Cheesy Potato Soup

I know a couple of other people have posted similar recipes, but this one is really yummy too! I was looking for one that didn't require chicken broth, and found this! It's best with a yellow/gold potato, and it definitely needed salt....but GREAT flavor! I've also served it in homemade bread bowls.

INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
4 cups water
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I use yukon golds)
15 slices American cheese - broken into pieces
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/3 cups milk

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and celery in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender.
Stir in the water and potatoes, bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
In a separate small bowl, combine the flour and the milk and stir well until the flour is mostly dissolved. Pour this into the soup slowly, stirring constantly, until soup has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits

My husband claims these are even better then the biscuits you get at Red Lobster.

2 c. Bisquick

2/3 c. milk

3/4 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Combine bisquick, milk and cheese.

Spoon onto greased cookie sheet and smooth tops. Makes 8-10 buscuits.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Combine butter and garlic salt. Brush over hot biscuits.

Enjoy!

Tomato Sauce & Variation

Here's a Rachael Ray recipe I found and made last night. It's a basic tomato sauce, but one variation calls for eggplant and zucchini, the two vegetables I was trying to figure out how to use up. It ended up being really yummy!

In a medium skillet combine 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic over medium-high heat. When the garlic is sizzling add 2 cups chopped canned peeled tomatoes with their juice and season with salt (I had Italian style tomatoes and used those). Lower the heat to medium and cook stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the oil begins to separate from the sauce, 20 to 25 minutes.

Variation: Add 1 2/3 cups each finely chopped zucchini and eggplant with the tomatoes.

Varation #2: Add 2 tablespoons capers and 1/4 cup chopped pitted black olives to the sauce.

Mandarin Chic Salad

My sister made this last Saturday and it's awesome!

3/4 c. sliced almonds
8 oz. penne pasta (cooked)
2 c. cooked cubed chicken
11 oz can mandarin oranges
16 oz can pineapple shredded (save juice)
3/4 c. celery
1/4 c. onion (onion omitted)

dressing:
1 c. mayo
2/3 c. sour cream
4 tbs. pineapple juice
1 tsp. salt

mix all ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour.

Shepherd's Pie Stuffed Potatoes

A couple of you asked for this, so here it is. If you're not trying to impress anyone with a fancy meal I would make mashed potatoes seasoned the way it suggests instead of double stuffing the potatoes to save time. They do look impressive, but they are time consuming. Oh and I of course used cheddar instead of Gouda...it's just not something I have on hand!

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
• Salt
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped, divided
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown or Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese

On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with a hearty drizzle of EVOO and some salt. Bake in oven until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool. Turn off oven and preheat broiler.

While the potatoes are cooling, place a medium skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add the bell pepper and half of the onion to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the veggies are tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice lengthwise off of the top to expose the inside. Scoop out the potato flesh, taking care not to pierce the wall of the potato, and transfer to the bowl with the veggies (reserve the potato shells). Add the sour cream and paprika, and mash. Reserve warm.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the ground sirloin to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to turn golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Add the remaining onion and garlic to the pan and cook until all the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes more. Push all of the ingredients to the edge of the pan and add the butter to the skillet. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute. Add the stock, mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire, some salt and pepper to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Fill the potato shells with the beef-mushroom mixture then top each of them with the reserved mashed potatoes. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cheese. Pop the potatoes under the broiler until the cheese is melted and tops are golden brown.

Hey All!

Hope that you will take the time to become a follower!
If you have a recipe that you would like to share and inspire others on their nightly quest to make dinner, please leave a comment or e-mail me!

Eggplant

Hey girls! Thought I'd tell you how I cook up eggplant for those that I know have some this week...
Slice up eggplant into slices.
Put on cookie sheet
Drizzle with evoo
Sprinkle with salt and peppper
Broil in oven approx 10-15 minutes turning half way through
Cover in parmsean cheese and heat until melted
Serve with marinara sauce and I like some pasta to go with it!
There you have it! Eggplant parmasean!

Menu

I thought I would post my last two weeks menus in case any of you can gleen any inspiration! ;)

Monday- BLT's
Tuesday- Stew
Wednesday- Green Bean Chicken Bake
Thursday- Cowboy Spaghetti
Friday- Oh So Tender BBQ Chicken
Saturday- Breakfast
Sunday- Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

Monday- Easy Chicken Mac
Tuesday- Fried Chicken & Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday- Ham & Potatoes
Thursday- Grilled Cheese & Tomato soup
Friday- Rehersal dinner
Saturday- OUT
Sunday- OUT

Inspiration anyone?

Okay, so it feels like fall and even more than that it feels like I should be cooking decent dinners again...So I was thinking it was time to share our menu's again and hope to get inspired by each other. So, here's our week. What are you having?

Mon - Jalapeno popper mac n cheese
Tues - Shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes
Wed - Sweet n sour chicken and rice
Thur - Tamale pie casserole
Fri - tbd
Sat - Hot wing pizza

Frozen Pizza Dough

I haven't actually done this yet, but have wanted to for a while. I'm too cheap to buy pizza dough ready made, but sometimes would like the convenience of having it in the freezer ready to just plop on the counter and roll out. Here's a recipe I found that looks pretty simple. I plan to give it a try this week.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast
3 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for coating
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.

Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.

FREEZING DOUGH:
To freeze pizza dough, punch it down once it has risen, place it in a zip-top bag and freeze it. When you need it, thaw it early in the day, then shape it once it is no longer cold.

To freeze individual crusts, roll the dough and freeze the rounds on baking sheets, then remove and place them in plastic bags. When it is time to assemble the pizzas, simply apply the toppings to the frozen disks.