After the soup was cooked, Mom sometimes added fresh baby spinach, or frozen spinach, or cooked rice, or my favorite, cooked thin spaghetti. She would break thin spaghetti into several pieces, cook in boiling water until tender, drain, and add to the lentil soup. There was also grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top of the soup along with warm, crusty, Italian bread to complete the meal.

I make lentil soup often and add the same ingredients but sometimes I add bacon, or ham or even sausage to my soup. Whichever way it’s prepared, it is delicious, easy, and healthy with loads of fiber and vegetables. Get ready for a taste the whole family will enjoy, particularly on those cold winter days.

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced (include the celery leaves)
• 1 medium onions – diced
• 3 garlic cloves – minced
• 2 tbs fresh parsley (flat leaf)
• 1/4 lb thick sliced ham – cubed
• 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 16-oz bag lentils
• 1 tbs Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 8 cups water

Directions:

To enhance the flavors make the soup a day ahead and refrigerate.

1. Wash lentils thoroughly.
   
2. In a large soup pot heat enough olive oil to coat bottom of the pot over medium heat.
3. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic and ham. Stir and cook until vegetables are tender, 5-10 minutes.
4. Stir in water, tomato sauce, lentils, parsley, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook on low until the lentils are tender, 45-60 minutes.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste and more Italian seasoning if needed.
6. If you prefer a smoother consistency, puree lightly with a hand blender.
   
7. Ladle into bowls, top with grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
8. Leftovers can be refrigerated for several days.

Since most meat soups take several hours to cook, I put together this recipe which is so simple and quick to make. Now I always make sure I have the ingredients on hand in the pantry and fridge to make this soup at a moment’s notice. Its liquid base is a 48 ounce can beef broth, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. It makes a large pot of soup and leftovers can be kept refrigerator for several days. It takes 45 minutes to an hour from start to finish. Stay warm and enjoy a nice bowl of hot soup!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef (80%-90% lean)
• 48-fl oz can beef broth
• 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
• 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 3 celery stalks diced
• 4 carrots peeled, and diced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 tbs flat leaf parsley chopped
• 1 lb bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 tbs dried oregano
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Coat the bottom of soup pot (large saucepan) with extra virgin olive oil (1 TBS.) and heat on medium.
2. Add chopped celery, carrots, and onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and black pepper.
3. Add the ground beef and sauté until brown. Drain any accumulated fat. Add the minced garlic and stir through.
   
4. Pour in the beef broth, diced tomatoes, parsley, oregano, and tomato sauce. Let mixture come to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook until vegetables are slightly tender (20 minutes).
   
5. Add the bag of frozen vegetables. Continue cooking until all vegetables are tender (15 minutes).
6. Check seasonings and add more salt, black pepper, and oregano if needed.
7. Serve hot in soup bowls or large mugs. Top with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

A special treat I enjoyed making for kids and adults alike are English Muffin Pizzas. It is a quick, easy and healthy food that is sure to please trick or treaters before they go running out the door. I won’t post the recipe here, but have a look at my “Marinara Sauce Recipe” and “Homemade Pizza Recipe” for reference and also be sure to watch me prepare the pizzas in the video below.

Happy Halloween to all of you and may all your treats be special!

Ingredients:

(See my BBQ Brisket Recipe for a video of this recipe)

Serves: 6

• 1 28-oz can baked beans (any variety)
• 1 small onions coarsely chopped
• 4 tbs ketchup
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 300°
2. Place all ingredients in a casserole dish with cover.
   
3. Mix ingredients until well blended.
   
4. Cover and bake in oven for 1 to 2 hours.
5. Keep warm until ready to serve.

I never could duplicate the recipes to my liking, mainly because of the amount of time it takes to slow cook on the barbecue grill to get the true essence of great tender, flavorful barbecue. Eventually I found an easy and very delicious method for making barbecue beef brisket. Brisket is a tough cut of meat and needs marinating and slow cooking in order to become tender.

So I put my trusty Crockpot to good use!

I marinate the brisket 3 to 4 hours and sometimes overnight (the best) right in the liner of the Crockpot and I just need to put the liner back in the pot. I turn it on either a high or low setting, depending how much time I have alotted before serving. This is a delicious version of Texas Barbecue Beef.

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

• 5-6 lb beef brisket
• 18 oz bottle barbecue sauce (1 3/4 cups)
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 2 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except brisket in removable liner of Crockpot.
   
2. Add brisket and turn to coat well with sauce.
3. Marinate brisket in liner with lid for 3-4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
4. Place liner in base, cover and cook on Auto for 8 hours. Low for 9-11 hours or High for 5-6 hours.
   
5. Remove brisket from Crockpot when fork-tender and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
   

Serve with side dishes, such as baked beans and cole slaw. Also, can be served in a Kaiser or Hoagie roll with chopped onions and sliced jalapeño peppers and extra sauce. Delicious!

I fondly remember the times I would be a houseguest at Allison’s apartment after she graduated college and was living in Chicago and working for an ad agency. I proudly would see her off to work in the morning, a serious and hardworking young woman, and I knew then that my daughter had grown up and was now on her own. My one way to bring back those moments of us being together was through food. So, out to the store I would go and load up with all the ingredients to make Ali’s home cooked meatloaf, along with her other favorites, mash potatoes, onion-tomato sauce topping , and canned peas.

It is such an easy meatloaf recipe to prepare, plus simple to make in advance.

The meatloaf recipe calls for 2 lbs. ground beef, way more than a single person can eat. So, I would divide the meatloaf in individual foil loaf pans, bake, cool and wrap in foil and place in her freezer. I would also freeze the onion-tomato sauce.

