Menu 10/16/11 -Jeanine

Ham and Swiss Rolls, fruit
Loaded baked potatoes, smoothie
Baked ziti, corn
Chicken tacos, Spanish Rice
Tomato Soup and grilled cheese

Weekly Menu 10/16/11 -Amy

Spaghetti, green salad
Taco Soup, chips
Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Chicken Tacos
Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches (can you tell it's getting cold here with all this soup?)
Chicken, potatoes/gravy, corn

Pizza Monkey Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest... you can find it here.  It is very detailed.  Here is my simplified version:

Make your favorite pizza dough recipe.  I usually just make the one in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

While your dough is mixing, make up some garlic butter.  I just microwaved some butter and some of my squeeze garlic.  Use a little of that butter to grease up your bundt pan and set it aside.

Roll them into small balls.  I usually flatten one out to make sure I'm making them a good size... then I roll it back up and use that as my guide.

Next, you'll flatten your balls out. Place a pepperoni and some mozzarella cheese on each circle of dough.  (The original recipe asks that you put a cube of mozzarella on them.  The first time I made this I did that.  The second time I forgot to buy a block of mozzarella but I did  have string cheese so I just cut that into chunks.  This time I had a ton of shredded cheese so I used that.  They all worked well.)

Now you are going to roll your dough back into a ball and make sure it's sealed so that the cheese doesn't seep out.  Then dip it into some garlic butter.  I usually roll a bunch of balls and stick them in all at once.  Otherwise your buttery hands won't be able to seal the dough.

After the pizza balls are all buttered up you'll stick them into your bundt pan.  If I have any leftover butter I pour it on top.  If you have time you can let it sit and rest for 30 minutes... or you can just put it into the oven. You'll cook it at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.

Loosen the sides and turn onto a plate.

Warm up some pizza sauce for dipping.  (I usually use a can of tomato sauce and add spices to it.)

Enchiladas

Although I love mom's chicken enchiladas this week I am making some beef enchiladas.  I got this recipe from Crystal back when we were roommates.  I've adjusted it a little bit.

1 lb. ground beef
1 can green chilies
1 package of enchilada sauce
tomato sauce (look on the back of your enchilada sauce package for amount)
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 green onions
black olives... as much as you like (I use a small can), sliced
tortillas
8 oz mozzarella cheese

Brown your beef and drain the grease.  Add green chilies to the meat and let it heat up.

Mix up your sauce according to directions on the package.
Dip your tortilla into the sauce so that it's covered in sauce... then take it out.  Put a little of everything else (meat mixture, onions, olives) in your tortilla.  Roll up the tortilla and place in your casserole dish.  Repeat until your dish is full.  Pour remaining sauce on top of the tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese on top.
Place in oven until it is hot all the way through.  (I usually do 350 for 30 minutes).

Weekly Menu 10/16/11- Elise

Pizza, Ceasar Salad

Cheeseburger Eggrolls, potato salad, fruit

Taquitos, guacamole

Taco Soup, chips

Weekly Menu 10/9/11-Jeanine

Fettuccine Alfredo, green beans, bread
Rice/black beans/fried egg
Enchiladas, spanish rice
Pizza Monkey Bread, Smoothies
Salmon (the last of our Alaskan... so sad), veggies, marinated potatoes

Weekly Menu 10/2/11-Jeanine

Egg burritos, fresh fruit
Chicken Salad
Pigs-in-blankets, fresh fruit
Spaghetti with meat sauce, corn, bread sticks
German Pancakes, smoothies, sausage

Weekly Menu 10/9/11 -Amy

Chicken Salad
Turkey bacon sandwich, smoothie
Taquitos, Spanish rice, beans
Chicken salad sandwiches
Homemade mac and cheese
Baked oatmeal, strawberries, yogurt
Teriyaki chicken with rice and veggies

Smoothies

My boys love these smoothies.  I don't have exact amounts... just throw stuff in the blender.

Frozen strawberries
Dannon All Natural Vanilla yogurt (several large spoonfuls)
Orange juice (enough to make it the consistency that you like)
Ground flax seed (about a TB?)

Occasionally I add banana or frozen peaches (I've tried adding other berries but they are too seedy and the boys don't like that.)

Easy Lasagna

1- 24 oz jar spaghetti sauce (or make your own)

1 lb. ground beef

1 clove garlic, pressed*

1/2 onion, minced*

Basil (fresh or dried)

Lasagna noodles (6-9, about 1/2 a box)

8 oz. cottage cheese

2-3 eggs

1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese

8 oz. grated parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic, drain.

Add spaghetti sauce and basil, simmer for 15-30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese and eggs.

Cook lasagna in boiling water for 10 minutes. Once the noodles are cooked run under cold water. (They will be easier to handle and won't stick)

In a large casserole dish, layer lasagna, meat, then both cheeses. Continue to layer until dish is full. A layer of meat then cheese should be on the top.

Bake at 350 degrees covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 15 minutes.

*I used dried onion and garlic and it still tasted great

I used a 9x13 pan and was only able to do two layers. If you do more than two layers you'll need more then 6 noodles.

Weekly Menu 10/2/11 - Amy

Baked southwestern egg rolls, Spanish rice, sour cream salsa dip
BLT, veggie platter, raspberry lemonade
Steak, twice baked potato dish, green beans (It's Jeff's birthday!)
Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Stroganoff, sweet potatoes
Oatmeal pancakes, fruit salad, bacon?
Pork chops, homemade applesauce, green beans, mashed potatoes with creamy milk gravy

Marinated Potatoes

• 4-5 medium red or white potatoes, cubed into 1 inch pieces (leave the skins on)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup finely minced onions
• small handful of fresh herb of choice, finely minced (I used parsley)

Simply mix together all ingredients in a large ziploc bag until well incorporated. Allow to sit for about an hour, stirring occasionally to evenly coat all of the potatoes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (be sure that the baking sheet has sides – the oil will drip off of a completely flat cookie sheet). Spread into one even layer and bake at 375° for 30-45 minutes. Check them every so often to be sure that they are not getting too brown. Enjoy!

These make a great side dish.  My kids have this thing against potatoes but we stared calling them french fries and now they gobble them up.  I don't always have time to let them sit for an hour and just pop them in the oven after mixing.

Taco Seasoning

I usually triple or quadruple this recipe and store it in a little dish, that way I have some ready to go when I need it.  The store bought kind is full of MSG and junk.

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I have never added this)

1/4 teaspoon aregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Weekly Menu 10/2/11- Elise

Steak Soup, fruit, rolls

mini pizzas, ceasar salad

Ham, eggs, oranges, banana muffins

Weekly Menu 9/25/11- Elise

Apriocot Chicken, rice, corn

Cheesy Ham and Potatos

Easy Lasagna, Ceasar salad, French Bread