Produce: Refrigerate or Room Temp?

FB Source: Julie Morgan

Awesome Potato Soup

FB Source: Julie Morgan

Ingredients:

Soup:
1 lb potatoes diced, red potatoes are best
5 slices of bacon, uncooked and finely diced
1 small onion diced
2 celery stocks diced
4 cups milk
1 cups water
2 chicken bullion cubes (dissolve these in 1 cup water, this is in addition to the 1 cup above)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/8 bunch freshly chopped parsley
1/2 cup whipping cream

Garnish:
Shredded cheese
fried bacon bits
chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside
2. Cook bacon until crispy, drain fat and set aside
3. Cook the onion and celery until celery is tender 
4. In a large saucepan add milk, water, bullion, salt and pepper and cook on medium for about 8 minutes until mixture it hot. Do not let the mixture boil
5. In a small saucepan melt the butter, add the flour and mix well. Cook over low heat until the mixture bubbles, continue to stir for 2 to 3 minutes to make the mixture roux (thick)
6. While stirring the soup in the large saucepan add roux mixture slowly and continue stirring until soup is thick and creamy, about 4 minutes
7. Stir in parsley, potatoes and cream
8. Garnish with cheese, bacon bits, onions or all three. Serve hot!

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

FB Source: Julie Morgan

Ingredients:
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
3 cups water
1½ cups sliced carrots (3 medium)
1½ cups sliced celery (3 stalks)
1½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms (4 ounces)
¼ cup chopped onion
1½ teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
¾ teaspoon garlic-pepper seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese, cut in cubes
2½ cups chopped cooked chicken (about 12 ounces)
2 cups dried egg noodles

Directions:

1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine broth, water, carrots, celery, mushrooms, onion, thyme and garlic-pepper seasoning. 
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6-8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-4 hours. If using low-heat setting, turn cooker to high-heat setting. 
3. Stir in cream cheese, then chicken and uncooked noodles. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes more or just until noodles are tender.

YUMMY. No canned creamed soups in this!

The Best Slow Cooker Beef Stew Ever

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Delicious as it Looks

Ingredients:
2 lbs. stew meat, cubed
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (32 oz.) beef broth
1 1/2 lb. red potatoes, cubed (unpeeled)
1/2 lb. carrots, coarsely chopped
6 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried, crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Place beef, 2 tablespoons of flour and salt and pepper in large resealable bag. Shake to coat beef. 
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add beef and stir to brown evenly. 
3. Transfer beef to slow cooker and return skillet to heat. Deglaze pan by adding a little broth and scraping up the browned bits. Pour this into the slow cooker as well.
4. To the slow cooker, also add the beef broth, the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, rosemary and thyme. Stir well. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 10 to 12 hours.
5. 30 minutes before serving, combine the 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons flour in a small bowl and gradually add to the stew while stirring. Cook for 30 minutes on high. Serve.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Next Day Chicken Noodle Soup

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

Two Recipes in one post!

Slow Cooker Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken - thawed
Seasoned Salt
Garlic Power
Italian Seasoning
1 Box Chicken Stock (for after the chicken is cooked and taken out)

Directions:

1. **If chicken is frozen make sure to THAW it out first!!** Unwrap the chicken and discard the insides.
2. Rinse off the chicken
3. Spray your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray or rub it down with butter.
4. Place the whole thawed chicken into the crock pot and add seasoning to the top! (as little or as much as desired, although it doesnt take much.)
5. No water or stock needed the chicken will create its own juices!!
6. Set your slow cooker on LOW cover and let it cook for about 6-7 hours.
7. Serve your chicken for dinner, but, and this is an important step, **make sure to keep the juices and bones from the chicken for your soup**!! Add a box of Chicken Stock to the left over juice from the chicken in the slow cooker and let the bones simmer in it over night!

Next day Chicken Noodle Soup


Ingredients:
1-2 boxes of Chicken Stock
Carrots
Celery
Corn
Left over Chicken
Egg Noodles

Directions:

1. After you have allowed the broth and bones to simmer over night you can now strain the bones from the juice and discard.
2. Add the other 1-2 boxes of chicken stock depending on how much soup you want to make. (add water if still not desired amount)
3. Cut up vegetables and add them to the broth and let them cook on low or high until tender (about 4-5 hours depending on the crock pot setting)
4. Add Noodles and Chicken when vegetables are done! DO NOT ADD NOODLES UNTIL ABOUT 5 MIN BEFORE YOU EAT ( they will get soggy if they continue to cook)

ENJOY!!

Granny’s Beef Stew

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

Ingredients:
Stew meat
1 can of each Carrots, Corn, Peas, Green Beans, Tomatoes
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can tomato paste
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 bay leaves
Garlic salt
pepper

Directions:

1. Brown stew meat in olive oil.
2. Put in Soup pot, add veggies and spices, bring to boil for several minutes. 
3. Turn to simmer for rest of day, stirring frequently.
4. Stew will thicken. Serve hot with biscuits or corn bread.

