Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)

*Recipe from allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min.
Ready in: 1 Hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
4 T. olive oil, divided
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 quarts cold water
6 oz. linguica sausage, thinly sliced (I used spicy Italian sausage)
2 1/2 tsp salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1 pound kale, rinsed and julienned (I used one bunch of kale, which was less than 1 pound but still plenty of kale)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in 3 T. olive oil for 3 min. Stir in potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, 3 more min. Pour in water, bring to a boil, and let boil gently for 20 min., until potatoes are mushy.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium-low heat, cook sausage until it has released most of its fat, 10 min. Drain.

3. Puree the potato mixture in a blender or food processor. Stir the sausage, salt and pepper into the soup and return to medium heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

4. Just before serving, stir kale into soup and simmer 5 minutes until kale is tender and jade green. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve at once.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

We've been making these a lot recently:

Ingredients:
1½ lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine brussels sprouts, oil, maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast 18 to 20 minutes or until tender, stirring once.

Bean and Chicken Sausage Stew

Hi girls. Nick made this for dinner this past week and it was yummy. I thought it was a successful find considering it's very quick and easy to make, and meets all of our family's various food preferences/needs.  It's also fairly nutritious, depending on how you feel about chicken sausage. The recipe comes from Real Simple.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 12-ounce package fully cooked chicken sausage links, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale leaves, torn into 2-inch pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1 loaf country bread (optional)

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the beans, broth, and tomatoes and their liquid and bring to a boil.
Add the kale and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the bread, if using.

Baked Oatmeal

We make this the night before and then bake it in the morning. This is the dish I brought to Christmas brunch. Enjoy! *Original recipe by Heidi Swanson*

2 c. rolled (not instant) oats
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup sugar or maple syrup (plus more for serving)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
2 c. milk (room temperature works best)
1 large egg (we usually use 2)
1 1/2 Tbs butter melted, plus some to grease the pan
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
(*We have also added copped apples to this as well as raisins*)

1. Preheat oven to 375F with rack in top third of oven. Butter 8x8 in pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together oats, walnuts, sugar (NOT maple syrup if using), baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk maple syrup (if using), milk, egg, butter and vanilla.

3. Arrange bananas in a single layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of berries over top. Cover fruit with oat mixture. Slowly drizzle milk mixture over oats. Gently give baking dish a few thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through oats. Scatter remaining berries on top.

Bake 35- 45 min, until golden brown and oats have set. (Ours always takes at least 45 min. - 60 min.) Serve with extra syrup.

Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

*Mom, these are the sugar cookies we made this year that you loved so much.
*This recipe is originally from all recipes.com
*Reminder, if we make these again, we can halve the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Flourless Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

KM - These are the cookies from Journey Group that were next to the granola bars. :)

Makes 1 dozen
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 Tbs. butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix until blended.

Portion cookies onto a greased baking sheet, approximately 1 - inches apart.

Bake 12 - 15 min.

Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.

*Originally found on carrotsncake.com*

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. red food coloring
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Beat in food coloring. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 -12 min. Let cool slightly before transferring to wire racks.