Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Are you ready for the best comfort soup ever?! I got this from Carrie and Southern Living :). I think the recipes are basically the same. The boys love this (which actually surprised me!). When I made this last week I had some cooked chicken in the fridge that I stirred into Jared's. It was really good! That's an option if you need some meat (right Shell!!). Again, NO pictures.

3 1/2 cups chicken STOCK (I use stock b/c I think it has more flavor. You might even start with 3 cups and if it seems like there's not much extra liquid pour in a little more. That will make sense later!!)

8 celery ribs, sliced

4 carrots, sliced (I think regular carrots taste better in soups than baby carrots. There may not be a difference!)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used several red potatoes last time. Just use whatever you have.)

1 onion, chopped (I sprinkled in a lot of the dried onion instead of using a real onion. I think that's why the boys didn't throw a fit. It was great like that-and easier)

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 cups corn, frozen and thawed or canned

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

paprika

dry musard

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used a cup of mild and a cup of sharp. I also used the block that you grate yourself. I've seen them talk about preferring that over the bagged kind in one of my magazines. Probably not a big deal.)

Bring the first 6 ingredients (thru pepper) to a boil in a large pot or dutch oven. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 15-20 minutes until veggies are tender. Remove from heat and stir in corn.

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan (medium size at the smallest) over low heat; add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Stir in milk, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1 tsp dry mustard; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. This part takes a few minutes :). Add cheese, stirring until blended.

Stir cheese mixture in the veggie mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until heated.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is easy to make and really good (do I put that at the beginning of ALL my recipes?!). I got it from Paula Dean and it was rated a 5 star! Once again, I forgot to take pictures. I always think of it half way thru. Rhonda, this is what I made on Sunday! :)

1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained really well
2 (13 3/4) cans artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use a little more)
1/2 cup sour cream (I use a little more)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese (I use a little more)
chopped tomato, optional

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a casserole dish with nonstick spray. Coarsely chop the artichoke hearts. Combine all the ingredients (except tomato) and put into the dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Top with tomato. I serve it with wheat thins but it's also good with chips.

Limeade Pie

This is SOOOO good. It's quick and easy to make. I've seen a couple of versions and combined the two to make this one.


graham cracker crust
6 oz. (1/2 of regular size) limeade concentrate, thawed
condensed milk
regular size cool whip; thawed

Mix the limeade, condensed milk and cool whip with a spoon. Be careful not to stir the cool whip too much. Put it in the crust and freeze. The longer it freezes the better it is. It sounds really simple but TRY IT! My neighbor said that it's better than most of the key lime pies he's had!

Cherry Cream Pie

We grew up eating this pie. We always called it cheesecake but I guess it's not really what you think of when you think "cheesecake". It's lighter and FABULOUS!! The vanilla didn't make the picture :).

8 oz. cream cheese; softened

can of condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

about 1/4 cup of lemon juice (maybe a little less)

can of cherries

graham cracker crust

FORK (you will be eating this out of the fridge when the kids are at school :P)

With a mixer combine the cream cheese, condensed milk, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour into a graham cracker crust and put it in the fridge for several hours. I put the can of cherries in there and pour them on before serving. I don't know why I do that but I do! I guess I feel like it will set up better and the boys don't always want cherries on their piece. You can probably pour the cherries on and THEN put it in the fridge. Do it and let me know :). This takes 2 minutes to make and I think you will love it!

Angel Hair With Artichokes

This is one of those things I throw together when I make something for my family that I won't eat. I make a few different variations. You could easily add sliced chicken breast to this if you wanted some meat in your meal. If I have fresh spinach, I will throw that in also.

Ingredients:

Angel hair pasta

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

2 garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 14oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained or 1 small container fresh grape tomatoes, halved

1 14oz. can quartered artichoke hearts

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

2 Tablespoons capers, drained

fresh basil

grated Parmesan

1. Saute garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, artichokes, and black olives. Bring to a boil. (If using fresh tomatoes, heat until tomatoes are soft.

2. Reduce heat to low. Add capers and basil. Simmer about 5 minutes.

3. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss with angel hair pasta. Top with Parmesan.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I made the next two recipes for our neighborhood party last night. This is SOO good but don't sit near it!! I'm scared to think how much I ate!! I was going to take a picture of these but couldn't find the camera and we were running late. I got this recipe from our friend Laura. There are more to come from her!

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
mini chocolate chips
chopped peacans, optional
Chocolate graham cracker sticks and cinnamon sugar pita chips for serving.

