Russian Ghost  Hubby and I threw this together during our rainy-day weekend...and then watched spooky movies!

You Will Need:

• Chopped or Crushed Ice*
• 2-3oz chilled Stoli Blueberi Vodka (to your taste)
• 1oz Blueberry or Acai Juice** (we used Bom Dia Acai Berry with Blueberry Juice)
• Club Soda (not Tonic)
• Fresh Blueberries

Southern Bloody Mary  This is a combination of Bloody Mary recipes that I love. I pieced different parts of them together to make the Best Damn Bloody Mary this side of the Mississippi!

You Will need:

• Fresh Lime
• 2 Tbs. Season Salt (Like Lawry's or Season-All)
• Chopped Ice
• 2 oz Absolut Peppar Vodka (Stored in freezer is best)
• 8-12 oz. V8 Juice (regular or Spicy - depending on taste; amount depending on strength of drink)
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Jalapeno-Stuffed Queen Olives (Garlic Stuffed or Blue Cheese Stuffed are great too!)
• Whole Pickled Okra

Firmly roll whole limes against counter top to help generate extra juice. Cut into wedges. Take one wedge and run it around the rim of the glass.
Put season salt onto saucer and coat wet glass rim with season salt.
Fill 3/4 of glass with chopped ice.
Add 2oz chilled vodka.
Pour in V8 juice.
Add a dash of black pepper. Squeeze in lime juice, toss the wedge into the glass and then stir.
Garnish with olive and okra.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheese Cake ~ Stephanie  (This is a recipe from a girl I went to school with...ohmigosh, it's amazing!)

PUMPKIN CHEESE CAKE PIE CRUST
( USE 8" SPRING FORM PAN)
1 1/4 CUP LORNA DOONE COOKIES
4 1/2 OZ MELTED BUTTER
GRIND COOKIES UNTIL FINE BLEND WITH BUTTER WELL. SPRAY PAN, COATING LIGHTLY. ADD CRUST AND FIRMLY PRESS SIDES AND BOTTOM EVENLY ABOUT A 1/2" FROM THE TOP.

PUMPKIN MIX
6 OZ PUMPKIN PIE MIX
1/4 TSP GROUND CINNAMON
1/4 TSP GROUND GINGER
1/4 TSP GROUND CLOVES
1/4 TSP GROUND ALL SPICE
IN A MIXING BOWL, WHISK PUMPKIN MIX AND SPICES BY HAND UNTIL SMOOTH. SET ASIDE.

CREAM CHEESE MIX
1 LB. SOFT CREAM CHEESE
4 OZ WHITE SUGAR
MIX IN AN AUTOMATIC MIXER FOR 5 MIN, SCRAPING SIDES--ADD THE FOLLOWING:
4 OZ SUGAR
2 OZ SOUR CREAM
3/4 OZ VANILLA
2 EGGS
MIX FOR 5 MIN THEN ADD 1/2 OZ BOTTLE LEMON JUICE. MIX FOR 2 MIN THEN SET ASIDE.

REMOVE 8 OZ OF THE CREAM CHEESE MIX AND ADD TO THE PUMPKIN MIX-WHISK UNTIL SMOOTH.

PLACE REMAINING CREAM CHEESE MIX INTO THE PIE CRUST, SMOOTH AND ADD THE REMAINING PUMPKIN MIX ON THE TOP. BAKE AT 300 DEGREES FOR 50-60 MIN, COOL FOR 45 MIN AND PLACE IN FREEZER. COVER WITH PLASTIC WRAP.

CHEESE CAKE TOPPING
9 OZ SOUR CREAM
3/4 OZ SUGAR
3/4 TSP LEMON JUICE
HAND WHIP UNTIL SMOOTH

PULL FROZEN PIE FROM FREEZER AND SPREAD THE MIX ON TOP. SPRINKLE 2 OZ OF CRUST MIX OVER THE TOP AND BAKE AT 350 FOR 8 MIN. COOL AND ENJOY.

