I’m trying to eat more greens especially while they’re at their peak during the summer, but I wanted more than just greens.  I decided soup was the answer, put together some of my favorite foods and flavors, and the results were exactly what I was craving. I like spicy food - if you prefer milder dishes, substitute regular diced tomatoes, mild sausage and omit the chili pepper.

• 1 lb spicy/hot bulk sausage
• 1 lb kale, cleaned and ready to use
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Thai red chili pepper, minced
• 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 baking potato, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans canellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron (adds great flavor) (optional)
• Crumble sausage in a large soup pot or dutch oven, cast iron if you have it, and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in onion, garlic and chili pepper and cook until translucent taking care not to let them brown. Depending on your sausage, you may need to add a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
• Add the kale and chicken stock - it will cook down rapidly so don’t panic if it overwhelms your pot at first. Just give it a few minutes.
• When the kale has cooked down a bit, add the tomatoes, potato, beans, bay leaves, thyme and saffron. Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potato is tender and the kale is cooked to the consistency you like.
• Ladle into soup bowls and enjoy with crusty bread.

This sounds way too simple to have such an amazingly complex flavor - served it the other night as part of a casual assortment of appetizers while entertaining friends and this was a huge hit. Perfect summer side to keep on hand in the fridge.

6 sweet peppers - I used 2 each of red, green and yellow
1/2 C chopped onion, preferably vidalia, if available
3 T white vinegar (I used white balsamic for the sweetness)
1/4 C EVOO
chopped fresh parsley to taste

• Preheat oven to 450. Roast peppers approximately 20 minutes or until browned and charred. Put in a paper bag for about 20 to let the steam help loosen the skins.
• Remove skins and seeds from peppers. Cut into strips and put in a bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the peppers, toss to coat, and let sit for at least 1 hour prior to serving to allow flavors to develop. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Julia and her mom, Barbara, are two of my favorite cooks and they both send me terrific recipes. Julia’s made this salad for me several times and it’s wonderful; fresh and light with just a hint of mint. BONUS: Grab some extra fresh mint while you’re picking up the ingredients and treat yourself to a mojito while you’re making dinner! We always do. Barbara recommends making the dressing a little bit ahead of time to let the flavors get to know each other.

1 head lettuce
3 large tomatoes, cut in bite-size chunks
1 Tbsp. dried mint (or 1/2 C fresh, chopped)
1 small onion, sliced in thin crescent shapes
1 green pepper, cut in strips
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 C EVOO
1/3 C fresh squeezed lemon juice (or more to taste)

• Wash lettuce, drain well. Tear up well-drained lettuce in a large bowl; add onion, mint, tomatoes and green pepper strips. Sprinkle with black pepper and garlic powder. Toss and set aside or in refrigerator until ready to serve.
• At serving time, add salt, lemon juice, and oil, mixed together, and toss lightly.
• ALTERNATIVE METHOD: Mix the pepper, garlic powder, salt, lemon juice, and EVOO in a screw-top jar and refrigerate until ready to serve. Shake well before pouring over the salad.

I’ve become addicted to this salad for lunch.  It’s easy to put together, tastes fantastic, and is good for ya to boot! What more could you want?

½ lb. broccoli florets
½ cup chopped pecans
½ lb. cooked crumbled bacon
½ cup raisins
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ medium red onion, sliced
4 tsp Splenda
1 Tbs white vinegar (white Balsamic is my fave)
1 T parmesan cheese

• Toss the first five ingredients in a large salad bowl.
• In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.
• Add to salad bowl. Toss well and serve.

Today is day 21 without a stove or oven and the novelty is definitely wearing off. I have spent far more time with my Weber gas grill and microwave than I had ever hoped for since my range up and died on December 6.  You would think that replacing a gas range wouldn’t be all that difficult, but you’d be wrong.  We’ve been getting one “my dog ate it” caliber excuse after another from vendors and today was no different. 

Okay - - - thanks for bearing with me while I got that off my chest. On the bright side (and my glass is always at least 9/10ths full) I did learn an amazing new microwave trick yesterday that is so simple I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before: how to make microwave potato chips.  These are so good, lightning fast, full of potato flavor and all without any oil at all (not that I have any problem at all with fried foods!).  Even Rod said he prefers them to bagged commercial chips and I can whip up a fresh batch in less time than it takes to make a sandwich.

