Tomato Alphabet Soup

I got the basic recipe for Tomato Alphabet Soup at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/50-easy-soups-1--10/index.html, but I found it a little bland so I doctored it up and we really like it. Here is what I do:

• Brown 1/2 pound hamburger with some onion and minced garlic, drain off the fat if needed.
• Add three cups chicken broth and two cups tomato juice and bring to a boil.
• Add as much oregano as you would like.
• Adjust taste to your liking with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, more oregano, basil--or whatever sounds good to you!
• Add 1/2 cup alphabet pasta and cook until tender. (I couldn't find alphabet pasta so I just found a small pasta and used it).
• I also like to throw in some fresh or frozen spinach when the pasta is just about finished.
• Serve with grated parmesan if desired.
  

The above website is a link to 50 easy soups. I like a lot of the others too and recommend taking a look through them. This recipe is number #31 on the list.

Maria's Clam Chowder

Hi All!

Tonight I went to a Soup-n-Swap for our Enrichment Night. Very fun! I brought a clam chowder. A recipe Maria gave to me in 2005! It is very delicious and I noticed that it wasn't here so I'll copy her recipe so you clam chowder lovers can try it. YUM! Thanks, Maria! I have so many of your recipes that I now use on a regular basis. You are very talented!

I miss ya'll!...Except for those of you I don't know...cuz...I don't know you.:) Anyway, enjoy!

Bratten's Boston Clam Chowder

2-6 1/2 oz. minced clams

1 c. onion, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

2 c. potatoes, diced

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. flour

1 quart half and half

1 1/2 t. salt

a few grains of pepper

1/2 t. sugar

Drain juice from clams and pour over vegetables in med. saucepan. Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over med heat until potatoes are tender. In the meantime, melt butter, add flour and blend and cook a minute or two. Add cream and cook and stir until smooth and thick, using a whisk to blend. Add undrained vegetables and clams and heat through. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.

White Chicken Chili

1-2 lbs chicken cooked and shredded
1 T. Olive oil
2 -4oz. Cans green chiles
2 med. Onions chopped
3 c. shredded Montery Jack cheese
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 t. ground cumin 3 cans (16 oz.) Great Northern beans*
1 ½ t. oregano
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
3 cans chicken broth (or 4c. Water with 4 bouillon cubes)
s&p to taste

Heat oil. Add onions. Saute. Stir in garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, & green chiles. Stir in undrained beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and add chicken and cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Serves 10 people.

*Can use 1 lb. Dry beans. Soak overnight. In morning rinse and then simmer in broth and garlic for 3 hours (or until tender) before adding to soup.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe from Martha Stewart that I tore out of a magazine a long time ago and I am still using. It is great for summertime, when the tomatoes are best.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Star Wars Themed Dinner

With four boys, it isn't hard to make a meal interesting if you add Star Wars to it. This was our meal last Monday. I put our Star Wars Cookbook to good use and made the boys help.

Dark-Side Salsa

The secret to this salsa isn't actually what you use to make the salsa, it is serving it with the blue corn chips. However, their recipe for salsa turned out pretty good. And, it looks like Star War Colors, which I loved.

Chopped Tomatoes

Frozen Corn thawed

Chopped Avacado

1/2 Onion finely chopped

Lime Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

We could have added a little spice like green chiles or a hot pepper.

Greedo Burritos

The recipe was just a taco recipe, but you added black beans to the meat.

Yoda Soda

Lime Sherbet with lime juice and sparkling water. Although, next time, we will just use 7-up or sprite, or melon soda.

R2D2 Treats

Split a banana in thirds, dipped in melted white chocolate, dipped head in crushed peanuts and used halve a kit-kat for each leg. These were so delicious.

