Cream of Tomato Soup

I thought some of you might still have V-8 in your fridges from cooking night and with it being cold out, soup sounds good. I found this on Real Mom Kitchen. This isn't quite as tomatoey as soup out of a can, so my kids actually liked this better!

1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups V-8 or tomatoe juice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2-3 cups of milk
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then whisk in the flour until smooth.
2. Add the V-8 and stir until it thickens.
3. Next whisk in the baking soda followed with the 2 cups of milk, sugar. Cook until heated through. Taste the soup and add the other cup of milk if you would like it creamier. Divide into 4 bowls and serve.

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

We had this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit at our house. Really quick to throw together too.

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced (I used 1/2 of 1)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth (I used 4)
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent.

Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn.

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty, or let it set at room temperature for until soft. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well.

Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Tortilla Chicken Chili

1 tbs oil
1 lb chicken breast cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 pkg Chili Seasoning Mix
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney, white or pinto beans, undrained
 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 c water
1 1/2 c broken tortilla chips

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 3-5 min or until chicken is no longer pink.

Stir in seasoning mix and remaining ingredients. bring to boil; cover. Reduce heat and simmer 10 min, stirring occasionally. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream or chopped cilantro if desired.

Chocolate-Chip Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Add the flour mixture and combine. Batter will be thick.
5. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
6. Spread half of the cake batter in prepared 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chip mixture over the batter. Repeat with the remaining batter, and then the remaining chocolate chip mixture.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.