Kristi's Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

1 lb ground pork sausage ( i use Jimmy Dean reduced fat)
1 1/2 tsp crushed pepper ( I use half that, my kids don't like it if it's too spicy)
1 lg. onion diced
6-8 pieces of bacon pieces * I love to use Turkey Bacon because it gives the flavor it needs but the texture doesn't get chewy/grissily when cooked with liquid.
2 tsp minced garlic
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream (i mostly just use the 1% milk i have and add one more bouillon cube or use I'll use 1/2&1/2 both taste yummy just less fat.
3-5 large potatoes chopped in 1-2 inch cubes (i usually add more, because my husband loves them)
1/2-1 bunch of Kale torn up (I always do the whole bunch, it's my kid's favorite part!

1. Saute sausage in pot. Drain fat and set aside.
2. In same pan saute onions and garlic until onions or soft
3. Mix together the water and bouillon, then add the onions, garlic and cooked bacon pieces bring to a boil .
4. Add potatoes and cook until soft 15-20 min
5. Add Cream (or milk)
6. Stir in sausage
7. Add the kale 5min before serving (it cooks very quickly)
The soup will be thin (i sometimes add a little bit of a starch mixture to thicken it, not much)!!


Kristi's super easy bread sticks
1Tbsp. yeast dissolved in 1 1/2 cups of warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/4 c. flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar, salt, and flour. Mix until dough comes away from the bowl (Not sticky). On a well floured surface, knead the dough for 3 min. Let sit for 10 min. in a ball. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick, cut into strips (i use a pizza cutter it works great). Melt some butter, and add a heaping scoop of garlic. Mix well and then spread over the dough. (I also sprinkle a little bit of garlic salt on top) Place on cookie sheet and raise for another 10 min. Bake at 375 for 13-18min or just before golden brown to stay soft! *It is also yummy to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top before cooking!

Paige's...

Kristi's Olive Garden Soup

Pizza Casserole

*Note* I used cheddar cheese when I made this Monday. I didn't have Mozzarella and I didn't want to go to the store. It's better when you use mozzarella.

Pizza Casserole
1 package pasta
1 package pepperoni, chopped (I love the Turkey Pepperoni)
1 package mozzarella cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Cook spaghetti according to directions. Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Greek Salad

Chop up 2 cucumbers, 3 tomatoes, and 1/2 of an onion into squares. Add a can of olives and a can of artichoke hearts. Add a package of feta cheese. Pour Greek salad dressing over the top. Stir and store in the fridge until time to eat. This is also good with avacado and Kalamata olives (if you like the strong olive flavor).

Lil’ Italy by Misty Wells

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated three-cheese tortellini

1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated spinach-cheese tortellini (usually found by the salsa)

1 lb. lean ground beef

Optional for you meat lovers like myself: ½ Italian Sausage

1 red or green pepper, chopped

½ red onion chopped

1 jar (24oz.) Tomato and Basil Sauce combined with diced black/green olives

4 cups of low moisture part-skim mozzarella shredded cheese

1 pkg. (3 ½ oz. sliced pepperoni

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat 3-quart rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In large saucepan cook tortellini together according to package direction, rinse with cold water, drain and set.

3. Meanwhile, in large skillet cook beef, bell pepper, and onion until beef is brown. Drain fat.

4. In medium bowl, stir together sauce and olives, if using. Spread one-third of the sauce mixture in prepared dish. Top with drained tortellini. Sprinkle with 2 cups of the cheese. Layer pepperoni atop cheese. Top with beef mixture. Top with remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes to 25 minutes or until heated through. Serves 10

ITALIAN CROCK POT CHICKEN

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Submitted By: Britney Sorensen Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 4-6 hours Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Servings: 8

Ingredients:

*4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I prefer using 12-15 chicken tenders) *1 (16 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup *1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, sotened *1 packet good seasons Italian Dressing mix

Directions:

1.	Combine soup, cream cheese and dressing mix. Pour over chicken in crock pot and cook @ 4-6 hrs. on low heat. Serve over rice or noodles.

CHICKEN POT PIE -recipe swap

Chicken Pot Pie IX

Rated: Submitted By: Robbie Rice Photo By: jolebeans Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Servings: 8

"A delicious chicken pie made from scratch with carrots, peas and celery. A delicious and heartwarming meal."

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed 1 cup sliced carrots 1 cup frozen green peas 1/2 cup sliced celery 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 2/3 cup milk 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2.	In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3.	In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4.	Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tomato, Basil and Cheese Pasta

Super Easy and delicious pasta from Rachael Ray. I love the easy recipes with short-cuts (store-bought pesto). Yumm!

