Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Cannellini Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 2 stalks celery 
• 1 cup carrots
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 12 oz can of cannellini beans (washed)
• 1-2 cups vegetable stock 
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper
• salt to taste

1. Dice your onion, celery, and carrots.
2. Add olive oil to a heated sauce pan and add your diced vegetables.
3. Stir occasionally until the onions are translucent.
4. Add diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, vegetable stock, tomato paste, black pepper, oregano, and chili pepper, stir together.
5. Let soup simmer on low-medium heat for about 40 min., until potatoes and carrots are cooked through.
6. Enjoy!

Check out my video on how to make this soup on YouTube!

Lemon Marinated Lamb and Potatoes

Lamb

• 1 3-5 lb  leg of lamb (with bone or boneless)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

1. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper in a gallon size bag and mix together.
2. Add the lamb to the baggie and cover with the marinade.
3. Marinade the lamb in the refrigerator for at least two hours or over night.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
5. Remove the lamb from the baggie and place on a roasting rack or an over safe cooking dish.
6. Cook the lamb for 15 min. at 450 degrees and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and cook for another 40 min. Here is a handy website with cooking temps and times based on how big your lamb is.
7. Check to see if your lamb is done with a cooking thermometer, and then let it sit and rest for about 20- 30 min.
8. Enjoy!

Potatoes

• 4 yellow russet potatoes
• 4 red russet potatoes
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Peel potatoes and cut them into bite size pieces.
2. Place potatoes in a gallon size baggie and add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
3. Let the baggie of potatoes marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator. 
4. After marinating, remove the potatoes from the baggie and place them in a large Pyrex backing pan. 
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and back for about an hour, until potatoes are soft. (If backing with the lamb, place the potatoes on the bottom shelf of the oven after you have reduced the heat to 350 degrees)
6. Enjoy!

Check out my video on how to make this delicious dish below!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 6

White Chocolate Chip Molasses Cookies
Preheat Oven: 375 F.

• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 1 cinnamon  
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 bag of Nestle White Chocolate Chips

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
2. Add egg and molasses and mix again.
3. Add baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and flour and stir until mixed completely.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix to incorporate.
5. Use a small spoon to portion out the dough onto the cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 10-12 min.
7. Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta

Basic Tomato Sauce

• olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 29 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• salt
• black pepper

Seafood Addition

• 20 medium size shrimp
• 15 Bay Scallops
• olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• spinach (optional)
• angel hair pasta

1. For the basic tomato sauce: cover the bottom of a sauce pan in olive oil, and add your chopped onion. Cook until the onion becomes translucent. 
2. Add the cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and stir the mixture.
3. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for about an hour.
4. Start a pot of boiling water, and add your pasta once it starts to boil.
5. In a sauté pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and butter.
6. Once the butter starts to melt, add shrimp, cooking them for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
7. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set them aside on a plate.
8. Add your Bay Scallops to your sauté pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side.
9. Add your shrimp back to the sauté pan, and add about 2-3 cups of your basic tomato sauce to the seafood. (Note: If you prefer you can use a pre-made tomato sauce)
10. Add your pasta to your seafood mixture.
11. Enjoy!

Check out my video on how to make this delicious pasta recipe below!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 5

Holiday Brownie Bites
Preheat oven: 350 degrees F.

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer or large bowl.
2. Add vanilla extract and eggs to the mixture and stir again.
3. Add baking powder, and cocoa powder to the mixture and stir again.
4. Add flour and stir on high for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture becomes a lighter brown color.
5. Butter and flour a baking dish and add the brownie mixture to the dish, spreading the batter evenly.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. 
7. Test to see if brownies are baked completely by inserting a clean knife or tooth pick to the center. If it comes out clean the brownies are done, if not put them back in the over for an extra few minutes.
8. Once your brownies are cool, gently remove the crust and roll the brownies into balls with your hands.
9. Roll the balls into confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, sugar, or sprinkles .
10. Enjoy!

Check out my video on how to make these delicious Brownie Bites below! 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 4

Peppermint Swirl Cookies
Makes: 2 dozen cookies
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 30 drops of artificial food coloring

1. Cream together butter and sugar in a mixer.
2. Add peppermint extract and the egg.
3. Add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 2 1/2 cups flour, stirring after each cup.
4. Divide the dough in half, placing one to the side and the other back in the mixing bowl.
5. Add 30 drops of red artificial food coloring to the dough in the mixer and mix well.
6. Roll out the white portion of the dough on a floured countertop with a rolling pin (If the dough it too warm and sticky, cover it in Saran Wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour).
7. Loosely roll the white dough into a roll and set aside.
8. Roll the red portion of the dough onto a floured countertop mimicking the size and shape of the white portion of the dough you previously rolled out.
9. Unroll your white cookie dough on top of your red cookie dough, fixing any crack or tears with your fingers, then roll the two layers of dough together with a rolling pin.
10. Gently, but tightly roll both layers together, creating a swirl shape. 
11. Place a pile of sprinkles on a cookie sheet or tray and roll your cookie rolls into the pile, covering the dough with sprinkles.
12. Wrap the cookie rolls in Saran Wrap and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours of over night.
13. Once the dough is cool, cut the cookies with a piece of dental floss or a sharp knife (It is important to use a sharp knife and cold cookie dough, so the swirl pattern does not get smushed). 
14. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and back in a 350 degree F over for 7-11 min. 

Check out my  video on how to make these delicious Christmas cookies below!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 3

Okay, so fudge is definitely not a cookie, but it's just not Christmas without this amazingly delicious fudge! Plus, it would make a great addition to any holiday cookie package or potluck. In order to make this fudge, you will need a good candy thermometer, since you will need to heat up the fudge mixture to 234 degrees F.  and then cool to 110 degrees F. Hitting these marks is incredibly important with this recipe since the sugar has to re-crystalize after it has been melted to create the perfect creamy fudge texture.   

Christmas Fudge

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Stir milk, sugar, cocoa, and salt together in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
2. Once the mixture has starting boiling, stop stirring, and let the mixture boil until it reaches 234 degrees F.
3. Once the fudge is 234 degrees F., remove the pan from heat, and add the butter and vanilla extract without stirring it into the mixture. 
4. Let the mixture cool to 110 degrees F.
5. Once the mixture is at 110 degrees F., start stirring the mixture until it loses its gloss. Once the mixture starts to become dull, quickly transfer the mixture to a buttered tray or dish before it starts to crystalize and harden. 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 2

(Not So Red) Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies 
from Cooking Classy

I really enjoyed baking these cookies from Cooking Classy! I only made a couple adjustments when I made my own version of the cookies. I didn't add as much food coloring since I don't like the taste of the artificial flavoring and I didn't add the white chocolate chips this time, but I think next time I make these cookies I will definitely add them! 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Day 1

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes: 3 dozen cookies
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 8 drops green food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 package Nestle Winter Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

1. Combine butter and sugars until creamy.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Add flour, and baking soda, stir till blended.
4. Add the Nestle Winter Dark & Mint Chocolate Morsels.
5. Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Check out my video on how to make these cookies on YouTube!