Hodge Podge Soup

This is soul food and comfort food all rolled into one. We were raised on this soup. I know my children are genetically linked to me because they swoon when I make it. It's best served with homemade wheat bread for dipping. Whenever I eat it I feel transformed to my parents' kitchen sitting at the table with a red checked vinyl tablecloth. Marianne was on my left to conspire with and Tabor was on my right side, making me laugh.



1 1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t dried oregano
3 cans minestrone soup
32 oz pork and beans
clove garlic

Cook ground beef, onion, garlic until brown. Stir in soup, beans, three cans water, spices, etc—simmer covered approximately 15-20 minutes.

Linguine Vegetable Supreme

mmmm....I wish I had some right now

This qualifies as a good recipe for me...it's easy, everyone (including me) really likes it and hey, it includes vegetables. What more can you want?

6 oz linguine
2 T butter
2 c (2 medium) shredded zucchini
1/2 c (1 small) shredded carrot
1/2 c chopped onion
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c milk
1/2 t salt
1/8 t garlic powder
1/2 t basil

Cook linguine. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add vegetables; cook 3 minutes. Add linguine and remaining ingredients. Toss until cheese is melted.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

As per request of Hannah I am adding my spinach salad recipe. It's super easy and extremely yummy. My mom and I discovered it when we were living in California. A good friend of ours, Ludwiga Covert, was kind enough to give us the recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Spinach
Strawberries
Slivered Almonds
Mayonnaise
Orange Juice Concentrate

Take your slivered almonds and place them in a frying pan on medium-high heat (nothing else in the pan). Stir continuously until the almonds are toasted a nice light brown. Pour them out on a clean surface and allow them to cool.

Place the desired amount of spinach in a bowl and start slicing up strawberries until you are happy with the amount. After the almonds have cooled you can add them in as well.

Take 1/2 cup mayonnaise and mix it with 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate for dressing. You can either pre-toss the salad or set the dressing on the side so your spinach doesn't get soggy.

Pizza Crust

This is my mom's pizza recipe (with the change of olive oil...her recipe calls for shortening). My mom always made pizza with this crust, her homemade ragu sauce and then pepperoni, Canadian bacon, canned mushrooms and mozzarella cheese when we were growing up. When Adam and I moved to Connecticut our world view changed when it comes to pizza. Last night we had pizza with grilled eggplant, red pepper and onions. We like to conjure up all sorts of pizza topping combinations. Adam also cooks the pizza on a pizza stone on our grill. He heats the grill to about 500 degrees (with the pizza stone inside) then he slides the pizza onto the stone (he has one of those wooden paddles and he's very clever). He only cooks the pizza about 5 minutes. It is wonderful!

2 t yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 c scalded milk
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
1 T sugar
3 c flour

Knead for 10 minutes. Let raise an hour. Bake pizza at 375 for 15 minutes

Stephanie's Pizza Dough

This is my neighbor, Stephanie's, pizza recipe. It's similar to my mom's but the spices and cheese add a nice change sometimes.

1 T sugar
1 c warm water
1 envelope yeast (2 1/4 t)
3 c flour
1 t salt
1 T basil
1 T oregano
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c olive oil

Knead for about 10 minutes, let raise. Roll out to make into pizzas.