Fresh and Tasty Blog

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 1 (10 ounce) package of refrigerated cheese tortellini
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic, carrots, and celery, and continue sautéing for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the stock, tomato paste, tomatoes, kidney beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and Italian seasoning, and stir until combined.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes to let all of those good flavors meld together.
3. Stir in the spinach and cheese tortellini, and cook according to package instructions until al dente (usually about 5-6 minutes).
4. Taste, and season the soup with salt and pepper.
5. Serve immediately.

A knitter herself, June Vogel is Chair of Las Campanas Needlework Club and has been involved with the organization for the past ten years. The club set up a small boutique at Kitchen Angels for one week in early December where they sold a variety of items including children’s sweaters, adults’ hats, scarves and gloves, women’s shawls, dog and cat sweaters, and a variety of Christmas items. This is the second year the Club has supported Kitchen Angels by donating 100% of the week’s sales to our program.

Dashing Delivery is a local food delivery service owned by Justin Greene. They deliver lunch and dinner “fast – easy – fresh – delivered to your door.” Dashing Delivery is also a supporter of Kitchen Angels, collecting and matching over $2,000 in 2019 through more than 1,600 donations. Their approach was simple – they implemented a “Round Up for Charity” option at check-out.

These are just two of the ways you can support your favorite charities that don’t involve simply writing a check.  We’re always looking for new and creative partnerships. If you have an idea or suggestion, please contact Dwayne Trujillo at 505-471-7780 x204 or dtrujillo@kitchenangels.org.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1 eight-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 eight-ounce tube of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro leaves – chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic powder, oregano, red chili powder and cilantro and stir well. When the meat is done, drain it, then return it to the skillet and stir in the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. 

Cut each biscuit into quarters and flatten pieces with a rolling pin. Place a heaping teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of each piece. Fold in half to form a crescent and seal the edges with a fork four times. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately. (Can be assembled and refrigerated ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before baking.)

Recipe from Seasons of Santa Fe cookbook. Sold at Kitchenality. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in white chocolate chips. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory!

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll each of the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out.  Remove from the oven and press a few more white chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired.

If you your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them when you take them out of the oven. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. Let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying.

Sarah Taylor has been a loyal volunteer and Board member wearing several hats at Kitchen Angels since 1998. When Sarah lived in California she owned and operated a kitchen store named The Pan Handler for 20 years. So it made sense in 2015 that she shared in the founding of Kitchenality, an onsite retail store selling gently used kitchenware to support Kitchen Angels. Sarah has always been involved in the Santa Fe community and was inducted as an official Santa Fe Living Treasure in 1998. Because of her passion and volunteerism to help Santa Fe, Sarah is always willing to extend a helping hand. At Kitchen Angels she started with bulk mailing and database entry. Recently she has returned as a Board member now as Secretary. Working with Kitchen Angels has always been her priority, but Sarah has also served on the boards of Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity, Santa Fe Council of Int’l Relations, Friends of the Wheelwright Museum and The United World College of the American West. Sarah is truly a living treasure.