Calling for Soup Recipes

Ok everybody, I thought it would be nice this time of year to put together a collection of soup recipes. I love to throw  a bunch of stuff in the pot in the afternoon and let it simmer away and be ready for dinner time. Plus, we've already got a great crusty bread to go along with it. So what is your favorite soup recipe? I'll start with one of my own creations:

Minestrone Soup with Sausage

1 qt. tomatoes with juice

2-3 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

celery- optional

2 c. chicken stock

1 Tbs. Oregano

a little garlic/ onion powder

1 15 oz. can pinto or white beans

1 15 oz. can black beans

rinse and drain beans well, you can add a can of green beans if you like.

Add all ingredients to crock pot, cook several hours (about 4-5) on high till veggies are tender.

Pan fry 1 smallish pkg. Italian sausage, remove casings if they are links. Add sausage to crock pot, add 1 cup cooked small pasta shells. cook on low and hour or so. Serve with bread. 

Sorry I don't have a photo for this one, I will try to post one soon. Also, feel free to add your own suggestions if you make any improvements. I look forward to some hearty, hot soup recipes!

Chicken Continental

Well, I haven't figured out yet how to take pictures that make the food actually look yummy. I promise it is good, I am just not a food photographer. This recipe is versatile. This week we had it the first time on its own, then I cut up the leftovers and mixed it with some cooked pasta.

Chicken Continental

▪ 6 chicken breasts

▪ Flour

▪ Salt

▪ Pepper

Dip the chicken in water and dredge in flour, salt and pepper. Arrange in 9x13 casserole dish.

Sauce mix

▪ 3 Tbsp soy sauce

▪ 2 Tbsp minced onion

▪ 1/2 cup pineapple juice

▪ 1/4 tsp. ginger

▪ 1 stick margarine, melted

Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake at 475° for 10 minutes uncovered. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour.

kitchen tip of the day

Did you know you can peel a kiwi with a spoon? Just slice the ends off, then insert a spoon  just under the peel and run it around the fruit- off it comes!

East Indian Vegetable Casserole

▪ 1 medium green pepper, chopped

▪ 3/4 cup chopped onion

▪ 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

▪ 1 cup uncooked long grain rice

▪ 3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots

▪ 3/4 cup thinly sliced celery

▪ 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

▪ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

▪ 2 cups beef broth

▪ 3/4 cup raisins

▪ 1/2 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Place the green pepper, onion and butter in a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring once. Stir in rice, carrots, celery, cardamom and nutmeg; set aside.
Place broth in a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until boiling. Add raisins; let stand for 1 minute. Stir into rice mixture.
Cover and microwave on high for 11-14 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring twice. Sprinkle with peanuts. Let stand for 3 minutes before serving. Yield: 4-6 servings. Note: This recipe was tested in a 1,100-watt microwave.

*I don’t have cardamom, so I’ve never used it. One time I made it I didn’t have peanuts and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top instead. My microwave is 700 watt, so it took twice as long to cook.

Caramel Apricot Thumbprints

If you're one who likes nuts, these cookies are worth the extra effort. Crunchy nuts... Fruit Preserves to appear "healthy"... Spoonful of Caramel to take back that claim!

Ingredients:
½ C Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter Flavored Crisco
3 Eggs, separated
2 Tbls. Water
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla
¼ tsp. Salt
2 cups Flour
1-2 Cups Chopped Pecans OR Walnuts
½ Cup Caramel Topping
½ Cup Apricot Preserves

Directions:
1- beat Brown Sugar and Shortening at medium speed for 2 minutes or until fluffy.
2- add egg Yolks, water, vanilla, and salt. Beat until well combined
3- Add flour on low speed
4- Beat egg whites in a separate shallow bowl until foamy
5- Place the crushed nuts in another bowl
6- Roll dough into small balls, dip each in egg whites, then roll into the nuts, place on srayed cookie sheet.
7- Using a back of a teaspoon or your thumb, make a rounded indentation in the top of each cookie
8- Bake 10 Minutes @ 350
9- Remove from oven…(it may be necessary to create the indentation again)
10- Place about ½ tsp. caramel topping into the indentation of each cookie., then place ½ tsp of apricot preserves on top of the caramel
11- Bake an additional 5-6 minutes (until light brown)
12- Remove from over, let cookies cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

"Stupid Easy Fantastically Good Crusty Peasant Bread"

On my list of recipes to try is this one from Lynette Strobel, our bishop's wife in New Haven. She is an amazing gourmet cook and has a recipe blog of her own. She says this bread is the authentic, crusty european type bread but is easy to make. You let it sit on your counter all day, and knead it a few times. So, if you want to try it out here is the link. Oh, and it says it calls for beer but don't be scared, actually water works just fine too!

*Just to add a note, I really tried to mess up this recipe when I made it, and it still turned out great. I made it late in the day, ran out of time and stuck it in my fridge after punching it down a few times. I took it out the next day, let it warm up, and baked it and it tasted wonderful.  It has a thick , crunchy crust and everything. I didn't have parchment paper, so I used foil and that seemed to work Ok. I could make this bread everyday, you don't even need to heft out your bread mixer or dough hook or anything! It's ridiculous how easy it is. Have I said enough already? (I posted my photo at the top).

