CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP

Half a small onion

One stalk celery

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 48-oz. chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon ground onion powder

1 large clove garlic

1 teaspoon pepper

Salt to taste

One long carrot

One small to medium yellow potato (optional)

1/3 of a 12-oz. bag of Egg Noodles (Optional)

1 rotisserie chicken (meat pulled off)

I stop at the store on the way home from work and pick up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make this quicker and easier. You can precook your whole chicken in the crock pot or bake it in the oven as long is it is cooked and pulled off the bones prior to making the soup. Always use a whole chicken so you get a combination of dark and light meat for flavor.

Pre-cut all ingredients prior to assembling. Cut onion and celery into small pieces. Cut carrot and potato and set aside. In a large stockpot cook onion and celery in 1 tablespoon olive oil until onion is slightly translucent.  Add chicken broth and seasoning and bring to boil. Add carrot and potato to boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes; meanwhile pull chicken from bones (or wash dishes) until timer dings. Add chicken and cook at a medium boil for 10 minutes. While it is cooking, make dumplings (see below.) If choosing to add noodles, do this right before adding the dumplings to the water.

DUMPLINGS

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3  tablespoons parsley flakes

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaf

1 Cup milk

6 tablespoons canola oil

In a medium mixing bowl, add all ingredients and stir until just combined. Make dumplings to size (small like a marble or large like golf ball.) Hint: wear rubber gloves to form dumplings to help with the sticky mess that normally happens on your hands. Add dumplings to boiling soup mixture, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.

Remove soup from heat

POTATO SALAD

This is for a large batch and includes instructions for prep and assembly while camping.

INGREDIENTS

10 Medium Sized Potatoes

4 or 5 Hard Boiled Eggs

1 Small White Onion, Chopped

1 Cup Kraft Real Mayonnaise

1/4 Cup Miracle Whip

2 Tablespoons Buttermilk Ranch

1 1/2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard

1 Large dill or hot pickle (about 1/4 cup), Chopped

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Prep for Camping:

Cut potatoes in quarters and boil until just done (do not boil until mushy). Drain, let cool, and place in the refrigerator. You can chop potatoes into bites size pieces when completely cool or cut right before ready to eat.

Mix the remainder of the ingredients (minus the eggs) into a small bowl with a lid. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble, cut potatoes and eggs and mix all ingredients together.

Buttermilk Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

½ cup butter, softened but not melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 egg whites

In a bowl combine flower, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium to high speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add egg whites and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping sides of bowl (if your mixer seems to strain or bog down, shift to high speed.)

CAKE: Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x1 ½” round baking pan (pan should be no more than half full). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 -35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Loosen sides. Remove from pans and cool thoroughly before frosting.

CUPCAKES: fill no more than half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes or till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

From Better Homes Cookbook. Just so good that I had to share.

Taco Pizza

Make dough by using bread machine, make it yourself, or use a store bought pizza dough.

Pizza Sauce for two pizzas

14.5 ounce can fire roasted stewed tomatoes

12 ounce can tomato paste

1 teaspoon olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup water

In a medium size sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil for about five minutes. Add all other ingredients stir, cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done, set aside. You will have some sauce left over when making only one pizza. Tomato sauce will freeze very well for another day.

Pizza Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 lbs hamburger

1 package taco seasoning

1 16 ounce can no-fat refried beans, heated in microwave for about one minute

1 medium to large tomato, chopped.

3 ounce chopped black olives

1 small red onion, chopped

2-3 cups shredded Mexican cheese

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

About 4-5 handfuls of corn chips, crushed

Sour cream (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Directions

While dough is rising and sauce is cooking, cook beef with taco seasoning, set aside. Chop all other ingredients and set aside. Heat refried beans and set aside. Once all ingredients are ready, roll pizza dough out to fit the size of your pan. I make a large batch of pizza dough, roll it out to about 1/3 of an inch and then place my pan over the dough and cut around the edge to make an evenly round pie that fits my pan exactly. Brush entire dough surface with olive oil. The rest of the dough can be made into another pizza or kneaded into a ball and set aside to allow another rise (more on this at the end of this recipe.) Once dough is on pan, spread an even amount of sauce over dough (you will have sauce left over for another pizza if only making one pizza.) Spread the warmed refried beans over sauce. Sprinkle an even amount of cheese over entire surface of pizza, sprinkle top with seasoned hamburger, onions, olives, and chopped tomatoes. Bake pie at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes. Check it after 15-20 to see if the crust is browning and the ingredients in the middle are cooking (just keep in mind what a pizza looks like in a restaurant to judge doneness.) The crust edges should be a golden brown and the middle of the pizza should be very hot. When pizza is done cooking, remove from oven and immediately slide pizza onto a cutting board. Cut pizza slices to desired size. Sprinkle top of pizza with several handfuls of crushed corn chips or Doritos. The chips are a judgment call on your part. Sprinkle the lettuce and serve with optional sour cream and salsa.

