Entry #3....Mrs. Ruby's Strawberry Pie

Mrs. Ruby’s Strawberry Pie

Ingredients for pie filling:

1 deep-dish par-baked pie shell

1 qt of fresh strawberries that have been hulled and sliced

2 cups of water

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 package of instant strawberry jello

2 tbsp. of cornstarch

Topping:

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

3 tbs. of confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  Add the strawberry jello mix and sugar to the boiling water.  Make a slurry with the corn starch and about 1 tbsp. of water to make sure that the cornstarch does not clump up when you add it to the boiling mixture.  Bring all of the ingredients to a boil while stirring constantly.  Once the mixture thickens, take off of heat and cool.  In the meantime, layer the sliced strawberries in the bottom of the pie shell and pour the mixture over the strawberries.  Make sure that the strawberries are all covered with the yummy strawberry mixture.  Place in the refrigerator to chill prior to serving. (This will ensure that the pie is completely set and easy to cut.)

For the topping, whip the heavy whipping cream with a mixture while slowly adding the confectioner's sugar for sweetness.  When the whipping cream is almost ready, add the vanilla.  Whip for a few seconds more and chill.  Top your pie with the cream upon serving:)

Let's just call them "Breakfast Cupcakes"....

This was our morning "pick me up" this morning:)

I roasted the bacon in the oven for 20 minutes on 375 degrees.  While that was roasting, I scrambled 4 eggs with salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of milk and set aside.  I diced up 4 small red potatoes and 1/2 of a onion.  I sautéed them in 1 tbs. of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder until tender.  Once the vegetables were tender and softened, I chopped up three pieces of bacon and added it to the mixture before I transferred it to a greased muffin tin. (about 2/3 of the way up the muffin cup) I topped the mixture with mozzarella cheese....but you could use any kind you like....and then poured some of the egg mixture into each one.  (it makes about 6) I then topped each one with a little more cheese.  Bake the Breakfast Cupcakes for 12 minutes on 375 degrees. Upon serving, chop scallions to place on top for garnish and extra flavor.  I also served these along side a yummy piece of roasted bacon and Louisiana Hot Sauce. It hit the spot!!!!

OMG....Asparagus, Pecan & Mushroom Risotto:)

Okay, let me just say.....YUMMY!!!!!!  

I was minding my own business, trying to think out of the box for dinner tonight....ya know???? Do you ever hear...."Mom, I'm tired of that..." or "oooo, you know I don't like that!"  Anyways, I was TRYING to come up with something different as a side item to accompany my grilled center cut pork loins.  Well, BINGO......I thought about risotto!!!! Okay, so I have only made it a couple of times, and both times I liked it, but I felt it lacked a little something...texture maybe.  SOOOO, tonight I decided to give it a try and BOY, am I glad I did!!!!  Although, instead of the traditional stove top method, I decided to try the oven method introduced to me by Barefoot Contessa recently. I'm a BELIEVER!!!! Oven method is definitely the way to go:)  Here's what I did.....

1 1/2 cups of arborio rice

5 cups of simmering chicken stock

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup of white wine

1/2 cup of water

1 bunch of sautéed asparagus (diced into 1" pieces)

1 cup of sliced portabella mushrooms sautéed

1 tbs. butter

1/4 cup of chopped pecans

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Simmer 4 cups of chicken stock to a soft boil in a dutch oven.  Add the rice, salt, pepper and cover the dutch oven.  Place the dutch oven in the oven on 350 for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, sauté the diced asparagus and mushrooms in the butter until tender.  (About 5 minutes)  Set aside for later.  Once the risotto has cooked for 45 minutes in the oven, remove and on a low heat add the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock, wine, water, asparagus, mushrooms,  parmesan and pecans and mix well.  (Salt and pepper can be added at this time if needed.) Turn the stove off and cover for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite protein....I chose center cut pork loins as my protein tonight, but I am sure it would be just as wonderful with chicken, salmon, steak, WHATEVER!!!!! Yummy:)  It's a winner!!!

Turkey & Sweet Red Pepper Soup With Spinach....Low-fat:)

On a day when it's rainy and cold...when you want something a little comforting while you are curled up with a good book or movie...or a good blog:)....here is a great Low-fat recipe you are going to LOVE!!!  Yes, I know that it is "ANOTHER" soup recipe...as my girls would say, but it's packed with flavor and it will warm your heart, soul and belly!!!

Turkey & Sweet Red Pepper Soup with Spinach
Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound Turkey, ground
• 1 medium red pepper 
• 2 medium stalks of celery
• 1 medium onions
• 1 package of fresh spinach
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups Chicken Broth 99% Fat Free
• 1 cup instant brown rice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. Brown turkey in 1tbs of olive oil. 
2. Add in celery, onions, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Sauté until all of the vegetables are tender. (About 5 min.)
3. Add the white wine to deglaze.
4.  Add water and chicken broth. Let the soup come to a good boil and then add the rice. Bring it back to  a boil and then put it on a low simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Just before serving, add the spinach. Let it cook for a couple of minutes more, then you are ready to serve and enjoy:)

This soup is approximately 150 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving, so you can enjoy it free of guilt!!! Yum:)

**I like to serve this soup with a little sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese just before serving it....adds such a yummy, nutty flavor to the soup!!! Anythings better with cheese, right????

