Grandma's Potato Soup

...with Mom's adaptations, plus some extra Jolene lovin. Let's call this "Third Generation Potato Soup."

Ingredients:

•  3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 lg onion, finely chopped
• 4 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• (1 can of corn, fried)

1. In a large pot, saute celery and onions with a pad of butter until tender. Then add 4" of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add potatoes, bring back to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.
3. Add butter, stirring gently until it melts. Add evaporated milk and corn.
4. Remove from heat, stir in instant potatoes and parsley.

Serve with corn bread and hot sauce :)

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna

This is a new recipe to me which I really enjoyed preparing and eating. It was such a gooey, veggie, pasta loving dish! Lots of really good flavors at play here :)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can veggie stock
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 14-oz can of artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
• 1 jar favorite pasta sauce
• 1/2 c feta crumbles
• 3  c shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add veggie broth, artichokes, and spinach. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Add red sauce and simmer until warm

4. Splash a bit of sauce in a 9x13 pan, then layer the following: 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the veggie-sauce mixture, 1 c mozzarella cheese. Finish with crumbled feta.


5. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving with your favorite bread or garlic bread.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Yum! This is one of our favorites from Taco Tonto's in Kent, OH that I've tried paying homage to at home in Warren.



Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and roasted
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 c rice (makes 1 1/2 c cooked rice)
• 3 tbsp cilantro
• 1 c mung bean sprouts
• 2 c homemade or favorite salsa
• 6 whole wheat tortilla shells (10")

1. Cut cilantro into cooked rice while still warm.
2. Down the center of a tortilla, layer rice, sweet potato, and black beans. Top with mung bean sprouts and salsa.

3. Fold the two ends over the edges of the ingredients, then roll into a tightly formed burrito.
4. Grill on a flat top until tortilla is crispy. Serve with additional salsa for dipping.

Indian Samosas

Talk about comfort food. I may be half Indian, but I know which side my stomach pledges allegiance to...

Ingredients:
For the pastry dough-

• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ~2/3 c cold water

For the potato filling-

• 2 med gold potatoes
• 1/2 c green peas (frozen are preferred to canned)
• 1 c spanish or sweet onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Preparing the dough-
  1. Combine flour and salt. Mix in oil by rubbing the flour between your hands. Slowly add water in small portions and mix with your hands until a dough forms, then continue working dough for 2-3 minutes.
2. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Roll a ball of dough (slightly bigger than a golf ball) into a circle to be about 5 inches in diameter. Do this with all of the dough.
4. Cut all dough circles in half, into two semi-circles.

Preparing the filling-
1. Boil, cool then slightly mash potatoes. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, and once seeds start to dance around in the oil, add onion. Cook onion 5-10 minutes until the onion turns almost clear.
3. Add peas and turmeric. Once peas are cooked, add coriander powder.
4. Fold in potatoes. Let cool before stuffing samosas.

Making Samosas-
1. Preheat a deep fryer to 360 degrees.
2. Wet a q-tip or your finger and moisten the straight edge of a dough semi-circle. Make an "O" with your hand (thumb meets 4 fingers) and create a cone in the hole of your hand. Slightly overlap moist edge of dough with dry edge and press together.
3. Add ~2 tsp potato filling to the cone.
4. With the seam you created facing forward, seal the top of the cone using a bit of water to moisten the dough. You should have a triangle with the seam in the front. Repeat until dough/filling are gone.
5. Fry for 5-6 minutes, until a dark golden brown.
6. Serve with a favorite sauce or Indian chutney.

Hummus Pita Pizzas

This is a very refreshing pizza that could be served as an hors d'oeurve  or a light dinner.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole wheat pitas
• 16 oz garlic or herbed hummus
• 4 red radishes, sliced and chopped
• 1 c mung bean sprouts, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• a drizzle of herbed olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Spread hummus liberally over pitas. Top with veggies, bean sprouts and cilantro.
3. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake on a tray at 425 for 15 minutes, until pitas begin to crisp.