Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This has become a staple in our home. I've been making it for a couple of years now, 1ST getting the idea from a girl at work. It is an Atkins diet recipe so it is low in carbs and healthy! We like spicy in our house so I usually add a jalapeno to spice it up but it is just as delicious with out.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 roasted red peppers, chopped

1 Jalapeno (optional)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced sodium chicken broth, plus 1/2 can water
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Add roasted peppers and stock. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Pure soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; stir in cream. Heat gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.

Cheesey Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup milk
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound Colby cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup ketchup (optional)

1 small onion (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a bowl, mix the turkey, milk, bread crumbs, and eggs by hand. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the cheese cubes into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan, and top with ketchup.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Royal Icing

This icing is sooo delicious and easy! You can make your sugar cookies from scratch if you like but I find it much easier to just use the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. I've used this recipe a couple times on Valentine's Day and also for hospital favors when my niece was born.


Ingredients for Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted


Directions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.
Use the Wilton Color Gels or any food coloring to color the icing. Just a small little dab will color it plenty.

Poppyseed Chicken

This is a dish that is easy and good to make for pot lucks, funerals, etc. I made it for my sister-in-law after she had baby Mia and they loved it. It is such a good comfort food.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut in small pieces
1 16 oz sour cream2 cans cream of chicken
2 tbls of poppyseeds (I don't measure - I just shake a ton in)
1 roll of Ritz crackers
1 stick of butter
white rice

Directions:

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serve over rice.

Easy Summer Appetizer

Ingredients:

toothpicks
small mozzarella balls
fresh basial leaves
cherry tomatoes
salami
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Assemble one mozzarella ball, one piece of basil, one cherry tomato, and one slice of salami on a toothpick. Repeat until you have the number desired. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Buffalo Wing Dip

I got this idea from a friend this summer at a pool party/pot luck. It was sooo good so I decided to try and re-create it for an "appetizer contest" we had the following week. I won!!! This was probably the simplest thing in the contest but I won because people couldn't stop going back for more.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Frank's Hot Wing Sauce

1 whole pre-cooked rotisserie chicken

1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1 big bottle of ranch dressing

2 packages of cream cheese

1container of crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

With your fingers, shred the chicken from the rotisserie chicken and put into mixing bowl, add the hot wing sauce, cheese, ranch dressing, shredded chicken and mix together. Pour into the baking dish (on top of cream cheese) then Sprinkle the crumbled blue cheese on top and put into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I like to serve with celery sticks and tortilla chips.

Crescent Pepperoni Rolls

This is the easiest appetizer/snack/finger food to make and is especially yummy for kids! I stole this recipe from Jordan's "Nana". There is is so much you can do with these crescent rolls but she gave me the idea to spread them with Mascarpone cheese, put Pepperoni on them and then roll them up and stick em' in the oven! They are not very low fat but I made them last weekend for the football game and they were D-lish!

Ingredients:
1 tub mascarpone cheese
1 bag of pepperoni
1 tube of Crescent dough

Directions:
Roll out the dough, tear along perforated edges to spread out each roll. Spread on the mascarpone cheese, add pepperoni and roll up into a crescent roll! Cook according to directions on the dough. Easy!

*You can always modify to make a slight difference with low-fat crescent dough and turkey pepperoni. *