Sausage and Kale Soup

My sister-in-law made this for us over the holidays and I LOVED it. It's like the Zuppa Tuscana soup from Olive Garden. There are a lot of recipes out there for this soup, but this one is easy, tasty, and IC friendly. I have no complaints.

For IC people, be careful with sausage. Don't ever get anything flavored or spicy or swimming in preservatives.

Sausage and Kale Soup
Soup Base
1 can chicken broth
1/4 c half and half
1 qt water

Main Ingredients
~6 Potatoes, cubed
1 package mild Italian sausage
2 leaves kale, cut off the stalk and into strips
Dried Onion and Garlic Salt to taste

Saute sausage and drain grease. Mix together the soup base and add main ingredients. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Like I said, easy!

Turkey Roll Ups

This is a recipe I got from my in-laws. I first had it after Thanksgiving, using the leftover turkey. Since I never buy turkey other than Thanksgiving, I use chicken the rest of the year.

Turkey Roll Ups
8 oz cream cheese
1 T chopped onion
1/8 t pepper
2 c pre-cooked turkey/chicken (shredded or cubed)
2 can crescent rolls
Melted butter
Breadcrumbs

Mix first three ingredients, then add turkey. Roll out crescents. Divide the mix onto the rolls. Roll up starting with the large end and tuck the ends up, making balls. Dip in butter and roll in breadcrumbs. Bake at 400˚for 15 minutes (should be golden brown).
Top with sauce (see below) and grated cheese.
Sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c sour cream
3/4 c milk

Mix and heat on the stove until hot.

Funeral Potatoes

Okay, these aren't exclusive to funerals, obviously. But that's what we always called them. There are also as many variations as there are stars in the sky, but here's one that I like.

Funeral Potatoes
32 oz frozen hashbrowns
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
16 oz sour cream
1 c grated cheese
1/2 T dried onion

Mix and put in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350˚ for 1 to 1.5 hours.

NOTES
I usually use mozarella cheese to be safe in my recipes (due to trying to avoid hard cheeses), but this is best if you can throw in colby jack or something with a little sharper flavor.

Some people crush corn flakes and put on top before baking to give it some crunch. I never had it like that, but hey, if corn flakes are your thing, go nuts!

Crepes

I love breakfast. A lot. In fact, we often have breakfast for dinner. One of my favorite breakfast is crepes. My dad used to make them on special days (and whenever he'd give into my begging), so they always bring back a flood of good memories when I eat them.

Crepes
1 c flour
1 1/2 c milk
2 eggs
2 T sugar
1 T cooking oil
1/2 t salt

Combine everything and beat until smooth. Lightly grease skillet and heat until water sizzles when sprinkled on it. Pour about 2 T of batter onto the skillet and spread around by tilting the pan. Cook one side only. The crepe is done when the top is no longer shiny wet.
Top/stuff with whatever you want. We are fans of cinnamon and sugar. My dad did homemade jam and powdered sugar. Or, if you are in more of a dinner mood, you can stuff it with chicken and veggies and use it like a tortilla.
NOTES
I use the shallowest skillet I have--it seems to help with the spreading. Granted, I still have some ugly crepes, but they still taste good. :)

The heat is the hardest part of making crepes. You don't want the pan too hot, or the bottom burns before the top is done. Too cool and you're waiting forever. I usually put my burner on 3.5 out of 10, but it just takes some practice.

This recipe makes a ton of crepes. I cut it in half, and I get probably around 16 crepes (plenty for 2 people). If you have a ton left over, stack flat with waxed paper in between each crepe and freeze. Thaw at RT for 1 hour.

Chicken Kabobs

Okay, I know it's been forever, but I've had computer drama. The good news is now I can post the oodles of recipes I have stored up all quick, fast, and in a hurry!

So this recipe needs to be used with a bit of judgement. I can have pineapple if I've been SUPER good for about a week and if I'm not stressed out. Or if I'm cheating. Let's face it, I LOVE pineapple, and next to tomatoes, it's probably been the hardest thing to give up. But not everyone is willing to sacrifice for pineapple. Really, you can put anything you want on the skewer (this isn't a strict recipe) and just go with it! You have to be willing to try new things or food just gets routine and boring.

These kabobs are simple and tasty and work great for the hot summer days when you don't want to use your oven.

Chicken Kabobs
Thawed chicken breast, cubed
Anything else, cubed

Simply take thawed chicken breasts and cut into about 1 or 2" chunks. Coat with olive oil and your own combination of spices. I used garlic powder, rosemary, and basil, but really, you can use anything. The olive oil is key though. If you have time, marinate in the oil, but if not, simply put the chicken, oil, and spices in a bowl and mix. Slide chicken onto the skewers, intermixing with your other ingredients.

I used pineapple to space in between the chicken, but you can use peppers, squash, other veggies, etc. I happened to be low on groceries when we made this meal, so ours aren't very varied. :)
We don't have a full-sized grill, but our camping grill did nicely. They took about 10 minutes to cook, but we made sure to check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Food safety first, and poultry is the worst (needs to be up to 165˚).
They even looked pretty when we were done! If I was smart, I would have made rice and served the kabobs over it. But hey, I'll do that next time.