This was such a treat for her. She would remove a loaf from the freezer before leaving for work and just needed to reheat in the microwave, warm a small can of peas and prepare precooked mash potatoes. She said it made her feel so comforted. I hope this recipe will give you and yours some cherished memories of home.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb ground beef (chuck, round)
• 1/4 cups plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cups ketchup
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Topping:

• 1/4 cups ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• Dash Worchestershire sauce
• 3 slices uncooked bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, combine first seven ingredients and mix until well blended.
3. Shape into a loaf to fit a 13×9 inch loaf pan.
4. Mix together next three ingredients, ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Spread mixture to cover top of loaf. Place strips of bacon on top of sauce (optional).
6. Bake 1 hour or until done. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Variation:

1. 3-4 small foil loaf pans can be used to make individual loaves.
2. Top and bake as above.
3. After cooling, wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil, label and freeze.
4. Thaw.
5. Heat in the microwave or oven 6-8 minutes on reheat (80% power).

My recipe for serving canned peas:

1. Place the juice from a can of peas (Le Sueur small peas) in a microwave bowl and add a few tablespoons finely chopped onion.
2. Cover bowl.
3. Microwave for 2 minutes on medium heat to soften the onions.
4. Add the peas and microwave 1 minute.

Company is coming for dinner and I plan to prepare a menu that I have served numerous times and it always gets rave reviews. In fact, last month my dearest friends or I should say my surrogate family, Christopher Lowell and his sister, Laura, came for a visit and I prepared several meals for them.

It was such a thrill for me to cook for Christopher who has visited several times. Usually, if we didn’t go out to eat, he would do the cooking while I was his assistant chef, which really meant I did the chopping and stirring while he did all the work. He is a master cook, so I am always honored to be his assistant.

Christopher had been busy with his writings, television shows, interviews, you name it, that he was looking forward to just relaxing and letting me do the cooking while he got a chance to sit back, visit with George, and play with Freddie. Everyone was very pleased with these arrangements.

My main dish was a grilled London broil along with various vegetables. I’ve written previously about how my Mother and Aunts introduced me to wonderful foods. I also have an Uncle,  and he and his wife would always do a London broil for our family cookouts. That was the first time I tasted London broil and I loved the flavor and the ease of preparing it for grilling. You will also be surprised how inexpensive London broil is compared with other cuts of beef for grilling.

Along with the London broil, I prepared baked potatoes, cooked the way my son, John, taught me, and grilled whole onions, a recipe given to me by a wonderful old friend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I love this meal and as you can see, so many of my favorite people played a part in the menu. Christopher and Laura enjoyed it so much they both prepared it when they returned to their homes and got great results.

You can visit Christopher’s website and learn more about his latest ventures www.christopherlowell.com.

London Broil Recipe:

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. London broil (2 inch thick)
• 1 package Grill Mates Montreal Steak marinade
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon red wine
• 1 tsp. dried Italian seasonings (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon paprika

Directions:

Combine package marinade with remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Place meat in a plastic bag or covered glass dish. Add marinade mixture to bag and coat meat well.  Refrigerate overnight (24 hours).

Preheat grill.

Remove meat from marinade and grill until done (8 minutes on both sides). Let meat sit for 10 minutes and thinly slice across the grain.

John’s Baked Potatoes:

• 4 large Idaho potatoes
• Olive oil
• Coarse ground salt (Sea salt, Kosher salt)
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Garlic powder

Poke potato several places with a fork. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill for 40 minutes. Unwrap potato but keep nestled in foil. Coat with oil, sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder. Return to grill with potato partially covered in foil and grill 10 minutes or until skin is crisp.

Grilled Onions:

• 4 medium sweet onions (peeled and kept whole)
• 4 Tablespoons butter (softened)
• Coarse ground salt
• Coarse ground black pepper

Cut four square pieces of aluminum foil large enough to totally cover onion. Place onion on a square sheet and place one tablespoon of butter on top of onion. With hands, spread the butter over the top of onion, generously sprinkle salt and pepper. Wrap onion in foil, securing the ends. Place on grill and cook 30-40 minutes until tender to the touch.

Winter is upon us and that means cold and flu season and not to mention blustery cold weather.  What better comfort food to have when sick with a cold or flu or on a cold wintry day, but a delicious, healthy cup of homemade chicken soup?  What makes this homemade chicken soup recipe a little different is the addition of paprika to the broth. Instead of a bland looking hot water broth, this soup achieves a wonderfully lustrous golden color. This recipe is so quick and easy to make too!

Ingredients:

12 c water

1 whole skinless, boneless chicken breast

4 carrots, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

3 stalks of celery including leaves cut into bite size chunks

1 medium onion chopped

2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley)

4 Knorr Chicken Bouillon cubes

2 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp. black pepper or to taste

1 tsp.  Hungarian paprika (for color)

Cut chicken breast in half. Place chicken breast in large stock pot and add 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently.  Skim often until water is clear about 20 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer gently till chicken is tender about 1 hour.  Check for seasoning and add salt or pepper to taste.  Add additional bouillon cubes if more chicken flavor is needed.  The paprika gives the broth a golden color and more can be added for a richer golden color.

Additions:

Stir in:

1 cup cooked fine egg noodles

Or

1 ½ c cooked pasta.  I use Ronzoni products such as Orzo/Acini Di Peppe/Alphabets.  Cook pasta as directed on package; drain.  Add to broth.

Optional:

Dried Ronzoni Pastina can be directly added to the broth and cooked until tender about 8 minutes  (Tip: Babies like Pastina).