Ricciarelli Cookies

Ingredients

Instructions

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add in a bit of salt, almond extract, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix together almond flour, sugar, lemon zest, orange zest. That's all the ingredients you need. Very gently mix together the egg whites and the dry mixture. It may be easier to use your hands. Once you form the dough, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Roll out the dough in some powdered sugar. Cut into squares, and flatten into a diamond/oval shape. Lay on your cookie sheet. You can use parchment paper, but I never have any so I don't. Bake for 18-20 min.

Quick Pastina with Egg

Ingredients

Process

Cook pastina as directed on the package. While cooking, beat together the egg(s), finely-grated parmesan cheese, seasonings, and half-and-half. Saute garlic or shallot in olive oil. When pastina is done cooking (about 6 min or as directed on package), drain water and add to pan with garlic/shallot. Over low heat, add in the egg and cheese mixture. Cook like this for 2-3 minutes, just until cheese has completely melted. You can also add mozerella, bacon bits, chicken broth, extra egg, mushrooms, or anything else you have on hand to make this meal.

Audrey's Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

Process

Cream butter and sugar, stir until in pumpkin, eggs and water. Blend dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Use cupcake liners or spray muffin pan and bake @ 350 degrees for 24 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. It make take a few more minutes depending on your oven.

To make these VEGAN - Use Earth Balance instead of butter. Replacement for the eggs: 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 Tablespoon oil, and 1 Tablespoon vinegar, mix together in a small bowl in the order listed. Add this to your mixture last and don’t over stir.

Also, you can use a little less sugar without effecting the taste - I use 1 1/3 cups sugar.


Thanks Audrey!

Pastina Soup

Ingredients

Process

Simmer the vegetables in the chicken broth until extremely soft. You can simmer them whole or cut into small pieces, whatever is easier for you to blend. Once soft, blend the vegetables and add back into the broth. Cook pastina separately. Cook pastina according to directions, until it absorbs all the water. Cook the chicken however you would like in order to shred it. Shred the chicken breast(s) and add to the soup. Season with italian seasoning, salt, pepper, tarragon, thyme, red pepper, garlic powder, etc. Add the pastina to the soup. Add juice of half lemon. Add parmesan on top. Done!

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

Process

Chop sausage and brown in pot. Remove sausage and set aside. Chop the bacon and cook in the bottom of pot. Once finished, remove bacon pieces from the pot and set to side. Add some butter to the bottom of the pot. Cook diced onion until transclucent. Add garlic as desired, but I always use almost an entire small clove if making a large pot. Cook for 1 minute before adding the chicken broth. Add a cup of water. Add in spices: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion/garlic powder, Italian seasoning, thyme, oregano, etc. Cut the potatoes into cubes and add to boiling pot. Cook until potato is soft. Using an immersion blender if available, blend about half the potatoes in with the soup. Add the bacon and sausage to the soup. Add chopped kale or spinach to soup. Remove from heat. Add in half cup of heavy cream. Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

Process

The spices are very important. I like to make these carrots sweet and spicy, and bake them in the oven. Using an oven-safe dish, place the carrots in the dish. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Mix together in a bowl the cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, water, melted butter, and spices. Pour over the carrots in the baking dish. Coat all the carrots evenly. Cover with foil and put in the oven for 20-25 min, or until carrots are soft.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

Process

Bake the potatoes at 425 F until just barely soft inside. You don't want them fully cooked. In large saucepan, cook the bacon. Remove and set aside. Melt butter and cook onion until transclucent. Add in chopped garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add a little bit more butter and sprinkle in the flour to create a roux. Add in the chicken broth and milk. Once simmering, add the potato flakes and stir. Add in bayleaf at this point. Cube the baked potatoes and add to the soup. Remove skin if desired (but my mom never did). Mash up around half the poatoes while they cook, and keep the other half to make the soup chunky. Season with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Other seasonings as desired. When potato is adequetly soft, remove from heat. Add back in the chopped bacon, or save as toppings. Add cheddar cheese and sliced green onion as toppings. You can remove a potato or two and add carrot, beet, or any other root vegetable as desired.