Okay....now this post and this recipe was inspired by my newest FAVE Food Network host, The Pioneer Woman:)  She's awesome!!!! She made this yummy broccoli-cheese-ham soup on her show and it looked Yummilicious served up in her hollowed out bread bowls:) In my mind, the only problem was that her recipe used a WHOLE stick of BUTTER and 4 CUPS of WHOLE milk and 2 CUPS of HALF-N-HALF!!!! Well, I'm sure that her recipe made in just that way is FANTABULOUS, but me....being the cook aimed at the lighter side, haha.....well, I do try- wanted to see if I could make it a little lighter without diminishing any flavor!  So here is my take on this awesomely, amazing Broccoli-Cheese & Ham Soup!  You can find Ree Drummond's original recipe HERE...

You will need....

2 large sized broccoli bunches (cleaned, trimmed and chopped) **I also used a bag of frozen broccoli florets just to make sure that my soup was extra nutritious...haha**

1 medium onion (diced)

2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (for sautéing the onions)

salt and pepper (flavoring each layer carefully**remembering that the cheese will add some salt...so be careful!!!)

1 nice dash/grate of nutmeg

1 clove of garlic (finely minced)

2 cups of 2% Milk

2 cups of Low Sodium, Low Fat Chicken Stock

2 cups of 2% Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or whatever low fat cheese that you have on hand)

1 cup of 2% Italian Blend Cheese

**Don't forget to reserve some of the cheese for toppings.**

As I stated above, I'm SURE her version is FANTABULOUS....but, I would find it hard to believe that it could be any better than this yummy bowl was:) 

Yes, I am using a BOWL because in my lovely area....cute, little bread for hollowing out into bowls are hard to find!!!

 I'm one happy "Soup" girl!!!! Thanks for the inspiration Ree....LOVE the show!!!

A little something I found on Pinterest:)

I just LOVE this!!!  

So True!!!

Avocado Grilled Cheese:)

I'm so gonna make this!!! YUM!!!

Mexican Chicken & Rice Soup...my remake...

Okay, so a couple of weekends ago, my husband and I spent a great weekend with friends at the Houston Rockets game....

Here's a pic of the game from our view....

Here's a pic of my honey and friend with two of the Rocket's Cheerleaders....

UMMM....and here is a pic of my FAVORITE part of the night:)  The dessert cart that visits the suites!!! YUM!!!!

Anyways, back to the real meaning of this post.....after we enjoyed a night with friends at the game, we were able to spend some quality time together (which RARELY happens with two teenage girls and two busy careers) BUT....we lived it up!!!  

We were eating at a restaurant in Houston at I ordered a cup....big mistake, should have ordered a bowl...of the most AMAZING soup!!!  I am a soup lover, as you can probably tell from my previous blog posts:)  So.....I studied the soup intensely to figure out all of the flavors and to see if I could recreate it when I got back to my kitchen!  Well.....I think I did....and if not, I came REALLY close:)

Here's how I did it.....

I took 3 boneless and skinless chicken breasts and seasoned them with salt, pepper, thyme and drizzled them with olive oil.  I quickly seared them on a grill pan on top of the stove for about 3 minutes on each side, and then I placed two salted ears of corn on the grill pan with the chicken and placed in the oven for roasting for about 20 minutes on 375 degrees. (Turning the corn every 6 minutes of so for an even roasted corn.)

Meanwhile, I cut up in chunks 1 medium onion, 1 orange bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 12 small yellow squash and 4 carrots. I add a little olive oil to the bottom of a stock pot and begin to sauté the onion and bell pepper with salt, pepper, cumin (a generous amount), red pepper flakes and freshly chopped garlic, cilantro and thyme. When the vegetables became tender, I added the remaining vegetables to the pot and added 1 can of diced tomatoes and 2 cartons of chicken stock.

Meanwhile, while the chicken was cooling, I cut the roasted corn off of the cob and added to the soup mixture. Once the chicken was cooled, I sliced each piece and added the chicken and the juices to the stockpot. At this point, I also slice a lime in half and add the juices of the lime to the stockpot. I let the soup mixture simmer on the stove for about an hour to incorporate all of the flavors together.  

Meanwhile, while the soup was simmering, I started a pot of cilantro lime rice that is served with the soup upon serving.  ( A MUST....it really needs this added treat and in my opinion, makes the soup heartier!!) Here's how the rice is made....

1 cup of rice

1 tbs of olive oil

1 lime freshly squeezed and zested

1/4 cup of freshly chopped cilantro

1 1/2 cups of water

1/2 tsp salt

Okay....now that I have listed all of the ingredients....here's the process! Add the olive oil to a sauce pan and toast the rice until coated with a little salt.  (Sometimes, I add in a finely chopped shallot for extra flavor.) Once the rice has been toasted for about 2 to 3 minutes, add the water, lime juice and zest and 1/2 of the chopped cilantro to the sauce pan.  Stir and let the rice mixture come to a boil and simmer all of the liquids out.  Once this happens, turn the stove off and cover the rice pot for 5 minutes to finish cooking.  Once finished, fluff up the rice and add the remaining cilantro....serve up a bowl of the Mexican Chicken Soup and top the bowl off with a nice scoop of Cilantro/Lime Rice and some avocado slices!!!! So YUMMY!!!! You will not be disappointed with this one!  Give it a try and let me know what you think about the recipe:)

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

I think I might make another pot today....looks and sounds so yummy I can't resist!!