Turkey Sloppy Joes Recipe

Crock-Pot Turkey Sloppy Joes

My youngest had the misfortune of getting his first bee sting this evening. I knew something was wrong when he told me he was playing with a bug. As soon as the word stop was out of my mouth he started screaming because he had been stung by the 'bug'. Luckily pain medication and a baking soda paste saved the day. He is now asleep and I'm pretty sure that he won't be playing with bees again soon. Luckily before the be incident my family enjoyed a family favorite, sloppy joes. For dinner I tried a new recipe for Turkey Sloppy Joes from the May 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I followed the recipe pretty closely to the original. I always have baby carrots for my husband's lunch so that is what I used in this recipe. Since I only had smoked paprika I substituted it for regular and Sunny Buns for the hamburger buns. Of course my youngest slightly smashed my photo bun before I got the picture, hence why it looks a little lopsided. I ate my serving over brown rice.

My kids loved this recipe. I did find that it only made about 5 servings, not the 12 suggested by the recipe. My husband thought that he would have liked fewer carrots, I thought that it was a little sweet. Overall though this was a very family friendly recipe and I like that it uses turkey instead of beef.

For the recipe go to Turkey Sloppy Joes. Registration required.

Balsamic Pot Roast Recipe

Balsamic Pot Roast

Our weather has finally been warm enough overnight to start my garden. So this weekend my oldest son and I went to find flowers for our front bed and heirloom tomato starters. We ended up with three different heirlooms and a bunch of new herbs for an herb pot. My son insisted on using his bare hands to help do the planting and was full of dirt by the time we were done. By the end of the weekend everything was planted and by the middle of the summer I will be swimming in tomatoes, which will be perfect for recipes and canning. Last week was one of my busier weeks so I relied heavily on my crock-pot. I tried a new recipe for Balsamic Pot Roast from the March 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 10 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. Since I never have 10 hours to wait for my crock-pot I cooked the roast on high for 6 hours. I chose to serve the roast as is instead of with the polenta and sweet peppers. The majority of the time I make my own stock, but for this recipe I used store bought. Make sure to buy high quality balsamic vinegar. There is a great difference in taste between cheap and quality balsamic.

My family really liked the flavor of this roast. The balsamic kept the roast very moist and the sauce was perfect. I served the roast with brown rice, which worked well to soak up the extra sauce. I like that the recipe only has 11 grams of fat and 53 grams of protein, it was a nice change of pace to my normal pot roast recipe.

For the recipe go to Balsamic Pot Roast. Registration required. 

Recipe for Buffalo Style Salmon with Blue Cheese Arugula Salad

Buffalo Style Salmon with Blue Cheese Arugula Salad

My oldest son is obsessed with seafood. From the time he turned 2 and had his first bite of fish he has loved any type of seafood. He is always begging me to buy him salmon or shrimp to eat. My youngest son shares his older brothers love of seafood and it is one of the few foods that he will eat without complaints. Since quality seafood is expensive we only eat it about twice a month. Also my children can eat 2 servings of salmon a piece, so it can cost a small fortune to feed them. I do believe that seafood is an important part of a healthy diet and we eat salmon and shrimp the most frequently. Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Buffalo Style Salmon from the May 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes a total time of 35 minutes, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I made a few changes to the original recipe. First the easiest type of salmon to find in my area (that isn't farm raised) has skin, finding skinless can be a challenge. Therefore I used skin-on salmon and a slightly thicker fillet than the recipe called for. This increased my grill time by 3-4 minutes. I always use Frank's for my hot sauce and this recipe was no exception. The recipe calls for low-fat yogurt, but I already had full fat yogurt for another recipe so that is what I used. As I have described before I use an indoor electric grill for most of my grilling and it always works well.

I was worried that the buffalo sauce would be too spicy for my kids, but they loved it. They ate their entire servings and tried to eat some of mine. My husband and I really liked the whole dish. The salad made a great side to the salmon and the grill created a nice flavor for the fish. This would definitely be a recipe I would make again.

For the recipe go to Buffalo Style Salmon.