Kitchen tip of the day

If you want to avoid the dilemma of cheese sticking to your grater when you grate it, spray the grater first with cooking spray.

Also, spray your measuring cups/spoons before using them for something sticky like honey or corn syrup, it will slide right out.

Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf with Feta

This is super healthy (12 g fiber! and 12 g of protein per serving and only 5 grams of fat). And it's really easy. This is a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens new Slow Cooker magazine that Joey's sister Juli created.



2 14-ounce cans vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups sliced carrot (4 medium)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup bulgur
1/2 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomato (4 medium)
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (3 ounces)

1. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker, combine broth, carrot, corn, bulgur, lentils, oregano, cumin, coriander, pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook on high-heat for 3 hours.
2. Stir in tomato. Turn off cooker. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle each serving with feta cheese. Makes 6 servings.

Kitchen tip of the day

First, thanks everyone who has posted their yummy recipes!

here's a clever tip:

In order to keep your kid's ice cream cones from dripping, place a mini marshmallow or upside-down hershey kiss in the bottom of the cone before you load it up, then they can take their sweet time eating it.

Busy Day Beef Tips on Rice

2 lbs. beef tips
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
½ c water
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
Mix all ingredients in casserole dish. Cover and bake for 3 hours at 300 degrees. Serve over rice. (May also be cooked in the crock pot on low for 8-12 hours)

This is my absolute favorite Sunday dinner. I get so excited when I get to put this on the calendar and plan on making it. The leftover gravy/meat also makes delicious meat pies.

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup stick margarine or butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to low. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm.

Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and spreadable. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, one teaspoon at a time or heat over low heat, stirring constantly. 

I especially like this frosting for homemade cinnamon rolls. This recipe will frost one jelly roll pan of cinnamon rolls.

Other: 

I like to wrap individual cinnamon rolls in aluminum foil and freeze them. That way, Nate can grab one out of the freezer on his way to school or I can have a yummy snack during the day.

Apple Puffed Pancake

▪ 6 large eggs

▪ 1 1/2 cups skim milk

▪ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

▪ 1 cup all-purpose flour

▪ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

▪ 1/2 teaspoon salt

▪ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

▪ Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

▪ 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

▪ 4 apples, such as Gala or Red Delicious, peeled, quartered, cored and thinly sliced

▪ 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar

▪ Confectioners' sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in the jar of a blender. Blend until well combined. Add flour, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until dry ingredients are well incorporated; set aside.

Place butter in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Transfer dish to oven and heat until butter has just melted. Carefully remove from oven and place apples in a single layer in baking dish. Return to oven and cook until butter begins to bubble, about 4 minutes.

Pour batter over apples, sprinkle with brown sugar, and continue baking until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired; serve immediately. Serves 6

We have this often. It is like a German pancake with apples and is delicious! I cut my apples into wedges and then use the cheese slicer on my grater to slice them smaller. Enjoy!

A note from Hailey:

"Well, this is what it looked like when I made it, very tasty! I added a few photos of the process but for some reason they are reversed, with the finished product first. I used a large food processor to mix the batter. And sprinkled a little more cinnamon on top along with the brown sugar before baking. We also sprinkled it with powdered sugar and a shaker of sugar & cinnamon I keep around for just such situations. Everyone liked it, thanks Liz!"

Basic Bread

Well, let's start with the staff of life since we're stuck in the middle of winter and it is a great time to bake bread. Here is a great recipe that is really hard to mess up- hence, I can finally hold my head high and join the ranks of people who make homemade bread. Use whole wheat flour for a great batch of wheat bread, or use white or a combination of both.

Mix together: ( I use a Kitchenaid w/ dough hook)

2 1/2 c hot water

2TBS oil

1/2 TBS salt

just under 1/2 c honey

2-3 c flour

then add:

1 TBS SAF instant yeast (I know they sell it at Dick's mktplc)

3 c flour

Knead five min. The dough WILL be sticky like bubble gum. Just add flour till it's manageable, but too much flour will make tough, heavy bread.

Cover, let rise in a warm spot 20-30 min. till double. Punch down, put in 2 loaf pans. Rise again 20-30 min. Bake 350º for around thirty min, till dark golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool 10 min, turn out of pans. Smell is heavenly. Here is a picture of the type of yeast you need:

Kitchen tip of the day:

If you want to get the smell off your hands after chopping onions, rub your fingers together over the tines of a metal fork under cold running water. It works!

Looking and Cooking

Hi Everybody! Do you like talking about food, recipes, baking, cooking, and all things culinary? Often I come across great recipes in blogs or emails, so then I thought if enough of us are interested in sharing we could all start posting our recipes here. Want to help me get started?Just let me know and I'll email you the invite to post on this blog. Then share you favorite recipe and a photo if you can, I know everybody out there has something that is their specialty. Maybe we can even request recipes you are looking for- like does anyone out there have a good home- made brownie recipe? It will be just like those Relief Society cookbooks, only online! Thanks for posting/looking and happy cooking.