Pumpkin Soup

• 1/2 Yellow Onion
  
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 cans chicken Broth (14.5 oz) (OR 1 LARGE CUBE KNORR CHICKEN BOUILLON )
• 1/2 can
  
• Canned Milk (6 oz)
• 1 can Canned Pumpkin (15 0z )
• 1/2 pint whip cream (opt) (CAN MAKE TOO RICH)
• 1/4 t. Nutmeg
• 1/4 t. Mace
• dash Ginger
• Salt & White pepper to taste

Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Add a little chicken broth and blend this mixture in blender to puree it. Combine the rest of broth and pumpkin and cook on medium heat until bubbly. Add spices and salt and pepper. Lower heat and cook gently for another 15 minutes. Add canned milk and cream just before serving.

Serves 4-6

Chocolate Zuchinni Cake

• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 ¾ cup unrefined sugar or agave
  
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. cloves
• 2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  
• ¼ - ½ cup cocoa
  
• 2 cups grated zuchinni
  
• ¾ bag of chocolate chips (12 oz)
  
• ¼ of bag choc chips for topping

Cream butter, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Beat with mixer. Sift dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to milk mixture, beating well with mixer. Stir in zucchini and ¾ bag of chocolate chips. Pour into greased and floured pan. Add chocolate chips to top.

Bake 325-350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes.

Grandma Sherlene's Chili

INGREDIENTS:

• 32 ounces dried pinto beans
• 16 ounces dried kidney beans
• 4 cans (32 ounces each) diced tomatoes
• 2 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onions, about 2 large onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• ½ stalk of celery
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork (opt)
• 3 T. chili powder
• 4 to 5 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

PREPARATION:

Pick over pinto and kidney beans; rinse. Place beans in a large bowl; cover with water and let stand overnight in refrigerator. Drain before cooking. Place drained beans in a large Dutch oven or pot; add water to cover.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until beans are tender. Bean skins should burst when you blow on a few in a spoon. Add tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Set beans aside. In a skillet, add 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, sauté chopped onions and bell pepper until soft, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chopped parsley. In a large skillet melt 6 tablespoons butter and brown ground beef lightly. With slotted spoon, transfer beef to the onion mixture; stir in chili powder and cook for 10 minutes. Add beef mixture to beans and stir in pepper, ground cumin, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove cover and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Skim off excess fat before serving pinto bean recipe.

This chili recipe serves 16.

Chicken Curry

CHICKEN CURRY
A Nut Tree Favorite

1 Large or medium size chicken breasts (about ¾ lb. altogether)

¾ - 1 cup boiling chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon each butter and oil

2 - 3 teaspoons cornstarch

1 -3 teaspoons curry powder

3 Tablespoons cold water

Bone the chicken breasts and cut meat into larger than bite size pieces. Heat butter and oil in skillet, add curry powder according to your taste and cook gently, stirring 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken to coat with curry mixture, then add enough boiling broth barely to cover meat. Cover skillet; cook gently 8 to 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with cold water, add to chicken and cook, stirring 1 to 2 minutes until liquid is slightly thickened and glazed looking. ( If too thick, thin with a little more broth or water )

Serve at once on hot steamed jasmine rice. Garnish with fresh or canned pineapple, mandarin slices, spicy chutney, plump raisins, peanuts and shredded coconut.

Side dish: steamed green beans

The inaugural post and recipe: White Chili

Hello, everyone! Tam and I have come up with what we think is a pretty good idea. We want to have a place where we can all share recipes that are easy, simple and healthy. So we created this blog to do that. If you have a recipe that fits our criteria, post it on here, and label it, chicken, beef, side dish, soup, whatever. Right now, Tam, Courtney, Dani, Nicki, Sherlene and I are all listed as authors, we can all post, if you know anyone else interested, let me know, and I'll add them as authors, too. The hope is that eventually we will have this great resource to pull from, and we'll all have these great recipes at our fingertips. So, here is my first offering! I made this chili the other night, and it was so easy and yummy. Try it out! Also, I have some requests. Someone, Nicki or Tam, please post the chocolate zucchini cake recipe. Courtney, please post your kale salad recipe. Sherlene, post often, everything you make is always delicious and healthy.

White Chili

2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 Tbs chopped garlic
1 lb lean ground chicken
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder, or to tast
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 15 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed
2 cups fresh spinach

1. In a large deep-sided skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, garlic and chicken. Cook 10 minutes, or until chicken is white.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except spinach, and stir well. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in spinach, cook 1 minute, or until wilted.

My variations: I added the lime juice when I added the spinach so that it didn't cook out, I was really generous with the spinach, and I added two heaping tsp. of chili powder (don't worry, it wasn't spicy at all)