Easy Slow Cooker Smoky Navy Bean Soup

While some people will only eat beans if they are forced, I love them. When I was growing-up my dad was a meat and potatoes kind of guy so beans rarely made an appearance. Then when I turned 15 I decided to become  a vegetarian. I quickly had to learn to make beans. My first dozen attempts were less than stellar, the flavor wasn't great and beans weren't a favorite food of mine. Then I discovered that when made the right way, beans can be delicious. My kids have grown-up eating beans. To them they are just another food and they don't think twice about eating them. My oldest in particular loves pinto and chickpeas and will pick them out of dishes. This week I have made a number of bean dishes since my schedule has been hectic and they are hearty and create a ton of leftovers. Today I tried a new recipe for Smoky Navy Bean Soup from the March 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 10 hours of cooking on low, 15 minutes of prep and makes 8 servings. This was a recipe that I followed pretty closely with only a few modifications. Instead of adding 6 cups of water, I added 3 cups of homemade chicken stock and 3 cups of water. For the carrots I used pre-peeled baby carrots, approximately 15. I chose to skip the step of pureeing the soup. My kids were hungry and I like my bean soup to have more texture. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was surprised by how many leftovers I had of this soup. The recipe states that it makes 8 servings, but I had enough leftovers for at least two more meals. Make sure to adequately salt the soup before serving, it will need it. I did find that the ham steak that I used ended up a little tougher than I like, next time I would use a fatter cut of ham. Overall, an easy bean soup recipe that is great for fall and winter.

For the recipe go to Smoky Navy Bean Soup.

Flavorful Quick 40 Minute Pasta Bolognese

I have been in the mood for comfort food this week. There is something about fall and winter that make me want to bake and cook foods that feel warm and like home. Since I can't eat gluten I have had to re-learn a lot of my favorite comfort foods that my mother made growing up. The dish that I struggled with the most making gluten free was macaroni and cheese. Every time I tried making it the flavor and texture was off. After approximately 10 tries I finally discovered a baked macaroni and cheese that even my husband enjoyed. The trick with a lot of gluten pasta recipes is to bake them in the oven or add a lot of spices. Now that I have baked a number of gluten free pasta dishes I love them and make pasta once a week. Last week I tried a new recipe for Quick Pasta Bolognese from the February 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few modifications to the recipe. First I used gluten free pasta instead of whole-wheat. My husband and two boys love meat so I used a whole pound of lean ground beef. After the pasta was done cooking I added it to the sauce, tossed and continued cooking until the pasta was fully done. I cook my pasta until al dente and then finish cooking in the sauce. I prefer this method for pasta, it ensures that the pasta doesn't over cook and that the sauce is fully incorporated. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Increasing the meat in this recipe worked well. I would suggest using whole tomatoes instead of diced and crushing the tomatoes by hand. To crush my tomatoes by hand I place them in a Ziploc, seal it and then crush it between my fingers. The diced tomatoes had a texture that my husband and I weren't big fans of, but could be easily remedied by using whole tomatoes instead. Make sure to add salt before serving, this dish needs to be salted adequately for flavor.

For the recipe go to Quick Pasta Bolognese.

Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup

My freezer is currently full of soup. In the last couple of months I have made numerous soup recipes and frozen a great deal of them. I freeze in single serving containers in order that all I have to do for a great lunch is pull one out and reheat. It's a great time saver and so much better than canned. I'm also lucky that both of my kids are huge fans of soup and stew. They actually get excited when they discover soup on the stove for dinner. It might be genetic since I seem to always reach for soup when I need some good old fashioned comfort food. There are few things better than a great bowl of soup, a warm blanket and a great book on a cold fall/winter afternoon. Since I also love my slow cooker this time of year I am always looking for new soup recipes that utilize the crock-pot. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup from the holiday recipes magazine from Better Homes and Gardens, which looked easy and perfect for a cold winter afternoon.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 5 1/2 hours of cooking, 40 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use navy beans instead of Lima beans for this recipe. I would love to say that I love Lima beans, but I don't. They are the one bean that I just can't learn to love. My husband loves kale, so that is what I used in this recipe. As I've stated numerous times before I make my own chicken broth and this recipe was no exception. Instead of quick soaking my beans I chose to let the beans soak overnight. I find overnight soaking much easier and less time consuming. Make sure to adequately salt this soup once it's done. I found that I had to add a substantial amount of salt. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If your looking for an easy slow cooker soup recipe, this dish fits the bill. It is very easy to put together and the flavor was perfect. My whole family really liked the flavor and I love that it uses kale which is very healthy. This recipe would also work well with a variety of dried beans, so don't be afraid to experiment.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Ham and Lima Soup.