Optional Left-Over dough: cut three shallow cuts into top, brush entire top with olive oil, lightly sprinkle with garlic powder and italian seasoning. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until bread sounds hollow when tapped and is a golden brown.

Simple Crock Pot Roast

Any type of roast will work, even the cheap pieces of meat. I like pepper, so the rub may be too peppery for some people. Just reduce the amount of pepper used if you are not a pepper fan. The rub amount in this recipe is for a small to medium roast. If you have a large roast, just double the spice ingredients.


Ingredients


1 Roast - any size that will fit in your crock-pot
1 1/2 cups beef broth (use two cups broth for larger roast)
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon sage


Directions
Trim excess fat from roast. Place roast and broth in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine all spice ingredients. Rub top and sides of roast with rub. Follow cooking temperatures below. Once roast is done cooking, the broth can be poured into a sauce pan to make delicious gravy.


You can also add whole medium size potatoes that have been washed and stabbed with a forked into the broth. Do not cut into small pieces or the potatoes will be mushy after 8 hour of cooking.


Crock-pot settings:


1. If starting crock pot early a.m., (before work for instance) turn crock-pot on medium heat and allow roast to cook a minimum of 8.5 hours or more.


2. If starting roast mid-morning, turn crock-pot on high for one hour then reduce heat to medium and cook for 8.5 hours or more.

Pasta & Chicken (or Kielbasa)

This is a quick and easy recipe for those busy days.

Ingredients

1/2 package to 3/4 package Penne Pasta

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces (or left over cooked chicken about 2 cups chopped)

1 Kielbasa can be substituted for the chicken.

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon minced onion

Optional items can be added:

1 medium tomato, cut into bite size pieces

4 medium mushrooms, chopped into slices

1/4 cup yellow zucchini, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed basil or Italian herbs, or herbs de province.

Directions

Sauté onion and bell peppers until onion is just translucent. Add minced garlic, salt, pepper, and minced onion and cook 3 minutes more (the mushrooms, and yellow zucchini can be added at this point.)  Add cooked chicken (or Kielbasa) and cook until warm (approximately 3-5 minutes.) The optional chopped tomatoes should be added during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Meanwhile Cook pasta according to package directions and drain water.

Combine the 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Stir until combined.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken mixture and olive oil mixture. Toss to coat and serve.

Pozole

A soup you can find in cans in the Hispanic section of the store. This recipe is very good, especially on a cold day.

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds pork loin

2 medium onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 quarts chicken broth

 1  7-oz can green chilies

2, 1-lb cans hominy or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Optional

Sour cream

Green onions

Directions

Remove all fat from pork loin and cut into bite size pieces. In a large stock pot, combine pork, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, pepper and 1 cup of the broth. Bring to boil, cover and simmer rapidly on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover pan and stir often on medium high heat until broth is gone, meat is streaked with brown and drippings are richly brown. Add 1 cup broth and stir drippings from pan. Add remainder of broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Add green chilies and hominy, cook for about 15 minutes.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients

32 ounces broth or 4 cups (made from boiling the turkey carcass or using canned broth)

2-3 cups water or whatever is needed to almost completely fill pot

1/2 a large onion, chopped

2 celery stocks, chopped

2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 to 4 cups chopped cooked turkey or chicken

1or 2 teaspoons salt

2 or 3 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 cube butter

6 - 8 ounces extra wide egg noodles (or entire homemade egg noodle recipe)

Directions

In a large stockpot melt half a cube of butter. Sauté the onion and celery until onion is just translucent. Add the garlic and all of the spices and stir to coat. Add the broth and bring to boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Add cooked turkey or chicken and cook for five minutes more. Add noodles and cook according to package directions. After noodles have cooked, remove pan from heat and add the other 1/2 stick of butter and stir until melted.

 

*The measurements on the spices is intentionally vague and should be added to your taste.

Egg Noodles

Ingredients

2 1/3 Cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon canola oil

Directions

In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups flour and the salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, water and oil. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. If using a stand mixer, add ingredients as stated above and let mixer run until dough is combined and mostly smooth.

Sprinkle your kneading surface with the remaining flour and knead dough until smooth (about 10 minutes). This is where an electric stand mixer works well as it cuts the hand kneading down by about 8 minutes. Divide dough in quarters and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut as desired (I usually make mine like fettuccine noodles because I don't have a cool pasta machine to make other shapes.)

