spaghetti squash casserole

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, cut in half and very thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
½ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place in a covered dish with a ¼ inch of water and microwave for 10 -12 minutes. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and thyme and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Salt and pepper to taste.

Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl. Combine the squash, onions, sour cream and half the cheese together and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

Place into a 375º for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

pulled pork recipe

Ingredients:

 For the Marinade:
2.5 lbs pork loin roast, all fat trimmed
salt and pepper
garlic powder
6 oz Coke zero
1/4 cup brown sugar (unpacked)
1/4 cup water

Step 2 8 oz Coke zero 6 oz can sliced green chilies 8 oz tomato sauce 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce 1/8 tsp garlic powder 1/8 tsp cumin 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (to taste) salt and pepper to taste 1/3 cup brown sugar (unpacked) Directions: Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in the crock pot. Add 6 oz of coke and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinate refrigerated for a few hours or overnight turning meat at least once while marinating. Remove crock from refrigerator, add water, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily). Remove pork from crock pot and discard any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork with two forks. Step two: In the crock pot, combine 8 oz coke, green chilies, tomato sauce, chipotle chile, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder and remaining brown sugar. Put shredded pork back in the crock pot and combine with sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook on high 1-1/2 hours more.

Pumpkin & Sausage Soup

16 ounces country style sausage
1/2 cup onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
15 ounces pumpkin, canned
5 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons of butter

Salt to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water

Over medium heat brown the sausage breaking into small bits. Drain fat. Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, butter and mushrooms and saute until vegetables are cooked.

Add the canned pumpkin and the broth, stirring to mix well. Cook at a low simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream, sour cream and water.

Servings: 8

Notes: Per 1-cup serving: 376 calories. 15 grams protein, 32 grams fat (14 saturated) and 9 grams carbohydrate (2 grams dietary fiber). Rich in Vitamin A, Thiamin and B12 and one serving has 63mg of calcium.

ginger lemon tonic

Begin each morning with this comforting and cleansing Lemon-Ginger tonic. The Lemon-Ginger tonic will increase your energy and work to detoxify your stressed digestive system. In addition, this tonic has a cleansing affect on the liver, and increases the production of bile to clear any backlog in the common bile duct. .

 2 lemons, washed and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 cups boiling water
honey or artificial sweetener to taste

 In a teapot or saucepot combine lemon slices, grated ginger and boiling water. Cover let steep 10 minutes. Pour tonic through strainer to remove solids. Drink warm adding sweetener to taste. Garnish with lemon slices if desired. Be sure to drink all three cups.  This is best first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything else.

vodka jello

From the internets:

This mold was one of my early recipe attempts and I did not write down the recipe… it was more of an experiment. But I can tell you that for any jello mold creation you want to use 25% less water than the package says for preparation to get a firmer mold. And you can replace some of the water in the preparation with other liquids. So in this case I used 3/4 cup boiling water to prepare a 3 oz package of lime jello. Stir for 2 minutes until all the granules are dissolved. Then stir in 1/2 cup cold tonic and a 1/2 cup cold vodka. If you want to suspend fruit in your mold, refrigerate the jello until it thickens to a gel and then stir in the fruit and spoon it into the mold. I used blueberries, but I think mandarin orange slices or sliced strawberries would be excellent. With fruit the yield will be about 2 cups. To make more, just double the quantities.

italian sausage and tortelini soup

Ingredients

* 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

* 1 cup chopped onion

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 5 cups beef broth

* 1/2 cup water

* 1/2 cup red wine

* 4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped

* 1 cup thinly sliced carrots

* 1/2 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves

* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

* 1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini

* 8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta

* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.

2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

home sick & new toddy recipe....

 (this is my fake sick face, but i really am home sick.)

going to try this recipe tonight:

Hot Apple-Ginger Toddy
makes one drink

a cup or so of apple cider
1 to 2 ounces of applejack
a drizzle of honey
a squeeze of lemon
peeled fresh ginger root, coarsely chopped
mulling spices (cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice, nutmeg - whatever you have on hand)
Optional garnishes: cinnamon stick stirrer, lemon slice, apple slice, ginger slice

Add the ginger and mulling spices to the cider and simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat for at least 5 minutes (or a full 15 or more if you want full flavor). Drizzle some honey into a mug and add the liquor, hot cider, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir.

baked corn

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 15-oz. can of corn (whole and drained)

2 eggs (well beaten)

Directions:

Boil 3/4 cup milk with butter and sugar. Dissolve flour in 1/4 cup milk. Pour flour mixture into milk mixture to make a thin white sauce. Add to drained corn in a 1- to 1.5-quart Pyrex loaf pan. Mix in eggs. Bake 1 hour at 400°F.

potato soup

Ingredients

* 4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

* 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)

* 6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

* 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

* 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream

* 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

* 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

* Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

buffalo taco pizza

ok, i just invented this recipe today and it was awesome (if i do say so myself!)

ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground buffalo
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• fat free re fried beans
• shredded sharp cheddar
• naan indian flat bread

brown the ground buffalo and add taco seasoning.  toast the naan flat bread for 5 minutes.  then add a layer of refried beans, ground seasoned buffalo and top with cheddar.  broil for 5 minutes.  top with a little salsa or sour cream.  

seriously, yum!!!