Mexican White Bean Soup

I grew-up in a working class family. Both of my parents worked very hard to provide the small amount of things that we had. We were lucky that my parents had lived in the same very small two bedroom cottage in Seattle since the early 1970's and the rent had never been raised. When they finally moved out in 1998 they were still only paying 300 dollars a month rent (which is unheard of in Seattle). Both of my parents barely graduated high-school and they worked jobs that most people would turn down. There were many months when my poor mother took me to the food bank line at the local church holding back tears. I was oblivious to most of the problems. I thought the fact that my mom was a great Tupperware dealer and got us a brand new television was neat. I didn't know that that the only way that my parents could afford anything when my dad was working at less than great nursing home was for my mother to sell Tupperware at night. I also didn't realize that the bean soups that my mother made so frequently were because beans were the stable that came from the food bank. I do know that my mother was a great cook. She could take three common ingredients and make food that I would pay money for at a great restaurant. I wish that I had half the cooking skills that she had in one hand. She is also the reason that I love to cook. I never learned to cook from my mother, I learned to love food. Cooking was an experience, there were no cookbooks just tasting, pinching and perfecting. She owned her kitchen. So when I go through my magazine recipes the ones that always catch my attention tend to be simple and make something great out of minimal ingredients. Last month I tried a new recipe for Mexican White Bean Soup from the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which looked like a recipe that would have fit perfectly in my mother's kitchen.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time, 30 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. As I normally do I made my own vegetable stock. I decided to make vegetable stock instead of chicken since I make at least one vegetarian dinner a week and this was a perfect fit. I used the whole 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, my family likes food with a little kick. Instead of doing a quick soak on the navy beans, I let mine soak overnight. I find the overnight soaking method less time consuming and is the method I almost always follow. Finally, I let my beans cook for slightly longer than the 1 1/2 hours suggested. I cooked the beans for 1 1/2 hours then blended with an immersion blender (a blender would also work just as well) and then cooked for an additional 1/2 hour. I like my bean soup to be very tender and the additional time helped to accomplish the right consistency. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I really liked this soup. If I wasn't making this for my kids I probably would have increased the cayenne pepper even more, maybe up to a full teaspoon. I did top the soup with sour cream and cilantro and added additional cayenne to my husband and mine's servings. This recipe is great for the colder months to come and would be perfect served alongside a crunchy and crusty bread.

For the recipe go to Mexican White Bean Soup. (registration required)

Lentil-Chickpea Chili

Have you ever had one of those weeks? The kind where everything seems just a little bit off. I am definitely having one of those weeks this week. My oldest got out of school for the summer on Tuesday, it was 95 degrees today and I feel blah. It doesn't help that I spent the evening watching Great Expectations on Masterpiece Theater, I love Dickens, but not great for my mood. So where does that leave me, making crockpot dinners for the week. I have had very little motivations to cook anything complex or taking hours to prepare. Luckily there have been great slow-cooker recipes in a number of magazines in the last couple of months. I love using the slow-cooker when the weather is too hot to cook or I just don't feel like dealing with dinner at all. Thankfully the February issue of Family Circle magazine had a recipe for Lentil-Chickpea Chili, which with 15 minutes of prep looked perfect for the less than perfect week I have been having.

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 8 hours on low in the crockpot and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients at the my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I was particularly happy that I found out that one of the stores in my area now has shallots by the pound. A huge difference in price, before I could only find the pre-packaged shallots which are $1.99 for 3 ounces. Now I can buy them for $3.99 a pound, talk about a huge price difference! I completely forgot to make flatbread, so instead I served the chili with homemade whole-wheat bread, which worked just as well. After adding the chickpeas (I left out the cilantro) I allowed the chili to cook for an additional 15 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 22 grams of protein and completely vegetarian this dish is a nice change of pace for my family. I have been trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals and this recipe was easy to prep. This makes a large amount of chili! It states that it makes 8 servings, but honestly it looks like I still have 10 more servings in my freezer. I really liked the flavor of this soup, it was flavorful without having to add meat. My husband wasn't a fan of the chickpeas, but that is normal for him. He prefers chickpeas to be mashed or completely cooked until almost mushy. I was surprised that my boys ate their whole servings and asked for more. Overall this was a very easy slow-cooker recipe that was well received by everyone in my family.

