Tag Archives: healthy recipe

Creamy Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Soup

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I always know when a recipe is a winner; my husband asks that the leftovers be refrigerated and not tossed out. A bowl of homemade soup is soothing and satisfying, especially in cold winter months. Before you say “yuk” to broccoli soup, try this recipe. The flavors of broccoli, cheese, onions and carrots blend together with a creamy texture to make a mellow and flavorful soup. This soup, which is adapted from a Panera Bread™ restaurant recipe, has become one of my favorite soup recipes. It is a good way to learn to like broccoli.

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Yet Another Breakfast Smoothie; Let’s Sit in the Sun

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When healthy tastes good…..It is much easier to eat a healthy breakfast when it also tastes good. I brought out the Ninja Smoothie maker again this summer to make coffee frappés and began experimenting with smoothies, too. I “invented” a wonderful oatmeal and banana smoothie. It is filling and tasty and and very nutritious. I enjoy sitting in the sun in the morning sipping my smoothie for some added health benefits — read on. Best of all, made with almond milk, this smoothie is lactose-free.

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Marinated Zucchini, Black Bean and Tomato Salad

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My backyard garden is doing great this year. The star performers are my zucchini plants. I have an abundance of this vegetable and I’ve tried out a number of recipes. This quick and easy summer salsa is a tasty way to serve zucchini. No cooking is involved — just slice and dice, combine the ingredients and marinate. The raw zucchini has a mild flavor and blends well in this dish. It’s a very healthy recipe and good way to include vegetables in meals. Continue reading →

Saucy Brussels Sprouts

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Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it is time to bring out favorite and traditional family recipes. Brussels spouts is a vegetable which matures in the autumn and is often featured in Thanksgiving menus spreads of food magazines. My recipe for “Saucy Brussels Sprouts” is a family favorite which we have served for years. The recipe originated in the Parade Magazine of the Washington Post newspaper. It is very easy to prepare and includes boiled Brussels sprouts served with a creamy sauce.

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Holly Clegg’s Strawberry Custard Brûlée and a Blackberry Variation

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This blog post is a tribute to cookbook author, Holly Berkowitz Clegg, who passed away last week. Holly raised her family in Baton Rouge and lived here for many years. Her message began as a healthy approach to southern cooking with easy meals in a series of “Trim & Terrific” cookbooks. Over the years her accomplishments include authoring 17 cookbooks selling over 1.5 million copies, appearing in national media and writing a bi-weekly food column for our local newspaper, the Advocate. I am making a blackberry variation of a recipe from one of her cookbooks, “Strawberry Custard Brûlée.” It is light and tasty. It exemplifies her goal to make things low-fat and easy. I like it — you will too. Continue reading →

Sweet Potato “Fries”

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When the very nutritious vegetable, the sweet potato, is cooked perfectly, it is tender yet still a little crisp with a wonderful sweet flavor. I have decided that it is actually a little tricky to cook sweet potatoes properly.  But I think I found the prefect sweet potato fry in a restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado, of all places. We recently visited this very upscale restaurant with a James Beard Chef winner on the staff. The sweet potatoes were cooked and served immaculately. I came home to try to duplicate their recipe.

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Creamed Sweet Peas and Bits of Trivia with My Stories

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I really can’t remember a Sunday dinner meal when I was growing up without creamed sweet peas especially during the summer months. It was truly a farm to table dish because the peas were picked from my parent’s very large garden that morning and served at the noon meal. Fresh creamed sweet peas have a delicious flavor that can’t be described. You have to shell and cook some yourself to get the idea. When I found sweet peas at the Shenandoah Valley farmers market in June, I had to purchase some to cook.

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Garden-Fresh Cottage Cheese Salad

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This summer, I’ve started on a mission to eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Here’s one way to meet that goal. This recipe features cottage cheese — which was a staple in our meals when I was growing up — and pairs it with fresh summer vegetables. I’d forgotten how tasty this combination was –cottage cheese and garden vegetables.  It is one way to meet my goal.

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Kids Can Cook: Blueberry Bran Flake Muffins

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Grandson holding Blueberry Bran Flake Muffin - 2 - IMG_5480_1When my five-year-old grandson came from Texas to visit and asked if he could help make the muffins, of course I was delighted. Another cook in the family!. Muffins are kid friendly; you just need a couple of bowls and a spatula. I had blueberries from our garden; supplemented with some from the store and was making blueberry muffins with bran flakes added in. Blueberry Bran Flake Muffins - IMG_5476_1

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