Minestrone Soup With Beef

© "So Easy, So Delicious"
 
1 T olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 C beef broth
28 oz can crushed Italian tomatoes
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 T parsley, chopped
1/2 C small pasta (tiny shells, stars, orzo, etc.)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Heat oil in a large soup pot and add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Add eggplant, carrots, celery, broth, tomatoes, nutmeg and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add pasta and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Hint: This soup freezes well. You can substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef.

Honey-Glazed Chicken With Apples

© "So Easy, So Delicious"
 
1 chicken, quartered
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
4 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1/4 C apple juice or cider
1/4 C honey
1 T brown sugar
Rind of 1 lemon, grated
Rind of 1 orange, grated
1/4 C orange marmalade

Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the apples around the edges of the pan. Roast at 350° for 40 minutes. Drain the accumulated liquid and discard. In a small pot, combine the apple juice or cider, honey, brown sugar, lemon and orange rind and heat until the honey is dissolved. Baste the chicken and apples with this mixture. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, basting every 5 minutes, until the chicken is golden. Brush orange marmalade over the chicken and apples and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. If not as brown as you would like, put chicken under the broiler for a few minutes.

Hint: This recipe is perfect in the fall and winter when apples and cider are plentiful. It is even more delicious if you make it a day in advance and reheat it.

Pumpkin Muffins

 
1½ C flour
1/2 C sugar, plus extra for topping
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C milk
1/2 C pumpkin
1/2 C butter or margarine, melted or canola oil
1 egg
1/2 C raisins

Mix all ingredients by hand just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon sugar over batter in each cup. Bake at 400° for 17 to 19 minutes, or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan.

Yield: 12 pumpkin muffins

Hint: These muffins are equally delicious with fresh or canned pumpkin. They freeze well.