For the recipe go to Lentil-Chickpea Chili.

Matzo Ball Soup

If you've read my blog for any amount of time you know that I love soup. I'm not one of those soup lovers that only enjoy soup in the fall and winter, I absolutely love soup year round. However, it wasn't always that way. Growing up my mom's idea of soup came from a can and was almost always condensed chicken noodle. Don't get me wrong there is something comforting about canned chicken noodle soup, but it pales in comparison to homemade. When I moved out on my own in college I ate a lot of soup, and I mean a lot. My favorites were cream of asparagus and cream of broccoli. Soup was cheap and I had very little money after paying my tuition, rent, and household expenses. I think I probably ate soup at least twice a week for four years. After meeting my husband in graduate school I still ate a lot of canned soup. This didn't change until approximately six years ago when my oldest was born. I decided that I needed to start cooking from scratch after my mother passed away from cancer nine days after my son was born. Given that my grandmother also passed away from cancer I decided to take my future into my own hands and completely change my diet. I basically taught myself to cook through cookbooks, the internet and the knowledge that my mom had given me growing up. And I feel in love with soup. Over the last six years I have made a large amount of homemade soup and gotten very adept at it. As I was looking through the April issue of the Food Network Magazine I came across a recipe for Matzo Ball Soup, which looked delicious and full of fresh herbs and flavor.

This recipe has 11 ingredients in the broth and 9 in the matzo balls. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 35 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did forget to buy coriander seeds, so I left them out of the broth completely. I would suggest making the broth the night before. I let my broth cool in the fridge for 3 hours and while a large amount of fat congealed on the surface there was still a large amount that could still use the extra cooling time and another skim. Additionally, I would recommend straining the broth to further reduce the fat. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this soup, so much so that my oldest son drank all of it out of his bowl and then moved onto his younger brothers. I thought the flavor of the broth was delicious. It had a more distinct flavor than regular chicken broth and made a great base for the matzo balls. The matzo balls themselves needed a little more salt, but other than that were delicious. I liked the addition of the ginger and onion, it really made the taste more distinct. Overall, a flavorful soup recipe that makes lots of delicious leftovers!

For the recipe go to Matzo Ball Soup.

Chicken Barley Soup

Most people love soup in the fall and winter. I love soup all year long. There is something incredibly comforting about eating a warm bowl of soup and it's perfect accompanied by a delicious loaf of homemade bread. My oldest son will go through weeks of picky eating where he will refuse to eat anything except homemade soup. I thought that I could trick him one week by serving canned soup, he guessed it right away and asked what was wrong with the soup that I was serving him. He's such a soup fan that for his birthday this year I told him he could have any meal that he wanted, he chose my homemade chicken noodle soup and whole-wheat bread. I love that child! So as you can guess we eat soup throughout the year, even when the heat goes up. Recently, Everyday Food Magazine had a recipe for Chicken Barley Soup which promised 7 grams of fat and 27 grams of protein all in under 45 minutes of total time.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total cooking and prep, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. As I always do with soup recipes I used homemade chicken-stock. I feel that the taste is better and it allows me to control the amount of salt in my recipes. I wasn't sure how large my sprigs of thyme should be so I used a medium amount so there was flavor, but not overboard. Make sure to adequately salt the soup, since I don't salt my stock it took a decent amount of salt to fully flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The flavor of this soup was delicious after it was salted fully. However, both my husband and I found that the chicken was almost unnecessary. The taste of the barley and spinach was more than enough to make the soup balanced and the chicken was just kind of there. I think that I made this recipe again I would make it without the chicken. I bet it would also be delicious made with vegetable stock if you are vegetarian or looking for a new meatless recipe. My main advice with this recipe is to make sure to add adequately salt. So many people think that a recipe doesn't have enough flavor because they have under-salted the dish, don't skimp on the salt in homemade soup. I promise even if you add what you think is a large amount of salt it is still far less than sodium than canned soup.

For the recipe go to Chicken Barley Soup.

