Karob Cookies

This recipe is from Melissa's sister-in-law Marianne and was included with the healthy recipes sent around. I was really wanting a treat today so we made these and they turned out wonderfully. I cut the recipe in half since I didn't want to deal with too many cookies, replaced the karob with semi-sweet chocolate chips I had on hand and made them really big. When my very picky brother commented that they were good I knew we had a keeper. I also think it's very fun that they have no flour and are gluten-free.

Karob Cookies
3 beaten eggs
¾ C honey
2/3 C blackstrap molasses
¾ tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
½ C butter
1½ C chunky PB
4¾ C oatmeal
8 oz. karob chips or 3 C raisins
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix eggs. Add honey, molasses, vanilla, soda and butter and mix until smooth. Mix in peanut butter, oatmeal, and karob chips. Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Yield = 6 dozen cookies. Let cool, as they are really sticky and messy until cooled. Layer in storage container with wax paper on each level.

Garden Zucchini Bisque

I'm finally posting this from last month's soup supper club! This is a "Land O' Lakes" recipe.

2 tbs. butter
2 c. sliced (1/8 inch) zucchini
1 c. sliced ( ¼ inch) fresh mushrooms
½ c. (or 1 c.) chopped onion
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
3 tbs. butter
3 tbs. flour
1 10 ¾-oz. can chicken broth
¾ c. whipping cream
pinch of pepper

In a saucepan, melt 2 tbs. butter; add zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and parsley. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisply tender. Meanwhile, in another saucepan melt 3 tbs. butter over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth and bubbly. Add chicken broth; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until soup is thickened. Stir in cream, pepper, and zucchini mixture. Continue cooking until heated through.

Tabouli Salad

I put this together from several different recipes. Since it's a salad, it is pretty flexible, so you can play around with the flavors and what different things you like to add to it. Here's what I used:

1 1/2 cups couscous (put in 1 1/2 to 2 cups boiling water, and optionally add some salt; cook until the couscous absorbs most of the water, then remove from heat and fluff with a fork)

Let couscous cool a bit; add 2 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. lemon juice; stir.
Add 1 clove garlic, minced. Add 1 or 2 diced tomatoes; 1 diced cucumber; a few chopped green onions; some fresh chopped mint; fresh chopped cilantro or parsley ( cilantro is my favorite). Top with crumbled feta cheese. Optionally add salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste. Cool in fridge or serve at room temperature.

There are a lot of different variations on this. You could add olives, garbanzo beans, red or green peppers, raisins, cinnamon, onions, etc. Or leave as many things out as you want to. You can also use bulgur instead of couscous. Happy Tabouli making!

--Ginger

OVEN FRIED POTATO WEDGES

This is from Holly Reynolds (BTW, if anyone else would like to type up their recipes and have me put it on the blog I am happy to do so.)

¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
3 medium baking potatoes
Cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Mix salt, sugar, paprika, mustard and garlic powder. Gently scrub potatoes but don’t peel them. Cut into long thin wedges. Place potato wedges, skin sides down, in ungreased rectangular pan. Spray potatoes with cooking spray until lightly coated. Sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Baked Pears

This is from my sister-in-law Cherisse.

6 ripe pears, peeled, cut in half and cored
1/2 C orange juice
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Combine juice, sugar and spice and put in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Place pears on top with cut side facing up. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.

Cherisse likes to double the sauce and then after the pears are done baking boil the sauce in a pot until it reduces down. I didn't have time for this but I'm sure it would be yummy.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Revised 10/9/11

2 Cooked Chicken Breasts, shredded (I gently boiled mine with a little season salt)

In a large pot saute:

1/2 C minced onion
1/2 C minced celery
1/2 C carrots, chopped

Add:

8 oz of chopped mushroom

1 package of Rice with Wild Rice minus the seasoning pkg (like Rice-A-Roni brand or Farmhouse)

6 C Chicken Broth

Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes.

In a large saute pan melt

1/2 cup butter

stir in 3/4 cup flour (or whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Seasoning package from rice

Cook for a couple of minutes making a thick roux, then stir in

3 cups half and half

Cook for a couple of minutes and add to broth and veggies, add chicken, stir and serve.