2 16oz bags frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix
1 10 oz can Rotel Brand tomatoes & green chillies
10 oz velveta light, cubed
3 cans 98% fat free chicken broth

Boil veggies in broth for 20 min (mash veggies if a thicker soup is desired).

Remove from heat, stir in cubed cheese until melted. Makes 10 cups. (weight watchers – 1 point per cup)

1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp powdered cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ tsp salt
1 14.5 oz can vegetable broth
1 15 oz can cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can refried beans (veggie)
4 cups diced zucchini (3-4 zucchinis, depending on size)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil in a soup pot until tender. Add chiles, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt, and sauté another minute. Stir in vegetable broth, beans and zucchini. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Serve with cilantro and cheese as garnish.

Saltine Toffee Candy
Ingredients:

• 1 sleeve saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark works fine – I used light in the last batch)
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips (semisweet work too, but milk is best)
• 3/4 cups chopped almonds (any nuts will work here – whatever you prefer)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer. (line cookie sheet with tin foil first for easy clean up)
3. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts.
5. Cool completely and cut/break into pieces. Store in airtight container until they’re gone (they’re best within the first few days… if they last that long!).

1 cup mini-carrots
1 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil (I use a homemade blend)
Freshly ground Black Pepper (to taste)
Dash of Cinnamon (to taste)

Toss carrots in oil, throw in seasonings and mix thoroughly. Cover & microwave for 2-3 minutes (until carrots are soft). Toss in the blender, add some water (for a smoother consistency) and puree. I use my Magic Bullet to puree and they turn out great!

You could probably also roast these in the oven with great success – however, it was hot in the house today and I didn’t want to turn the oven on.

1/3 cup raw tehini (sesame paste) (usually its next to the peanut butter in the supermarket)
lemon juice
water
garlic
salt

Place the tehini in the food processor. Add lemon juice, garlic, a little water and salt. Blend. If the paste looks thick, add more water and blend again. If its too thin, add a tiny bit more paste. It should turn lighter in color and be the consistency of a thin yogurt. Taste. Correct seasoning. Eat. With anything.

Variations– Green tehini (my favorite) wash 1 bunch of parsley, chop well in food processor. Proceed with the tehini recipe on top of your chopped herb. The tehini will come out green in color and more fresh tasting.

sweet tehini (halva) – mix a little raw tehini with some honey. Spread on crackers. Yum.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium ones
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I find the light variations too sweet and strange, and you are putting very little of it in the salad, so I would choose regular)
a little lemon juice
salt

The idea is to char the eggplant. You can do it on a grill (if you have one that’s the easiest way, place whole on the grill and turn every once in a while for about 30 minutes) or on the stove top (just place the eggplant directly on the flames and keep turning it until it charred on all sides) or place under the broiler and turn once or twice for 25-30 minutes. The eggplant will deflate when its done. Sometimes I give it a quick char on the stove top and then place it under the broiler to finish cooking.

Let it cool.

Slice the eggplant lengthwise in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Make sure that you scrape the peel well (from the inside) for all that good charred flavor you worked so hard on. Add everything else and mix gently with the spoon, the eggplant flesh should be mushy enough.

Do not try to mash with a fork. If you start breaking the seeds too much it can get bitter.

Variations- mayo can be replaced with plain or goat yogurt, tehini or carmelized onions.

2 cans of chickpeas
1/3 cup tehini
juice of half a lemon (roughly, depends on how lemony you want it)
1-2 cloves garlic (depends on how garlicky you want it)
salt
2 tablespoon olive oil

Drain cans and cook with some water until beans are hot. Reserve a little of the cooking liquid and drain the rest.

In a food processor, mix tehini with lemon juice and a little cold water (about a quarter cup) until light and frothy. (if not light and frothy, add more liquid in small amounts until it is) Add garlic and salt. pulse until incorporated. Add the beans 1/3 the amount at a time and pulse until they become paste. If it looks too choppy, add a little of the cooking liquid. taste. correct seasoning. Add the olive oil and blend for 2 minutes, until the hummus is very creamy. Its best right away, while its still warm. It looses something in the fridge though its still good.

