Green Bean Soup

I grew up eating this soup. My Mom and Grandmas were sure to make a pot of this soup when the beans were ready in the garden. My Grandma actually brought me a jar last week. Delicious! A few days ago I picked my first beans from my own garden (although mostly yellow, a few green), so I thought I'd whip up a pot for us to enjoy. So easy to make with all the fresh vegetables starting to become ready for picking.
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2 cup chopped sausage or ham
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 2 cups green (or yellow) beans, cut into small pieces, ends removed
- 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
- Fresh parsley*
- Summer savory (a few sprigs)

Add sausage/ham, vegetables and herbs and cook gently until vegetables are tender. As with most soups, tastes better the next day. Leave herbs in pot so flavors can mesh.
Add a few tablespoons of cream, just before serving.
* I didn't have fresh parsley available, so I left it out. Would make a nice addition though.

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

I will put a picture up as soon as I find my camera :) This is a delicious and easy way to use up some of those raspberries!

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 cups fresh raspberries or other berries
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (8 squares)

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in yogurt. In parfait glasses or bowls, alternate layers of raspberries, cream cheese mixture and cracker crumbs. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Yield: 4 servings.

Raspberry Bread

Another great recipe from my friend Julie. Yay for raspberry season!
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups raspberries (fresh or thawed)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts*
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar, raspberries and vanilla. Mix lightly but well. Sift together and then add flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Add nuts and mix gently. Pour into two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour.

*Walnuts optional
** Glazing the loaves with icing makes it extra tasty!

Chewy Granola Bars

I used to make these years ago. Totally forgot about the recipe until a friend reminded me and I'm glad she did. These are super easy and so yummy! Would be a great addition to packed lunch and I made these to go camping last week.
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup margarine, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins*
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds**
- 1/3 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3 cups oatmeal
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, blend sugar, peanut butter, syrup and melted margarine. Once mixture is blended add vanilla. Stir in coconut, raisins, sesame seeds, wheat germ, chocolate chips, oatmeal and sunflower seeds. Mix until ingredients are blended. Press mixture into a 9 x 13 in pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

* I leave the raisins out as we're not raisin lovers around here. (Craisins are a delicious additon, unless you ask my five year old). ;)
** Also left the sesame seeds out as I didn't have them on hand.

Fast Chicken (For the grill)

I recently tried this recipe for the first time and was impressed! Everyday ingredients put together with the result being a really easy, simple and yet absolutely delicious way to do chicken on the grill. Left over chicken works well for chicken Caesar wraps or BBQ chicken pizza.
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3 lb chicken breasts (or pieces)

Mix soy sauce, oil, ketchup and garlic powder in small bowl. Dip chicken pieces in sauce. Place on greased grill over medium heat until chicken is cooked on both sides (about 12-15 minutes per side). Brush with sauce a time or two while grilling.
Thanks to Claudette for sharing the recipe!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

A few years ago we were invited out for lunch after church and were served these meatballs. A little different from the norm, but oh so yummy. Quite a bit of sugar in the sauce, but tasty none the less.
Meatballs:

- 1 1/4 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup water or milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3-4 cloves of garlic

Mix beef, crumbs, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Makes approximately 24 meatballs. Brown in frying pan or hot oven. Transfer to casserole.

Sauce:

- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup

Combine brown sugar and flour in saucepan. Blend thoroughly. Add vinegar, water, soy sauce and ketchup. Stir over medium-high heat until boiling. Pour over meatballs. Cover and heat in 350 oven for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serves 4.

Rice Casserole

I love this rice! Very flavorful and a cinch to whip up.
- 2 cups of rice
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup cooking oil*
- 1/4 cup soya sauce
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 2 chicken bouillon cubs or chicken soup brine
- 1 can mushrooms
- 1 diced onion
- 1 diced green pepper**
- 1 cup celery ***
- salt****
- pepper

Put all ingredients together and mix. Put in large casserole and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Stir once and a while.

* I found this to be quite a lot of oil, so I halved the amount
** I didn't have green pepper on hand, so I used red
*** No celery on hand either, but would be an delicious addition
**** I didn't add any extra salt, as the soya sauce, onion soup mix and chicken bouillon add a lot of salt already.
***** Rather large recipe...I halved it for my family of four.