• Cook Time

  25 min

• Yield

  4 to 6 servings

Close

Times:

Prep

15 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

25 min

Total:

40 min

Ingredients

• 1 pound small shell pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1/2 small to medium yellow onion
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed Italian tomatoes, any brand
• 1/2 cup, 10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup store bought basil pesto sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add small shell pasta and cook the pasta to al dente doneness which means that the pasta will still have a bite to it or be a little chewy. The pasta will soak up more juice and keep on cooking after we drain it, so we need it to be a little under cooked. The shells will probably cook about 9 or 10 minutes.

Preheat a deep, big skillet or a medium sauce pot over medium heat.

Place garlic on the cutting board and place the flat of your knife on top of each clove. Carefully give the garlic a whack with the palm of your hand to separate the cloves from the skins. Throw out the skins and chop up the garlic. Remember to keep your fingers curled under and the edge of your sharp, chef's knife tilted slightly away from your body.

Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan by pouring a slow stream of it twice-around-the-pan. This will be about 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Do not let the oil pour out too fast. You are looking for a slow, steady stream. Add the garlic to the oil. To chop the onion, cut the ends off and cut the whole onion down the center. Wrap half and save it. Cut the other half into thin slices then twist the slices a quarter turn and chop them again. Hold the tip of knife on the cutting board and lift the back of the knife up and down over the onion to make the pieces really small. Add the chopped up onion to the garlic and oil. Cook, stirring a lot, 5 minutes until the onions are mushy and look cooked.

Add the tomatoes to the onions and stir. When the tomatoes come to a bubble, reduce the heat under the sauce to low. Stir in basil pieces to wilt them. Season the sauce with salt and peppe, to your taste.

Preheat your broiler to high and place a rack in the center of the oven.

Drain pasta shells. Add them to a casserole dish. Add pesto sauce, 1 cup of ricotta cheese and a handful of grated Parmigiano, too. Stir carefully and coat the hot pasta with the pesto and cheeses. Pour the hot tomato and basil sauce over the pasta, as much as you like. You can always serve a little extra at the table, to pass around. Shred up some mozzarella cheese with a grater and scatter it over the pasta. Add a final sprinkle of Parmigiano to the mozzarella as well. Place the casserole under the broiler in the middle of oven, 10 to 12 inches from the heat. Let the cheese melt and bubble on top, 3 to 5 minutes.

Bread and Chocolate Mint cake

Best Bread in the World

2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats, (uncooked)
pour boiling water over oats. Let stand until thoroughly softened
2/3 cups warm water
1 T. salt
1/2 cup honey
2 T. oil (or butter, melted and cooled)
add the water, salt, honey and oil or butter to oats when they are lukewarm
2-3 Cups whole wheat flour
add the whole wheat to the oat mixture and mix
1 T. SAF instant yeast
2-3 cups unbleached flour
add the SAF to the mixture. Add flour until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5 min.

Put dough into lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat dough on all sides. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 1 hour. Punch down the risen bread dough and cut in half. Knead each half briefly and shape into loaves. Brush the top of each loaf with warm honey and then roll in oats to dress up the loaf. Place in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise for 30 min. Bake for 35 min @ 350 degrees. Turn loaves onto a rack and let cool.






French Peasant Bread

1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 Tb. sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups flour
oil
corn meal
melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar and salt int warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, remove dough from the bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Let rise and additional hour. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 min. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook an additional 15 min. Remove from the oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.





Chocolate Mint Cake

Make a chocolate cake (2 layer) (I usually use two cake mixes) and cut each layer in half, to make 4 layers. Put cool whip between each layer (when totally cooled) then top with the following mint sauce and let it drip over the sides.

2/3 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp peppermint extract (or 1/4 of a tsp peppermint essential oil)

The sauce is good, some like to double the whole thing to make the cake even more minty!

Creamy Pasta Primavera

So, I'm digging these recipes from Kraft.com. As I'm trying to simplify my life due to all the craziness, and looking forward to the madness ahead (I'm due in a month) these are delicious and so stinkin easy. I'm actually excited about cooking again. I printed off the Top 10 recipes of 2008 and have tried 4 so far. These two, the Beef Noodle Bowl and I'm making the Layered Fiesta Casserole. All have been wonderful. Take a look at the website... these are recipes that I can plan for without getting too overwhelmed.

Creamy Pasta Primavera

What You Need!

3 cups penne pasta, uncooked

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 zucchini, cut into chunks

1-1/2 cups cut-up fresh asparagus (1-inch lengths)

1 red pepper, chopped

1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It!

COOK pasta as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and vegetables; cook 10 to 12 min. or until chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently. Add broth and Neufchatel cheese; cook 1 min. or until cheese is melted, stirring constantly. Add Parmesan cheese; mix well.

DRAIN pasta; return to pot. Add chicken and vegetable mixture; toss lightly. Cook 1 min. or until heated through. (Sauce will thicken upon standing.)

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Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

What You Need!

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

1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.)

1/3 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

PLACE 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.

BAKE 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.