I did this for the neighborhood’s Super Bowl party. I think of all the Chili Con Queso recipes I have tried I liked this one best.

16 ounces of sour cream
16 ounces of low-fat cream cheese, cubed
8 ounces of 2% milk cheddar cheese, cubed
1 7 ounce can of Salsa Verde
6-12 shots hot sauce (to taste)
1 bunch of green onions

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Add sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salsa and hot sauce. Stir to blend.

Trim roots off green onions and cut whites and greens into 1/4” slices. Save 2 tablespoons for garnish, and add rest to cheeses and stir in.

Bake 45 minutes, until bubbly. Remove from oven, stir until smooth. Add additional hot sauce if wanted.

Serve in fondue pot or small Crock Pot with tortilla chips, carrot and celery sticks and fresh pepper spears.

16 apetizer servings (aprox. 150 calories each)

5 apples (Golden, Granny Smith, MacIntosh)
1/2 cup raisin
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons Smart Balance or other omega-3 margarine

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray. Core apples and slice into bite-size pieces. In casserole dish, mix apples with raisins and apple juice.

In another bowl, mix flour, oats, sugar, spices until well blended. Cut in margarine. Sprinkle over apples. Spray all with cooking spray.

Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 more minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before serving.

6 servings (aprox. 100 calories per serving)

Another recipe for the crock pot… this one turned out the best yet.

Pork Loin Stew

Layer in a crock pot:

2-3 pound pork loin, sliced into serving size pieces.
4 carrots – scrubbed and trimmed, sliced 1 inch thick
2 stalks celery—trimmed, sliced 1 inch thick
2 large baking potatoes scrubbed, cut in 1/8ths
1 very large Vadelia or Walla Walla onion. Trimmed and sliced into 1/8ths.
2 cloves garlic, peeled, trimmed and crushed with the back of a knife
1 teaspoon dried basil, thyme or parsley (optional)

Pour over top:

1/2 cup A-1 Steak Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Toss with a large spoon until every thing is coated. Cover and cook on low 8 hours, stirring once or twice.

Before serving, mix 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup cold water. Stir through stew. Replace the lid and cook on high 20-30 minutes.

4-6 servings

This recipe makes 12 generous servings, yet it only costs $4 to make. That is a huge amount of soup. The recipe is easily halved—but it takes the same amount of time to cook 12 servings as it does to cook 6 servings. So I make a huge pot and follow the leftovers rule: Eat whatever 3 times then put the rest in the freezer. It is important to put it in the freezer while I still love it.

I use 2-3 cup freezer containers. A 3 cup container takes 6-8 minutes to thaw and reheat in the microwave. (I once made the mistake of freezing 1/2 gallon of potato cheddar soup. I finally put it in the Crock Pot to thaw it.) In my lunch bag, the frozen container keeps my salad chilled and zaps almost as fast as a $2.50 can of much-too-salty Campbells or Progresso.

Lentil Soup

2 pounds dried lentils
2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoon canola or olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon curry powser
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery sliced
1/2 cup dry sherry

Sort lentils—pick out any that look mishapened or weird. Rinse in colander with running water. Add to a 5 quart pot with 2 cans of tomatoes. Add enough water to cover (about 3 quarts). Add oil. Cover, but leave lid slightly ajar. Cook on medium low heat for 1 hour, stirring once or twice, and adding more water if needed.

When the lentils are almost done, in a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute onions, carrots and celery 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add to lentils. And sherry to skillet and stir for 2-3 minutes to get any brown bits up from the bottom of the pan, then add to lentils.

Stir herbs and salt into lentils. Cook 5-10 minutes more on medium low to blend flavors.

My favorite pilaf is one made with rice and raisins and curry power in a clay pot (Romkoff?). But I came across this recipe this morning in a magazine and happen to have all the ingredients. It is a winner. Much better than some squash and barley deserves to be!