Bobby Flay's Mac and Cheese Carbonara

I LOVE homemade macaroni and cheese. I'm always on the lookout for improving mine. I think Bobby Flay's recipe is great. I personally like it a little milder so I use regular cheddar instead of the Asiago and White Cheddar. Any of the cheese can be substituted for regular cheddar, or try substituting Monterary Jack. I really like the egg yolk addition. It adds a lot to the creaminess to the sauce. The actual recipe can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/mac-and-cheese-carbonara-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
1 T. olive oil
1 - inch thick piece pancetta, diced small (I prefer mine without the pancetta)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (As much as I LOVE garlic, I prefer my mac/cheese without it)
3 T. all purpose flour
5 cups whole milk, heated
4 large egg yolks, lightly whisked
2 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups freshly grated Asiago cheese
1 1/2 cups Irish White Cheddar
1 1/2 cups cheddar
1 cup grated fontina
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (I used Parmesan)
Salt/pepper
1 pound macaroni (I like using corkscrew or shells), cooked just UNDER al dente
1/2 cup parsley, if you want

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of a 3 qt baking dish and set aside.

So, I just skip this step, but here it is: Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Add garlic to the pan and cook until slightly golden, whisk in the flour and cook for one to two minutes.

Whisk in 5 cups of the HOT milk, increase the heat to high and cook, (Since I skip the above step, I whisk the flour into COLD milk, then heat it up...) whisking constantly until thickened. Whisk a little of the hot milk into your egg yolks. The slowly whisk the egg yolk mixture into the thickened milk mixture until incorporated and let cook 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in thyme,cayenne, and all of the cheese until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper. If mixture appears too thick, add a milk 1/4 cup at a time.

Place cooked noodles into a large bowl, add the cheese sauce, reserved pancetta--if using, and parsley. Stir until combined. Transfer mixture into prepared pan. Top with grated cheeses of choice. Bake in oven until heated through and top is golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Soup with Dumplings

Last night I decided to try a new recipe and for some reason Chicken and Dumplings have been on my mind. I have never made dumplings before and was happy with a recipe that I found in my Lion House Cookbook. I just finished eating the leftovers 5 minutes ago. It's a yummy, hearty meal...great for a chilly day.

Chicken Soup with Dumplings

• Meat From 1 Chicken Cooked and Shredded
• 1 large Onion Diced
• ½ stalk Celery Diced
• 2 Carrots Diced
• 4-6 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup fresh cut Green beans
• 1 cup Pearl Barley if you like
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp Thyme if you have Thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

In a small amount of cooking oil sweat the onion, carrots and celery. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the barley is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add spoon sized balls of dumpling dough and simmer until dumplings rise.

Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Milk
• ½ cup Butter
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• 1 cup Flour
• 3 Eggs

Method:

Bring the milk and butter to a boil, add salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat and immediately add flour stirring until dough leaves the sides of the pan. Incorporate the eggs one at a time forming sticky dough.

Chicken Chili

This is what we are having for dinner tonight. Sooo good.

Delee's White Chili:

Saute 1 lb of chicken cut up in chunks and 1 medium onion in 1 1/2 TBS of oil

In a large pot put:

Sauteed chicken and onions
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1 can chicken broth
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup water
1 can chopped green chili's
1 can Mexi-corn
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp pepper

Boil all ingredients

Just before serving add:
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream

Serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

This recipe is from Light & Tasty magazine. If you are looking for something a little different here it is.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
(they used refried black beans)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans , rinsed and drained.
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (ues gloves)
( I used a can of green chile instead)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce, divided
2 1/2 cups salsa
12 lasagna noodles (the kind you can put in uncooked)
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack
cheese or Mexican Blend cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup light sour cream
1 med. ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Cook beef till done and drain. Stir in the beans, (both kinds), corn,
jalapeno, taco seasoning, and 3/4 cup tomato sauce.
Combine salsa and remaining tomato sauce. Spread 1/4 cup
into a 13x9 baking dish ( spray pan with nonstick cooking spray)
Layer with 4 noodles, half the meat sauce, 1 cup salsa mixture,
1/2 cup Monterey cheese and 1/2 cup chedder cheese
(or use 1 cup Mexican Blend)
Repeat layers ending with cheese topping.
Cover and cook at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Let stand 10 min. before cutting. Top with sour cream, avacado, and
green onions.