Buffalo Sloppy Joes

As I sit here trying to write this post my two boys are running around making as much noise as humanly possible. That by itself would be mildly irritating, but it doesn't help that they are hyper from eating a healthy dinner. They haven't always eaten so healthy. About two months ago I decided to stop baking sweets and snack multiple times a week and instead provide more fruits, vegetables, and dairy for snacks. So far it has been working very well. It took about a month before the complaints and demands for fast food ceased (for the most part). Along with stopping snacks I have also been changing the types of meat that my family consumes. Instead of ground red meat I now substitute with turkey and chicken. I have been surprised by how much my two boys love ground turkey and I use it frequently. The October 2011 issue of Taste of Home magazine had a recipe for Buffalo Sloppy Joes using ground turkey and promising only 30 minutes of total time.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I did use homemade chicken stock, I prefer the flavor to store bought and it is much lower in price. For the hamburger buns I used Sunny Buns, a family favorite. I let the mixture cook down slightly after adding all the ingredients, approximately 5 minutes. If you don't allow the mixture to cook down more it will be a little too watery. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very surprised by how much my two kids loved the blue cheese in this recipe. I had assumed that they would hate the blue cheese and completely turn up their noses at the whole idea. However, they ate all the leftover cheese out of the fridge after dinner. As for the recipe, it had a great blend of sweet from the hot sauce and brown sugar and is low in fat from the ground turkey. Overall a very quick and child friendly recipe.

For the recipe go to Buffalo Sloppy Joes. (you must be a subscriber to view)

Chicken Pot Pie

I love comfort food! There is something so satisfying about eating a casserole or fried chicken on a Sunday afternoon. For a number of years when my husband and I first got married I stopped making any type of comfort food. I am lucky that my mother-in-law makes a delicious broccoli casserole and there seems to be a Cracker Barrel at every exit in this area. So whenever I got a craving for chicken and dumplings I could easily find them somewhere else other than my own kitchen. Slowly though I got tired of only having comfort food at restaurants and other people's houses and started making my own recipes at home. I fell in love with chicken pot pie made from scratch and started making it at least once a month. Even though I have a number of pot pie recipes that I love I was interested when Woman's Day magazine had a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie using the slow-cooker and a puff pastry topping.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 7 hours and 15 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. All the ingredients were easy to find at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. The only changes I made to the recipe was in regards to the puff pastry. My puff pastry took less than the 20-25 minutes suggested. I would say that my puff pastry was full browned at approximately 15 minutes. Additionally, I made my chicken pieces smaller than 2-inches, probably closer to an inch. I felt the smaller pieces were better for my two kids. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With the leftover puff pastry I made dessert puffs with nuts and honey for my two boys. They were very popular with my two boys and made a great sweet ending to the meal. The chicken pot pie turned out delicious. I love that it uses the slow-cooker and that the puff pastry is added at the plate. The puff pastry makes a great flaky topping and the flavor from the dill was great. I would suggest cutting down on the amount of dill if you aren't a big fan of the taste of fresh dill. The dill definitely has a definitive flavor, so if dill isn't one of your favorite herbs I would suggest cutting the total amount in half. Overall, another great slow-cooker recipe that has all the flavor of a traditional chicken pot pie recipe with very little effort.

For the recipe go to Chicken Pot Pie.

Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham

My husband and two boys have an obsession with meat. I have talked many times about the endless amounts of bacon and bacon flavored products that they seem to be able to consume. Luckily, I have slowly begun to have them realize that there are other foods in the universe which can be healthy and delicious. Beans and lentils have been a pleasant surprise. I thought that when I started adding more beans and lentils into our diets that I would be meet with a lot of resistance and complaining. Instead I was pleased when my oldest son explained to me that he loved beans and ever since gets excited when he learns that beans will be included with dinner. My husband was a little more resistant, but after his stomach accustomed to the increase in legumes, he now likes them to the point that he prefers my lentil burgers to many meat equivalents. Of course he still adds bacon to his veggie burgers, but he's a work in progress. Soup is a major way that I have learned to add more legumes into my family's diet. Both of my sons absolutely love soup and lentil soup is one of my favorite soup varieties. Therefore, I was excited when the May issue of the Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham, which looked delicious and full of protein.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. Luckily I already had red lentils from a previous recipe. For whatever reason the only store in my area that feels the need to have any type of lentils other than brown is the Lebanese market near my house. That market is great and I have found many hard to find items, plus it's always great to support neighborhood stores! For the onion I used a vidalia sweet onion. I love vidalia onions and I was excited to see that the first shipment was available at my local grocery store. They are great to cook with when they are in season. I was very pleased to find that all the cooking times in this recipe were very accurate. Oftentimes I find that recipes can be off by a very large margin, but I followed this recipe as written and had no problems.