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion (valdalia), cut into 1 inch dice
1 largish winter squash (Buttercup), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces.
1/4 cup salsa (recipe called for small pepper but I did not have so I used salsa)
1 cup pearl barley
1 can 14 oz can chicken broth (or 2 boullion cubes dissolved in 2 cups hot water)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 tespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat oil in large skillet. Chop and add onion and squash. Saute 3 – 5 minutes. Add barley and stir for few minutes to toast.

Add broth, salsa and spices. Add 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low. Cover, and steam for 30 minutes. Stir and recover. Cook until barley is tender and liqiud is asorbed. (Mine took about 45 minutes.)

Stir in lemon juice when done. Taste to correct seasoning.

Serves 4-6 people. Great leftover!

Good for you meatloaf

2 onions chopped fine
1/2 pound mushrooms roughly chopped
1 apple peeled and chopped
3 pounds 90% lean hamburger
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup soy sauce
coarse ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon summer savory
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Topping:

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup honey bbq sauce
1/4 cup apple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two glass loaf pans or a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, mix onions, mushrooms, apple, meat, eggs, oatmeal, canned tomatoes, soy sauce, black pepper and other spices with your hands. Press meatloaf into dish.

Mix ketchup, BBQ sauce and apple juice. Spread over meatloaf.

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes—until temperature in center registers 155 degrees on an instant read themometer, or meat in center is no longer pink. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

To freeze extra loaf: Cool completely, remove from pan and wrap in foil. To thaw: unwrap and reheat in microwave at 50% power.

There are several variations on this recipe – depending on whether you have access to a charcoal grill or if you are using a George Foreman Grill. You can also use this recipe for Rock Cornish Hens or boneless and skinless chicken breasts. The potato recipe is last.

Marinade:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
6-8 fresh cracked peppercorns

Chicken:

6 bone-in chicken breasts with wings (and skin)
Cooking spray

In 1 gallon Ziplock or a large bowl marinate bone-in chicken for about 30 minutes.

Prepare a charcoal grill. Spray rack with cooking spray. When coals get gray and ash-covered, put chicken on rack. Swab with marinade. Discard remainder of marinade or put on stove and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Cook chicken a couple of inches from the coals. Every 10 minutes or so, turn and re-arrange the chicken so it will cook evenly – use tongs if you have them so as to not pierce the skin. Put the cover on if you have one – or tent with aluminum foil to hold some heat in.

The smaller pieces need to cook 30-40 minutes; the larger pieces about 45 minutes. Remove pieces to a platter when an instant read thermometer reads 165, or wing joint is loose and juices in rib cage turn clear. Cover platter with foil while larger pieces finish. Let the last pieces sit under the foil about 10 minutes before serving.

Grill onions and potatoes on grill while chicken “settles.”

6 generous servings.

Indoor method: Preheat George Foreman grill. Marinate boneless chicken breast for 10-20 minutes. Cook skinless and boneless chicken 8 minutes, turning once to cook evenly. Remove from heat and cover with foil for 10 minutes.

Rock Cornish Hens method: Using kitchen shears, split rock Cornish hens. Cut down both sides of backbone from neck to tail. (You’ll remove the “Parson’s Nose.”) Spread a bird open on a cutting board and press on breastbone gently but firmly with heel of your hand. With a little less pressure, press on the knee and hip joints likewise. Tuck the wing tips up behind the shoulders and cut a small slit of neck skin to hold them in place. Likewise cut a small slit near the bottom to tuck the “ankles” in. The bird will be pretty close to 2-3 inches thick all over. Soak in marinate 2 hours or overnight in fridge. Put on grate and boil reserved marinade. Cook hens approximately 1 hour over medium hot coals, as above, turning every 10-15 minutes to cook evenly, swabbing with cooked marinade.

Allow 1 Rock Cornish hen for every 2-3 people.

