Sylvia's Scenario

Here is a way to get your vegetables in your meal without even knowing it.  My kids loved this recipe when they were little and we still love it for a quick and easy meal. Serves 4 1 pound ground turkey breast 1/2 c. green pepper, chopped 1/4 c. onion, chopped 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce 1/2 c. bottled barbecue sauce (I like Stubbs) 1 c. cabbage with carrot (coleslaw mix), shredded 4 toasted hamburger buns or 4 baked potatoes 1. Cook ground turkey, pepper and onion in large skillet until meat is browned. 2. Stir in tomato, barbecue sauce and coleslaw mix. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.    3. Spoon onto toasted buns or use as topper on baked potatoes.

Remember those TV dinner we use to eat when we were kids? The salisbury steak was always my favorite. I'm not sure I ever had "salisbury" steak other than those TV dinners until I came across this recipe. It's in the same category as meatloaf, a real comfort food at our house and everyone's favorite. This is actually easier to make than meatloaf and a lot faster so if you're in the mood for some real comfort food, this is the recipe to whip up. Serves 4-6 1 pound ground turkey breast 1 pound lean ground beef 3/4 cup bread crumbs 2 eggs cooking spray 1 cup water 3 Tbsp. tomato paste 2 Tbsp.  Madeira wine or dry sherry 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 (10- 1/2 ounce) can condensed French onion soup 1.  Combine first 4 ingredients.  2.   Divide meat mixture into 6 -8 equal  portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch thick patty.  3.  Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medi

This is a really easy recipe that you can whip up in no time and it definitely has that Chinese flavor.   And since it's Chinese New Year's, that's what we're having tonight.  The eggs are what I like about this soup since we are getting fresh eggs again from our chickens.  They decided to start laying recently…is spring on the way? Makes 2 servings or 4 servings as appetizer soup 4 cups chicken broth 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. dry sherry 1 Tbsp. cold water 1 Tbsp. cornstarch 2 eggs 2 green onions, sliced diagonally 2 tsp. dark sesame oil 1.  Combine broth, soy sauce, and sherry in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes. 2.  Stir water into cornstarch in a small bowl; mix well, stir mixture into soup; simmer 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. 3.  Stirring constantly in one direction, slowly add beaten eggs into soup in a thin stream.  Stir in green onions.  Remove from heat; stir in sesame o

Happy Chinese New Year! Today is Chinese New Year's, the year of the Dragon, so we must celebrate.  I'm not Chinese but we celebrate anyway.  In 2009, we were in Hawaii to celebrate Chinese New Year's which was fun because of the large Asian population there. This year my son, Nick, is in Japan and they are celebrating in Yokohama's Chinatown. When my kids were little we did various things to celebrate, like tour a fortune cookie factory... How fun is that? We loved Chinatown in Seattle so there was always a lot going on for Chinese New Year's.  In fact, last year, Nick's wife, Sachiyo, organized a field trip to Chinatown for Chinese New Year's with her English class.   They experienced the parade in Seattle's Chinatown (now called the International District) and they had so much fun my son said to me "How come we never did any of this fun stuff when we lived here!?"  I guess what we did wasn't enough f

This hearty vegetarian soup warms up chilly nights.  Use any type of canned beans you happen to have on hand and add chicken or Italian sausage for a heftier dish, if you prefer. Makes 4-6 servings 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 tsp. salt, divided 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups vegetable broth, divided 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1.  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add onion, carrot, and celery, and saute 6 minutes or until tender.  Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic; cook 1 minute.   2.  Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until kale is crisp-tender. 3.   Place half of cannellini beans and r

If you have a child off at college, this a good little snack to send them for a treat instead of the usual cookies - not that they don't enjoy cookies but just to give them a little variety since we all ate our share of cookies last month! This is a fun recipe. If you just want to make them for yourself, these are good to compliment all that soup you're making this month. (January is National Soup Month, by the way…) Or make them as a snack while watching the endless football on TV.    Makes 12 pretzels 1 package dry yeast (about 2-1/4 tsp.) 1-1/2 tsp. sugar 1 cup warm water (100 - 110 degrees) 3-1/4 cups flour, divided 1 tsp. salt cooking spray 2 Tbsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cornmeal 1 tsp. water 1 large egg 2 tsp. kosher salt 1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes. 2. Sift together 3 cups flour and 1 tsp. salt. Add to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured sur

Makes 4 servings 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts 4 ribs celery, cut into large pieces 1 carrot, peeled and thickly sliced 1 medium onion, quartered 1 large bay leaf 2 cups chicken broth 2 Tbsp. sesame oil 1 head Napa cabbage, chopped 2-3 heads of baby bok choy 12 ounces mushrooms, sliced 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced on an angle 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 fresno chili pepper, thinly sliced One 1-inich piece fresh ginger, grated 2 Tbsp.  tamari or soy sauce 1-14 oz. package fresh yakisoba noodles a handful cilantro, chopped 1.  Place the chicken, celery, carrot, onion and bay leaf in a pot.  Cover with 1-1/2 - 2 quarts water, bring to a boil and let poach for 12 minutes.   Remove the chicken and let cool.  Shred the chicken meat.  Strain the poaching liquid.  Mix together with the store-bought chicken broth.   3.  Heat the sesame oil in a dutch oven or medium soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, green

It's been a week since New Year's and everyone is getting into a regular routine again but now it's time to spice things up again!  This is still a good soup to keep with the "cleansing" theme but now with  a little kick to it!  To keep it low calorie, used baked tortilla chips but we used Tostitos Artisan Fire Roasted Chipotle tortilla chips which went really well with this soup. Serves 4 1 chopped onion 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 can beans, drained (use your favorite kind, I like black beans) 1 cup frozen corn 1 Tbsp. fresh, seeded jalepeno 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 quart broth 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can reduced fat tomato soup crushed tortilla chips 1.  In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in a little broth. 2.  Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. 3.  Ladle into bowls and top with tortilla chips.

It's time to start cleansing after the holidays and this is a good soup to start with.  All vegetables. The vegetables give this soup a natural sweetness so you'll have no problem devouring the whole pan. Serves 6 3 carrots, diced 1 small yellow onion, diced 4 cloves garlic 1/2 head green cabbage, diced 2 cups spinach 2 small zucchini, diced 1/2 head cauliflower, diced 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced  1 can diced tomatoes 2 quarts chicken broth 2 tsp. basil 1 tsp. oregano salt to taste 1.  In a large pot, add a small amount oil, then add carrots, onion and garlic; saute vegetables over low heat until softened. 2.  Add cabbage, spinach, and zucchini, stir and continue to saute vegetables until softened. 3.  Add diced tomatoes and broth.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat, add basil and oregano.  Simmer, covered for 15 minutes.  Salt to taste.

The holidays are over, home life is settling down with no visitors scheduled to come over, Bruce took down the Christmas tree today, I washed some of the Christmas towels and napkins in preparation to put them away but usually putting the Christmas stuff away will take most the month of January! Too much Christmas stuff all over the house… The fake snow everywhere makes putting things away a little more challenging. The mantle and wood stove is perfect for lots of Christmas trinkets. I like to put lights on everything in the house to give the inside that certain glow of warmth for Christmas, even though it is tedious to put up and take down. I'm also very nostalgic so Christmas is an excuse to put out all my kids' old Christmas projects to remember years gone by. I put gifts under the tree that were handmade by friends or passed on to me by my dad that we played with when we were children. I display all our Christmas cards on rib