Wisconsin Cheese Chowder
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
¾ cup chopped green onions
½ large onion
4 cups diced red potato (about 1 ½ lbs)
2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup flour
2 cups 2% milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrot, celery, onions and saute for 10 minutes. Add potato and chicken or veg stock, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Place flour in bowl and gradually add milk, blending with a wire whisk for no lumps, add to soup. Stir in salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

Makes about 6-8 servings
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Beef Skewer with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
1 pound flank steak
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce, (called Sriracha, with the rooster on the label, yum)
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
4 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Cut the flank steak in half lengthwise and freeze it for 30 minutes.

2. Combine the soy sauce, oil, chili sauce, brown sugar, cilantro, garlic, and scallions in a measuring cup; set aside. Remove the flank steak from the freezer and slice each piece across the grain into ¼-inch-thick strips. Weave the meat onto individual bamboo skewers. Dunk the meat end of each skewer in the marinade to coat; lay the skewers in a shallow dish, propping up the exposed ends of the skewers to keep them clean. Pour the remaining marinade over the meat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Adjust an oven rack to the top position and heat the broiler. Lay the skewers on a wire rack
set over a rimmed baking sheet and cover the skewer ends with foil. Broil for 6 to 7 minutes, flipping the skewers over halfway through, until the meat is browned. Serve immediately with
the peanut sauce.

Serves 12

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
This sauce can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. Bring the sauce to room temperature before serving.

½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼-½ cup hot water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin

Whisk the peanut butter and hot water together in a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients, add more water to make the sauce the consistancy of a creamy sauce. Enjoy!

Makes about 1 cup
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Crab Cakes with Chipotle Sauce
Sauce
¾ cup mayonnaise
Zest of one lime
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped roasted peppers packed in jar
3 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies, plus 1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce*
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cakes
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
1½ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
Cooking spray

For Sauce:
Mix all ingredients in food processor, whiz until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For Cakes:
To prepare crab cakes, combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in ¾ cup panko. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions (about ½ cup each); shape each into a ¾-inch-thick patty. Place remaining ¾ cup panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 patty at a time, dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with the remaining patties and panko.

Heat 1½ teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat both sides of crab cakes with cooking spray. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 7 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining 1½ teaspoons oil, cooking spray, and remaining 4 crab cakes.

Serves 6
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Grilled Cumin Shrimp

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons ground tumeric
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1½ teaspoons salt
2 lemons, juiced
2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails left on

Preheat grill or broiler. Melt butter in saucepan, stir in garlic, tumeric, cumin, coriander, salt and lemon juice. Skewer shrimp, pour some sauce over to coat. Broil or grill on high until shrimp are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Brush with more sauce and serve.

Makes 12 appetizers
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Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce

This is from Ellie Krieger's (on the Food Network) The Food You Crave book published in 2008. She creates really healthy, but delicious dishes, I love this book, all the dishes are very easy to prepare, look and taste great!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup crumbled feta cheese or a 6-ounce block
1 pound whole-wheat fettuccine
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes. Add roasted peppers and saute until heated through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor with stock and all but 2 tablespoons of the feta. Process until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce, adding pasta water by the tablespoon, if needed. Sauce should cling nicely to pasta. Season with pepper, to taste. Divide among pasta bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining feta cheese.

Makes 6-1cup servings

The Best Burgers Ever

These are even juicier than a burger made with all Ground Chuck! Great way to be able to eat lower-fat beef, and still keep all the flavor.

4 slices of white bread, torn into pieces
½ cup buttermilk
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
20 cranks of fresh cracked pepper
5-6 shots of worchestershire sauce

4 lbs. extra lean ground beef

Your favorite cheese (I like a good sharp white cheddar)
Sliced onions/tomatoes
15 whole wheat buns

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Mashing the bread and other ingredients into a paste (can be done in mini-food-processor if you’d like). Add burger and combine well (use your hands, but don’t overmix it)

Form into patties, indent the center a little bit, for even cooking. You can freeze the burgers at this point (place on a sheet pan and freeze overnight, then place in between little sheets of wax paper and place in freezer bag, they’ll be ready anytime) Grill 4-5 minutes per side (don’t push down on the burger while grilling, or you’ll loose all your juices! Serve on buns with your favorite burger toppings.

