I love it when I have recipes from readers to pass along to you. It is nice to see what others are cooking and feeding their loved ones and friends.

Lisa Burns recently made this delicious soup recipe on a snowy Sunday afternoon and posted a photo of her large pot of soup on Facebook. Many of us teased her about posting the photo without the recipe. Soon after that, she shared the recipe with us, and made everyone very happy.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

1 pound Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (48 ounce) box beef broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup apple juice

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped

1 (8 ounce) carton fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup green pepper chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 (16 ounce) package cheese tortellini

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Brown the sausage in a Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add all other ingredients except the tortellini and Parmesan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. (The soup may be frozen at this point.) Add tortellini and simmer, covered for 5-10 minutes or until they are tender. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad

In thinking about warmer days and fresh recipes, this one just jumped out to me. It is cool and refreshing.

1 pound jumbo cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

1 jalapeño, seeds removed, diced fine

1/4 cup chopped red onion

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Salt and fresh pepper, to taste

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion. In a large bowl combine chopped shrimp, avocado, tomato, jalapeño. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

My co-worker Karen Stafford knows that our daughter loves blueberries, and she shared this recipe with me. Lexie enjoys something sweet for breakfast and this will be the perfect treat for her to wake up and start her busy day.

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For the glaze:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 cup confectioners sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest, nuts, and blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60 to 70 minutes.

For the glaze, combine all ingredients mix well. Drizzle over bread.

Broccoli Salad

Outdoor cooking is underway, and a crisp vegetable salad is always nice to have. This can be made in advance and pulled out of the refrigerator just before serving. This recipe would also be easy to enlarge or reduce as needed. My niece gave me this recipe, which I'll certainly try.

1 head broccoli, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup lite mayonnaise

1 cup lite sour cream

1/2 cup sugar, or Splenda, to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound bacon, fried and crumbled

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the chopped broccoli and cauliflower in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, and salt to make a creamy dressing. Add the dressing to the broccoli–cauliflower mix, stirring to evenly coat the vegetables. Stir in the bacon and the cheese, reserving a small amount to sprinkle on top of the salad just before serving.

Snicker Doodle Bars

I recently had a friend ask me about simple dessert recipes she could take to a Bible study group, and I think recipe would be good for that occasion. Snap a lid on the 9x13-inch pan and away you go.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar, combined

Glaze:

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. Mix in the sugars and continue creaming. Scrape the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for 1-2 minutes. On low speed, slowly mix in the flour and baking powder. Spread half of the batter in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the batter. Take a small spoon and drop the remaining batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool completely. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla for the glaze. Drizzle over the bars.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news-semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.