Cilantro-Lime Rice

• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

Bring the rice, water, and chicken bouillon to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice, cilantro, and salt; fluff with a fork and serve.

Renae's Hot Fudge

2 c. sugar
4 T.butter
4 T. cocoa
1 can evaporated milk

Blend together and dissolve. Boil gently 2-4 minutes,according to how thick you like it. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. If it should curdle, put in blender and whip. Makes 2.5 cups.

(Thanks Sam for typing it and e-mailing it to me).

Fresh Tomato and Spinach Creamy Soup

I have made this soup twice lately and I just love it. Sad that the fresh tomatoes are gone now.

In a large soup pan, saute in olive oil:
diced onion
red pepper flakes
garlic
fresh or dried basil

When onion is soft and transparent add:
diced fresh tomatoes
cut up fresh spinach

Stir for a minute or two then add:
4 cups of water with 1 cup of Shirley J White Cheddar Cheese sauce mixed together.

Bring to a boil to thicken and serve.

Broccoli Cheese Soup with Potatoes

In a large saucepan, combine and heat on medium:
2 c. water
2 tsp. parsley flakes
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. pepper

When boiling, cook (stirring frequently):
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. carrots
1 c. celery
2 c. potatoes
2 c. broccoli or cauliflower

When tender, combine flour and milk mixture (after having whisked it until smooth):
3 c. milk
4 tbsp. flour

Stir in 1 pound Velveeta cheese and enjoy. Absolutely delicious!

Orange-Cashew Chicken & Rice

So fast and tasty. It's worth remembering to buy the cashews next time you're at the store.

Prep/Total time: 30 min

1 cup cooked rice
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges
1/4 cup chopped cashews (I didn't chop them and it was fine)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 Tbsp. canola oil (I skipped this)
1/2 cup chopped bok choy (didn't kow what it was so skipped it)
1/4 cup minced chives (didn't have any so...skipped)

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, drain the oranges reserving 2 Tbsp. juice. In a small bowl, combine the cashews, broth, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and reserved juice; set aside.

In a large wok or skillet, stir-fry chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add cashew mixture; cook 1 minute longer. (At this point I wanted the sauce a little thicker to pour over rice so I thickened it with corn starch and water.) Add the bok choy, chives and reserved oranges; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Fluff rice with a fork; serve with chicken mixture.

Sausage Potato Soup

Ingredients
16-24 oz smoked sausage (put in as much or as little as you'd like), cut into 1/2" pieces
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion (I used half an onion)
2 cans cream of potato soup (or 3 if you'd prefer less corn)
2 cans creamed corn (Next time I make this, I think I will do three pototao soups and only one corn because it made for a lot of corn)
1 1/3 cups milk

Directions
* Over medium heat, melt a tiny bit of butter. Add sausage, green pepper, and onion and cook until sausage is brown. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat through. Enjoy!As you can see, I'm a fan of easy. Let me know if you like it.

Spiced Wassail

Ingredients
1 can cranberry juice
1 can pineapple juice
1 can apple juice
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon, broken

Directions
* In large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Discard orange and lemon slices, cloves and cinnamon before serving.Warning: only make this recipe if you are okay with cranberries. It isn't as strong as straight up cranberry juice, but you can definitely taste them.