Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

This is a great, easy soup version of Stuffed Green Peppers. It's quick cooking and tastes just like stuffed green peppers!

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup beef stock
1 cup diced onions
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 29 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups white rice, cooked
3 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste
Optional, for garnish: sour cream or parmesan cheese

In a large pot brown the beef. Drain fat and add pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.
To serve – put a scoop of rice in bowl, spoon soup over rice and garnish with parmesan or sour cream.

The Best Cheeseball

This is my go to item for parties...it's super easy to make and everyone always loves it!

The Best Cheeseball

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 green bell pepper, minced
1 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions
In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and cumin. Mix together and form mixture into a ball. Roll ball in cilantro and serve with your favorite crackers.

Crisp & Creamy Baked Chicken

Here's another favorite of ours. It's delicious, affordable, and super easy to make. This is my slightly different version of the original, which I got from Kraft.

Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
SHAKE 'N BAKE Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
2/3 cup condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese

HEAT oven to 400°F.
COAT chicken with coating mix as directed on package; place in greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Discard any remaining coating mix.
BAKE 20 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Meanwhile, cook rice.
MIX soup and milk until well blended; pour over chicken. Top with cheese. Bake 5 min. or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Serve over rice.

Salsa Chicken with Rice

Here’s a family favorite, especially for when you need a quick dinner! We had it last night and it amazes me every time we have it, because it’s SO easy and SO good!

4 chicken breasts or tenders
1 jar of your favorite salsa
¾ cup shredded Mexican style or cheddar cheese
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
2 cups rice
For garnish: green onion, cilantro and sour cream

Spray caking dish with Pam and then place chicken in. Coat the chicken with the salsa, sprinkle taco seasoning over the top and mix to blend. Then add the sliced red and green bell peppers to the top of the salsa and chicken. Spread the cheese over the top and put in a 350 degree oven until chicken is cooked through. I try to use the chicken tenders in this dish since they are a much smaller cut and they cook much faster. Serve over rice, and garnish with green onion, cilantro and sour cream. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

Here's a favorite for a busy night!

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomates with green chiles
1 can green chiles
1 32 oz. container low sodium chicken broth
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
Optional, for garnish: cilantro, shredded cheese, green onion, avacado, crushed tortilla chips, olives, sour cream

In a medium non stick pan, brown beef over medium heat with onion and garlic. Meanwhile, add all other ingredients to a stock pot except the taco seasoning and the garnish items. Heat through. When beef is fully cooked, drain the fat, add 1/4 cup water and then taco seasoning. Mix, then add to the pot. Garnish with the optional items of your liking. Enjoy!

Healthy Hummus

I love Hummus, but unfortunately a lot of the Hummus out there has a lot of extra oil which means it's loaded with extra calories and fat. This version omits most of the oil to make a super healthy version you can feel good about eating! The recipe below is just the very basic version, once you have this version down you can create virtually any kind you want.

Healthy Hummus - Basic Version
1 (15 ounce) can organic garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon - juice

In a blender or food processor combine garbanzo beans, garlic, cumin, salt and olive oil and the juice from one half of a lemon. Blend on low speed, gradually adding reserved bean liquid, until desired consistency is achieved.

Hummus makes a great dip when served with vegetables, crackers or pita bread. It's also delicious when used as a spread on a sandwich or bagel!

Here's some ideas of other types of hummus you can make, just add to the basic version:
For roasted red pepper hummus: add 3-5 roasted red pepper strips (you can buy these canned/jarred)
For artichoke hummus: add one 16 oz can of artichoke hearts (drained & halved)
For sun dried tomato hummus: add 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
For olive hummus: add 1/2 cup black or kalmata or green olives

Caramelized Onions

Now, I will be the first to admit that my taste for onions is still not fully developed. It's only been in the last year or so that I have been able to appreciate what onions can do for a dish. I love green onions and I use those in almost every receipe I have, especially for garnish. I still can't handle raw onions but my current obsession is with caramelized onions. Once you make them they can be added to almost anything to add a deep, delicious flavor. You can add them to pizzas, dips, soups, sandwiches, burgers, omlets, mashed potatoes, etc. If you've never made a big batch of these, thing I highly reccomend giving this a try!


1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds of onions, halved and sliced thin
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon water

Add butter and oil to a non-stick skillet; melt the butter over high heat. Once the butter melts, stir in the onions, brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Let it cook, stir on occasion until the onion softens down and is slightly wilted. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stir often until the onions turn to deep brown color. It usually takes about 45 minutes to cook down and caramelize the onion but it's worth the wait. Once you achieve the color and caramelization you are looking for take off the heat. Add a dash of water, season it with salt and pepper.