Homemade Croutons

I hate seeing food go to waste! This is the perfect solution for your old bread, especially bakery or homemade bread. My best croutons were the ones I made with a tomato basil bread.... delish.

Cut left over bread into small cubes.
Soak in melted butter or olive oil.
After soaking, sprinkle with garlic salt, parsley flakes, basil, Parmesan cheese.... the possibilities are endless!



Bake 15-20 minutes at 350° on a foil-lined baking sheet, then broil for about two minutes, being careful not to burn. It is important to stir them so they cook evenly on all sides.

Cool before using on salad.

Golden Pork Chops

This has got to be one of my absolutely favorite meals! I love pork chops, and found this to be a tasty twist on a classic.

1 can cream-style corn
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 box Jiffy Corn Bread, prepared & crumbled
4 boneless pork chops

Glaze
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard

Brown pork chops on the stove. In a large bowl, combine the corn, onion, celery & paprika. Stir in corn bread and transfer to an 11x7x2 baking dish. Arrange pork chops over stuffing. Combine brown sugar & mustard; spread over chops. Bake uncovered at 400° for 35-40 minutes.

Norb McGrady Hotdish

In honour of St. Patrick's Day, an easy hotdish that will have everyone cheering for the Irish!

1 lb. hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1 onion, chopped
6 cups (about half a head) cabbage, chopped

Brown hamburger with chopped onion. In the bottom of a 9x13" casserole dish place 3 cups cabbage. Add browned hamburger & onion mixture and top with 3 cups cabbage. Pour 1 can tomato soup on top. Bake for 1 hour at 350°.

Reuben Hotdish

As any Minnesotan will tell you the word 'casserole' is not part of our vocabulary; instead we call it a 'hotdish'. There are millions of hotdish recipes floating around Minnesota kitchens. This is one I like to take credit to introducing to my home state. I made it for different family members various times when they came to visit us in Massachusetts and it got rave reviews. It's a great treat for Reuben lovers!


8 oz. wide noodles, cooked
1 lb. sauerkraut, drained
2 cups chopped corned beef
2 medium tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing
10 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded
4 crisp rye crackers, crushed
1/2 tsp. caraway seed

In a greased 9x13" pan, layer buttered noodles, sauerkraut, corned beef & tomatoes. Dot with Thousand Island dressing, and sprinkle with cheese. Top with cracker crumbs and caraway seed. Bake for 1 hour @ 350°, or until bubbly.

Top with Thousand Island dressing if desired.
Serves 6-8 people.

Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil

This is one of my favorite soups. It's loaded with vitamins and tastes great when you're sick or when you're just looking for a comforting soup on a cold night.


3 large very ripe tomatoes (You substitue with 1-2 large cans of whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes if desired & skip the first half of step 1.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup (2 oz) tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup shell pasta

1. Score a small cross in the top of each tomato. Plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then into cold water. Peel the skin down from the cross and discard. Remove the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan and cook the onion, garlie & red pepper, stirring for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomato & cook for another 10 minutes.

2. Add the stock, tomato paste, sugar, salt & pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat & add basil leaves. Allow to cool slightly before processing the mixture, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan & reheat gently.

3. While the soup is cooking, add the pasta to a large pan or rapidly boiling salted water & cook until al dente. Drain, add to the soup and heat through.

Garnish with basil leaves if desired.
Serves 4-6

The Classic Smoothie

This is a never fail smoothie recipe that I use as is, or to build other smoothies off of. You can add anything from blueberries to yogurt to nuts to honey.... you get the picture. But this is the recipe that started it all.


1 cup orange juice
1 cup frozen strawberries (hulled)
1 banana

Pour the orange juice into the blender. Add the strawberries and banana. Blend until smooth.

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

I can't think of a better way to start off my recipe blog than with a recipe from my home.... Minnesota!


1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 cups water
2 strips bacon, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
2-3 cans chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms & juice

Simmer wild rice and water covered for 50-60 minutes; drain off excess water and set rice aside.
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, saute onion, celery & carrots in bacon grease.
Combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

This is a thick soup.
Serves 8 people.
Freezes well.