On the Menu

Beefy Italian Tortellini Soup

• 2 (14 oz.) cans Italian stewed tomatoes
• 4 (14 oz.) cans water
• 4 carrots (sliced)
• 2 stalks celery (chopped)
• 4 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 pkg. three cheese tortellini (not dehydrated, the kind in the refrigerated section...I got mine from Costco)
• 1 T. Chopped fresh rosemary (dried are fine)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. fresh chopped basil (again with the dried)

Put stewed tomatoes in a stock pot to cook, fill the used cans with water and add to soup. (I mushed the tomatoes up with a potato masher first because my kids don't like big chunks of tomato)

Add sliced carrots, chopped celery, bay leaf, basil, and beef bouillon. Bring to a boil and let the vegetables cook. (about 20-30 min) While soup is cooking, in a separate frying pan, brown the ground beef (make sure the beef is browned in small, fine clumps). Add the rosemary in while browning meat. Set aside. When all the vegetables in the stew are cooked, add tortellini to soup pot. Stir in and let boil on low heat 10 minutes. Add meat and simmer 5 minutes.

We had garlic bread sticks and a green salad with ours.

And for Dessert:

Non-fried, Fried Ice Cream All dished up and ready to enjoy...
In the pan, just so you have a general idea.

This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma ('cept I threw in the cinnamon), back in the day I worked at a Mexican place called El Pollo Asado where I made this dessert in big baseball sized portions... That is a fun way to eat it. You basically ball the ice cream up and roll it in the cornflake mixture, wrap in Saran, then freeze. Perfect for your next FiEsTa!

• 4 C crushed corn flakes (put in a lg Ziploc bag and roll a soup can over them)
• 1 C coconut
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 C sugar
• 1/2 C melted butter
• 1/2 gal. softened vanilla ice cream
• hot fudge and/or caramel topping
• 1 can of whip cream and maraschino cherries (for the top!)

Mix first 5 ingredients together. Press half of the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Add softened ice cream on top of mixture (in dollops...if you spread too harshly the bottom gets disturbed). Spoon the rest of the mixture on top, evenly. Cover and freeze. When ready to serve, cut into squares and top with fudge, caramel, whipped topping and cherries...add your favorite toppings if not listed here...