French Onion Soup

Today I cranked out one of my favorite soups for dinner. Using low sodium broth keeps the salt of a normally high meal much more manageable. 

Ingredients

Olive Oil

5 lbs Vidalia Onions, sliced

2 boxes of Swanson 50% sodium Beef Broth (approx. 8 cups)

1 cup Pinot Grigio

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Thyme

1 bay leaf

Ermenthler Cheese

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat and sauté the onions for ten minutes. Then sprinkle a little sugar and continue to sauté for another 30 minutes until the onions start to carmalized. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add in the wine, broth, thyme and bay leaf. Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve with Ermenthler (Swiss) cheese grated on to and toast in the broiler. 

We enjoyed ours with a hot roast beef sandwiches and treated it like a gourmet au jous-soup. 

Pork Chop Casserole

This super easy casserole was a favorite of mine growing up. I have no idea where the recipe came from but I loved when I would come into the kitchen and smell this cooking. Just a few ingredients makes this a easy week night dinner.

On a side note, I made this while watching Worst Cooks in America and just shaking my head. I can not understand how someone could not make a pizza. Or boil water. 

Grocery List: 2 cans of green beans, 1 can of Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup, 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Wild Rice & 4-6 pork chops. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a large roasting pan. In a large bowl, mix the beans (drained), rice, soup and 1.5 cups of water.

 Pour into the prepared roaster.  Layer the pork chops on top and lightly pepper them. 

Cook covered for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  

Enjoy with a side of lurking kitty. 

Coconut Macaroons

Quite possibly one of my new favorite treats, I made these last weekend from a recipe my mom shared with me in the back of the Baker's Sweetened Flaked Coconut. 

Combine 1 bag of sweetened coconut, 6Tbsp flour, 2/3 c sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. 

Seperate 4 large eggs to use just the whites for this recipe. To quote my dad doing his best Three Stooge episode "oh seperate!"  Lightly beat and add a teaspoon on pure almond extract. Stir egg mixture into coconut mixture. 

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes. The tighter you can pack the drops the better they turn out in the oven. 

Crockpot Italian Chicken and Pasta

After a long Praxis exam on Friday, Saturday was spent letting my brain return to normal. Letting my Crockpot do the cooking so I could do some baking seemed like a great plan. Circling around on the internet are several recipes for pasta in the crockpot. This one turned out great, although my fiancé sounded like he was trying to convince me of it as he ate.

In my crockpot, I combined all ingredients except the tortellini with 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Let it cook on high for 4 hours. Pour in the tortellini and cook for one more hour. Enjoy!

Snow day Salmon

What better way to spend my early release day than actually getting to cook a yummy healthy dinner. Tonight I made baked salmon, baked potatoes and whole roasted cauliflower.   The salmon was super easy to prepare with the addition some Daddy Sam's Salmon Glaze.

I prepared the baked potatoes first because they take the longest but are worth the wait. Set your oven for 400 degrees. Rinse the dirt off the potatoes and dry with a towel. Poke with a fork all over to keep them from exploding. Rub with olive oil and sea salt to give it the restaurant feel and put them directly on the oven rack. I cook mine for an hour or until I can easily poke them with a fork. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the salmon and check for pin bones. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray and place the salmon skin side down. Pat the top dry. Spread a fourth of the jar of glaze over the fish and put in oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until you can flake it with a fork.