Ski Country Pasta (aka Alpine Ski Pasta-my kids) this is an all time favorite recipe, often requested for birthday dinners

Ski Country Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sliced almonds

1/2 pound sliced bacon

4 cups penne pasta

2 to 6 cloves garlic

1 pound fresh spinach

1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

5 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

Directions:

Toast almonds over medium heat for about 4 minutes

Set aside

Fry bacon until crisp and remove from pan and crumble

Cook pasta al dente in salted water

Discard all but 6 tablespoons of bacon fat from pan and add garlic and chopped spinach

Stir over medium heat until tender

Whisk mustard and vinegar together in large bowl and then mix in drained pasta, cheese, cooked spinach mixture, bacon and basil

Serve warm, topped with toasted almonds. Can add 3 cooked, cubed chicken breasts to make it a meal! Credit: Favorites cookbook

Creamy Tuscan Tortellini Soup I made this last night and it was delicious.

CREAMY TUSCAN TORTELLINI SOUP

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

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INGREDIENTS

·          1 tablespoon olive oil

·          1/2 cup finely diced onion

·          1 cup diced carrots (about 3 medium carrots, peeled)

·          3 cloves garlic, finely minced

·          4 cups chicken broth (I use low-sodium)

·          28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

·          1 teaspoon dried basil

·          1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

·          1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt)

·          1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·          10 ounces cheese tortellini (see note)

·          1 1/2 cups milk

·          3 tablespoons flour

·          1 to 2 cans (15-ounces each) Great Northern, cannellini, or other white beans, rinsed and drained

·          2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken

·          2-3 cups lightly packed, torn or coarsely chopped fresh spinach

·          Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      In a 6- or 8-quart pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and carrots. Cover the pot and cook/sweat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.

2.      Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the tortellini. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tortellini are mostly tender (they'll continue to cook for a few minutes in the next step).

3.      Whisk or blend the flour and milk together until smooth and add it to the soup, stirring constantly. Add the beans, chicken and spinach. Bring the soup to a low simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and all the ingredients are heated through and the tortellini are tender.

4.      Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top, if desired.

NOTES

Tortellini: Use the Kirkland brand refrigerated cheese tortellini from Costco. It comes in 22-24 ounce packages. This recipe calls for 10 ounces tortellini, but for a thicker, heartier soup, you can double the tortellini amount (same goes for the beans, as noted in the ingredient list).

Eggnog Panettone French Toast made by Karissa for Michael who said it was delicious

EGGNOG PANETTONE FRENCH TOAST Hilton Christmas Breakfast

Orange Cream

½ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon powdered sugar Zest of 1 orange 1 tablespoon squeezed orange juice


French Toast

½ loaf of panettone (GOOD panettone) 1 ¼ cup milk ¼ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup packed light brown sugar ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon imitation rum extract ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 3 eggs


Directions

1. Make the orange cream. Whisk together orange cream ingredients to stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 2. Make the French toast. Whisk together the milk, sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, rum extract, nutmeg, and eggs until smooth. 3. Prepare a large skillet by spreading a bit of butter across it.  4. Dip pieces of panettone (about 1 inch thick) in the French toast mixture and place on the pan. Cook each side of the bread until golden brown. 5. Serve! Place a dollop of orange cream on each piece of French toast and serve with maple syrup.

Chocolate Torte recipe is delicious has very little flour and I experimented with flour substitute and margarine and it was good.

Chocolate Torte(recipe from Linda Wightman)

¾ cup butter

6 tbl cocoa

1 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup ground blanched almonds

2 tbl flour

3 eggs separated

2 tbl water

Instructions:

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in ¾ cup sugar; blend until smooth.  Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.  Blend in almonds, cocoa and flour. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.  Stir in water.  In medium bowl beat egg whites until foamy.  Gradually add remaining ¼ c sugar, beating until soft peaks form.  Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites, blending thoroughly.  Pour into greased and floured 9” layer pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes (cake will settle) remove from pan onto wire rack; cool completely.  Invert cake to serving plate

Glaze

3 tbl light corn syrup

3 tbl water

2 tbl butter

6 oz chocolate chips

Bring syrup, water and butter to boil. Remove from heat.  Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.  Pour glaze on cake.  Spread on top and sides with spatula.

Apple, Pomegranate, Gorgonzola Spinach Salad (developed for Thanksgiving 2019 and is delicious)

Apple, Pomegranate, Gorgonzola Spinach Salad

Spinach 32 ounces
1 large Honey Crisp apples chopped small
1 pomegranate- arills
4 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
sugared walnuts or pecans
Lemon Olive Oil
Cranberry Pear vinegar

Mix spinach, apples, pomegranate arills, gorgonzola cheese.  Toss with 1/4 cup lemon olive oil and 1/4 cup cranberry pear vinegar. Sprinkle nuts on top and serve.

