Brown Butter & Balsamic Ravoilli

buy the chicken and cheese ravioli from Costco. It is a quick and easy dish to prepare. Be sure and brown the butter but don’t burn it!

Do you have a favorite side dish??



Brown Butter and Balsamic Ravioli

1 12-16 oz. package of fresh or frozen ravioli (I prefer chicken and cheese)

3 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for ravioli. Salt water and drop ravioli in water. Cook 8 minutes or until ravioli expand, float to top of water and are al dente.

Melt butter into large frying pan and brown. Add cooked ravioli to browned butter and turn and cook until browned. Add balsamic vinegar and stir until coated. Sprinkle cheese over the top, salt and pepper to taste. (I forgot to add the cheese for the photo!)

Ribollitta Soup/Swiss chard

Ribollitta
submitted by Melanie


1/4 c olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, washed very carefully and chopped--I added this last time and it was great!!
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can Italian tomatoes, crushed or pureed
6-8 cups chicken broth
2 15oz cans great northern beans (don't drain)
salt to taste (or bouillon)
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 bunch Swiss chard, tough ends removed, green leaves coarsely chopped (spinach or kale will work as well but Swiss chard is best)
Dried rustic bread cut in cubes or flavored croutons (Costco Fresh Gourmet Roasted Garlic Focaccia croutons are great!)
fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated


In a heavy dutch oven, or stockpot heat oil. Add onion, carrot, leek and celery. Cook on low heat, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook another 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, beans, salt and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add Swiss chard and cook uncovered until chard is tender, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Serve by putting bread cubes or croutons in bottom of bowl. Spoon soup over bread and sprinkle with cheese.
Posted by Melanie Anne at 1:00 PM
Labels: beans, melanie, Soup, vegetables

Sweet Bacon wrapped Venison Tenderloin

EZ Dough Wheat Version

2 lbs venison (or other) tenderloin
1/2 lb bacon (Plain, thin-sliced is best)
3 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups soy sauce (regular, NOT low-sodium. You'll want the saltiness)
1/4 cup white sugar (optional for added sweetness)


Mix brown sugar and soy sauce together in a bowl. Marinate in mixture for at least 3 hrs or overnight in the fridge. After marinating, place on a slotted baking sheet with a drip pan or aluminum foil below to catch the drippings. Do not dispose of the remaining marinade. Wrap a piece of bacon around the end of the tenderloin, securing the bacon strip with a toothpick. Repeat this process until the entire loin is wrapped in ten or so bacon "loops". (I had my tenderloin pre-cut into steaks, so I just wrapped each one individually in a slice of bacon). Drizzle the remaining marinade over the loin. You can retain a portion to continue to baste throughout the cooking process if desired (I did this). Place on center rack in over and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. (I actually cut the recipe in half this time, and I cut the cooking time to 20 minutes which cooked the meat to about Medium). Remove loin from oven and place directly on a grill over medium-high heat to sear the bacon and outer loin. (Another option is to continue baking in oven for 5-10 minutes. With 10 minutes left, lightly dust the top of the loin with white sugar creating a sweet crust on top of the bacon. Personally I think this would be too sweet, but I haven't tried it). Before serving, cut the loin between each strip of bacon so that each piece of meat has it's own slice of bacon. (Obviously mine look a little different since my tenderloin was pre-cut into steaks

Wheat Carrot muffins

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins

2 C. Brown Sugar, Packed
1 C. Oil
3 Eggs (3 T. Dehydrated Eggs + 1/3 C. Water…if you want a really fun trick use your left over carrot or rasin water to add to the egg powder)

2 C. Carrots, Finely Grated (1 C. Dehydrated Carrots. Pulse in blender before re-hydrating to make them smaller pieces. They take 20 minutes in cold water to rehydrate so if you need them sooner, simply put them in warmer water.)

1 C. Crushed Pineapple, Drained (If you have orange juice you’ll be serving, then drain the pineapple juice into your orange juice for a fun tropical blend orange juice!)

3 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 t. Salt
1T. Soda
1 t. Cinnamon
2 t. Vanilla
1 C. Raisins (I soak mine like I did with the oatmeal raisin cookies)
1 C. Walnuts, Broken

Grease and flour 2 bread pans, 1 bundt pan, or 2 muffin pans (12 each) with vegetable cooking spray. Beat together brown sugar, oil and eggs (no need to reconstitute eggs before adding to this mix). Sitr in carrots and pineapple. blend together dry ingredients; stir into batter thoroughly. Add vanilla, raisins, and nuts. pour into prepared pan. Bake bread pans for 45-40 minutes, muffins for 20 minutes, and bundt pan 1 hour or until done.

Makes 1 Bundt pan, 2 bread pans, or 24 muffins.

Okay, now for the easy gourmet tips:

Adding the nuts on top of the muffins not only gives it a great look and flavor (it lightly toasts the nuts) but it is also a great way to serve nut lovers and non-nut lovers alike since it becomes obvious which have nuts and which don’t.

POWDERED MILK CHOCOLATE SHAKE

Chocolate Milk Shake with NO ice cream:-makes two 8-ounce cups
This one I know is hard to believe but it SO delicious! I don’t think I’ll ever make the kind with ice cream again!

1/2 C. Water
3/4 C. Dry Powdered Milk
1/3 C. Chocolate Powder
2 C. Ice

Layer ingredients in your blender as listed and blend until smooth. Serve immediately! Spruce it up with half of a banana for fun!

If you want a great variation, that tastes like it is a Jamba Juice “Peanut Butter Moo’d” then add one banana cut into 1 inch slices and 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter. The peanut butter and banana make it even smoother and add such a great complimentary taste.

HOMEMADE CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup

1 C. Magic Mix
3/4 C. Chicken Broth (either from a can, bouillion, or liquid from canned chicken)
1 t. Dry Parsley
Dash of Onion Salt

Mix together with wire whisk over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

cHEESY BAKED POTATO AND BROCCOLI SOUP

Cheesy Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup
1 C. Magic Mix
1 1/2 C. Water
3/4 C. Sour Cream
2-3 Baked Potatoes (you can also just use microwaved potatoes)
1 1/2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 -2 C. Chopped Broccoli
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Garnish with Bacon bits and green onions or chives, if desired

Mix magic mix and water over medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil and thicken. Add in remaining ingredients. Garnish with bacon bits and or green onions.