My kids are always asking for Hawaiian Haystacks!

This is a simple recipe to prepare, but since there's so many ways to eat it, I prefer to serve it to a group.

Ingredients:
1 pound (more or less) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 cans of chicken broth (assume about a half-can per person)
1/2 cup cornstarch
White or Brown rice, cooked, about 1 cup per person

Toppings:
Pineapple chunks (or tidbits if you can find them)
Chopped green onions
Chopped green pepper
Chopped celery
Diced tomatoes
Sliced water chestnuts
Grated Cheddar cheese
Chow mein noodles
Shredded Coconut
Slivered almonds
Sliced black olives
Frozen peas, thawed (I put them in a strainer and run hot water over them until they're plump)

Directions: Boil chicken in water until cooked through. Remove from water and dice or shred. Return to saucepan with all but 1/2 cup of the broth, turn burner on medium to high heat. Add cornstarch to broth and whisk until well mixed. Add to the chicken and broth heating in the pan. If you like garlic, you can add a clove of minced garlic now too. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until broth is thickened. I like to then pour the chicken and sauce into a serving bowl, but you can just put the pan on the table too.

To Serve: Put a scoop of rice on your plate, or in a bowl. Ladle chicken mixture over rice, and add desired veggies and other toppings. If you don't like something, skip it. I'd love to hear other toppings you guys try and like. I like to serve this meal with a hearty whole wheat bread or roll.

Baked Rigatoni

I'm not sure how I "lost" this recipe, but I looked everywhere for it for weeks, and suddenly it was back in my recipe basket. Hooray! This recipe comes from my old boss, Denise Goldman, who had adapted another recipe to fit her family's low fat lifestyle.

The original recipe makes a 9x13 pan, but I like to split the casserole into two 8x8s. I cook one and freeze one for later use. If you choose to do the same, make the whole recipe as directed, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Move from Freezer to Fridge for about 24 hours prior to cooking, and allow to warm to room temperature in the last hour. Then bake as directed.

Ingredients:
12 oz. pkg. Whole Grain Rigatoni
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsifted flour (I use whole wheat)
4 cups milk
4 teaspoons chicken boullion
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 pound cubed cooked ham
10 oz. pkg mixed veggies

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In large pan, cook onion in oil until tender
3. Stir in flour, then milk and boullion. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly; remove from heat.
4. Stir in one cup cheese, stir until melted
5. Combine noodles, sauce, ham and veggies. Pour into a greased 13x9" dish. Top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 30 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

Serve with french bread & salad.

Vegetarian White Chili

I got this recipe off of a new favorite website - Sparkpeople.com. It's a great place to track your nutrition and fitness, as well as a good resource for health information.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, ) undrained
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• 2 cups water (more or less depending on taste)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or soup pot and heat. Serve with Whole wheat rolls. Serves 6. If you have room for some more calories in your day, add cooked shredded chicken breast.

Nutritional Info (without chicken)
Fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 22.0g
Calories:119.4
Protein: 7.9g

So easy my Daughter made it. Filling Fruit Salad

Jello and fruit make this a tasty snack or dessert.

25 Minutes to Prepare and Cook
Ingredients:

• 1 4-serving box of your favorite flavor Jell-o
• 1 Pint strawberries, washed and sliced
• 1 small box of fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup Cool Whip

Directions:
Prepare the jell-o as instructed for "jigglers" on the box. Chill until set.Spoon remainder of the ingredients into the prepared Jello, stir and serve. Makes 8 One-cup servings.

Making up for Lost Time - Quick Banana Bread

So I feel like I owe you folks a few more recipes. So I'm going through my recipe box to share a couple more favorites. This Banana bread recipe is perfect for when you have over-ripe bananas laying around. They can be completely black and the bread will still taste delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (whole grain wheat flour works too - use 1-1/2 cups)
• 2-1/4 teaspoons double acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (softened - not melted-butter will work in a pinch)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional)
• 1-2 beaten eggs (more eggs = fluffier more cake-like bread)
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups banana pulp (use a fork to mush the banana into a measuring cup)
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional, but I like walnuts and pecans, and sometimes I use a full cup!)

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend next 3 ingredients until creamy. Beat in eggs and banana pulp. Add the sifted mixture in about 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in Nuts. Place the batter in a greased bread pan and bake for about an hour. You can also make 3-4 mini loaves, which cook in 35-45 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Oh my goodness, has it really been nearly a month since my last recipe? Oh this just won't do! Here's tonight's dinner - Creamy Tomato Bisque. I love it served with a salad and French Bread, but if you need to serve more people, use it as a sauce on Pasta! I actually got this recipe from my friend Karol. She thought of it when we shared our dinner at Palermo, Elk Grove's best Italian Ristorante! I made a few adjustments, mostly due to not shopping in advance!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped onions (chop them as small as possible! A pampered Chef food chopper works wonders!)
• 3/4 cup unsalted (I used salted) butter
• pinch dill seed
• dash dill weed
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (add an extra can of tomatoes if tripling recipe)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• pinch white pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (I used some fresh, some dried)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola or parmesean cheese

Directions:
If you have a food processor - get it out. You'll need it to puree the soup. If you DON'T have a food processor, I advise chopping the onions to smithereens before cooking, and combining all other veggies and herbs in a blender before they go in the soup pot.

In a large pot, saute onions in 6 Tbsp. butter along with dill seed, dill weed, and herbs for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and heat.

Make a roux (thickening paste) by blending 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. flour, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to soup and whisk to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add chopped parsley, honey, cream, half and half and cheese. Remove from heat and puree. Strain. (I just poured it through a wire strainer). Reheat to serve. Since this soup is thin, it is best served in a mug. Dip Fresh warm french bread in it if you like!

Katherine's Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Okay gang - I'm still not cooking much, but I wanted to pass along this recipe I got from Katherine. She sent some of these treats with me on my recent camping trip, and they are my new favorite food!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars
Crust and Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats (I used 1/2 cup quick, 1/2 cup old fashioned, you can also use entirely old fashioned)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp instant espresso or instant coffee (K hates coffee. So she used 2 tsp hot chocolate powder, so that's an option)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 egg

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees, make sure there's a middle rack.

Line 8" square baking pan with foil. Grease the sides and bottom.

Whisk oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture for the topping.Sprinkle remaining oat mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer covering the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until a light golden brown, about 8 minutes (I gave it 20 minutes).

Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour (oh heck no, I gave it 10 minutes, psh!)For the filling, whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso/coffee (or hot chocolate powder), and salt together in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter together, stirring often, about 1-3 minutes (I think it took me 1 minute and 15 seconds, check it about every 30 seconds, you do NOT want to overheat chocolate). Let cool slightly (eh, a minute or so). Stir egg into melted chocolate. Stir in flour mixture until just combined.Spread chocolate filling evenly over the crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture (kinda press it into the chocolate so it really sticks). Bake bars until the topping starts to brown and the filling starts to pul away from the edges, about 25-30 minutes. (I think I gave it at least 40 minutes, but I kinda forgot to write it down at the time).Let bars cool in the pan, on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares of desired size, and serve (super yummy warm!)