Granny's Favorites Cookbooks

Fall-Off-the-Bone Chicken Soup

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

Original Source: Eat Drink Paleo

Ingredients:
1 whole free range chicken
2 celery sticks, washed
2 carrots, washed and peeled
2 spring onion bulbs (go for the green onions with more developed white bulbs) or 1 brown onion, cut into quarters
3-4 bay leaves
A few coriander (cilantro) stems and some leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 litres cold water
2 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes*
2 tsp Celtic salt or sea salt

1-2 large pots

Directions:

1. Firstly cut your chicken into 4 pieces. Use kitchen scissors to cut through one side of the spine and along the breast bone on the other side. Cut off the thighs from each half and you will have quarters. Place chicken in a large pot and cover with two litres of cold water. Place on the stove and turn the heat to high.
2. While the water is coming to boil you can prepare the rest of ingredients. What I do next is add bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns to the chicken stock. I then cut one of the celery sticks and one of the carrots into 3-4 pieces and add to the stock along with the white onion. I tear coriander leaves off the stems and save those for later; I add the stems as well as a few fresh leaves to the stock. The rest of the vegetables will be added in the second part of cooking. That’s it! Bring it to boil, then bring the heat down to low simmer and cover with a lead. Every now and then you can skim off the foam but we are going to strain the liquid so don’t worry too much about it. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t boil or cook on high heat, low and steady is a secret to super soft chicken.
3. While the stock is cooking you can prepare the rest of the vegetables. Peel and cube the potato, slice the second halves of celery and carrot, and wash the coriander leaves.
4. By this stage the smell of chicken soup would have filled your house and you’re now ready for phase number two. Remove chicken pieces on to a bowl or a chopping board and let them cool down so we can work with the meat. Strain the rest of the liquid into another pot. You can use some of the cooked veggies but I like to discard those and use freshly chopped ones for some crunch.
5. Add salt, potato, celery and carrot to the strained stock. Bring to boil, then turn down to low simmering and cook for 10-15 minutes or until potato is soft to bite. While cooking, remove chicken skin and separate the meat. Tear the meat into thin strips and return to the soup at the end. Turn the heat off, throw in a handful of coriander leaves and some diced green onion and cover with a lid to set for a few minutes before serving.

Negative-Calorie Diet Soup

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

ORIGINAL Source: Getting Skinny with Courtney

Recipe 1
Ingredients:
1 head green cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 turnips, peeled and cut into cubes
2 zucchini, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cans green beans
32 ounces beef stock or chicken stock, or 16 ounces tomato juice and 16 ounces water


Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. 
2. Add water, if needed, to cover all vegetables. 
3. Reduce heat to a moderate simmer and cover. 
4. Cook about 1 hour, or until all vegetables are tender.

Recipe 2
Ingredients:
6 onions
2 green peppers
2 cans whole or crushed tomatoes
1 head cabbage
1 large bunch celery
2 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Directions:

1. Cut vegetables into medium size pieces, add soup mix and cover with water.
2. Cook on high for 10 minutes, then lower heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.

The negative calorie diet soup recipe is the belief that there are negative calorie foods that take more calories to digest than the actual calorie content of these foods and so creating a negative caloric effect. The extra energy to break down these foods is taken from the stored fat in the body causing weight loss through the negative calorie diet. For example an apple containing 50 calories may call for 100 calories to digest via the negative calorie diet recipe. So an additional 50 calories have been burnt simply by eating that particular food via the negative calorie diet. These calories are taken from the body's fat reserves in the negative calorie diet recipe.

Dolly Parton's Cabbage Soup

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

Ingredients:
1 small head cabbage
3 ribs of celery
2 green peppers
1 medium onion
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut all vegetables into bite size pieces.
2. Put in large soup pot with just enough water to cover and cook until the cabbage is done, about 30 minutes. 

**Use more or less of each vegetable.

Creamy Shrimp Chowder

FB Source: Carl Barbaro

Ingredients:
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
1/3 cup onion (diced)
2 Tbsp butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups potatoes (cubed)
1/2 pound prepared cooked shrimp (thaw and drain)
2 Tbsp dry white wine
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Saute celery and onions in butter in a large pot.
2. Mix in cheese and milk, stirring over low heat until the cheese melts.
3. Mix in the potatoes, shrimp, wine and salt. Heat, stirring occasionally. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4

Amy's Cheese-Ball

FB Source: John M Simmons

Ingredients:

Cheese Ball:
16 oz cream cheese
4 oz onion dip (like for potato chips)
2 cups shredded colby and monterey jack cheese combined
(you may substitute cheese of your choice)
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp Mrs. Dash* original salt substitute.
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 green onion finely chopped
1/4 cup carrots finely chopped or shredded
Ritz cracker crumbs or seasoned bread crumbs.

Turkey:
small piece of red bell pepper or tomato (for turkey wattle)
Pepperidge Farms Cracker Trio

Directions:

Cheese Ball:

1. Set aside cracker crumbs. (They will be used to coat the outside of the finished cheese ball.)
2. Mix together Worcestershire sauce, A-1 and lemon juice. Combine ingredients and cream together by hand. Form into desired shape. Coat with cracker crumbs, or more shredded cheese. 

