Welcome to the Kowalski family kitchen! Sample some of Bob’s favorite recipes and learn how to turn your own into heart-healthy versions. These delectable dishes actually help lower both cholesterol and blood pressure.

• Jenny’s Butternut Squash Soup

• Heart Healthy Shepherd's Pie
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins
• BP Lowering Hot Cocoa

Jenny’s Butternut Squash Soup

My daughter Jenny enjoys cooking when she's home from college, and I always ask her to make this incredibly delicious soup for me whe she comes for a visit. It's a bit complicated, but the result is worth the effort. You'll thank Jenny for inventing it.

2 lbs butternut squash
2 cups chopped onion
2tbsp olive oil
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg, white pepper, ground ginger
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup Land o' Lakes fat-free half-and-half

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place in casserole dish cut side down in about 1 inch of water. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove skin and cut into chunks. (Prepare other ingredients while the squash is baking.)

Saute onion in olive oil until transparent, about 3 to 4 minutes, over medium heat. Stir in teh chunks of squash, chicken broth, and seasonings. Bring to boil in a suitably sized pot, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and blend the soup in a food processor in batches. Return to pot, heat through, and add half-and-half.

You'll have a creamy soup that you and your friends would swear is loaded with fat.  Serve with sprigs of basil, if you wish, for a festive touch. Makes 8 servings

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Heart Healthy Shepherd's Pie

When they were traveling in Australia with me while I was on a media tour for one of my books, my family fell in love with what was originally a British dish called shepherd's pie. This is a mixture of minced lamb with peas and carrots topped with mashed potatoes as the 'Crust' and baked. Of course, as served in the restaurant, that Aussie pie was extremely high in fat. So I came up with a healthier version.

1 tbsp canola oil
1 lb low-fat ground beef
½ cup chopped onions
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp white pepper
1tsp salt
1 bay leaf
4 oz water
1 16-oz package frozen peas and carrots
mashed potatoes

Heat canola oil in a skillet, then brown ground beef until crumbly. Add remaining ingredients except potatoes. Bring to a bubble and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spray a 9x9-inch casserole dish with vegetable spray. Spread meat mixture, mixed with the peas and carrots in the casserole dish and top with plen6ty of mashed potatoes to form a crust 1 to 2 inches thick. Bake in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes.

Here's an opportunity to make another meal in advance. Do 2 pies.  Bake 1 for that evening and freeze the other for one of those hectic evenings. Serve with a salad if you'd like, and some crusty bread. G'day mate!

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Apple Cinnamon Muffins

We've all heard about foods that are bad for your heart. TheHealthyHeart.net is proud to offer the first in a series of recipes that actually lower the amount of fats in our bloodstreams. This recipe is found in The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure.

APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS

Ingredients
1 Cub skim milk
1/4 Cup frozen apple juice concentrate
4 oz egg substitue or 2 beaten eggs
3 tbsp canola oil
2 1/4 cups oat bran cereal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1 medium apple, cored and chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine the milk, apple juice conentrate, eggs and oil.
Add the dry ingredients and mix. Blend in the chopped apple.
Line muffin pan with paper baking cups, and fill with batter.
Bake 15 to 17 mnutes.
Makes 12 Muffins

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BP Lowering Hot Cocoa

Ever since I learned the benefits of cocoa’s polyphenols, I’ve gotten into the habit of frequently sipping a cup of hot cocoa in the evening. It’s a soothing, relaxing, and healthful ritual before bedtime. The following recipe is for one mug, one serve, but you can multiply it for more than one person.

Heat 240 ml nonfat milk in the microwave oven. Put two tablespoons of dark cocoa and one tablespoon of sugar or the equivalent in artificial sweetener in a mug. Pour the heated milk into the mug and stir. Top the mug with a few mini-marshmallows for a treat.

Here are a few alternative hot cocoa flavors. Just add one of the following to the blend:

One tablespoon raspberry jam or orange marmalade, one tablespoon frozen red grape or orange juice concentrate, one teaspoon vanilla extract, or one teaspoon instant coffee (decaf at bedtime). Or add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg or both. Also experiment with flavor concentrates such as orange or lemon or rum extract.

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