Broccoli Cheese Soup

Is there anything better or more comforting after a long day on a cold night?! You could probably throw everything in a crock pot on low all day, too.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

32 oz. chicken broth

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 bag frozen broccoli

2-3 carrots, chopped

1 onion, minced

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 lb. Velveeta, cubed

Add olive oil and butter to a large soup pot. Add celery, carrots, and onion and saute until the veggies start to soften. Add potatoes and broccoli and saute a couple more minutes. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 1 hour until all the veggies are very tender and soft. Add the cream of chicken and celery soup and velveeta cheese and simmer until everything is melted together. Use a hand held immersion blender, or in small batches in your blender until as smooth or chunky as you want it. Season with salt & pepper, if needed.

Optional: if you want a thinner consistancy, add milk at the end.

Happy Halloween!

Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes

24 whole Halloween Oreos

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 c. pumpkin

2 eggs

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

4 T. flour

1 pinch salt

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 oreo at the bottom of each muffin liner.

In large bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla, pumpkin, and eggs and mix well. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and salt and mix until smooth. Add a heaping spoonful of cheesecake batter over Oreos. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool.

Once cheesecakes are cool, remove from muffin tin and remove paper wrapper. Microwave chocolate chips in 30 second increments, stirring until melted. Take a sandwich bag and spoon melted chocolate inside. Cut the very corner of the bag (a very small piece!), and pipe melted chocolate in circles on top of cheesecakes. Drag the end of a toothpick through the chocolate to create a spider's web look, starting at the center and dragging outward. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Apple Dumplings

A great weekend recipe...and well worth the effort!

Apple Dumplings

Sauce:

1 c. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. water

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/4 c. butter

Dumplings:

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2/3 c. shortening

1/2 c. milk

6 Macintosh apples, peeled and cored

Additional sugar, cinnamon, and butter

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly butter a 9x13 pan.

Make sauce: Place sugar, cornstarch, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter in a small pan. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

For Dumplings: Place flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Mix with fork. Cut-in shortening with pastry cutter or fork until well incorportated and crumbly. Add milk to bowl all at once and use fork just to moisten mixture (don't over mix).

Place dough on lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Roll out until large enough to cut 6 six-inch squares (to wrap your apples in). Note: You could probably stretch your dough if you have 7 or 8 apples.

Place one whole apple in the middle of a square, fill the core with a spoonful of sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a dollop of butter. Fold the corners of the pastry to the top center of each apple, and pinch together seams and cracks so apple is completely covered with crust. Place dumplings in pan and pour the sauce over all the dumplings. Sprinkle the tops with a little sugar and bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve WARM with vanilla ice cream!

French Onion Soup

You can definitely float the bread on top of your soup and cover the whole thing with cheese and place it under your broiler until golden and bubbly (like the restaurants do). This is my version...

French Onion Soup

1 stick butter

3 large onions, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 c. red wine

3 T. flour

2 quarts beef broth

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 lb. Gruyere cheese, grated

salt & pepper

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Cook until onions are very soft and caramelized, about 45 min or more. Add garlic, bay leaf, and thyme during that time and stir occasionally.

Add wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to de-glaze; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated. Dust onions with flour and stir about 1 minute (it will be very thick and pasty). Add beef broth and turn heat up to bring soup back to a simmer. Heat through and taste - add more salt & pepper if necessary.

Preheat broiler. Arrange baguette slices on baking sheet and brush with butter. Sprinkle cheese on bread and broil until bubbly and golden. Ladle soup into bowls and float the cheesy bread on top.

Variation: As in the picture, I've also made grilled cheese with gruyere and mozzarella cheese to dip in the soup!

Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves...very dense moist bread. Absolutely delicious with coffee in the morning, not to mention how wonderful your house will smell!

Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Bread

3/4 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

4 eggs

2 1/2 c. pumpkin puree

3 c. flour

3 t. baking powder

3/4 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ginger

1/4 t. allspice

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/8 t. cardamom

1/2 c. buttermilk

Topping:

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. oatmeal

1/4 c. flour

1 t. cinnamon

3 T. ground flax seed

1/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour the bottom of two 8" loaf pans. To make topping, mix together all the topping ingredients with a fork or pastry cutter until combined and crumbly. A note about the flax seed: I realize this isn't a staple in every house and you could probably omit it. But if you buy a bag - I always have it in my refrigerator cause I love to add it to my oatmeal...it's rich in Omega 3s!

