Tuscan Bean Soup

My folks made this recently and it’s really good.

2 T EVOO or butter
2 C onion, chopped
2 C carrots, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
4 C chicken or beef stock
1 1/2 C dried white beans, soaked overnight
1-15oz can tomatoes
3/4lb Italian sausage, browned
1/2 C red wine
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t sage
1 t thyme
1 t parsley
1 bunch kale, washed, torn into pieces, stems discarded
parmesan or romano cheese

Saute onions, carrots and garlic in soup pot until onions are translucent. Add too stock, beans, tomatoes, browned sausage, wine and herbs. Bring to a boil, then simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add kale the last 15 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan or romano cheese.

Juicy Roasted Chicken

Snagged from Allrecipes.com, this was my first attempt at roasting a chicken–and it turned out moist and delicious! My family enjoyed a very yummy butterific meal between this roasted chicken, the carrot recipe below, green peas and brown rice.

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup margarine, divided
1 stalk celery, leaves removed (I used carrots, didn’t have celery!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder.

Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken’s exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.

Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). [I baked the chicken longer and the temp was below 180, but it looked done to me.] Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

Oven Scrambled Eggs

From allrecipes.com.

1/2 C butter, melted
24 eggs
2 1/4 t salt
2 1/2 C milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Pour butter in 13×9″ baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and salt until well-blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Pour mixture into baking dish.
3. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir and bake additional 10-15 minutes or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

**I recommend either cutting back on the butter or simply spraying your pan with Pam. (I had to sop up butter from the top of the eggs.) Also, it took at least 10 minutes longer for the eggs to set. Still, this recipe produces yummy eggs cooked in a simple fashion. Next time I’ll definitely add cheese, meat and veggies!

Mocha Mousse Brownie Trifle

From my Taste of Home Cookbook which states, “Use some extra brownies to create this tempting time-saving trifle. It’s a snap to assemble with a packaged mousse mix and whipped topping, yet it looks so special that folks will think you fussed.”

5 C prepared brownies
1 package (2.8oz) mocha mousse Mix
1 carton (12oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 C English toffee bits or almond brickle chips
grated chocolate

1) Place half of the cubed brownies in a 2qt serving bowl. Prepare mousse mix according to package directions.
2) Spread half of mousse over brownies. Top with half of whipped topping; sprinkle with toffee bits. Repeat layers of brownies, mousse and whipped topping.
3) Sprinkle with grated chocolate. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 10-12 servings