Minestrone Soup
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
5 cloves garlic
4 tabs butter
1-28 oz can whole tomatoes ( I use whatever I have)
4-15oz can veg all
4-14oz can vegetable broth
2-15oz cans kidney beans
1-6oz can stewed tomatoes chopped
1/2 of 6 oz can of tomato paste
1-10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach
2 tab basil ( I usually only have dried basil)
1 1/2 cups small pasta ( I bought the mini shells they seem to work well)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Cook onion and garlic in butter until tender . Puree whole tomatoes add to onions. Drain veg all cans and reserve juice, add broth, beans, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste, spinach, and basil. Cook 1 hour (i don't think i always make the one hour) Remove half the soup or less and puree. cook pasta alone and add to soup. Cook 20 minutes, stir in cheese. Use the liquid from the veg all to thin the soup if necessary.
The pasta called for is a Tubetti pasta or small tubular pasta, but I always seem to have a hard time finding it.
I have used regular mixed veggies in the past instead of veg all, and last time all I had was frozen veggies, so I just did the best I could with what I had, and it still turned out fine.
Cheese and Spinach Manicotti
1 8oz package manicotti
1 8oz can Italian tomato sauce (I always just use spaghetti sauce normally the hunts cheapy, then put in extra seasoning if I want)
1/4 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed ( you can use the already minced stuff too)
1 tbsp butter
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese ( i just use the powder)
1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Cook manicottie using package directions; drain. cover bottom of 9x12 inch baking pan with 1/3 of italian sauce (or spaghetti sauce) Saute onion and garlic in butter in small skillet until onion is tender. combine 1 cup mozarella, cottage cheese, pramesan cheese, spinach, salt, pepper, italian seasoning and onion mixture in bowl; mix well. Spoon into cooked manicotti. Arrange in pan. cover with remaining Italian sauce. sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Yield; 8 servings.
approx per serving; Cal 249; Prot 15 g; carbo 27 g ; Fiber 3 g; T Fat 9 g; 34% Calories from Fat; Chol 28 mg; Sod 5552 mg
Elaine Baird, Saginaw
Taken from "Great Cooking From the Great Lakes"
This is a book that Steve's mom gave to that was put together by the telephone company "Great Lakes Chapter #90 Telephone Pioneers of America" In Grand Rapids in 1992
Gini does not eat spinach but every last child of ours chows this down big time!!! Of course the sauce and cheese amounts on tops are just "guidelines" i always put more :) hope you like it if you try it!! It looks like a lot, but once you've done it once, it is quite easy, and this time I am going to put it in shells.
Best Granola
This is a recipe that was given to me by some very good friends of ours, the Wanner family. It is so good!
10 c. Oatmeal
3c. Coconut
1 1/2 c Wheat Germ
1 c. Melted butter
1 c. Honey
1 c. Brown sugar
2tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Maple flavoring
1 c. Applesauce
In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, coconut, wheat germ and brown sugar, mixing thoroughly. combine honey, butter, applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon, and maple flavoring and pour over oatmeal mixture, stirring well. bake at 300 -325 for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. store in an airtight container. Serve w/milk :) Makes 20 servings
I didn't have everything this time to make it, I was out of coconut since we don't use it much. I was looking for coconut that has not been sweetened. that will have to wait til my next visit to the natural food store. I used coconut oil instead of butter, and I use unsweetened applesauce that I make just for baking purposes. I was out this time, so I used the cinnamon one. for maple flavoring, we use Maple Syrup. They make their own, and we used to for a couple years before we moved, now we make do with Costco's maple syrup :) I use honey that we buy from the native american tribe near us. It is amazing! We buy it at least 4 jars at a time when they make it. I also threw in some flax seed meal this time, and some Wheat Bran since I didn't have wheat germ.
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
I found a recipe online for whole wheat oatmeal cookies, and just changed a few things to make it what I wanted. You can vary this recipe, almost any way that you want to.
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 c. oats
app 1/2 c of flax seed meal
lots of cinnamon whatever you want, you can call it 2 tsp :)
1 1/2 c butter ( I used the coconut oil this time instead)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce ( I try to have enough when I do apples just for baking)
1/2 c. honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Mix your dry ingredients together except for the oats, cream your wet ingredients together then mix the dry with the wet, and add the oats. At this point you can decide whether or not you want to add any dried fruits, chocolate chips, etc. We like choc chips in there, and I have put raspberries in with them as well, very good! Use your imagination!!! i use about 18 oz choc chips but you could make do with 12. I bake them at 350, just until they are starting to turn brown, then take them out and let them cool. they are nice and chewy, and I would say healthy compared to most cookie recipes!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!!! :)