My family really enjoyed this soup. The only thing that I would change would be the peas. I have never actually seen fresh peas in my area, so I had to use frozen. I'm not a big fan of frozen peas, especially in cooking and this soup would be great without them. With the peas the soup almost felt off, so I would suggest omitting them completely. The dill taste is delicious and creates a nice fresh taste to the soup. The best part is that the recipe has 28 grams of protein and only 7 grams of fat per serving. A great way to provide a low-fat flavorful soup recipe to your diet.

For the recipe go to Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham.

All You Tortellini and White Bean Soup

Since my youngest started kindergarten my life has seemed to be non-stop. I always thought that when one of my son's started school that things would settle down, I seemed to have been vastly uninformed it seems. Now my evenings are full of home work, tennis and t-ball practices. Don't get me wrong, I love that my son is active and I will fight against the genetics on both sides that seem to destine him to having problems with his weight. It just seems that I was not born with the right manual for dealing with all the craziness. A good case in point was this weekends t-ball game, I brought a large amount of snacks for all three of the men in my family and by the time that the openings ceremonies were over (and the actual game hadn't even started) all the food was gone. My five-year-old at the end of his game was in tears when the snack bag was empty and I was not in the best mood thanks to the lovely sports parents that I had the pleasure of sitting next to the whole game who laughed at my son when he was crying at having missed the ball. You may be asking yourself what all this has to do with cooking? Well, thanks to all this increase in activity I have made sure that my weekly menu plans include at least one very easy recipe a week. This very easy recipe is for those nights that by the time dinner rolls around I have already been ready to pull out my hair for hours. Last week I made a recipe for Tortellini and White Bean Soup from the March issue of All You magazine, which has 24 grams of protein and promises less than thirty minutes from start to finish.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking time and makes 4 servings. I make all my own stock from scratch (here's my recipe link for chicken stock) and this recipe was no exception. To me homemade stock makes any soup taste so much better! For whatever reason my local grocery store only had whole-wheat cheese tortellini so that is what I used in this recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Complex recipes don't always equal better. I have tried a number of very complex recipes that turned into complete disasters. This recipe is an example of something very simple that can turn out very well. My whole family enjoyed this soup, especially my two boys who thought that having tortellini in soup was the best thing ever! I like how simple this recipe was to prepare and the flavors worked well together. A very family friendly recipe that I would make again in the future.

For the recipe go to Tortellini and White Bean Soup.

Food and Wine Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange

As I've mentioned before I love beets. I have been known to eat an entire jar of pickled beets by myself in one sitting. I am also the same person that gets overly excited when I go to a craft show and they have someone selling jars of pickled beets in their stall, yum. For most of my life I enjoyed my beets pickled and eaten sliced or whole with a large serving of sour cream. Everyone else in my family couldn't stand my beloved beets and refused to partake in my delicious treasures. However, approximately two years ago I stumbled across a recipe for roasted beets and everything changed. My family discovered that they could actually enjoy beets. Now I make roasted beets a couple of times a month and they are always happily eaten. The March issue of Food and Wine magazine had a recipe for Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs and Orange which looked very easy to prepare and full of flavor from the fresh herbs.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes an hour and twenty minutes to prepare and cook, twenty minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. The beets that I purchased were very large and therefore took longer than the hour baking time suggested by the recipe. I had a hard time breaking the cinnamon stick into pieces and only broke it in half instead of into four pieces. To save on time during dinner prep I made the dressing in the morning, which I feel helped to make the flavors blend together and become more flavorful by the time it was served at dinner. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

While this recipe takes 15 ingredients, the taste is really quite simple. The fresh herbs create a nice fresh flavor, which is light and not overbearing. The presentation is beautiful with the color from the beets and the contrast with the green color of the pistachios and celery leaves. My husband liked this dish, but felt that for him it was a little too simple in taste. My two boys ate the beets, but picked off the nuts and fresh herbs. A beautiful dish that is very healthy and simple.

