Roasted Tomato Soup

TOMATO SOUP

2 cans (14 oz) chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 stalk celery, diced (I didn't have any celery, so mine went without and was still awesome)

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 TBSP butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 min. (I would line the bottom with aluminum foil or else it will be a bugger to clean off - trust me :)

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 min. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until veggies are very tender, about 15-20 min. Add basil and cream. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. (I don't have one of these, so I use my blender - works great and it makes it easy to pour into bowls!!)

Chocolate-Marbled Banana Bread

I found this recipe on http://www.cookinglight.com/ and fell in love. It's a great way to use up those browning bananas and it's easy and delicious. I tweaked a few things (like using eggs instead of egg substitute), but it still turned out amazing.

Ingredients

2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter (can cut down butter and add applesauce to make it healthier)
1 1/2 c. mashed bananas (about 3)
1/2 c. egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1/3 c. plain yogurt (I used lemon--all I had in the fridge)
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Whisk together.



2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Beat with an electric mixer for one minute. Add banana, egg, and yogurt and beat until blended.



3. Add flour mixture and beat just until blended.



4. Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. (I had to put it in for another 30 seconds.) Cool slightly and add 1 cup of batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.



5. Spoon chocolate batter and plain alternately into a regular-sized loaf pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Swirl batter together with a knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr. 15 min. or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 min. in pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.

Pozole

This is Sylvia's recipe that I asked her for a couple of years ago. She didn't have anything written down so she just told me how to do it and I wrote down how I did it, so obviously you can change things to your taste.

It is fabulous and very easy to make

Ingredients

One Pork Roast (as big or little as you want)

about 2 large cartons of chicken broth

2 cans hominy

1 Tbsp Chile Powder

2 tsp Garlic Salt

Dash of pepper

Salt to taste

1. In a crock pot, cover pork roast with chicken broth; cover and cook about 6 hours (low).

2. Shred roast and put back into pot.

*The broth is the soupy part so add more if you want more soup

3. Add Hominy WITH juice

4. Add chile powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper.

5. Serve in bowls and each person can add toppings of their choice (see below)

Optional Toppings:

(These are just what our family likes to use)

Onions

Tomatoes

Celery

Radish

Grated Cheese

Limes

Ta Da

Ps. That's not my picture, but pretty close to what mine looks like, only not as fancy ;)

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

(obviously not my photo)

Ingredients:

1 c. Shirley J Universal Sauce

4 8-oz. chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

4 slices Swiss cheese

3 c. wild rice (cooked)

2 T. olive oil

2 c. mushrooms, any type (sliced)

1/2 cup green onion (chopped)

1 clove garlic (minced)

1/4 c. parsley (minced)

Pepper to taste

3 c. water

Directions:

Sear chicken in oil until it is brown on each side and cooked through. Set aside. Combine Shirley J Universal Sauce and water and bring to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic and parsley, and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add pepper. Place chicken in baking dish, layer cheese on top of each chicken breast, and cover with sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15-20 minutes until cheese starts to melt and is heated thoroughly. To serve, place the wild rice on serving dish and arrange chicken and sauce on top of the rice. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Zucchini Noodles & Shrimp with Creamy Tomato Sauce

What You Need:

4 large zucchini, julienned

1 cup Shirley J Universal Sauce

4 cups water

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 cup shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions:

Julienne zucchini into long strips, using vegetable stripper. Make strips like long noodles. Stop peeling when you reach the seeds. Set aside.

Combine Universal Sauce and water, stir and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients, stir until combined and thick. Blanch noodles and set on platter. Ladle sauce over noodles and serve.

Cranberry BBQ Chicken Skewers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. chicken tenderloins

12 6-inch bamboo skewers

1 (16 oz) can of jellied cranberries

1/4 c. Shirley J BBQ Sauce Mix 1/2 c. water

Directions:

Place one skewer into each piece of chicken lengthwise. Salt and pepper to taste, grill or sear in a pan or BBQ until the chicken is fully cooked. Baste with sauce (below) during cooking, if desired.

Sauce:

Combine the Shirley J BBQ Seasoning, water and cranberries and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Use as a dip and as a basting sauce.

Buffalo Cheese Dip

This is a dip that Scott made for dinner on Sunday. It is spicy, tasty and cheesy.

1 small container of crumbled bleu cheese

1/2 cup of mozzarella

1/4 cup of cheddar

1 8 oz thing of cream cheese

1 tbsp of butter

1/4 cup of Franks Buffalo Sauce (More if you like)