I just love sweet potatoes and Ham. The flavors create a celebration in your mouth. I was so excited when I found this recipe at EatingWell.com

Makes 4 servings, about 1/2 cup each

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add sweet potatoes and salt. Cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in ham and thyme; cook, stirring, until the ham is heated through, about 1 minute more.

I love my pressure cooker! However, I only use it for cooking roasts and canning. I’m doing research to add more pressure cooker recipes to My Country Kitchen. I found a wonderful informational and recipe website called, “Miss Vickie’s Pressure Cooker Recipes” http://www.missvickie.com She has lots of wonderful information and recipes to use your pressure cooker. Please check out her website.

The following recipe is a great recipe to start learning how to use your pressure cooker. Once you try this recipe, please come back and post a comment to this recipe and let me know how it turned out. The following recipe was found on http://www.recipezaar.com/

Enjoy,

Betty

Use a pressure cooker to make this soup in less than an hour, even if you haven’t soaked the beans. A piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind adds flavor and richness to the broth.

Ingredients

2 cups dried cannellini beans or other white beans

4 quarts water, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups cubed peeled baking potato

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (3-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind

2 cups uncooked whole wheat seashell pasta

2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil

Preparation

Sort and wash beans. Combine beans and 2 quarts water in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Close lid securely; bring to high pressure over high heat. Adjust heat to medium or level needed to maintain high pressure; cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat; place pressure cooker under cold running water. Remove lid. Drain beans. Place beans in a bowl; wipe pan dry with paper towels.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add potato, onion, rosemary, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add beans, 2 quarts water, pepper, and cheese rind to pan. Close lid securely; bring to high pressure over high heat. Adjust heat to medium or level needed to maintain high pressure; cook 40 minutes. Remove from heat; place pressure cooker under cold running water. Remove and discard cheese rind.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt and fat. Add pasta, salt, and diced tomatoes to soup. Ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into each of 8 bowls, and top each serving with 1 tablespoon grated cheese, 3/4 teaspoon vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil. Yield: 8 servings.

Yield

8 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 372(21% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 4.8g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 17.7g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 198mg; SODIUM 910mg; FIBER 13.3g; IRON 4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 59.4g

This is the soup that I want when it is cold outside. It is quick and oh so delicious! This soup with cornbread muffins have been served at many scrapbooking crops. So often this soup has been served as it is known as the Scrapbooking Soup. I hope you enjoy the recipe.

2 cans minestrone soup, undiluted

2 cans Ranch-style beans

2 cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

2 cans veg-all mixed vegetables

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

In a dutch oven, mix together all of the above ingredients. Simmer over low to medium heat until bubbly. You can also put this soup in a crock pot, cook on high for 1 hour and then turn on low and keep it warm for a while. People will keep coming back for more of this soup.

Have you ever thought about blogging to take your business to a new heights? Whether you are an experienced blogger or a beginner you will not want to miss this Blogging Teleseminar.

Time: 8:00 pm. EST

Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008

Register: http://www.talk2bev.com/

Price: FREE

Panel of Experts:

Heidi Caswell of connectsimply.com/blog

Betty Lynch of mycountrykitchen.wordpress.com

Karlyn of karlyns.com

Kathie Thomas of http://www.vadirectory.net/blog

A few of the topics that will be covered:

You’ve been thinking about blogging but don’t know where to begin.You’re not sure what to “blog” about.

So don’t delay and register before all the phone lines are taken.

Blessings,

Betty

1/2 teaspoon dried marjaoram

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 butterfly 1/2 inch thick pork loin chops

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup Marsala Wine

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 can chicken broth with garlic

Combine seasonings; sprinkle over pork chops. In a non stick skillet, brown chops in oil until browned on both sides. Add Marsala wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender. Remove meat and keep warm. Combine cornstarch and with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Stir into cooking juices in pan. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Serve over pork chops.

Serve your mouth watering pork chops with broccoli.

This meal was completed in 25 minutes. My husband raved about how good it was. Give it a try.

Chicken Scampi

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup butter

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a large skillet, heat the oil and melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, until brown.

Add remaining ingredients and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Recipe by: Mr. Food

Cauliflower Potatoes

1 bag of frozen cauliflower in a steaming bag

4 tablespoons of Dixie Carb Counters Instant Mashers (I ordered these from http://www.netrition.com)

2 tablespoons of butter

Heavy cream to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Top with Fresh Chives

Steam cauliflower until very tender, set aside. In mixing bowl, add Instant Mashers, butter, and cream. Microwave for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir well. Add cauliflower and mash with a potato masher until desired consistency.

Serve Chicken Scampi over Cauliflower Potatoes. Top with fresh chives.

To complete your meal add your favorite toss salad and your dinner is complete.

To be honest, I have heard about doing cauliflower like this for months. I just couldn’t bring myself to try it, because it really didn’t sound good to me. January 2, 2008, I started back on my low carb diet. I needed something to serve my Chicken Scampi with and thought about trying the cauliflower potatoes since pasta and rice are not on the diet plan at this time. I’m so surprised they tasted really good! No, they don’t taste like mashed potatoes, however, it will be served again at my table. I encourage you to try it.

Blessings,

Thank you Free Press Release.Com for taking action and removing the pornographic ads from our Baby Boomer Diva’s press release. The ads were actually by ETOLOGY.COM, and NOT Google. This has restored my faith in Google!

Thank you Beverly Mahone, founder of the Baby Boomer Web of Fame, for notifying us and taking action to save our reputable names. I’m honored to be apart of this group.

A lady who volunteers at my husband’s office made him a batch of Peanut Clusters. She told him she made them in the crockpot. This amazed me that you could make candy in the crock pot. So I did some research and found several recipes. I love to experiment so I gave it a try. Below is what I came up with as the best batch of creamy peanut clusters I think I have ever tasted.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Peanut Clusters

2 pounds white almond bark or white chocolate for dipping
4 ounces German’s sweet chocolate or milk chocolate for dipping
1 package semisweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
12 ounces dry roasted peanuts and 12 ounces of honey roasted peanuts

Put all ingredients in crockpot; cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Do not stir.

Turn Crock Pot to low and stir every 15 minutes for 1 hour longer. Drop on waxed paper and let cool. Store candy in a tightly covered container.

Dropping in to wish you a Happy New Year! 2008 will be a great year for all of us. Stop by to see all the new recipes in 2008!

Blessings,

Betty