For the recipe Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange.

Food Network Magazine Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

I seem to have a theme lately on all my posts. In the last couple of months I have made numerous slow cooker recipe. They are great when my two boys are acting ornery and nothing seems to be getting done. Most of the dishes that I have made have been beef or pork, which are delicious and easy to make in the crockpot. However, I have been trying to branch out and try new vegetarian dishes. The recipes I have tried have been hit or miss, so when I saw a recipe for Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup in the December issue of the Food Network Magazine, I figured it was worth a try.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of prep and eight hours of cooking time in the crockpot and makes 4 servings. I did have a problem finding one of the recipe ingredients. For whatever reason all the major grocery stores in my area refuse to carry any type of lentil other than the basic brown variety. Luckily I discovered when looking for ingredients for this dish that the smaller Lebanese market near my house has bagged red lentils. I was very happy! I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients and made no substitutions. I did find that the finished soup was way too watery for my tastes. I suggest using either chicken broth (or vegetable broth to keep it vegetarian). The broth would add greatly to the overall flavor of the dish. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With only four grams of fat and twelve grams of protein, this dish is a great healthy option. I would definitely suggest adding the broth instead of water. As written the recipe lacks flavor due to the water, with the substitution the recipe would be great. A very easy, vegetarian slowcooker meal that takes less than a half an hour to prepare. Great for a weeknight meal!

For the recipe go to Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup.

Everyday Food Slow-Cooker Beef and Tomato Stew

During the winter months my slow-cooker gets used at least once a week. I love the fact that I can place ingredients in it in the morning and not have to do anything until dinner is served. Since my youngest is now a very high needs three-year-old the time that my slow-cooker saves me is invaluable. Plus, my husband leaves for work at 6 in the morning, so my days start early and we eat dinner at four, which leaves me little time for dinner preparations many nights. To save my sanity I try to have at least one meal plan a week which takes less than a half an hour to prep and my slow-cooker definitely fits the bill. The January/February 2012 issue of Everyday Food Magazine had a recipe for Slow-Cooker Beef and Tomato Stew, which looked easy and promised only 20 minutes of prep.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep and 6 hours in the slow-cooker and makes 6 servings. There is only one butcher in my immediate area and getting the grocery store butcher to cut meat can be hit or miss, therefore I had to trim my own beef chuck. Additionally, I made my own chicken broth, since I prefer the taste to store bought. I did find that the stew still had a little too much liquid when it was done, it actually tasted better the next day after I skimmed off the fat from the top. My family normally doesn't care for brown rice, but I decided to try it with this recipe and it worked very well and none of us noticed the difference. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

On a busy weeknight it's great to have dinner already done in the slow cooker. This recipe was very easy to prep and made enough for multiple meals. There is something very comforting about beef stew and this recipe was no exception. My two boys particularly liked this recipe and ate all the beef out of their servings. Overall, an easy slow-cooker recipe, perfect for the colder winter months.

For the recipe go to Slow-Cooker Beef and Tomato Stew.

Family Circle Apple-Sausage Stuffing

I'm lucky that my husband will normally eat my food without complaints. However, the one complaint that he frequently voices about my culinary skills is my lack of ability to make a dish more than once. My husband claims that if he likes a dish and tells me how much he enjoys it, he will never see it again. I think he has now gotten to the point that he never tells me if he loves something for fear that it will never make an appearance at the dinner table again in the foreseeable future. The one exception to this rule is the holidays. I am pretty stuck in my ways about what I like to fix at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Every once in a while I will try a new variety of mashed potatoes or biscuit, but the main food categories still remain. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving this year I decided to experiment with new side dish recipes and came across a recipe for Apple-Sausage Stuffing in the November issue of Family Circle magazine, which looked easy to prepare and a great new way to make a traditional holiday side dish.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes approximately at hour to prep and cook, and makes 8 servings. All the ingredients I was easily able to find at my local grocery store. I used homemade chicken stock and whole-wheat bread which I made the day before to save time during dinner prep. Since I don't salt my chicken stock I had to add a larger amount of salt than if I had bought store bought stock. I found the stuffing to be too dry with the amount of chicken broth stated in the recipe, I would suggest adding additional stock until the stuffing looks sufficiently moist. As written the stuffing was too dry for my family's liking. I would also suggest making sure that your cubes of bread are small enough for them to get toasted adequately. Normally I would always use homemade bread, but this recipe I think might actually work better with store bought. I found that the consistency of the homemade bread didn't work as well as I would have liked. Part of that could have been due to the fact that 10 slices of homemade bread can be vastly different than 10 pieces of store bought. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I liked the combination of the granny smith apple and the sweet sausage in this stuffing. It lent a nice sweet/tart taste to the overall flavor of the stuffing. I think I would have preferred white bread for the bread cubes. The whole-wheat was a little over powering to the rest of the flavor. White bread would allow the flavor of the granny smith and sausage to shine through more effectively. Overall, this recipe would work well as a side dish for poultry or pork and takes very little prep. 