Honey Lime Fruit Salad ( I made this for 2019 Thanksgiving and loved it!)

HONEY LIME FRUIT SALAD

PREP TIME 20 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 20 MINUTES

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

•  1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained well, or about 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
•  1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained well
•  2 to 3 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces
•  1 cup green grapes, halved
•  1 cup strawberries, quartered
•  Zest from one lime, about 1/2 tablespoon
•  1 to 2 tablespoons honey
•  1/2 to 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the fruit in a serving bowl. Add the lime zest and toss.
2. Drizzle the honey over the fruit and gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top and toss to combine.
3. Serve immediately or within an hour.

NOTES

This fruit salad is best served right away (or at least within an hour of making) because the strawberries tend to stain the light colored fruit. It doesn’t affect the taste at all but is a slight bummer for presentation.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies These truly are the best cookie I've made. I doubled it and used 3 eggs instead of 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks. They were excellent. Enjoy!

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

YIELD: 2-3 DOZEN COOKIES

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 12 MINUTES

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INGREDIENTS

·          2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)

·          1/2 teaspoon table salt

·          1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·          12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly

·          1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)

·          1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

·          1 large egg

·          1 large egg yolk

·          2 teaspoons vanilla

·          2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.

2.      In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3.      Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

4.      Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets. Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer.

5.      Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (keeping in mind that ovens can vary in temperature so use your best judgment). Don't overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard. If baking frozen cookie dough, add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container (or baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months).

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls-Melissa

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons yeast over ½ cup warm water.  Melt 1 cube butter, add 2 cups milk, warm. In mixing bowl mix together 2 eggs, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt.  Add milk and butter mixture and stir.  If not too warm, add yeast mixture.  Stir to blend.  Add 7 cups of flour (all at once) and stir gently.  Do not overmix.  Dough will be quite sticky.  Place towel over bowl and let rise in warm place until double in size.  Turn onto floured board or counter-top.  Gently roll in rectangle.  Pour and spread melted butter over dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll in jelly roll shape.  Cut in ¾ inch to 1 inch slices.  Place side by side in cookie sheet with 1 inch rim.  Let rise until almost double.  Bake at 350 approximately 15-17 minutes.  (Medium brown on edges and golden brown in center) Do not over bake.

Frosting:  1 pound powdered sugar, 1/3 cup soft butter, ¾ cup evaporated milk, 1 tsp vanilla.  Spread over warm cinnamon rolls

Roasted Roma Tomato Basil soup

I made this for the first time tonight and it is a winner!  I used my pesto instead of the fresh basil and parmesean.

Roasted Roma Tomato Basil soup

Homemade roasted tomato basil soup with garlic, olive oil and caramelized onions. Delicious, flavorful and the best way to use up garden tomatoes! You'll never want to go back to the canned stuff after you try this.

INGREDIENTS

• For the roasted tomatoes
• 3 pounds roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
• For the caramelized onions:
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• Additions to the soup:
• ½ cup packed basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 cups water or vegetarian broth, depending on how thick you want the soup
• Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional add ins:
• Light/Regular coconut milk for a creamy vegan soup
• Whole dairy milk/heavy cream for a creamy texture
• Parmesan cheese, for a tangy, flavor enhancing flavor
• A tablespoon or two of butter, for richer flavor

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place halved tomatoes and garlic cloves on the baking sheet and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Generously season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
2. While the tomatoes are roasting, you can make the caramelized onions: Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to a large pot and place over medium heat. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally. Check onions every 5-10 minutes until they have completely caramelized and turned golden in color. This ususally takes 20 minutes.
3. Once tomatoes and garlic are done roasting, allow them to cool for 10 minutes, then add them to a food processor or high powered blender and blend until smooth. Next add basil and caramelized onions and blend again. Alternatively you can add the tomatoes to the large pot and use an immersion blender. It's really just about what you have available to you.
4. After blending, transfer back to pot, turn to medium low heat and add in oregano, vegetarian broth and salt and pepper to taste. From there you can add in any additional add-ons you want (as listed in the ingredients). Allow tomato soup to simmer 10 minutes before serving. To serve, garnish with parmesan cheese and serve with grilled cheese, if desired. Serves 4.

NOTES

I do not usually strain the seeds, but you can with a fine mesh strainer if that's what you prefer.