Herb grilled potatoes

3 onions sliced 1/2” thick
6 medium potatoes washed, scrubbed and sliced 1/2” thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon whole rosemary leaves
3-4 grinds of fresh ground peppercorns

Toss potatoes and onions with oil and spices. Cook in grill wok or directly on grate for 10-15 minutes, turning or tossing 2-3 times.

Or, cook in foil packets while chicken grills for approximately 45 minutes. Or, cook 15 minutes on George Foreman Grill.

Cooking spray
1 pound Italian Sausage (I used turkey sausage)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup wine

3 cans 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, stems removed and chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed and chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried)
Salt to taste

1/2 pound smoked Mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan

1 pound rotelle (or macaroni)

1 teaspoon fennel seed

Concurrently: Preheat broiler or George Foreman Grill for 5 minutes to cook the sausage. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat to make the sauce. Put a large stock pot of water on the back of the stove for pasta but don’t turn it on yet.

Sausage: spray grill or broiling pan with cooking spray. Add sausage and cook 5 minutes. Turn and prick all over with fork to release grease. Cook an additional 10-15 minutes, turning or rearranging to cook evenly. When cooked through, remove to very large bowl to cool.

Sauce: peel and chop onion, and add to oil. Cut ends off garlic cloves, smash with flat blade of knife and chop coarsely. Add to onions. Cook for about 10 minutes or onions are soft. Stir in 1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock. Stir in tomatoes, juices, pepper flakes and sugar. Cook, uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes. Lower heat when most of the liquid is absorbed.

Pasta: Bring the large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. (Note: do not add salt or oil to water.)

While water heats, finish sauce: move sausages to cutting board, saving juices in bowl. Cut sausage into 1/2” diagonal slices. Toss slices into sauce. Add parsley and basil. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if needed. Cover and turn heat to low.

Get toppings ready: Cut Mozzarella into 1/4 dice. Grate Parmesan. Set aside.

The big finish: When water boils, add pasta and return to boil. Cook until almost tender. Check at 4 minutes—6 minutes should do it. Drain (do not rinse). Add pasta to large bowl that held sausage. Toss in any juices leftover from the cooked sausage. Add mozzarella and fennel seeds and toss. Cover with warm sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan over all.

Serves 6-8

Note: I use a Chinese skimmer instead of draining pasta into a colander. A skimmer looks like a large, perforated ladle. (I can’t tell you how many pots of pasta I have accidentally dumped in the sink! Or burned myself with!) The skimmer is easier to clean (takes up less room in the dishwasher) than a colander. This method also seems to keep the pasta warmer. If I am making a pasta salad and need to rinse the pasta I’ll still use a colander—but otherwise, for me, a skimmer works better.

Enjoy!

1 sweet dumpling, acorn, carnival or butternut squash.

2 scant pinches of salt
2 teaspoons Smart Beat marjarine
1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons honey
a few drops of vanilla flavoring

Wash squash and poke holes with fork in 4-5 places—like a baking potato. Cook 4 minutes in microwave on high. Cut in half length-wise, scoop out seeds and loose membranes. Cook cut side down another 4 minutes. Flip and cook 4 minutes cut side up.

Add a scant pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon of marjarine to each cavity. Fill cavities almost full of applesauce. Drizzle one teaspoon of honey over apple sauce and squash.

Cook until squash is tender—another 4-8 minutes depending on microwave and size of squash. A fork will go in w/o much resistance when it is done.

Add a drop of vanilla flavoring to each cavity when done. Eat with a little applesauce and a little squash in each bite.

2 generous servings.

Kathy’s Spinach Salad

1 bag of fresh spinach

Dressing:
1/3 cup vinegar
2/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons sugar
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Toppings:
1 large tomato, sliced in wedges
1 red onion, sliced
6-8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2-3 mushrooms, sliced

Mix dressing ahead if possible and marinate toppings in
dressing 2 hours before serving. Toss with spinach when
ready to serve.