Nancy's Sausage and Mushroom chili

from: Nancy Powell

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 c. half and half- I use fat free, can't tell the difference
1 1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 c. sliced mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cans navy beans (drained)
1 1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 c. sliced green onions

Melt butter and whisk in flour, over med-high heat. Gradually add chicken broth and half & half. Whisk constantly so it doesn't stick. Simmer until thick. Remove from heat and let sit while you cook sausage and onions. Once the sausage is cooked through add mushrooms and garlic. Let mushrooms cook down until they are pretty soft. Pour half and half mixture over the top and add all the spices and remaining ingredients. Let simmer at least 30 minutes or all day. Enjoy.

Spicy Pulled Pork

from: mom


2 C. brown sugar
4 T. minced garlic
2 T. Tabasco sauce
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin

mix together and cover boneless pork roast. Wrap roast in 4 layer of tin foil and bake at 285* for about 8 hours or cook all day in crock pot.

Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars

Makes a 9X13 pan of bars


1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 c melted butter


14 ounce bag of caramels
1/2 c whipping cream or milk
1 12-oz package of semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk choc.)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the first six ingredients together and sprinkle half on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan and press. Bake 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.


Meanwhile, melt the caramels and the whipping cream or milk in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave at 50% power, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth. When the bars have been removed from the oven, sprinkle chips over the crust and pour the melted caramel over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the top and bake in the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling and the edges are lightly browned. Cool the bars completely before serving so they can set up properly

skillet summer vegetable lasagna

from America's test kitchen

I have squash coming out my ears so this recipe was perfect! It's delicious and easy!

*Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain tomatoes into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add water to tomato liquid to make 2 cups. Add tomato/water mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to skillet.

Scatter noodles into the skillet, layer tomatoes over the noodles and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally (so the noodles won’t stick!) for about 10 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and squash, cook, stirring now and then, until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes. Add basil and half of the rictotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the noodles, stirring until the sauce is creamy. Dollop remaining ricotta cheese over the noodles, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Raspberry Cornmeal Crumble Bars



from Everyday Food Magazine

3/4 c natural almonds (I always have raw almonds on hand to snack on - yummy!)

1/2 c yellow cornmeal

2 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (I used regular salted butter)

10 oz frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides. In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground (you should have about 1 cup). In a large bowl, whisk together ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and salt. add butter and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Press about two-thirds of the dough into dish. Scatter frozen raspberries over top and crumble remaining dough over raspberries. Bake until top is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack before cutting into 9 bars. (Store, lightly wrapped in plastic, at room temperature, up to 3 days.)

Chinese Noodle Stir-fry

This meal is one of my favorites! its easy and super healthy!

12 oz angel hair pasta

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. soy sauce

1 T 7up

2 T vegetable oil, divided

1 bunch scallions

3 cloves garlic, minced (1T)

1 red sweet pepper, cut in strips

5 C. shredded cabbage

1 C. cooked chicken

1/2 cup broth

1 tsp hot pepper oil or to taste

Cook angel hair for 3 minutes or until done, drain and set aside. Combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and 7 up, set aside. In wok, heat 1 T oil and stir fry scallions, garlic and pepper for about a minute. Add cabbage and stir-fry for another minute. Add meat and cook for another minute. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Heat remaining oil in wok over high heat and add noodles, letting them brown for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat and add broth, stirring and combine well. Add vegetable mixture and Worcestershire sauce mixture to the noodles- toss. Heat stir-fry for about a minute- sprinkling it with hot pepper oil just before serving.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

the best thing about this meal is that everybody liked it! Gray went up to his dish "hmmm let me smell it...mommy it smells good!" The added chicken was perfect too!

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
adapted from Our Best Bites

12 oz bag cheese tortillini
4 oz bacon (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.