Beef and Barley Soup ~ by Stephanie  1 lb of stew meat or beef tips
EVOO
1 large onion
8 tiny carrots
1 can green beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
5 cans of beef broth
Montreal Steak seasoning
garlic
1 tsp Rosemary
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of barley

In large pot empty beef broth, green beans, tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce and heat on medium heat. Cut carrots into bite size pieces and add to broth. In a skillet saute onions in small amount of olive oil (EVOO) and add to broth mixture. Cut beef into bite size pieces and season with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Brown beef in skillet of hot EVOO until completely brown. Add Rosemary seasoning to meat and then add to broth. Cover and cook on low for a few hours, stirring occasionally. (You can even put this into a crockpot.) 45 minutes before serving start the barley...cook to package instruction.

Dish up a large spoon of barley into a bowl and then add soup to the bowl. This is really fabulous with sweet cornbread or Italian bread.

My 12 year old daughter ate 3 bowls of this homemade concoction! Enjoy!

Chicken Saltimbocca ~ by Stephanie  
The name "saltimbocca" means "jump into the mouth" - because a dish this delicious (pounded with Prosciutto and massaged with sage) gets eaten so quickly that it seems to leap from the plate right into mouth.

4 (3-4 ounce) chicken breasts
4 thin slices Prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon fresh sage
3 ounces olive oil
1 ounce all-purpose flour
5 ounces artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2 ounce capers
4 ounces white wine
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 ounces heavy cream (Yes...heavy cream NOT skim milk)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon salt

Lightly salt chicken breasts. Sprinkle evenly with chopped sage. Place sliced Prosciutto on top the chicken and pound the Hell out of it until the thickness of the chicken measures 3/8-inch. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan. Lightly flour chicken pressed with prosciutto. Place in heated oil, Prosciutto side down. Brown one side, turn and brown the other side. Drain off excess oil, and deglaze with 4 ounces of white wine. (Drink a glass for yourself because after all you are cooking!) Add artichokes, fresh lemon juice, cream and butter and cook until sauce is thickened. On a large platter, place chicken breasts topped with reduced sauce and garnish with capers.
Serves 4.

Puree Veggie Soup  2 - 32oz Swanson 100% Fat Free Chicken Broth
3 - 14 to 16 oz bags of frozen Veggies. (Try squash, zucchini, cauliflower etc...)
1 pack of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Mix all together in a large pot. Bring to a boil than lower heat to medium. Continue cooking until veggies are done. Remove as much of the veggies as possible. Place them in a blender and puree them until smooth. (Like a smoothie drink). Return the veggies to the remaining broth and mix.

Good for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes ~ Stephanie  4 boneless/skinless chicken breast
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 can of Italian Seasoned stewed Tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a large frying pan heat EVOO on high. Take a zip-locked bag and all chicken and seasoning mix and shake. Remove chicken from bag and sear chicken breast on high heat until browned on both sides. Turn heat down to low and add both artichoke heats and canned tomatoes. (Do NOT drain.) Simmer for 20 minutes.

This is great with roasted asparagus. Just place fresh asparagus (and perhaps some bell peppers of all colors) in a baking dish, sprinkle with EVOO and a dash of salt. Cook in a 400* oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Fresh Fruit Salad....by Nessa  Ok...so this isn't 100% good for you....BUT it gets you eating fruit and it is better than cake, cookies...

15oz can of pineapple chunks (in 100% pineapple juice)
2 - 10oz cans of fruit cocktail in lite syrup
3 - table spoons of sugar or sweetener (your choice)
1 or 2 table spoons of vanilla sugar (found in the baking section of most stores)
2 lemons

Fruits are cut into bite size pieces....here are some suggestions of the fruit to use....

2 - 3 bananas
6 Clementine oranges
2 Kiwi
1 box of strawberries
1 Asian pear (or regular pear)
2 Pink Lady apples (or apple of your choice)
1 bunch of seedless grapes (cut in half)

First put the canned fruit in a large bowl.....add the cut fruit as you cut it.....squeeze the juice from the lemons (use 3 if you don't have a juicer)....pour the lemon juice over the bowl of fruit...add the sugars and then mix well....let it sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours for the sugar and fruit juices to make a sauce. Stir well before eating.

You can also serve over vanilla ice cream....