Zuppa Tuscana

I love this soup!  On a cold winter day (like today) when my nose feels perpetually cold, there is nothing better than to sit down and warm up with this soup.  (I think I have dinner planned for tomorrow!)  It is similar to the one at the Olive Garden restaurant.  I don't use kale in my soup, (though that is in the original recipe) because it upset my stomach.  I use chopped spinach instead (frozen is fine, but make sure all the water has drained from it). 

Spinach-filled Meat Loaf

My brother-in-law Dennis made this one year, and I loved it!  I asked him for the recipe later, and this is what he gave me.  This one is really good, but he had magic fingers when he made his, because his was amazing!

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

My husband created this recipe years ago.  We like the creaminess of the chicken mixture and the saltiness of the stuffing on top.

Beef Stroganoff

The Red and White Better Homes and Gardens cook book has some great recipes, and this is one of them.  It is a favorite with almost all of my kids (my youngest can't eat it with ketchup, so in her mind it is inedible.  Crazy kid!)  We had this for dinner again tonight, and if I had been thinking, I would have snapped some pictures of it. 

Beef Enchiladas

I'm listing this here because my husband and kids love this dish... BUT it is NOT authentic at all.  This is my mother-in-law's recipe for enchiladas.  I kind of think of it as more of a ground beef throw-it-together casserole. 

Sprinkle Cookies

We call these Sprinkle Cookies because you sprinkle one ingredient right on top of the next.  But you may know them as 7 layer cookies (I never add the 7th layer of butterscotch chips, though most do).  I've even heard them called Happy Cookies.  (Also a good name).  These are great and easy cookies to make.  And they have coconut... which makes me happy!

Raisin-filled Cookies

My hubby loves raisins, and he loves this cookie!  When we were first married we were just living on pennies and love!  One Christmas morning, at about 4 o'clock, I secreted away to the kitchen and made these cookies for him.  He hadn't had them in years and years and was so surprised that they tasted "just like his mom used to make."  Maybe that was because they were her recipe!  Since then, these cookies have been traditional and still make me smile when I think of them.  (Although I don't love cooked raisins.  But the possibilities for fillings is vast!  Raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, coconut, chocolate... who knows!)