White Chili

I don't know if all of you long time New Mexico residents have made this chili... (it has green chile in it), but we just started making it and love it!! I have to thank Kristen S. for showing me this little gem in our family cookbook! This chili is perfect for a cold day, and a great alternative to your everyday chili.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2- 15 oz. cans of great northern beans
1-14 oz. can of chicken broth
2- 4 oz. cans of green chiles
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 C. sour cream
1/2 C. milk

Dice chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chiles, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and milk. Serve immediately.

* Just a note: I don't put in a lot of cayenne pepper just so my 2 year old can eat it, I also switch out the milk for whipping cream (healthy I know), we also like to serve it with tortilla chips and cheese.... Enjoy!!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I made these tonight and my pickiest eater said "this is a really good dinner mom!" he even remembered them from the last time I made them which was a while ago. Really easy, and a nice alternative to all the frozen-not as good for you-chicken nuggets.

Breading

2 cups cornflake crumbs
2 tsp instant chicken boullion
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 T Italian herb seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder


Crush cornflakes in food processor to make them nice and fine. Add all other ingredients, and mix. Coat chicken pieces (nugget sized or strips.) Place on oven sprayed baking sheet (I forgot to do this tonight and it was fine--they stuck just a little.) I used three small breasts tonight and still have more than half of the crumbs left. You can place extra crumbs in the fridge to be used later.
Cook on 425 for 12-15 minutes. I usually cut open a thick piece to make sure they are done. I hope you enjoy!! Ketchup is a must! Barbecue sauce is good too!
--Just for the record, I wanted to share these even before I knew about sweepstakes #2!

Fabulously Tasty & Easy Grilled Panini Sandwiches!!--(don't know the real name)

My Mom made these for me when we visited this summer, and I've made them a million times since then. No more leftover peanut butter sandwich crusts for me for lunch!! These are almost as easy as the PB & J that the kids request so often. I PROMISE you will love these! Just make sure the first time you make them you use the ingredients from below--then experiment later.

* Sliced sourdough bread loaf (have tried it with other kinds of
bread--sourdough is the best.)
* sliced chicken deli meat (every time I've made it I've just used the kind
that comes in a big variety pack from Costco-can use the turkey too.)
* Provolone Cheese (Costco also sells a pack of sliced provolone)
* Fresh spinach
* Italian Salad dressing
* melted butter and olive oil mixed together--equal parts

All you do is put a slice of provolone, several slices of deli meat, and a layer of the fresh spinach, between your two slices of sourdough bread. Brush the butter/olive oil mixture on the outside of your sandwich and toast on your griddle, or frying pan etc (like your making a grilled cheese sandwich) until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. When sandwich is done browning, open it up and drizzle on some Italian dressing. They are good without the dressing too. Cecy let me borrow her panini maker and they are really fun to make using that as well--I think the lines on the sandwich just might make them taste better!
The picture I took of the sandwiches I made without the panini maker.
This is my first post!! I really have had good intentions!
Miss you guys!
Luv,
Heather

Chicken Curry

A while ago Jocelyn let us sample some awesome soup that she made. So good! When I had the first bite, I thought I recognized a mild flavor that I couldn't initially pin point. But then I figured it out. Coconut milk! It was so delicious and the coconut didn't overpower it. So thanks! Jocelyn wanted to make sure that Tina Culter got the credit for the recipe so thanks Tina as well!!

*Chicken Curry From Sister Cutler

1 can chicken broth
1 can coconut milk (13 ½ ounce)
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
3 chicken breasts, diced.
bamboo shoots, sliced
4 carrots, chopped thin
2 small zucchini chopped (or other vegetables you like)
1 teaspoon lime juice
fish sauce, sugar and salt to taste

Mix curry paste with a small amount of coconut milk to dissolve. Bring coconut milk, chicken broth and curry paste to boil. Brown chicken, add to coconut milk mixture. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add lemon leaves, chopped vegetables and bamboo shoots. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add lime juice and fish sauce, sugar and salt to taste.

Green Chile Quiche

This is another recipe from the brunch last week. Our family eats this for dinner, since it is way too much work for breakfast.

