My version of Minestrone

MINESTRONE

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
• 1 pkg ground mild Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1 chopped onion
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 cups chopped canned San Marzano tomatoes
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 can chopped green beans
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup small pasta (penne/shells/ditalini) or 1 pkg cheese Tortillini
• Salt and pepper
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan

Directions
Heat oil in large pot and cook bacon until crisp. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage with the side of a big spoon, until well browned. Stir in onions and celery and cook until tender. Stir in carrots, herbs, garlic and toss to coat. Pour in chicken stock and tomatoes bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in green beans and shells. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until pasta is tender.Top with cheese & scallions. Season to taste. Yum-O!

*Serve with Bruschetta or garlic bread.

Italian Sausage Delight

This was a winner! The only thing I did different was I used half a box of fresh sliced crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms instead of canned.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Sausage-Delight/Detail.aspx

~T~E~A~

I love tea. Well, let me rephrase that. I love most all black tea. Every now & then I will want green tea, but most always I prefer black & with NO fruit. (With 1 exception, I will drink orange tea when I am sick, but that is not the norm.)
I usually drink hot tea, but I also like iced tea. I prefer my tea with Splenda, tho I can drink it black. I also enjoy Splenda & milk/cream in my tea (I read that's a British thing.)
So I thought I would list the teas that I like. There are a lot. I keep 6 different black teas in my tea box at all times & another 4-6 kinds in the pantry.
So, here we go. My favorite teas in no particular order:

Regular Black Tea
http://www.liptont.com/our_products/black_tea/index.aspx

Decaf Black Tea
http://www.liptont.com/our_products/black_tea/blk_decaf_cup_size.aspx

Orange Black Tea when I am sick
http://www.coffeeam.com/manortea12lb.html

English Breakfast Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/english-breakfast.html

Irish Breakfast Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/irish-breakfast.html

Tazo's Awake Tea
http://www.tazo.com/tazo.asp?init=

Tazo's Joy Tea
http://www.amazon.com/Tazo-Tea-Joy/dp/B001VZ0M38

Oolong Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/china-oolong.html

Earl Grey Tea
http://www.bigelowtea.com/Catalog/Product/36/1/13/Earl+Grey.aspx

Darjeeling Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/darjeeling.html

White Tea
http://theteanation.com/ItemDetails.aspx?ItemID=164

On occassion Green Tea
http://www.bigelowtea.com/Catalog/Product/36/3/246/All+Natural+Organic+Pure+Green+Tea+-+USDA+Organic.aspx

Depending on the spices I also like Chai (I do not say Chai Tea; they are the same words. It's like saying tea tea.)
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/chai-100-percent-organic-and-fair-trade-certified-tea-page.html

I'm sure there are more. I like trying new black tea blends all the time. :)
HTH

Deb's Pork Chop and Potato Scallop

Got this recipe from a friend. Had to alter it a little with what we had on hand, but it was a big hit! Thanks Deb! :)

Pork chop and potato scallop
4 pork chops (used several really thin, boneless chops)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. sour cream (used heavy cream because we didn't have sour cream)
1/4 c. water
4 c. thinly sliced potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown chops in skillet. Blend soup, sour cream, water and parsley in a 2 quart casserole. Alternate layers of potatoes and other ingredients, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 375 for 1 1/4 hours (only took 40 mins).

Calzone Rolls

This is a RR quick take on calzones. You can "top" it with anything you like. We changed out the salami for Italain Sausage & Pepproni. Yum-O!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/calzone-rolls-with-salami-tomato-and-basil-recipe/index.html

Famous Queso Dip

I started fixing this when we lived in SC. It's a quick, easy dip & Restaurant style Tortilla chips or Pita chips, or homemade ones, go perfect with it. Yum!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/famous-queso-dip-51301.aspx

Rhon's Spicy Chops

This is 1 of the 1st recipes I ever created myself. I wanted to "doctor up" pork chops, but in a different way. I like the cans of Rotel tomatoes & green chilis. I do not like marinara sauce on chops. So I thought the tomatoes would be better. It's really easy. Just throw everything in the pan & bake. :)

Pam
Garlic Season All
Poultry Seasoning (yes for pork chops)
S&P
Olive Oil
Enough Chops for the family
1 can Rotel tomatoes & green chilis
Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pan with cooking spray. Coat chops on both sides with seasonings to taste & lay in pan in single layer. Top with can of tomatoes. Drizzle with just a little olive oil to make shiny. Bake for 45 mins-1 hour or until done. 5 minutes before they're done, top with cheese & put back in oven to melt.

*If you don't like the little bit of heat from the chilis, you could use just a can of tomatoes.

Enjoy! :)