Carly Minestrone Soup

Food Network

Ingredients

Can Add ground beef or shredded chicken (or leave it out)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

Caramel corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar 
1/4 C white Karo syrup 
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here) 
1 stick real butter 
1/2 t baking soda 
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. No microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl or brown paper bag. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need.  Also, remove any un-popped kernels.  When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla.  Stir well and then pour over popcorn and stir up popcorn immediately to coat.
Eat warm straight out of the bowl, or spread out onto waxed paper or foil and let cool to room temperature (for soft, gooey popcorn).
For crunchy caramel corn: spread out on a cookie sheet (you might need 2) and bake either at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  If you choose the latter, keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time to avoid over cooking.

Logan Chili

1lb black beans rehydrated
1lb garbonzo beans (freeze half of the garbonzo beans for other uses)
1lb kidney beans
1 can corn
2 cans of crushed tomatoes (or 15 chopped tomatoes)
1-2 chopped sauteed onions
3T garlic
1T Chili powder
1 t cayenne powder
salt and pepper

Pressure cook the one pound beans one at a time.  They soften at different time frames.

I soaked the black beans so they went smooshy faster than I expected when I cooked them.  The Kidney beans weren't soaked and they cooked with in 5-7minutes, I was suprised how quick they cooked, I thought the kidneys would need more time b/c they are bigger beans.  The garbonzo beans weren't soaked either and they cooked for about 10 minutes.

Let everything cook for a couple hours.

I made alot so I could freeze some for future dinners.

Wendy's Chili

All Recipes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
3 garlic cloves
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1(28oz) can stewed tomatoes

1-2 chopped peppers

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as RO*TEL)
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (14 ounce) can pinto beans, undrained
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon white vinegar, or more to taste
2 (1.25 ounce) packages chili seasoning (such as McCormick® Mild Chili Seasoning  
or (2 t cumin, 2 T chili powder, 1 1/2t black pepper, 2 t salt, 1 tsp Oregano, 1 tsp basil)

Serve with Navajo Tacos

Brown the meat and onions on stovetop. Add everything to the crockpot. Cook on low for 5-8 hours or high 2-3 hours

Top with cheese, sour cream/plain yogurt, avocados, lettuce

Taco Soup

All Recipes

1lb sausage
1 can black beans *
1 can white beans *
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans *
2 cans (15oz) diced tomatoes
2t garlic powder
1 chopped onion
2 stalks chopped celery (all I had was a spice celery seed 1 t)
1 chopped red pepper
1 rounded Tbs Cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp basil

cooked sausage, then added everything to crock pot.
* I rehydrated dry beans and used them for the soup. (Black, Garbonzo, kidney beans)

Pumpkin Chili

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1 small real pumpkin (it was frozen from being outside, I chopped it up in 1inch pieces)
 1lb of turkey (cooked)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Sour cream, cilantro, and cheddar

added , corn, cumin green chilies and extra can of tomatoes