Friday, December 30, 2016

Looking for a new chili recipe?

INGREDIENTS

    • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
    • 3 cups chopped onions
    • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • 3 pounds ground lamb
    • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    • 4 2/3 cups (about) low-salt beef broth, divided
    • 1/3 cup tomato paste
    • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
    • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
    • 1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
    • 1 pound spaghetti
    • 2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed, drained coarsely
    • Coarsely rated goat's-milk gouda cheese or goat's-milk
    • Cheddar cheese
    • Chopped onions
  1. PREPARATION

      1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add lamb; cook until browned, breaking into pieces, about 15 minutes. Add cocoa and next 4 ingredients; stir 3 minutes. Stir in 4 cups broth and next 6 ingredients. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until thickened, stirring often, about 1 hour. Spoon fat from top of chili. Season with salt and pepper. Thin with broth by 1/3 cupfuls. Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley.
      2. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large bowl. Toss with beans and 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper.
      3. Divide spaghetti among bowls. Top with chili. Garnish with cheese, onions, and parsley.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Chicken Noodle Soup


INGREDIENTS

    • 16 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
    • 1 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
    • 1/2 cup chopped onion
    • 2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
    • 2 celery stalks, sliced
    • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
    • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • 8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
    • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

PREPARATION

    1. Combine chicken broth and chicken in heavy large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover partially and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large bowl. Cool chicken and broth slightly. Discard skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken meat into bite-size pieces and reserve. Spoon fat off top of chicken broth.
    2. Return broth to simmer. Add onion, carrots and celery. Simmer until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover chicken meat and broth separately and refrigerate. Bring broth to boil before continuing.)
    3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Add mushrooms to broth; stir in noodles, parsley and reserved chicken. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Holiday Desserts

The holidays are a special time to get together and to share meals with your family and friends.  Try some of these fabulous dessert recipes this year!



Dessert Recipes!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Slow Cooker Oats

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup peeled and chopped apple
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:
Place the steel cut oats, water, apple, raisins, butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla extract into a slow cooker, and stir to combine and dissolve the sugar. Cover the cooker, set to Low, and allow to cook 6-7 hours (for firm oats) or 8 hours (for softer texture).

Get the full recipe here!

Friday, November 18, 2016

Perfect Pumpkin Pie!

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmet
1/2 teaspoon salf
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust





1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Friday, November 11, 2016

Get Ready for Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:

4 pounds sweet potatoes, quartered
1 1/4 cups margarine
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
Ground cinnamon to taste
Ground nutmeg to taste







Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and boil until slightly underdone, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and peel.

3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine margarine, brown sugar, 2 cups marshmallows, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until marshmallows are melted.

4.  Stir potatoes into marshmallow sauce. While stirring mash about half of the potatoes, and break the other into bite-sized chunks. Transfer to prepared dish.

5.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover top evenly with remaining marshmallows. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are golden brown.

Recipe taken from Allrecipes.com

Friday, November 4, 2016

Bread and Celery Stuffing



Ingredients:
-1 (1 pound) loaf of sliced white bread
-3/4 cup butter or margarine
-1 onion, chopped
-4 stalks celery, chopped
-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup chicken broth



Directions:
1.  Let bread slices air dry for 1 to 2 hours, then cut into cubes
2.  In a Dutch oven, melt butter or margarine over medium heat.  Cook onion and celery until soft.  Season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in bread cubes until evenly coated. Moisten with chicken broth; mix well.
3.  Chill, and use as a stuffing for turkey, or bake in a buttered casserole dish at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes.


Friday, October 14, 2016

All American Chili












Ingredients:
  • 6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound ground sirloin
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added kidney beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Preparation:
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeno) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Delicious Oatmeal

Banana Nut Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup water
1 banana, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:
1. Combine oats and 1 cup water in a small microwave-safe bowl on high for 3 minutes.
2.  Top with banana slices, walnuts and cinnamon.

Enjoy the full recipe here

Friday, September 30, 2016

Greek Style Chicken Wraps



Ingredients

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 ounces shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 1 cup)
Kirby or small cucumbers, chopped
6 tablespoons plain hummus
(8-inch) whole-wheat flour tortillas

Preparation

1. Place tomatoes, olives, feta, juice, oregano, oil, pepper, chicken, and cucumber in a large bowl; toss to combine. Spread 1 tablespoon hummus over 1 side of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with about 1/2 cup chicken mixture. Roll up wraps; cut in half.

Friday, September 23, 2016

How to Eat Clean in 6 Simple Steps

1. Cook More

The act of cooking empowers you to control exactly what goes into your food, which automatically puts you in control of being a cleaner eater. When you follow a recipe, you become the driver of what is in your food and where it comes from. Cooking allows you to cut back on added salt and sugar—and to completely remove preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, and trans fats from your plate. And that's where we come in. We are a food media brand. Our recipes are designed to service cooks of all skill levels and ages in an effort to make cooking at home more practical. About 70 percent of the recipes on cookinglight.com take less than 40 minutes from start to finish.

Friday, September 9, 2016

What to Ask and Look for When Touring a Senior Living Community

Posted by  in Expert Advice.

Finding the right senior living community is an experience that seniors and their children can explore together. With a curious mindset and the right questions to ask, the two of you can conduct your search with confidence. Here are some excellent questions to ask as you search for a senior living community.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF LIFE?

When you’re touring a prospective new residence for your loved one, the current residents are often your best resource. Ask them how they like living in their community. Take part in an activity that day and note the turnout and level of engagement. Review an activity calendar and go over it with your loved one.
Note the cleanliness of the living spaces throughout the community. If any sights, smells or sounds give you pause, don’t hesitate to ask your tour guide, a staff member or resident about it. It could be one-time occurrence, or it could be a larger sanitation problem. Ask questions until you feel comfortable with the explanation.
Don’t just stay inside — your loved one sure won’t! Nature is a place where we all enjoy activity as well as serenity, so be sure that there are ample outdoor spaces. Are they well-landscaped? Are there walking paths and gardens? If your loved one likes to garden, is there a place for gardening? Lastly, if security is a priority, ask about gates, monitoring policies and any recent incidents that you should know about.