Makes 15- 4oz+ burgers

For 4 small burgers use these proportions:

1 slices of white bread, torn into pieces
2 tablespoons cup buttermilk
1 small crushed garlic cloves
¼ bunch fresh parsley, finely minced
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
5 cranks of fresh cracked pepper
1-2 shots of worchestershire sauce

1 lbs. extra lean ground beef

Shelagh’s Quickest Shrimp and Pasta

12 large shrimp (use a frozen 21-25, which means there are 21-25 shrimp per
pound tail on, raw) completely thawed
2 tablespoons of prepared/jarred pesto
½ teaspoon red chili flakes (if your spices are fresh, this will have a good kick,
if you don’t like it too spicy, you can reduce)
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Splash of white wine
1½ cups of canned chopped or crushed tomatoes (I would highly recommend
the Muir Glen Fire Roasted! In fact, I think it’s key to the recipe, it adds a
nice smokiness)
6 oz. linguine or spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon fresh basil, torn over final dish (optional, but yummy)
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
Combine thawed shrimp, pesto, chili flakes and garlic in bowl, let marinate at room
temp for 20-30 minutes. In the mean time, cook the pasta according to package
directions until al dente.
Get a 12-14 inch or larger skillet hot over medium high heat, then add olive oil. When
almost smoking, add the shrimp, cook for about 45 seconds and flip them over (or see
Tip of the day below). Add the splash of wine and let simmer for about a minute. Add the
tomatoes and simmer for about 5-8 minutes, until sauce has reduced a bit.
Drain the pasta and add to the shrimp and sauce, toss to coat. Serve immediately with
fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Serves 2

Tip of the day: You can grill the shrimp instead of sauteeing them. (For all you Nativity 4th grade
Sleigh Ride Party go-ers, that’s the shrimp I made.) Then proceed with the recipe for the finished pasta dish.
Enjoy.

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Tuscan Bean Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ lb. hot Italian sausage (I use turkey)
1 chopped leek (white and light green only)
1 chopped onion
1 large chopped carrot
1 large chopped celery stalk
1 head of kale
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
½ teas. chili pepper flakes
1 can (14 oz) chopped Fire Roasted tomatoes
¼ head of shredded Savoy cabbage
1-2 cans cannellini or Great Northern beans
½ tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cups (about) chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Italian or French bread one or two days old
¼ cup Parmesan

In a large pot, with a cover and a thick bottom, on medium + heat add the olive oil and turkey to brown for a few minutes, add and saute the leek, onion, carrot, celery, kale, garlic and chili pepper, stirring often until the onion has turned color (about ten minutes, depending on the heat)

Add the tomatoes, cabbage and the beans, more olive oil if you wish, and stir well to mix the ingredients.

Mix in the rosemary/oregano, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add enough stock to cover the ingredients by about ¼ inch Bring to a very slow simmer and cook, covered, for about ½ hour.

Lightly toast/broil the bread and put a slice at the bottom of each soup bowl before ladling in the soup. Sprinkle with Parm Cheese.

Makes 6 servings

Tip of the day: Save the rinds from your chunks of Parmesan, (keep in the freezer until ready to use) then throw them into your soups to add amazing flavor. You can also use them in tomato sauces, or when you are simmering a homemade soup stock. Best tip yet! Enjoy.

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Baked Potato Soup

4 baking potatoes (about 2 ½ pounds)
²/³ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

2 cups broccoli florets finely chopped
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
¾ cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes. Discard skins, or save for another use, such as potato skins.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add potatoes, use blender to puree, then add ¾ cup cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in broccoli, sour cream and ½ cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until
thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.