In large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well. Stir in pumpkin puree.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cardamom with fork. Add half the flour mix to the pumpkin mixture, blending well. Add in the buttermilk. Add remaining flour mix and beat lightly until smooth.

Pour batter evenly in the two loaf pans. Cover each with half of the streusel topping. Bake at 350 for 70-80 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Apple Slices

Depending on how much time you have - you can make your own crust, or use the Pillsbury pie crust that comes in a 2-pack. I was in a hurry and happen to have the Pillbury in my fridge, I just rolled it out a little thinner with a little flour and made it the size of my pan. Even though I prefer homeade crust (click here for a good recipe), it worked great. This is a MUST for Fall apple season!

Apple Slices

2 pack Pillsbury crust, unrolled and rolled out with a little flour

12 (more or less) apples - I mix macintosh and jonathon

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

4 T. butter, soft

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Milk or apple juice/cider

Peel, core and slice the apples and mix with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 t. salt. Stir occasionally and let sit for about 1/2 hour until juicy.

In the meantime, roll out pie crust with a little flour (try not to handle a lot), and place in a rimmed baking sheet.

Sprinkle flour and cinnamon over apples and stir to combine. Pour into pie crust - you want the pan to be FULL. Dot the top with 2 T. butter cut in little pieces. Top apples with other pie crust and seal the edges with a fork. Pierce top of crust with fork a few times. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool.

Whisk together 2 T. butter, powdered sugar, and milk or apple juice/cider (a tablespoon at a time) until you have a drizzling consistancy. Drizzle over cooled slices. I like to keep these in the refrigerator.

Pepper Steak

This recipe is super easy comfort food. I've switched it up with chicken and used chicken stock - equally delicious!

Pepper Steak

2 lb. sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and sliced THIN

1 small onion, sliced thin

3 peppers, any color - sliced thin

2 T. soy sauce

1 t. garlic powder

3 c. beef stock/broth (I use low sodium)

3 T. cornstarch

salt & pepper

Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium high. Add steak, sprinkle with salt & pepper and saute until brown. Remove steak & juices from pan and set aside.

Add a little more olive oil and add onions and peppers. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and saute until tender/crisp. Add beef back in and stir together with 2 cups of the beef stock. In small bowl, stir remaining 1 cup of beef stock with soy sauce, garlic powder, and cornstarch. Add to pan and heat through until thick and bubbly. Serve over rice.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

Another PW recipe - I promise your kids will love it!

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread

8 eggs

2 c. milk (whole or 2%)

1/2 c. heavy (whipping) cream

3/4 c. sugar

2 T. vanilla

Topping:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

Grease 9x13 pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks and evenly distribute in pan.

Mix eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In seperarate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add a dash of nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and cut into dry ingredients until crumbly. Store in ziplock bag in fridge until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350. Uncover casserole and sprinkle topping all over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour for a more firm texture. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup. Serve fresh fruit alongside to feel better about yourself.

Toffee Almond Sandies

This is a magical cookie that tastes like an almond cookie mixed with a butter cookie mixed with chunks of toffee bits. Thanks Auntie Sheryl for this awesome recipe...it's one of my favorites!

Toffee Almond Sandies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. oil

2 eggs

1 t. almond extract

3 1/2 c. flour

1 c. whole wheat flour (can substitute)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

1 t. salt

2 c. chopped almonds

6 oz. toffee bits, or 5 chopped Heath bars

Additional sugar for rolling

Cream butter and sugars. Add oil, eggs, and extract. Combine flours, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in almonds and toffee bits. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. This makes a lot (like 5 dozen), but keep well and freeze well!

Grilled Pineapple Shrimp

It's been so hot that the thought of turning on my oven makes me want to cry! So I've been on the lookout for more grill ideas. This one is super easy, fast, and delish! The shrimp get almost caramelized on the grill and are so sweet. I served this with potatoes and onions (on the grill also) and a salad. This serves about 2 people so double or triple it, if necessary!

Grilled Pineapple Shrimp

1 lb. jumbo shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined (just buy them that way and rinse them!)

1/2 c. teriyaki sauce

1 green onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small can pineapple chunks, reserve juice

salt & pepper

Combine teriyaki, green onion, garlic, and pineapple juice in a bowl. Peel (I leave the tails on) and rinse shrimp and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Pour shrimp in marinade and refrigerate for a couple hours (or 20 minutes like me). Skewer shrimp with one pineapple chunk in between and place on a hot grill for about 2-3 minutes per side.