1 package puff pastry
1 box frozen spinach, thawed
OR
2 bunches fresh spinach, rinsed, blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes
1 small package of feta cheese (the crumbles kind is great, does not need to be fancy)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (for egg wash)
sesame seeds/poppy seeds/caraway seeds or any other seed for decoration

Preheat oven to 450

Thaw the puff pastry in fridge. Take out about 5-10 minutes before you will use it.

Squeeze liquids from spinach. (you can do it in small bunches in your hands or easier with a clean kitchen towel) make sure you squeeze as much liquid as you can from spinach. chop. Add cheese (as much as you want, I used a whole small tub) and black pepper. Mix well and taste to see if it needs salt.

Roll 1 sheet of pastry (to flatten out the folds) cut into 2×2 squares. Place a small amount of filling in each square, moisten the edge with a little bit of water (to seal better) and fold to make a triangle, pressing down with your fingers to seal.

Brush with egg mixed with a little water and sprinkle seeds. Bake for about about 15 minutes until dough is puffed and golden.

Variations–
Any filling is good, ground lamb is delicious – saute some onions and garlic in a little olive oil, add lamb. Spice up with some hot pepper flakes, little cumin, salt and pepper. You can add olives or raisins or both for an exotic flavor
mushroom and onion- saute onions in a little olive oil, add mushrooms and some thyme and saute until liquid evaporates (any mushroom is good, I like to mix varieties), add salt and pepper to taste.
Really, you could fill the burekas with anything. Just make sure that the filling is cooked, because the dough does not take a long time to bake.

Dale approved variation- make a filling with mushrooms and onions, or mashed potatoes and onions with some spices that they will like, or cooked ground beef with some onion/garlic/spices (my favorite when I was a child), or just spinach. Use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry. thaw, take out one sheet, lightly brush with olive oil and place another sheet on top. Continue like this with 3-4 more sheets and proceed in the same manner as before, omitting the egg wash. You don’t need it anyway.. You might want to bake at slightly lower temp (400)
(if you want seeds on top, brush top with a little olive oil, so that they will stick)

1 cup bulgur wheat
2.5 cups boiling water
2 large bunches parsley (or 1 bunch parsley and 1 bunch cilantro)
1 bunch mint
4 scallions
1 tomato (if you want)
1/2 cup good olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Place the bulgur in a bowl, pour boiling water on it and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. the grain will absorb the water and plump up. You don’t want it to get too mushy, it should have some bite. If it looks like you need more water, add some, if it tastes ready (plump, with a little bite) and some water is still left, drain.
when grain is still hot, pour 1/4 cup olive oil on it and season with salt and pepper. This will make the bulgur smell great and absorb the flavors.

Wash all herbs/veggies. In a food processor, chop all herbs. You will need to do this in batches. Slice the onions and seed and chop the tomato if using. Mix the herbs and veggies with the bulgur and season with lemon juice, remaining oil and salt and pepper. Taste and correct seasoning if needed. You might feel that it needs more dressing. Keep adding whatever is missing until you the salad had lots of flavor. Keep in mind that the bulgur absorbs a lot of seasoning and that you might need to re-season the leftovers tomorrow.

Variations- this is very good and even more nutritious with quinoa.
I like to chop everything bigger by hand and add cucumbers and more tomatoes and some good feta cheese sometimes as well.

Italian Turkey Pasta

1 lb Ground Turkey
3 TBSP Sage (rubbed)
2 TBSP Butter
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large can diced tomatoes (garlic & basil variety turns out yummy)
1/4 cup Fresh Basil, chopped (to taste)

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large pan.
2. Add garlic and saute for about 1 minute.
3. Add sage and toss in butter & oil.
4. Add ground turkey; cook for 5-10 minutes, turning frequently, until most of the pink is gone.
5. Add diced tomatoes (including liquid) and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until heated thoroughly.
6. Mix fresh basil in to the pan. It will wilt but will not cook thoroughly.

Serve over pasta. Toss with small mozzarella balls or add shaved parmesan as desired.

Note: I use sage and basil very liberally in this dish – not really sure how much, I just add until it feels right. Feel free to modify based on your tastes.