Rhubarb Crumble

3 C fresh or frozen rhubarb (1/2 in pieces), thawed if frozen
1 C diced apples (peeled if skin is thick, we used some really good Pazazz apples with skin on)
1 C strawberries, sliced (and thawed, if frozen)
2 T sugar (original says 1/3 C, but doesn't need it. Could try honey or other sweetener)
1/2 t. cinammon

1/2 C flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
4 T cold butter

1 T. brown sugar (original says 2/3 c, but if you add ice cream, it doesn't need this much sugar)
3/4 C quick cooking oats
Pecans, optional
Ice cream or yogurt, optional

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in 8x8 pan. Drain excess moisture, especially if using previously frozen ingredients (and thaw those ingredients before combining with sugar and cinnamon).

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in brown sugar and oats (and pecans). Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture.

3. Bake at 350 until lightly browned 40-50 minutes (might need to turn up the temperature at the end to help with browning. I did 400 for last 6 minutes). Serve with ice cream or yogurt (Noosa is a good sweet yogurt to use if you cut out a lot of the sugar in the recipe or Siggi's is a good low sugar yogurt if you keep a lot of the sugar in the recipe).

Cheddar Ham Soup

It's like a healthier version of mac and cheese, with veggies instead of noodles!

2 C potatoes, diced (and peeled if you'd like)
1 1/2 or 2 C water (or broth)
1/2 c sliced carrot (I made coins and cut bigger ones in half)
onion (I used dried minced onion with broth mixture and frozen chopped onion in cheese sauce)

1/4 c butter, cubed
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 or 2 C milk (I used skim with some heavy cream, recipe says 2%)
1/2 t. salt or much less (depends on if you use salty ham and stock or not)
1/4 t. pepper
2 C cheddar cheese
1.5 C fully cooked ham, cubed
1 C frozen peas (peas and carrots worked fine for us)

noodles, optional (it tastes like mac and cheese, so adding noodles can make it more appealing to kids)

1. In a saucepan, combine first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer covered, about 10-15 minutes (depending on size of chunks)

2. In another saucepan melt butter with some more onion for a few minutes. Stir in flour until smooth. Add milk, pepper, and salt to taste. Boil for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Add to undrained potato mixed. Ham and peas can be added to either mixture, if one is finished before the other.

Cincinnati Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
chopped onions (recipe says 4 but we do a lot less)
6 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz. can kidney beans (recipe says 2 but we did 1)
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1/4 c. vinegar (recipe says white vinegar but we did red wine vinegar which was good)
2 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 T. Oregano
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. allspice
1 t. sugar
1-2 t. hot pepper sauce
3 bay leaves

1. Brown beef and pork, drain some of the fat. Add chopped onions. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1.5 hours or until flavors have a chance to blend. Discard bay leaves.

2. Serve with spaghetti and garnish with cheese, tomatoes, and green onions.