Monthly Archives: March 2020

MEATY MINESTRONE SOUP

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1 c chopped onions (2 small or 1 large)

1 c chopped celery (about 5 stalks)

2 or 4 uncooked Italian sausages (if you like things spicy, feel free to use spicy Italian sausage)

1 medium-sized yellow summer squash, chopped (no need to peel)

1 small to medium zucchini, chopped (no need to peel)

1 c peeled carrot slices, chopped (you can use frozen-crinkle-cut slices, thawed and chopped, if you like)

2″ square of parmesan cheese

1-2 tsp minced garlic

2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth

1 (24 oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1 c water (to swish around in the sauce jar and then add to the crockpot)

2 (6.5 oz) sliced mushrooms (stems and pieces are okay)

1 c dry, uncooked corkscrew pasta (or any other small dried pasta)

salt and pepper, to taste

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:

THE ARE OPTIONAL DEPENDING ON HOW FULL YOUR CROCKPOT IS AND WHETHER YOU HAVE UNEXPECTED COMPANY AND NEED TO STRETCH THE SOUP.

1 c cut green beans (if you use frozen, let them thaw before you add them)

1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained

1 c tomato juice

1 beef bouillon cube mixed with 1 cup water

grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top when serving

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick spray.

Peel and chop the onions into small pieces. Add them to the bottom of the crock. They will form part of the broth.

Wash and chop the celery into small pieces. Add them on top of the chopped onions.

Cut the Italian sausages into bite-sized pieces. Add those to the crock on top of the celery.

Wash the yellow summer squash, cut it in half lengthwise, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the Italian sausages.

Wash the zucchini, cut it in half lengthwise, and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Add it to the crock on top of the yellow squash.

Cut the carrot slices into bite-sized pieces add them to the crock on top of the zucchini.

Cut a 2″ square of parmesan cheese (or the equivalent) from a wedge of parmesan cheese. Add it to the crock on top of the carrots.

Measure the minced garlic and add that to the crock on top of the parmesan cheese.

Toss the contents of the crock together. mixing it up by hand.

Open the cans of beef broth and pour it over the vegetable and sausage in the slow cooker.

Open the jar of spaghetti sauce and pour that over the top.

Measure out one cup of water. Add it to the spaghetti sauce jar, put on the lid, and swish it around to get the clinging spaghetti sauce off the bottom and sides of the jar.. Pour the contents of the jar on top of the mixture in the slow cooker.

Open the cans of sliced mushrooms and add them, juice and all, to the contents of the slow cooker.

Stir the contents of the crock with a spoon until everything is well mixed, put on the lid, then plug in the slow cooker and set it to LOW.

Cook the soup for six hours, or until the veggies are tender. Give it a stir with a spoon and then add the uncooked pasta.

If you have room in the crock and you want to add any of the additional ingredients, do so now.

Stir to make sure everything is incorporated, replace the lid, and cook of LOW for another hour.

Your soup should be ready to serve in 60 minutes,. but it can hold for two additional hours, or even longer if need be.

To serve, ladle the soup into soup bowls and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

 

 

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER TOFFEE

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1 (16 oz) box club crackers

1 c milk chocolate chips (you will use a total of 2 cups)

1 c salted butter, softened to room temperature ((2 sticks, 1/2 lb)

1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 cup milk chocolate chips (this completed the milk chocolate chip total)

2 cups peanut butter chips (a 10 oz bag will do)

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts (NOT dry roasted – measure AFTER chopping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in the middle position.

Line a 10″x15″ cookie sheet with foil. If you have a jellyroll pan, that is perfect. If you do not, use a cookie sheet and turn up the edges of the foil to form sides.

Spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (You want to be able to peel the foil off later, after the toffee hardens.)

Line the bottom of your pan completely with club crackers, salt side down. (You can break the crackers into pieces to make them fit if you have to.)

Sprinkle 1 (only ONE) cup of milk chocolate chips over the surface of the cracker-lined pan.

Set the jelly roll pan or cookie sheet aside on the kitchen counter while you cook the toffee mixture.

Combine the salted butter with the brown sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir until they are thoroughly mixed.

Set the saucepan on the stovetop and turn the burner to MEDIUM-HIGH, STIRRING CONSTANTLY; Bring the toffee mixture to a boil.

Boil for exactly 5 (five) minutes. Keep that spoon or spatula going! If you do not, your toffee will burn! If the toffee mixture sputters too much, you can reduce the heat a bit. If the mixture begins to lose the boil, you can increase the heat a bit. Just do not stop stirring until you have boiled it for 5 minutes.

At the end of 5 minutes,. pull the saucepan over to a cold burner.

Pour the very hot toffee mixture over the crackers and milk chocolate chips as evenly as you can. Spread it out quickly with a heat-resistant spatula or a frosting knife.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake the toffee at 350 degrees for 10 (ten) minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, place it on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack, and sprinkle the peanut butter chips over the top.

Cover the pan with a sheet of foil or an empty cookie sheet. Let everything sit for 2 (two full minutes. This will melt the peanut butter chips.

When 2 (two) minutes have passed, take off the top cookie sheet or foil and spread the melted peanut butter chips as evenly as you can with a heat-resistant spatula, a wooden paddle, or a frosting knife.

Using oven mitts or pot holders, place the pan in the refrigerator to cool, uncovered, for at least 1 (one) hour.

Have a cup of coffee and relax while your toffee is cooling and hardening the refrigerator.

Remember that last cup of milk chocolate chips and the chopped peanuts you have not used yet? Do not worry. They will be used when your creation has cooled and hardened.

Once the hour is up. leave you pan in the refrigerator and pour the milk chocolate chips into a small microwave-safe bowl. (A 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup with a spout works wonders!)

Melt your milk chocolate chips on HIGH heat in the microwave for 1 (one) minute. Then let the bowl sit in the microwave for another minute.

When the minute has passed,. take the bowl out of the microwave and attempt to stir the chips smooth. If you cannot and they are not completely melted, return them to the microwave and heat them in 30-second increments, followed by 30 seconds of standing time, until you can stir them smooth.

Take your hardened toffee out of the refrigerator and quickly drizzle the melted milk chocolate over the top of the cooled peanut butter chip layer. Be sure to let some of the peanut butter chip layer show through.

Sprinkle the chopped peanut over the top of the chocolate drizzle and refrigerate the pan for another 2 hours.

When your chocolate peanut butter toffee has thoroughly chilled, peel it from the foil and break it into random-sized pieces.