Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Combine coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Set aside. In electric mixer,using whisk attachment, whip egg whites and salt on high speed until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Using ice cream scoop, drop batter onto parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

Optional: Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream in microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir. If not melted, microwave a little longer, being careful not to overcook.

Dip 1/3 to 1/2 of the cookie in chocolate. Let firm up and them wrap individually in plastic wrap to store.

White Bean Chili

This soup is a new twist on traditional chili and full of flavor. It has a bit of a spicy kick, but can easily be toned down. If you are sensitive to heat, cut down on the cumin and red pepper flakes.

ingredients

4 chicken breasts, shredded (or 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded from bone)

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 (4 oz.) cans green chilies

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 (16 oz.) cans white beans

1 (16 oz.) can white kidney beans

5 c. chicken broth

3 c. monterey jack cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

sour cream (optional)

avocado (optional)

preparations

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Stir in the garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano and red pepper. Saute for 2 minutes. Add undrained beans and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add salt and pepper. Add chicken and cheese and stir until cheese melts. Garnish with sour cream and avocados.

Alfredo

From the kitchen of Kate Boyle with minor modification from me

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp. flour
1 1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Hot cooked fettuccine

Instructions:

Saute garlic in butter. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook 8 minutes.

Stir in the sour cream. Cook 2 minutes.

Add the parmesan cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over hot pasta. Top with fresh chopped parsley.

Note: Kate's recipe calls for cream cheese but I substituted that for sour cream and I think it was delish. Also, her dish is vegetarian. I cut some chicken breasts into strips and fried them with garlic salt and pepper to top the pasta. This dish took about 35 minutes to prepare and cook. It was very tasty and quite easy.

Taco Soup

From the kitchen of Betty Cowdell and Chandra Colton

Ingredients:

1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can diced green chilis
1 packet taco seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef

Instructions:

Empty all cans, including juices into a crock pot and cook on medium.

Brown hamburger and add 1/4 packet of taco seasoning.

Add hamburger and remaining taco seasoning to soup and let cook for 1-2 hours stirring occasionally. If you want to leave it in the crock longer just put it on low heat.

Serve with sour cream and cheese on top.

Note: This is a super easy dish and it's one of my favorites. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

To Get Things Started....

I will post a couple of recipes mostly just to get things started. I will add labels to all of my recipes such as: main dish, chicken, pasta, soup, etc. so we can have a list of labels on the side of the blog that will allow us to choose what we'd like.

I found these pics online because I didn't take pics and really all alfredo and all taco soup looks the same.