Green Chile Quiche

1/2 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 small onion, chopped
6 eggs
2 T milk or cream
2 T flour
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack)
1 can green chiles
1/2 t salt
1/2 t paprika
3/4 t oregano
1/4 t garlic powder
salt and pepper
9 -inch pie crust

Beat eggs with milk and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.


A very similar recipe is:

Green Chile Breakfast Casserole

sliced, buttered bread, crust removed

2 c. Cheddar cheese, grated

1lb cooked sausage

2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 4 oz can green chilies

8 eggs

2 c. milk

1 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1 t oregano

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t dry mustard

Line bottom of 9x13 pan with buttered bread, buttered side down (fit tightly). Layer Cheddar cheese, sausage, Jack cheese, and chilies. Beat together eggs, milk, and spices. Pour over casserole. Chill overnight. Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes uncovered. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

One good thing and one...not so much

So I had a success and a miss-fire this week.

I love using the EverydayFoods little magazine and, thanks to Summer for a tip about a smaller binder with plastic sleeves, I have the recipes I like ripped out and nicely organized. Both my mistake and my success come from this Everyday Foods, which is odd because I've loved everything that I've made from it.

The Bomb: (and not in the cool "yer-the-bomb" sort of way. The "this-really-sucks" way.)

Spinach-feta Turnovers pg 68 of some month this year. I love the thought of turnovers. Yummy deliciousness nicely packed inside a crusty buttery pocket. The pastry shell was very good but that's easy: It was a frozen puff pastry you buy in the freezer section, I mean, you can't go wrong with that. But the stuff inside: not so good, in fact yuck! With spinach and feta cheese really the only two things, it was nasty. But what really ticked me of was the assembling of these stupid turnovers! Rolling them out not big enough, sticking too much filling so it oozed out the side, the egg wash it called for did NOT make the edges stick together. So NO THANK YOU, to this recipe!

Success!
Angel Hair Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Did you go to the brunch at the park on Friday? If not, you MISSED out!! Lots of good food for the taking! And this was one of 'em, thank you very much!...Okay, it was super easy and I had all the stuff so I really don't get much credit. Here's a link to the recipe. LINK I didn't use fresh angel hair pasta and next time I won't use angel hair at all. It's too delicate and fragile...like me...ahhh. I need something a little heftier and strong...like me! HA! Anyway, it was good and some of you had it!

So what have you made lately? Any that really tasted bad?

Weird Pizzas but still yummy!

Last month, I made a few out-of-the-ordinary pizzas and I thought I'd share them with you along with the pizza dough recipe that is from Maria not me and it comes out perfect every time I make it! So I had to share it but Maria gets the credit! :)

This first pizza had grilled green onions and asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes with ricotta cheese. Very good and tasty. I love asparagus! The second one (no photo) had goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions. Different but still good and fun to try. Caramelizing onions is not like sauteing onions. I sliced five, yes five!, onions and put them in a medium heat pan with butter and a little oil. On medium heat, they just kept braking down and caramelizing but it does take long time. I also add a tablespoon of brown sugar for every onion. Anyway, it was tasty and interesting.

Okay, here's Maria's Bread sticks recipe that I use for a thick pizza crust in a cookie sheet.

Maria's Bread Stick

1 T. yeast

1 1/2 c. water

2 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

3 - 3 1/2 c. flour

1/4 - 1/2 c. butter

Heat oven to 375. Dissolve yeast in water and add other ingredients. Kneed for 3 min. and let rest for 10 min. Melt butter on cookies sheet in the oven. Roll dough and cut into strips. Place on cookie sheet and roll in butter. Sprinkle with garlic and Parmesan. Let raise for 15-20 minutes and bake for 20 minutes.

A BBQ Recipe

Hi Bear Canyon friends! I am finally contributing a recipe to this blog, thanks Kathy for setting it up. In response to Kristine's BBQ post, I am sharing a recipe that I recently got from a friend. It is a little more time consuming than throwing a burger on the grill but well worth the effort if you have time. Enjoy!

GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH MANGO SALSA

Grilled Pork Tenderloin
1.5 Tbsp table salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 pork tenderloins (1.5-2 lbs total), trimmed of silver skin

Spice Rub
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp orange zest (1 orange)
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 Tbsp olive oil
Dissolve the salt and sugar in 4 cups cold water in a medium bowl. Add the tenderloins, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Remove the tenderloins from the brine, rinse well, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Set aside. Discard brine.

Preheat grill on high, about 15 minutes. Rub the tenderloin with the spice rub. Place the tenderloins on heated grill. With lid down, brown tenderloins on all four sides, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium, cover with aluminum roasting pan and cook another 10-15 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin registers 145 degrees or the meat is only slightly pink when cut. Remove to platter or cutting board, cover with roasting pan and let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving with mango salsa (below).

Mango Salsa
2 medium mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 medium red onion, minced
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/2 medium jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded (if desired), and minced
1 Tbsp lime juice (about 1 lime)
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl with an airtight seal. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 4 days).

Honey Soy Glazed Chicken

From: Everyday Foods magazine

Serves 4
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 40 min

1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
8 skinless chicken drumsticks (3 lbs.)
course salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 475. Line a shallow roasting pan or 9X13" baking dish with foil. In a large bowl, mix together honey, soy sauce, and 1/3 cup water. Add chicken, and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper.

2. Bake chicken, basting with juices from edges of pan every 10 minutes, until well browned and a thermometer inserted into the thicked part of the drumstick (avoiding the bone) read 165, about 30 - 40 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

~This is a family favorite of ours. We served this to my brother-in-law and his college roomates and I wish we had made more. I also really like the Warm Potato veggie salad (also pictured).

Warm Potato Veggie Salad

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min

1 1/2 lbs. Baking potatoes, peeled, and cut small
coarse salt and ground pepper
6 oz. Green beans, trimmed and cut small
1/3 cup light mayo
2-3 tsp white wine vinegar
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, coarsly grated

1. Place potatoes in a large pot; cover with water by 1", and add 1 Tbsp salt. Bring to boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. With a wire skimmer or sloted spoon, transfer potatoes to a large bowl, save water.

2. To the simmering water, add green beans, and cook until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Drain and add to potatoes, along with mayo, vinegar, scallion, and carrots. Toss to combine, and lightly mach, season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

Stromboli

This is one of my favorite dinners, but I don't have a recipe anymore. Here is what I do.

You need:
One recipe pizza dough
Pizza sauce (I use Ragu)
about 1/2 lb sliced deli roast beef
grated cheese
chopped green chili

Layer everything and roll it up. Then bake it at 350 for 20 minutes or so. Delish. These pictures show a double batch.

St. Patrick's Day Puff Pancakes

Hi Everyone! Julie R. just sent me an email about a green tradition we have in our house. It started with my mom and we have carried it in our lives, too. Although I have no Irish in me we like to celebrate this green holiday with a totally green breakfast, either served for breakfast or if you're more of a night person and just don't want to get up that early, you can have a green breakfast for dinner. That's what I have been doing lately. Anyway, Julie wanted a recipe for what we call Puff Pancakes. Scott grew up with these and I never had them till he came into my life. But we love them now! They are also known as German Pancakes. So here's the recipe we use. Just add a little green food coloring and you're set for St. Patty's day.

Another St. Patty's breakfast tip: In college we had a green breakfast group date. We wanted to make green bacon so we put it in green water for a while. Yeah, not good. The water sucked out all the salt! It was nasty! So for green bacon don't do that but while you are frying it up drop of few drops right on the bacon and there you go!

Okay, okay! Here's the recipe!

Scott’s Puff Pancakes

½ cube butter

½ c. sugar

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1 c. milk

¼ tsp salt

¼ c. orange juice (optional)

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in 9x13 pan whiled mixing batter. Pan should be hot when batter is poured into it. Mix and beat together all ingredients (don’t over beat). When butter has melted, pour mixture into dish and bake for 17-20 minutes. You must watch it. It will puff high so don’t put it on top oven rack. Must serve immediately. Makes about 6 servings.