Weight Loss Magic Soup ~ by Sarah

Now, don't get all excited about the title.  There's really nothing "magic" about it.  You're just supposed to eat it for lunch, snack, and dinner for two weeks and then you'll supposedly lose weight.  Well, duh.  But I'm pretty sure that if I ate this three times a day for 14 days, I would never want to eat it ever again.  But it is a delicious soup and very, very filling.  It makes a TON--like almost more than my big crockpot could hold--so make sure you freeze it or halve the recipe if you don't think you'll get through it in a week.  Wes and I are both taking it for lunch and it looks like it's going to be the perfect amount to get us through the week.  It is delicious, fresh, and will keep you full!

Ingredients:

2 cans chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
3 cups V-8 juice (you can use low-sodium V8--which I did--or even tomato juice)
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 package sliced mushrooms
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 cups shredded cabbage
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
3 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed (This is my addition.  There is no way I can do lunch without meat, so I added it.  I'm sure it still keeps the calories low.)

Directions:
In a large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray, sauté garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. In a large crockpot, combine sautéed garlic and vegetables with the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until vegetables are cooked.  (This is where I will do things differently last time.  This filled my crockpot SO full that it took forever for the soup to begin to boil and I actually had to cook it on high for about 4 1/2 hours.  So next time I will put it in my Dutch oven on the stove so that I can stir it and not have it take so long.)  This makes a large batch of soup. If you would like to freeze portions of it to use later, undercook the vegetables just a little. Pour the soup into freezer Ziplock bags and let as much air out as you can. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the soup is frozen flat, it is easy to layer in your freezer and won't take up much room. To thaw, place the bag in the fridge for 24 hours and then reheat.

Obviously not my picture...

Here is the link to the original post: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2014/01/weight-loss-magic-soup.html

Roasted Veggie Sticks ~ by Sarah

This is a Pinterest recipe and Wes and I are addicted!  I wish the kids loved them as much as we do, but it doesn't stop me from making them.  I eat these sticks like candy!  I'm copying and pasting the recipe exactly as the Pinterest person wrote it.  But I always use seasoning salt, freshly cracked pepper, sea salt, and smoked paprika.  Don't be stingy with the seasonings!  They absorb!

Ingredients:
carrots (not peeled)
**zucchini

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Cut your veggies into 3-inch sticks, making sure they are even in thickness.
3. Line a baking tray with baking paper (I don't do this) and a light layer of olive oil.
4. SEASON – go with the usual salt and pepper and branch out to one or two of the following (Choose Your Own Adventure-style): paprika, cumin, cayenne, crushed red peppers, thyme, rosemary, sage – really, whatever takes your fancy and suits your meal. Using premixed spice blends is a great option too – Italian, Mexican, Old Bay – you know, just not all at once. Lightly toss your vegetable batons with a tablespoon or so of olive oil (not too much) and the herbs and spices.
5. Spread your seasoned veggies over your lined tray and roast, tossing halfway through, for about 20 minutes or until golden and slightly browned at the edges.

**She mentions that any veggies will work with this method...

Make sure you let them cook until they start to caramelize.  You will not be disappointed!

Beef Stew ~ by Sarah

I love stew.  I got this recipe from Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapskate.  It's easy and delicious!  The meat will shred itself and be so, so tender after cooking so long!  I added peas to the recipe, but you could add green beans, instead.

Ingredients:
3 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons tomato paste
6 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together
2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
zest of 1/2 an orange
8 small red potatoes
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut
1 small bag frozen peas
salt and pepper

Directions:
Marinate beef in red wine overnight.  Place meat, wine, beef stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cloves, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, and orange zest in a covered casserole dish or crock pot.  Cook for 12 hours in a 250 degree oven, or on medium in a slow cooker for 10-12 hours.  Add carrots and potatoes in the last two hours.  Add peas in last 20 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

*One thing I will probably do next time is, after marinating the beef, take it out of the wine and dredge it in flour before adding it to the crock pot.  I like my stew really thick and this was a little more runny than I prefer.

Pot Roast, Vegetables, and Beer ~ by Sarah

I got a Dutch oven for Christmas and was anxious to try it out.  (If you don't have a Dutch oven, a big, heavy-bottomed stock pot will work.)  This came from allrecipes.com and is by far the best pot roast I've ever made.  It made the house smell amazing!  I used a super cheap roast--chuck.  It cooks slowly, so it's nice and tender when it's done!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 pound) beef pot roast
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound carrots, cut into chunks
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the pot roast on all sides in the hot oil; remove from pan and set aside. Cook the onion and garlic in the hot oil until they begin to soften and turn brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes to the pot; cook and stir until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix the flour into the vegetables; stir continuously for 1 minute. Pour the beef stock and beer into the mixture and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Add the Bay leaf, thyme, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Place the pot roast atop the entire mixture. Cover pot with lid.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until the meat and vegetables are completely tender, about 2 1/2 hours. (Mine was a little overcooked by going this long, so I'll probably only do 2 hours next time.)