Hang noodles on a noodle hanger or place on drying racks and let sit overnight covered lightly with a clean dry cloth.

Cook pasta until done (about 10 minutes). To test doneness, press a spoon into noodle on side of pan. Noodles should be soft, but not mushy. 

Pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for future use. 

Breakfast Pie

Ingredients

One pie crust (make your own or buy one from the store)

5-6 large eggs *

1/4 cup half-n-half *

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano flakes

3 tablespoons Onion, chopped

3-4 tablespoons Orange bell pepper, chopped

3-4 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, chopped

3-5 strips bacon

1/2 Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Salsa (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare crust for one pie bottom and mold into pie pan. Cook bacon and crumble into bite size pieces, drain and set aside. Sauté bell peppers and onion until union is just translucent (do not over cook or cook until mushy). Whip together the eggs, half-n-half, pepper, salt, and oregano until slightly frothy.

In the pie crust, spread bacon on bottom. Spread onion mixture over bacon. Pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the cheese so it is evenly spread on top of the eggs. Place a strip of foil around the edges of the pie pan to cover the pie crust. This will keep the edges of the pie crust from over browning.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes (check after 35 minutes for doneness) or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove foil and cook for 7 minutes more. Let stand to set-up for 15 minutes. Cut and serve with salsa.

*Egg substitute can be used instead of the eggs. Follow the package directions to find the substitute amount for each egg. 

Mac'n Cheese

This recipe is a modified version from Paula Dean.

Ingredients

2 boxes macaroni shells (12 oz boxes)

4-5 strips of bacon, cut in small bits

1 cube butter

3 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Boil the macaroni according to package directions but only for about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain and set aside. Cook bacon bits in a small pan until bacon is browned. Pour bacon and the bacon grease into the crock pot.

In a medium saucepan on medium low heat, melt butter. Add cheese and stir until cheese melts. In the crock pot, combine cheese/butter mixture with the bacon, add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir until well combined. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Your mixture may be a little clumpy with cheese, but the clumps of cheese will melt as it cooks. Set the crock pot on low and cook for approximately 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Low Fat Hummus

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (buy the more expensive brand as it will contain less husks)

1/2 cup plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

This is where you add your own seasoning or not. I like just plain old garlic flavor in which case you don't need to add any additional seasonings.

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin & 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or;
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning or;
• Greek seasoning or;
• Italian seasoning or;
• Etc.

Directions

In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients. If texture isn't quite hummus like, add a tablespoon at a time more yogurt until you get the right consistency. Serve with corn chips or pita bread.

Chicken Paprika

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless whole  chicken breasts

1/4 cup Paprika

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion, chopped

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 or 2 cans chicken broth

16-ounce sour cream

1/4 flour

Pepper

Cooked noodles

Directions

Dredge chicken breasts in paprika until completely covered (use tongs as paprika will stain your hands.) Brown chicken breasts in butter until chicken is very browned; about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken breasts and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion and garlic until the onion is just translucent (you may want to add a bit more butter if pan is too dry.) Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape to loosen brown bits. Add the chicken breasts, cover and simmer until chicken is completely cooked; about 10 minutes.

Once chicken is cooked, remove breasts from pan and set aside - keep warm. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, flour, and pepper. This is where you can add more broth to the pan if you feel there isn't enough for a good amount of gravy. Wisk the sour cream mixture into the  pan and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Serve the chicken breast over pasta with liberal amounts of gravy.

Almond Joy Pie

Makes one 8 or 9 inch pie.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

1 Oreo cookie crust (I buy mine from the store instead of making my own.)

3 eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup almonds

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together until smooth the eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in shredded coconut. Pour mixture into pie shell. Lightly press the almonds into the top of the pie so there is a pretty almost asterisk type design. Bake 1 hour or until center is set.

Topping

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

4 tablespoons half-and-half

In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring half-and-half to almost boiling. Add the chocolate squares and stir until completely melted. Spread topping on the pie after pie has cooled about 45 minutes.

This is a modified recipe from an unknown source (meaning, I have had it so long I don't remember where I got it.) 

Cinnamon Roll Dough - Bread Machine

Ingredients

6 tablespoons milk - heated approximately 1 minute in microwave

6 tablespoons water (110°)

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons dough relaxer (optional) - Vital Wheat Gluten

3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions

Add all ingredients according to your bread machine instructions. Set machine to dough. Check dough occasionally. If dough to moist add a bit of flour. If dough is looking to dry add warm water at about a tablespoon at a time.

When bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly oiled surface. Knead the dough several times and form the dough into an oval; cover with a clean towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll and stretch the dough into approximately a 9x8 inch rectangle.