Turkey:

1. Shape your cheese ball into a turkey shape, using the picture as a guide.
2. Use cracker crumbs to coat body and use Pepperidge Farm Cracker Trio for tail feathers and wings. Use chopped nuts for the eyes, a sliver of cheese for the beak and red bell pepper or tomato for the wattle.

*For our friends outside the U.S.- Mrs. Dash is a salt free seasoning blend of herbs and spices.

Amy said I could share her cheese ball recipe with you. It's awesome. Today she made it in the shape of a turkey.

Maryland Crab Cakes

FB Source: Yummy Tasty Recipes

Ingredients:
Crab Cakes:

1 large egg
2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise (I like Hellman's Real)
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (I like Maille brand)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup finely diced celery (you'll need one stalk)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 pound lump crab meat
1/2 cup panko (I like the Whole Foods 365 brand for this recipe)
Canola oil

Quick Tartar Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp minced red onion
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Crab Cakes:

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Combine the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; gently fold mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.
4. Shape into 6 crab cakes (about 1/2 cup each) and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
5. Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with canola oil. When oil is hot, place crab cakes in pan and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve immediately with tartar sauce or a squeeze of lemon.

Tartar Sauce:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

No-Carb Stuffed Tomatoes

FB Source: Denice Duszynski

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes
1 finely chopped white onion
1 green pepper chopped bite-size
¼ pound extra-lean ground beef
½ cup finely chopped celery
Salt/pepper to taste
parsley, chopped or dried
Cheese for topping (about 1-2tbsp each tomato) Mozzarella, Parmesan, Cheddar, etc

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350.
2. Cut tops off tomatoes like you would a pumpkin and save. Scoop out tomato pulp with a spoon or melon baller.
3. Combine tomato pulp, ground beef, onion, celery, green pepper, salt and pepper in a large skillet. Brown the meat, stirring frequently.
4. Fill tomato shells with the meat mixture, and sprinkle with parsley and grated or shredded cheese.
5. Put the tomato tops back on and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, cheese should be bubbly or melted. 

Nature's Flu Shots

FB Source: Cabria Roberts Culp

7-Day Diet Weight Loss Soup (Wonder Soup)

Source: Sandra Caraway

Ingredients:
½ head of cabbage, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup white or yellow onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
and cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onions, bell peppers, and carrots.Saute until slightly tender.
2. Stir in garlic.
3. Pour in chicken broth.
4. Stir in tomatoes and cabbage.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.
6. Cook until cabbage is tender.
7. Stir in oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt (if using)
8. Taste broth and adjust seasoning if needed.

Colorful Turkey Vegetable Platter

Source: Raw Food Revolution

How adorable is this? Looks DELICIOUS! What a fun way to display these wonderful veggies!!

Fun and Healthy Halloween Treats

B Present Studio

Ingredients:

Bananas

Chocolate Chips

Mini Chocolate Chips

Clementine Cuties

Celery

Directions:

1. Peel bananas and slice into 2 pieces for the ghost bodies.
2. Press one chocolate chip into each banana for the mouth, and 2 mini chocolate chips above the mouth for the eyes.
3. Peel clementine cuties.
4. Slice a stalk of celery into small pieces for the pumpkin stem. Stick a celery piece into the top of each peeled clementine.

Who says Halloween treats have to B UNHEALTHY?!?! Look at these fun snacks! Perfect for your inner child or to make for a school party!

Chicken Salad

Heather Armstrong

Ingredients:
5 to 6 Boneless Skinnless Chicken Breasts
Mayonnaise
Sweet Pickle Relish
Celery (I used 3 to 4 stalks)
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar if you like it sweeter

Directions:

1. Boil the chicken and let cool.
2. Dice the chicken up and add the other ingredients.
3. Refrigerate and enjoy!!!

"I really don't measure anything, I just toss everything in til it tastes just right!You can fix this up however you want - you can make it low carb using regular mayo or low fat using reduced or fat free mayo. No matter how you do it, it's good stuff. "

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Jennifer Park

Back By Popular Demand!
Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Ingredients
•2 cups sliced fresh carrots
•2 cups broccoli florets
•1 cup sliced celery
•1-1/2 cups chopped onion
•1/2 cup butter
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed chicken broth, undiluted
•4 cups whole milk
•1 cup of cheddar or marble cheese, shredded

Directions
•In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add carrots, broccoli and celery; cover and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• In the same saucepan, saute onion in butter. Add flour and stir to make smooth paste. Gradually add chicken broth and milk. Cook until mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Add vegetables; heat until tender. Add cheese; heat until cheese is melted. Yield: 6-8 servings (2 quarts).

Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

Karyn Walker-Sloan

Pasta Fagioli slow cooker crock pot version... just like Olive Garden

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces pasta

Directions:
1 Brown beef in a skillet.
2 Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
3 Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
4 During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.