Per serving:

1 medium size potato, peeled or not, your call; (I’ve been using red skin potatoes)
salt and seasoning of your choice, if desired.
a sheet of parchment paper

• Slice the potato as thin as you possibly can.  I finally found a reason to justify the $10 plastic mandoline I brought home from Target months ago and haven’t used since - it’s perfect for these.
• Arrange the slices in a single layer on the sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with seasonings if desired.
• Place in the microwave and cook on high heat for about 5 or 6 minutes depending on the power of your oven. You’ll want to watch the first few batches until you get a feel for how long is just perfect.  They’re ready when they’re golden brown and crisp. 

My husband Rod loves homemade everything except when it comes to coleslaw - then he wants “storebought”. We live 17 miles from the nearest grocery store so this doesn’t always work for me. Deep down inside who doesn’t love KFC coleslaw?  I found this recipe online, tried it on him and he absolutely loves it.  Truly tastes like “the real thing”.  

8 C shredded cabbage
1/4 C shredded carrots
2 T minced onion
1/3 C sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 C milk
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/4 C butter milk
1 1/2 T white vinegar (I use white Balsamic for its sweetness but any white vinegar will work)
2 T fresh lemon juice

• Shred the cabbage and carrots in a food processor and then empty them into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in minced onion.
• Put the remaining ingredients in either the bowl of a processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Pour over cabbage and carrots and mix thoroughly.
• Cover and chill several hours before serving for best flavor.

Jill offered me this recipe of hers several years ago when I was putting together an Oktoberfest menu for dinner club, and it’s a perfect warm side for a cool autumn evening. 

2 lbs. red potatoes
1 C chopped onion
1/4 C butter
2 T flour
2 C chicken Broth
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 t horseradish
1/4 C dry bread crumbs

• Cook potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and cool.
• Pre-heat oven to 375.  In sauce pan, saute onion in butter for 10 minutes.  Stir in flour and pepper, then broth. Stirring, bring to a boil and boil 1 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in mustard and horseradish.
• Slice potatoes 1/2″ thick.  Layer in buttered 2 qt. oblong baking dish. Cover with sauce and sprinkle on bread crumbs.
• Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Sherrill has brought this wildly popular dish to many a friendly gathering and she never has to worry about heading home with left overs.

1 lg. bag frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 C shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 onion, finely minced
1 1/2 sticks butter, divided
1 C crushed Frito scoops or crushed potato chips

• Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray with Pam butter-flavored spray a 13 x 9 baking dish.  Spread the thawed potatoes evenly over the bottom of the dish.
• In a bowl, mix together the soup, cheese, sour cream, onion and 1 stick of melted butter.  Pour evenly over the potatoes.
• Sprinkle the crushed chips evenly over the top then drizzle the remaining 1/2 stick of melted butter over the top.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  

With the holidays approaching, I thought I’d start rolling out some of my favorite seasonal recipes.  This side-dish lets you check off two menu classics with one dish: sweet potatoes & cranberries.  It’s a good make-ahead, take-along dish for holiday buffets, too.

2 18-oz. cans of sweet potatoes
1 21-oz. can apple pie filling
2 T apricot preserves
1 8-oz. can whole cranberry sauce
2 T orange marmalade

• Drain the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-size pieces.  In a large saucepan, cook until tender.  Drain and set aside.
• Spread the apple pie filling into an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ baking dish.  Arrange the sweet potatoes on top.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together the cranberry sauce, apricot preserves and orange marmalade; spoon over the sweet potatoes.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

What could be more traditional on Halloween than pumpkin?   Ghoulishly good . . .

In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender
(about 10 minutes):

3 T butter
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Stir in and bring to a simmer:

1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 C dry white wine
1 T dried sage
1 bay leaf
1 C cream OR half & half
4 C chicken broth
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t fresh-ground black pepper
Reduce heat and continue cooking, partially covered for 15 minutes. Puree until smooth with a stick blender or transfer in small batches to a regular blender, let cool for a few minutes (for safety’s sake!) then carefully puree til smooth. Then add:

1 1/2 cups diced HoneyBaked Ham

Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and ladle into bowls.