Fill dough with desired filling recipe. Roll and cut into 1 1/2 inch sections and place in a greased 9x13x2 inch baking dish. At this point the rolls can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight  and can be baked right out of the refrigerator (rolls can be frozen for up to one month, but must be completely  thawed and allowed to rise in a warm place before baking - usually 10 - 12 hours.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake for 25 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Spread with frosting if desired.

White Chili

I call this white chili because it contains ground turkey (99% fat free) and white kidney beans (cannellini beans). I have been told is it is a little spicy, but I can’t tell. Also, if you don’t know me very well, I love to use beer and wine in my cooking. This recipe includes beer. You can make it without beer, but the flavor may differ. Perhaps use a non-alcoholic beer instead?

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey, browned with a bit of pepper and powdered garlic

1 medium to small onion, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

½ green pepper

½ yellow pepper

½ orange or red pepper

2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1.5 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 15 oz. cans white kidney beans (a.k.a. cannellini beans) drained

½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1 bottle beer (I like to use an amber or ale beer)

1 teaspoon crushed red peppers

½ tablespoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon cumin

½ tablespoon paprika

½ tablespoon oregano

½ tablespoon chili powder

Directions

In a large pan sprayed with cooking spray, brown the ground turkey add about 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Meanwhile, in a large pot sauté the onion and bell pepper in 1 teaspoon of olive oil until onion is almost translucent. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for one minute more. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, drained kidney beans, hot sauce and beer. Add all of the spices and stir. Cook on low heat for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. This is a thick chili so you will not look like a soup.

You can also do this in a crock pot. Brown the turkey as stated above. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Add all of the ingredients into the crock pot and stir. Cook on low heat for approximately 3.5 to 4 hours.

Chicken Avocado Salad Sandwich

The only bad fat in this sandwich is the 6g found in the chicken. Use a low fat bread and you have a fairly good for you sandwich.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon yellow onion

1 tablespoon green zucchini

1 tablespoon carrot

1 cup cooked chicken thigh meat

Fresh spinach leaves

1 half avocado

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon fat free mayonnaise

Directions

Finely chop the onion, zucchini, carrot and chicken. Place in a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the avocado, lime juice, pepper, garlic and mayonnaise and mash together (I use a food processor for this process.) Mix the avocado mixture together with the chicken mixture and place on bread. Add spinach leaves and serve.

Breakfast Cookies

I made these low fat high fiber cookies to eat during my gallbladder attacks. They are scrumptious. 

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 cup non-fat yogurt

¾ cup applesauce

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup unbleached flour

½ cup rye flour or wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup flax seed

¼ cup wheat germ

2 ½ cups quick cook oats

¾ cups dried fruit (like raisins or cranberries)

½ cup chopped nuts (like walnuts, pecans, etc.)

¼ cup high fiber cereal, crushed (like grape nuts)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir together until completely combined. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flours, soda, flax seed, and wheat germ. Pour flour mixture into liquid mixture and stir until combined. Stir in oats. Stir in dried fruit, nuts, and cereal.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately after baking..

Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless whole  chicken breasts

1/2 cup chopped onion, chopped

3 cans chicken broth.

16-ounce sour cream

A LOT of Paprika

1/4 flour

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

Pepper

Directions

Cook chicken by boiling in seasoned water until cooked. Once done, chop chicken breast into bite size pieces. In a large cooking pot, add chicken, chopped onion and all but 1/2 cup of the broth - chicken should be submerged. Add a lot of paprika (about 1/4 cup).  Add garlic, pepper, and bay leaves. Simmer until onions are fully cooked.  Mix corn starch or flour into the 1/2 cup of remaining broth (if broth doesn't resemble a medium thick gravy you may need to add more flour/water mixture to thicken it even more.) Add to chicken mixture and simmer and stir until thickened.  Add sour cream and maybe some more paprika. Serve over Spaetzel, egg noodles, or rice.

Tomato Basil Salad

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Salt

1/2 teaspoon spiced mustard like Dijon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

5 Roma Tomatoes

1/3 cup fresh shredded basil leaves

1 small red onion chopped

3/4 cup Mozzarella (best if purchased in small ball size)

In a food processor add the red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper. Pulse until mixed thoroughly and garlic is chopped into very small pieces. Set aside.

Cut tomatoes to bite size pieces and place in a large bowl and add chopped onions. Remove stems from basil. To cut basil stack several leaves together and roll basil leaves into a slightly tight roll. Slice basil in the middle along full length of leaves, then slice across basil leaves several times. Sprinkle basil on tomato and onions. Add mozzarella balls. Toss ingredients with vinegar concoction and serve.

This is very good the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. It can be used to top a hamburger patty or on a sandwich.

(Recipe adapted from the Weight Watchers cookbook)