Roasted Broccoli-- delicious!

Preheat oven to 375°
Chop a head of broccoli (do not rinse, immediately prior to preparing!)
Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
Put broccoli, garlic, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and a few shakes of salt and pepper in a ziploc bag.
Shake it up!!
Spread out on baking sheet, place on top rack, and bake for about 30 minutes.
Broccoli will be crunchy and delicious!

*you can also try this with other veggies like carrots, zucchini, or potatoes-- try adding fresh herbs too like rosemary or thyme:)

I found this on facebook with a link to the page below:
Getting Skinny with Martha

 — with Martha Crumpton.

Zuppa Toscana (just like Olive Garden's!)

So I made this soup tonight, and as little Ethan was sipping his broth he busts out, "this de-WISH-ous!"  Talk about making my day!  (Soooo reminded me of when Jacob said the same thing when he was two--at Davis's wedding about the italian sodas--haaha!)  Anyhow, here's the recipe.  It totally rocks!

1 lb. mild italian sausage
1/2 pkg. bacon
3/4 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large baker potatoes, cubed
10 c. water
10 chicken boullion cubes
1 c. heavy cream
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
*red pepper flakes-- Jason likes his spicy and just adds these to his bowl.

Get bacon and sausage cooking while you chop all your veggies-- I usually do the sausage in the pot I intend to make the soup in!  Set meats aside on paper towels to drain.  Cook onion in large pot until almost clear. Add garlic and crumbled bacon- cook for an additional minute.  Add potatoes, sausage, water, and boullion cubes.  Simmer/boil for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Turn off heat.  Add kale and cream.  Stir, allow kale to just wilt, and ENJOY!  Best served with crusty garlic bread and caesar salad!

Becca's Salsa

30 oz.can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 bunch green onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno sliced

Combine all ingredients in blender.  YUM!

Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Sauce

Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Sauce

Marinade:

1/2 bottle of lawrys Herb and Garlic Marinade

2 large spoonfuls of Pesto 

2 boneless chicken breasts.

Cut chicken into one inch strips. Using same knife make slits into chicken. Pour lawrys marinade and pesto over chicken. Marinate over night (I did mine Sunday morning and cooked mine Monday evening so it marinated a while!!)

Sauce:

8 ounces of your choice of pasta (I used whole wheat penne) 

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

2 spoonfuls of pesto

1/2 cup of chicken broth

8 ounces of tomato sauce 

1 cup of half and half

Boil water and start on noodles.

Pour entire batch of chicken, marinade and all, into skillet and cook chicken fully (the marinade will evaporate/cook down)

Heat olive oil, cook garlic. Add pesto. Simmer in chicken broth until half has cooked down. Add tomato sauce. Then add milk. Simmer for 5 minutes. Toss pasta in. Add flour if it needs to be thickened. Place chicken on top.

** Shannon's notes- I didn't marinate over night and it had plenty of flavor.  I don't think it really needs the olive oil.  I'd skip it next time since there's plenty of liquid to cook the garlic in.  We used whole milk instead of half and half.  Leftovers saved really well, sauce didn't separate at all!  I'm curious about marinading the chicken, then throwing it and everything else to cook for a few hours in the crockpot. Hmm...

Garlic & Herb Butter (for making garlic bread!)

1 cube softened butter (I like salted butter for this recipe)
2 cloves garlic
Herbs to taste- fresh is best, but dry works too i.e. parsley, basil, oregano, etc.-- I usually use about 5-7 fresh basil leaves
Pepper to taste

Put peeled garlic in food processor and chop till tiny.   Add any fresh herbs and chop.  Add softened butter and combine.

Spread generously over a split loaf of french bread.  Broil under golden and delicious!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This soup is a little different than Mom's, because it uses Velveeta cheese instead of cheddar. I make both recipes, but use different recipes to switch it up a bit. If you've ever had Jason's Deli's Broccoli Cheese soup, this tastes similar.

1/2 stick butter
1 onion, diced
3 c. half and half
1 c. milk
2 heads of fresh broccoli
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
16 ounces Velveeta Cheese, cubed
salt to taste

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring the onion until tender.  Wash and trim the ends of the broccoli (including the small stems because they are good in the soup). Chop into small pieces. Add broccoli, chicken broth and half and half . Cover and bring to a boil. Then simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk together milk, cornstarch, pepper and garlic salt. Add to boiling broccoli mixture, stirring until thickened, about 3-4 minutes,

Reduce heat to low-medium and stir in cheese until melted. Add salt to taste.

(half and half can be substituted for 4 cups of chicken broth if you want)

Pesto Baked Chicken ( & Pesto Recipe)

Um, yeah, delicious.

Pesto Baked Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. + 1 T. prepared pesto*
1 1/2 t. sour cream
1 1/2 t. mayonnaise
2 T. shredded parmesan cheese
2 T. pine nuts or walnuts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.  Combine pesto, sour cream and mayo in a small bowl.  Brush over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts. Bake 15-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

*Costco sells a great pesto, or I have included a good recipe for pesto below.

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Pesto

1/4 c. walnuts
1/4 c. pine nuts
5 c. basil, packed
3 T. minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. parmesan cheese

In blender combine nuts and garlic. Add the basil, salt and pepper. With blender still running, add the oil followed by the parmesan cheese.

This makes 4 cups. You could half the recipe if you don't want that much, but I like to make it and freeze it in ice cube trays. When frozen I pop them out and keep them in bags in the freezer, and just defrost as needed. They last quite a while since a little pesto goes a long way (thanks for the ice cube idea Lisa!).