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.

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.

BBQ Secrets

Please don't be disappointed, I don't have secrets to share. I'm posting to beg all of you to share your BBQ recipes with me. We love to BBQ all summer long. It keeps the house cool, clean and it is delicious! So...anyone have any good ideas??

One thing we like is grilled corn. We coat it with a marinade made with butter and soy sauce. (1:1) It is delicious and is something we use to eat sometimes in Japan.

Please post something yummy...I'm really excited to try a few new things this summer.

Thanks!