Healthy Living: Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo finely chopped (available in a small can at Safeway and Food Lion)
salt
1/2 small head Napa cabbage or romaine lettuce thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (optional)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup grated cheese (such as Mexican queso, romano or parmesan)
12 to 16 fresh, warm corn tortillas

1. The filling:
In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and chipotles. Season generously with salt (about 1/4 teaspoon). Add the cabbage, carrot, onion, cilantro and chicken. Toss everything together and let stand for 15 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

2. Finishing the Dish:
Scoop the filling into a wide shallow serving bowl, dot with the cubed avocado and dust generously with cheese. Set on the table the warm tortillas, and you're ready for some great roll- them- yourself tacos.

Sandra Talbot

Healthy Living: Mix Them Up Wraps

Tortillas - any flavor
Cream cheese
Spinach or lettuce (whatever you prefer)
Roast beef, turkey, chicken or ham
Your favorite veggies (tomatoes, avocados, sprouts, cucumber)

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the tortilla. Layer your lettuce, meat and veggies. Roll up and enjoy.

Chris Bowman

Chocolate Mint Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 cups chocolate chips (12 oz package)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
50-60 Andes mint candies

In saucepan, melt butter, sugar, and water. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and stir until completely melted. Pour into mixing bowl and let stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly. At high speed, beat in eggs one at a time. Reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients. Beat just until blended. Chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into balls and place 2 inches apart of cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place mint on top of each cookie. Allow to soften and swirl mint over cookie.

Enjoy!

Alyson Meldrum

Cheesy Catfish

2 Tablespoons margarine
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
2 pounds U.S. Farm-raised Catfish fillets

Preheat oven to 400º F. Place margarine in a 13x9-inch baking pan and put in the oven to melt while oven is heating. Remove pan from the oven.

Mix Parmesan cheese, cornmeal, flour, pepper and paprika in a plastic bag. Add catfish fillets, one at a time, and shake to coat with the Parmesan mixture. Arrange fillets in a single layer in the prepared pan, turning once to coat with margarine. Sprinkle remaining cheese mixture over fish.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Gail Short

Pavalova

6 egg whites
12 oz super fine sugar
1-teaspoon vanilla
1-teaspoon white vinegar
1-teaspoon cornstarch
1 pint whipping cream (whipped stiff for filling)

Beat egg white and ¾ of sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in the rest of sugar; add cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Put mixture in a lightly oiled dish; Make a well in the center.
Bake at 250º for 1-½ hours. Turn off oven and leave there for 30 minutes. Fill with cream and fresh fruit.

Gail Short

White Mountain Frosting

Beat 2 egg whites until stiff.
In a sauce pan, mix and cook:
½ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
¼ cup light corn syrup

Bring to boil. Stir constantly, cooking until mixture spins a 6 to 8-inch thread.

Turn on mixer and pour syrup slowly into egg whites; beat until stiff
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread on Chocolate Jet Cake.

Jeannie Sapp's Grandmother's recipe from the 1890's

Chocolate Jet Cake

In two-quart sauce pan:
Beat 2 egg yolks
½ cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons cocoa
And cook until thick

Add
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
13/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda
A cup milk or buttermilk

Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with White Mountain Frosting.

Jeannie Sapp's Grandmother Greenlaw's Recipe from 1890s

Minestrone Soup

4 cups leeks, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups carrots, sliced
1 1/3 cup celery sliced
1 1/2 cooked kidney beans
1 1/2 cups potato, diced
1 quart tomatoes or 16 oz can
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
4 sprigs thyme
2 tsps dried oregano
2 tsps salt
1/2 TBSP pepper
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups spicy tomato juice (V8)
6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
2/3 cup small shell pasta
1/2 pound fresh spinach cleaned and torn
grated parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot, saute the leeks in the olive oil until they soften. ADd the carrots, celery, kidney beans, potatoes, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, mushrooms, tomato juice and broth. Simmer for 1 hour.

Add the pasta and spinach and cook for 30 minutes to an hour more until the soup is very thick. Remove the thyme sprigs. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve hot.

The best minestrone soup ever! Even kids who don't like vegetables like this soup.

Sandra Talbot

Pistachio Lime Chicken

This is the meal my 7 year old request more than anything else (including eating out or pizza night in) We eat this for her birthday, anytime she goes out of town and when she returns. It is also a fun family meal because the kids can help shell the pistachios while you get the chicken cooking. (my 2 year old even helps shell pistachios!)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves minced
2 limes juiced
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 pistachio nuts coarsly chopped
1 pound linguini cooked al dente (you can add 2 tbsp butter to the cooked noodles if you don't want them to stick)

The recipe calls for cutting the chicken into strips but I cube it so that it is already bite sized for the kiddos. In a large frying pan put 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp oil, heat over medium until butter melts. Add chicken and cook through. When chicken is almost cooked through add the garlic. Give it a minute to heat the garlic, but be careful not to burn. Remove chicken from the frying pan and set aside. Add pistachio nuts to the frying pan and stir until lightly toasted. Stir in lime juice and pepper then add the chicken back to the pan and stir to coat. Serve the chicken over the noodles.

I keep a bottle of lime juice in the fridge so I don't have to worry about finding fresh limes when I make this. If you do this and keep extra pistachios around then you will almost always have what you need on hand to make this.

My girls are 7 and 2 and they both love this so it kid approved

-Melissa Boyd

Million Dollar Fudge

12 oz. Chocolate chips
12 oz. Hershey or chocolate bar
1-pint marshmallow cream
1 cup chopped nuts

Butter pan before cooking syrup.

4 ½ cups sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Large can evaporated milk

Boil 5 ½ minutes. Stirring constantly. Pour over other ingredients and stir until all are melted. Put into buttered pans to set. Makes 5 ¼ pounds fudge.
Gail Short

Hawaiian Haystacks

Mix and simmer:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can be canned)

Pour over:
Rice

Toppings:
Chow Mein noodles
Tomatoes
Celery
Green onion
Green pepper
Red pepper
Pineapple tid-bits
Mandarin Oranges
Grated Cheese
Slivered almonds
Coconut

Healthy Living: Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins/cupcakes taste great, have no dairy and are low fat.

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
1 cup water
15 ox can of pumpkin

Mix together and scoop into a muffin pan. Bake according to directions on box.

** They are 2 points per muffin