Serves 8
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Roasted Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil

6 vine ripened tomatos or 1-28 oz. can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes (either crushed, whole or diced)
3 cups tomato puree or juice (I prefer low-sodium V8)
2 tablespoons dried shallots (or 2 small shallots, chopped)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
15-20 fresh basil leaves

Rind of parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

On a sheet pan lined with parchment and a rack, place halved and seeded tomatos cut side down. Roast for about 30 minutes at 400º or until nicely charred. If using canned tomatos, you can skip the roasting.

Combine the roasted tomatoes, tomato juice (or puree), shallots, stock, basil and rind in a large soup pan. Bring to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (don’t let it scorch). Remove parmesan rind, then using a stick blender (or pour into a blender) puree until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Options: add a swirl of cream to bowl right before serving. Also delicious with some grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6

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Plum Upside-down Cake on the Grill, yes, grill

click here to download a printable pdf of this recipe.

My mom always made Pineapple Upside-down cake for our family. I thought how fun to try and alter this a bit to use those wonderful plums that are in season right now. The best thing about this cake is you don't even have to turn on your oven! You could even sprinkle some blueberries in the pan, how perfect for the 4th of July. I hope you try it, and I'd love to see how you liked it, as well as if my photo chronicling was helpful (if anything, it was fun to document as I went along!)

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
7-8 ripe plums, halved and pitted

One box Duncan Hines Butter Cake (I think Duncan Hines is a good cake mix brand, it's what my mom always used)
One small can crushed pineapple in it's own juice
3 eggs

Tools needed:
Gas grill (I haven't tested this yes on a charcoal grill)
9-10 inch pan with (I used a spring-form pan, which made it really easy to 'unload' when done)
Mixer

Step one:
Preheat your grill to high on both sides. Firmly put some foil around the bottom of your pan (if using a spring-form pan, it's so the butter and mix don't ooze through, it also protect your pan from getting black from the grill). Place the stick of butter and the brown sugar in the pan, place on bottom rack of grill. Close up the cover until it's all melted and gooey. Stir and be sure it's evenly spread around pan. Caution, very very hot, mixture, use caution.

Step two:
In bowl, combine the cake mix, pineapple, and 3 eggs. Beat to combine. Should be nice and thick. (note, we're omitting the butte from the cake recipe, adding it in step one will still give that yummy buttery flavor. The pineapple does the job to moisten the cake) Set aside.

Remove the butter/sugar mixture from the grill, arrange the plums cut side up in the pan, get as many in as you can.



Pour cake batter over the plums.



Step three:
Place pan onto high rack of grill. Keep the left side of grill on high, right side on low. If you don't have a higher rack, then turn the right side to off.



Bake the cake for about an hour. Turn the cake about half way through baking time. If it seems to be baking too quickly, turn down the left side to medium. Better to cook it slowly. Check with a cake tester or toothpick, just like a regular cake.



Step four:
When cake if fully cooked, let it cool for about an hour. Then place your serving plate over the cake and flip. All that butter makes it flop right onto your plate. Now you get to eat it! yum! Serve it with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, or even easier, the fun stuff out of the can, that's what we did!

Satay Burgers
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup finely chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
1½ tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1½ tablespoons fish sauce
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon jalapeno
3 garlic cloves, minced
¾ pound ground pork
¾ pound ground turkey breast
Cooking spray

Prepare grill. Combine first 11 ingredients. Divide mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a ½-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 165°. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Serve with Poblano Sauce and whole wheat buns.

Makes 6 servings (serving size: 1 patty)

Poblano Cream Sauce
3 poblano chiles
½ (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup cilantro

Place chiles on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Broil chiles 3 inches from heat 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until charred. Place chiles in a heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; seal and let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins. Peel and seed chiles, discarding skins.
Combine chiles, cream cheese and cilantro in food processor or blender; process until smooth.

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