For the recipe go to Apple-Sausage Stuffing.

Everyday Food Basic Bread Stuffing

I love to cook large holiday meals. With a very large family on my mom's side of the family I grew up thinking that holidays were about making huge amounts of food. I learned to cook at a very young age and I remembering helping my mom in the kitchen as far back as I can remember, especially during the holidays. I have never been a big fan of turkey or ham, no matter how hard I have tried. I find them both bland and boring. However, I love holiday sides. One of my favorite side dishes during Thanksgiving and Christmas is stuffing and I was interested when the November issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Basic Bread Stuffing, which looked simple and perfect for entertaining.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes a total of one hour, 35 minutes being active and makes 8 servings. All the ingredients were simple and easy to find at my local grocery store. I make my own chicken stock, which added time to my prep, but was worth the effort. Since I don't salt my stock I had to add more salt to the stuffing than if I had bought the store bought variety. The original magazine recipe had add-ins for walnut-herb and chorizo-almond stuffing. The online recipe leaves these out, but any number of add-ins would work. I used smoked oysters for my add-in, since my husband requested it specifically for Thanksgiving. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I like how simple this recipe is and how little effort it takes to prepare. Siince the basic recipe has so few ingredients, it makes a great base to add whatever other ingredients you wish. I love making homemade stuffing and adding personal touches like smoked oysters, fresh herbs or an unusual meat. Overall, a great versitile recipe that can easily be modified to add desired additional ingredients.

For the recipe go to Basic Bread Stuffing.

Food and Wine Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy

My husband absolutely loves meatloaf. When we first got married I only knew how to make the oatmeal, ketchup and ground beef variety of meatloaf that I grew up with. My dad was the same way as my husband and frequently requested my mom make his favorite dish, meatloaf. Over the years I have expanded my collection of meatloaf recipes, but have always come back to the dutch meatloaf recipe that I found about five years back. I'm lucky that my husband is easy to please and enjoys meatloaf slathered in ketchup. As I've stated to many times to count now we are a big pork family. My family loves pork! I have tried a few meatloaf recipes utilizing ground pork in the past and have been less than pleased with the experience. As I was glancing in a recent issue of Food and Wine magazine I came across a recipe for Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy, which combined pork and beef and looked like a great new recipe for meatloaf.

This recipe has 16 ingredients in the meatloaf and eight in the gravy. The meatloaf takes an hour and a half of cooking and prep time, 45 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. The creamy onion gravy takes approximately 45 minutes and makes 5 cups. All the ingredients were basic and easy to find at my local grocery store. I made my chicken stock from scratch, which took me about 6 hours the day before I prepared this dish. Additionally, I ground my own beef and pork, which added approximately 45 minutes to my overall time. I found that the gravy took longer than the 5 minutes suggested by the recipe to fully reduce, I would say it took me about another 10 minutes. The one major criticism I had with this recipe is that the recipe calls for a tablespoon and a half of salt. To me that is way more than needs to be added, especially since the cheese is already salty. The meatloaf ended up way too salty for my tastes. I would recommend cutting the salt significantly. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this entire recipe and my husband ate it happy, as he would with any type of meatloaf. The creamy onion gravy turned out delicious and would work well over egg noodles. The meatloaf had a nice taste from the cheese, but needs the salt reduced for my family's needs. Other people might not have as much of a problem, I am very salt sensitive. I will definitely use the gravy recipe again and try it with egg noodles or steak.

For the recipe go to Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy.