Broccoli Cheese Soup

* 1/2 cup butter

* 1/4 cup flour

* 1 tsp. salt

* 1 tsp. paprika

* 2 Tbsp. minced onion

* 4 cups milk

* Pepper to taste

* 1 tsp. wortcheshire sauce

* 1 cup (about 1/4 lb) velveeta cheese

* 1 package frozen broccoli, cooked and drained

Melt butter in sauce pan over low heat.  Add onion and cook slowly until tender.  Blend in milk and flour, stirring constantly and cook until smooth and thickened, over med heat.  You may have to add more flour for desired thickness, or more milk for thinner results.  Add salt, pepper, paprika, wort. sauce, and cheese and stir until cheese is melted.  Fold in broccoli.  I always blend in the broccoli with a hand mixer so the broccoli is finely chopped.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Our Favorite Party Cookie!

Dough:
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
About 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon (I like a little more cinnamon, though:)

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Add cream of tartar, soda and salt. Mix well.  Slowly add flour and mix well. (Do not add too much flour or the dough will be too crumbly.)

Place dough in refrigerator for one hour to chill. (note: this step is optional, but I think they turn out better when I do this)
Mold into 1-inch balls.  Mix together cinnamon and sugar mixture in a shallow bowl, to your liking. Roll the dough in the mixture until well coated. Place on cookie sheet (use a light colored cookie sheet, if you have one).
Bake at 400* for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they are a light, golden brown.

Important: Do not overbake!! They should appear as if they are not yet done.

YUM!!! ;)

Happy baking!

Cheesy Hamburger Dip

Okay, I must say that this does not look very appetizing from the picture, but just trust me on this one -- it's delicious!  This is an all time family fave, perfect for parties!  It usually fills us up so much, though, that we don't eat anything else.  :)

* 2 lbs hamburger
* 1 large tomato, cut into one inch chunks
* 1 large bottle cheese whiz
* 2 Tbsp. wortcheshire sauce
* 1/4 cup onion
* Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger with onion.  Add wort. sauce, tomato, salt and pepper.  Simmer until all ingredients are well blended.  Add cheese.  Heat until hot, or bake in oven at 325* for 30 min.  You can also place in a small crockpot or little dipper to keep warm if serving at a party.  Serve with Fritos (scoops work best).

Baked Potato Soup

Everything you love about a baked potato -- in a soup!

I got this recipe off of The Mom Blog and we absolutely LOVED it!  It was so scrumptious.  It's quite a bit of prep but so worth it.  It makes a lot, too--we had leftovers for a few meals!  Yum! 

* 4 large baking potatoes

* 2/3 cup butter or margarine

* 2/3 cup flour

* 6 cups milk

* 3/4 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp pepper

* 4 chopped green onions

* 12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon and no one knew!!)

* 1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

* 8 oz light sour cream

* 1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules (optional)

Wash potatoes and prick several times with a fork.  Bake in foil at 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hr.  Let cool.  Cut potatoes into several cubes.

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan over low heat.  Add flour, stir until smooth.  Cook 1 min, stirring constantly.  Gradually add in milk.  Cook over med heat, stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly.

Pour into crockpot and then add salt, pepper, green onions, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, chicken granules.  Mix through.  Fold in potatoes.

Cook on high for 2 hours, or low for 4 hours.  Stir in sour cream right before serving.  Add a little milk if you think soup is too thick.

Optional: Garnish with additional sour cream, crumbled bacon, green onions, etc.  Enjoy!

My Chicken Enchiladas

• 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (4 oz) cans Hatch diced green chilies
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 8 medium flour tortillas
• 1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
• 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 2-1/2 cups monterrey jack cheese or pepper jack cheese (or a mixture of both!)
• cilantro

Preheat oven to 350*.
In a saucepan, saute onions and garlic with a little butter and ev olive oil until slightly transparent. Add green chilies, and black beans and heat through. In a mixing bowl, add shredded chicken; then add in onion/chilies/bean mixture. Mix together and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup until well blended.  Add about 1/2 cup of the sauce to your chicken/onion mixture; then add in 1 cup of cheese, mix well.
In a 9x13 baking dish, put 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom and spread around to cover the bottom of the pan.
Fill each tortilla with the mixture and roll up. Place each seam side down in the baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with cilantro on top… and maybe a little sour cream! Enjoy!

Funnel Cakes

 

• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• powdered sugar, oil for frying

In a large, deep pan, heat oil to about 350*.
Mix dry ingredients together, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add a splash more milk, if needed. {the batter should be like thin pancake batter}. 
Pour about 1/2 cup of batter through a funnel (while make circular motions and web patterns) into the hot oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes, flipping half way through, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and coat with powdered sugar.

 

I use one of these bottles, instead of a funnel. It’s easier and I create less of a mess. :)

I just cut the tip all the way down so that the hole was bigger. Works wonderfully.

bridget’s chicken enchilada soup

• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  
• 1 10 oz pkg frozen corn
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
  
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  
• 1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce
  
• 1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
  
• 1 1/2 cups milk
  
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
  
• 2 chicken breasts

In a crock pot, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in crock pot. Cover cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. ( I let the cheese melt into the soup before I served it) Mmm! We usually add crushed tortilla chips or fritos.
Makes 6-8 servings

not-yer-mama’s taco soup

• 1 lb. ground hamburger, browned
• 6 small/med. potatoes, peeled and diced to small bite size pieces
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
• 1 can olives, drained and sliced
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans no bean chili
• shredded cheese, Fritos, sour cream

Put potatoes in large soup pot and cover with water. Boil on high until potatoes are fork tender; add browned hamburger. (make sure there is not too much water. i usually have enough water to just barely cover the potatoes or slightly less. too much water will make the soup to liquidy)             Add olives, corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, and chili. Stir to combine, and add the taco seasoning {a nice variation: add half of an envelope of ranch dressing mix at this point WITH the taco seasoning. delish!}
Bring the soup to a boil; Reduce heat to med/low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve topped with shredded cheese, Fritos and sour cream.

Spinach, Artichoke and Chicken Penne

• 1 lb. Penne Pasta
• 2 chicken breasts, cut to bite size pieces
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, separated
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine
• 1 cup chicken stock {if you don’t want to use the cooking wine, you can just do 1-1/2 cups chicken stock}
• 1 cup cream or whole milk
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 box (10 oz) frozen spinach, defrosted wrung dry and separated
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained well and chopped
• 1 cup Italian style cheese blend
• freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water, and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. ev-olive oil in large skillet. Cook chicken until no longer pink inside. Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

In the same pan you cooked the chicken in, melt the butter into the ev-olive oil, then add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the flour over the cooked onion and garlic and stir for 1 minute, then whisk in the white wine. Add the stock and stir for 1 minute, then stir in the cream and season with nutmeg. Thicken the sauce for a couple of minutes over low heat, then stir in the spinach and artichokes and heat through. Melt the Italian cheese blend into the sauce and turn off the heat.
Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce and chicken to combine, adjusting the salt and pepper to your taste. Garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

If you like spinach and artichoke dip, you’ll love this. It’s so yummy!

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

• 1 pkg rigatoni pasta (or any large tubular pasta)
• 1 lb. italian sausage, sliced
• 1 each: red, green and yellow pepper, coarsely chopped (i don’t care for green peppers, so i used 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange pepper)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add peppers with sausage; cook and stir 7;  minutes or until sausage is done and peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes, cook 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Drain pasta. Add to sausage mixture, and then stir in Italian cheese; mix well. Top with Parmesan cheese.

*This recipe is so simple, and has a delish flavor. It’s pretty quick to prepare as well, the whole recipe comes together in about 30 minutes or less.