I stole this picture from the website.  We all know what a pot roast looks like...

Slow Cooker Pork or Beef Roast ~ by Sarah

This recipe is a combination of ideas from Angela and ideas from me.  You can use a pork roast or a beef roast--the cheaper the better!  It is incredibly delicious!  This is one of Wes's favorite meals.

Ingredients:
1 pork or beef pot roast
1 envelope dry onion soup
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 heaping spoonful diced, jarred garlic
seasoning salt, garlic salt, pepper

Directions:
Drizzle olive oil in large skillet.  Heat over medium-high until oil is hot.  Place roast in skillet and brown on all sides.  Season well while browning. 

 Place roast in crock pot.  Pour golden mushroom soup over roast, then sprinkle the envelope of onion soup.  Add a small amount (about 1/2 a cup) of liquid--water, or beef broth if you're using a beef roast. 

Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Depending on how watery the roast is, the gravy in the crock pot may be thick enough to serve as is.  If it's not, add some flour and milk (I use heavy cream if I have it) and cook over medium-high heat until it's at your desired thickness.

You can add potatoes and/or carrots to the roast when a few hours of cooking time is left.  It makes the gravy a lot more watery, so sometimes I cook them separately.

Chicken Pot Pie ~ by Sarah

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe and you must make this.  If you like pie you must make this.  If you like chicken you must make this.  If you like pot...oh, wait.  But still, you must make this!

Molly and Kelsey, you don't know what you're missing!

Ingredients:
3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots, peeled
1 large onion
4 T. (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 c. frozen peas
2 c. cooked chicken
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 c. white wine (optional)
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. thyme
1 t. kosher salt, or more to taste
black pepper to taste
pie crust (This link goes to a recipe for Mom's pie crust.  I used Pioneer Woman's pie crust recipe, but they are very similar...)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Begin by finely dicing the vegetables.

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, and peas.  Saute until the vegetables start to turn translucent, a couple of minutes.  Add the chicken and stir to combine.  Here's how I did the chicken: I boiled a young whole chicken, cooled it, removed the skin, and then picked off the meat until I had two cups.

Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine.  Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.  Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly.  Stir in the bouillon cube and wine, if using.  Pour in the cream and stir.  Allow the mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes.  Season with thyme, salt, and pepper.  Remove from heat.  Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. 

Pour the chicken into a deep pie pan or small casserole dish.  (This made enough for me to fill two pie plates, so I made two and then covered one and froze it for later.) 

Roll out the crust so that it's 1 inch larger than the pan.  Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits in the top.  Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

You can't believe how delicious this is!  The filling is so creamy and savory.  I loved it!

Roasted Lemon and Garlic Bird ~ by D'Lynn

I have no pictures, cause I forgotted....Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Buy a *Bird. I usually get Foster Farms 5-6lb cause they aren't injected with salt water like their Arkansas cuzins....

Wash the *Bird with a clean cool water, pat it dry with a paper towel, and make sure you take the gizzards and pieces out of the inside. I usually cut some of the fat off it also.

Rub EVOO on the outside of the *Bird. Salt and pepper, and season with Garlic, Thyme, parsley, etc, the inside and outside heavily.

Cut a whole GARLIC bulb in half and a medium sized lemon in half. Shove all sections inside the *Bird.

Prepare WHITE or YUKON GOLD POTATOES. I prefer these over Russet because they don't disintegrate once they're cooked. Cut into quarters.
Quarter a bulb of ANISE.
Quarter a LEMON.
Add any other carrots, celery, etc....whatever veggies that you like roasted...Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, etc....The garlic and lemon become very sweet thru the roasting process.

Put the *Bird in a roasting pan, dump veggies around the outside of it.

Roast for 1 hour with the *Bird uncovered or until it is browned nicely. Then cover the *Bird with foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.

*Bird is commonly known as a Chicken, but for Kelsey and Molly's benefit, we don't use that word!

Spicy Bean Soup ~ by Molly

This is a delicious recipe--but some of the ingredients are a little hard to find in The Dalles. I've used other kinds of beans when I couldn't find cannellini, and used other colors of lentils and it worked just fine.
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (Food Network)

Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
10 servings
Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, optional
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juices
• 1 (11 1/2-ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup dried green lentils
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 2 yellow crookneck squash, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic, and saute until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano and crushed red pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, tomato juice, tomato paste, cheese rind, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the broth, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, and lentils. Stir in the broccoli, zucchini, and yellow squash. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender and the mixture thickens slightly, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Season the stew to taste with more salt, if desired.

Ladle the stew into bowls. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and basil, and serve.