Ham and Bean Garden Soup

This started out as a bisque, but I changed my mind halfway through. It smelled so good near the end that I thought I was going to die if I didn't eat it soon! :) Josh even said it was his new most favorite soup ever! That's always nice to hear...along with Claire eating 2 whole bowls, AND Andrew even ate his whole bowl, which is really saying something!!

8 Cups Water 3/4 c dry Great Northern Beans
1 clove garlic, whole
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Salt

**Place these ingredients into large sauce pan and simmer on medium for about an hour, then add:
1 Potato, finely cubed
1 tsp Fresh Oregano
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (include some leaves!! These add great flavor to soups, and look so pretty!)
1/2 large onion (or 1 small one)

**Simmer another 30 minutes or so, then add:
3 Tbsp Butter
2 large Carrots, match-sticked (ok, jullienned)
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 more tsp fresh Oregano
a few dashes White Pepper
1 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon (or more, to taste)
1 small zucchini, halved and chopped (smileys, as my kids call them)

**Simmer about 30 more minutes, then add:
1 + c cooked, cubed Ham

**Serve immediately, and garnish with:
2 ripe tomatoes, cubed (Let everyone sprinkle their soup with some. My kids also always request frozen peas and/or corn for every soup. I didn't put it in my soup, but everyone else did and seemed to like that.)

Eat with crackers or fresh crusty Italian garlic bread!

Lemon Herb Shishkabobs

We love these things! The kids love to help make them and they LOVE to eat them as it's so much fun to eat things off a stick! :)

4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed (NOT cooked!)
6 giant white mushrooms, cut in thirds (or small button mushrooms, halved)
1 onion, cut in half then quartered
1 large zucchini, slice in 'circles', then either cut each circle in half, or quarter it
1 bell pepper, chopped (it's fun to use red or yellow or orange for some color)

OR

if you don't have zucchini or peppers (or don't like them), I've used carrots, cauliflower and broccoli! Tastes just as good. I think the kids like this way more anyway.

**Place all the veggies into a gallon size ziplock bag. The, add the marinade:

1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 large cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp each fresh basil, oregano, and parsley (can also add rosemary and thyme!)
the juice of one whole Lemon
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup water
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Let sit in marinade at room temp for about an hour, then refrigerate and marinade for 6-8 hours.

Thread everything onto skewers. Place on cookie sheet



and Broil until done! (In our oven, it took about 6 minutes; 3 minutes, then turn, then 3 minutes longer.) I serve this with:



fried rice and salad.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

This was, as always is the case for me, a spur of the moment experiment. I had a really soft apple sitting in the fridge, and no one was eating it because it was bruised. I really wanted some cinnamon rolls. I thought to myself, "Self, what if I cut up that little apple into little tiny pieces and put it in the middle of my cinnamon rolls? Thus, the Apple Cinnamon rolls were born. I also changed my glaze, and OH is it ever GOOOOOOOD!!! Just, um, don't eat all the frosting before you put it on the rolls.

Also, just to note, this is mostly the same as the cinnamon roll recipe. It's in a different format than usual because I typed this one up for Josh's class's recipe book.

Enjoy!

Ingredients for rolls (For Steps 1 and 2):

1 Egg PLUS enough warm water to equal 1 ½ c
1/3 c Oil
½ c Sugar
1 ½ tsp Salt
2 ½ c Wheat Flour
2 c White Pastry Flour
2 tsp Yeast
2/3 c Raisins

(*If you have a bread machine, this is an excellent bread machine recipe! Just add the ingredients in the order listed to your machine, then select the ‘dough’ option. After the machine has finished, proceed to step # 3.)

Other ingredients needed:

*For middle of rolls (step 3):

About 50 grams butter, softened (NOT margarine!)
Dark brown sugar
Cinnamon
1 soft, sweet apple, peeled and finely chopped

*For glaze (step 4):

About 50 grams melted Butter (again, NOT margarine!)
1+ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp water

Instructions:

Step 1:
Mix gently for 5 minutes until all the dough is in a ball. Let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.



Step 2:
Add 2/3 c Raisins, then mix for another 10 minutes--either by hand or using dough beaters on a mixer on low.
Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes, or until double in size.

Step 3:
Take dough out and roll out into a rectangle shape on a floured surface. Spread soft butter all over the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar, then with cinnamon, to taste. Sprinkle the chopped apple over the top of the butter, cinnamon and sugar.





With a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half (up and down). Roll up one side jelly-roll style,



then use the pizza cutter to cut little rolls, about 1 inch thick. Put rolls on a greased cookie sheet. When all the rolls are on the tray, put a towel over them and let rise for about an hour. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350F/180C.


(here they are in the oven. I love this picture. You can almost smell them....)

Step 4:
While the rolls are cooking, make glaze. Mix together the melted butter, powdered sugar and almond extract with a fork until smooth. If it appears lumpy, add the tsp of water. Spread over the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
(**I suggest making the glaze/frosting at the moment you plan to frost these. If it sits too long, the consistency changes.)

Enjoy these warm or cold, after dinner or for breakfast!