Beat the cream cheese and butter. Add the sugars and vanilla. Beat really well until it's smooth. It takes a few minutes for the brown sugar to mix in and not be grainy. Stir in a cup of mini chocolate chips. Chill for 1 hour and then roll into a ball. Roll in leftover chocolate chips and pecans. I didn't do this part for lack of time. I just scooped it into a chip and dip dish and spread the crackers and pita chips around the outside. I couldn't find graham cracker sticks so I just used the regular crackers and stuck a little serving knife in the dip. This is fast and easy!!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is spicy but really good! It would be great to make for a football party. It came from the Kraft magazine.

1 pkg. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 cups finely chopped chicken (I actually doubled the chicken to make it more hearty)
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (I used Marzetti's Ultimate Blue Cheese dressing-my favorite!) You could use Ranch if you don't like Blue Cheese but it's not overwhelming.
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce (I used Louisiana Wing Sauce)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
celery and crackers for serving

Mix all ingredients in a microwaveable bowl. Heat on high for 5 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is heated thru. Stir after 3 minutes. Serve hot with crackers, wheat thins, or celery.

Calling All Panini Lovers!

My friend Amy introduced me to the panini press last summer and we've been addicted ever since. We usually just use our regular sandwich bread but our favorites are sourdough and sliced french. Here are a few of our favorites.

Pizza Dip Sandwich

Sourdough bread (presliced)
Pepperoni
Salami
Ham
Provolone (it's not as messy as shredded mozzarella)
Pizza sauce

Put the meat and cheese on the bread (I layer it cheese, meats, cheese so that it all sticks together). Drizzle a little olive oil on the bread and toast it in the press. Heat up the pizza sauce and dip the sandwich in it. YUMMY! We had these for dinner last night. Zane's friend took a bite, turned around and said, "This is the best thing EVER!" and then to Zane, "Dude, how often do you get to eat these?" That made me feel like these were blog worthy :).

Roast Beef Dip

Bread
Deli Roast Beef
Swiss cheese
Horseradish Sauce (not the strong prepared horseradish) I think it's by the mayo at the store.
Beeth broth (I made it from the cubes and just made it a little stronger so that it tasted like aus jus).

Spread the bread with horseradish sauce. Put the meat and cheese on it and grill (drizzle olive oil or butter on the bread first). Dip in the beef broth. This is one of their favorites!

Spicy Turkey

Bread
Turkey
Jalepenos
Muenster cheese
Honey Mustard (We use Inglehoffer and it's great! I bought it at Wal-Mart)

Spread the bread with the honey mustard (I put it on both pieces). Put the meat, cheese, and peppers on it and grill (I put butter on the outside first). This is one of my favorites!

Veggie

Sourdough bread
Cream cheese
Guacamole or avocado slices
Black olives
Red onion slices
Tomatoes
Cucumber

Spread the cream cheese on one piece of bread. Put all of the ingredients on it and grill. Drizzle olive oil on the outside first. This is REALLY good. You can add any kind of veggie that you want. Don't skip the cream cheese!! It sounds weird but it's really good.

Simple Summer Dessert

My grandma made this for one of our family functions, and it was delicious! My family liked it so much, I had to make it for them. It is cold, so it's wonderful in this 90+ degree weather we've been having.

Ingredients:
Cool Whip
1 container fresh strawberries- sliced
white cake mix- prepared according to package directions- crumbled (chunky not fine)
2 small boxes of vanilla pudding- prepared

Layer: cake (I only used about 3/4 of the cake for the whole dessert), vanilla pudding, strawberries, and Cool Whip. Repeat and garnish with strawberries.

Thrown together, but a big hit

Between all of the end of the school year activities and moving, I had not had time to go to the grocery store. Here was the dilemma: hungry family, tired of eating out, almost empty pantry. I found a few ingredients that I thought I could use to throw something together. If they didn't like it oh well, at least it wasn't Mc Donald's (again). To my surprise, they really liked it. I don't have any pictures because obviously it wasn't something I thought I would be sharing.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts- cubed and cooked
1/2 package egg noodles- cooked according to package instructions
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 CAN of milk
bread crumbs
shredded Parmesan cheese (not the can kind)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 11X7 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. (or whatever size you have- but not a big dish unless you double the recipe)

2. In a large bowl, combine the soup and milk. Add the noodles and chicken, and toss until noodles are coated with soup mixture.

3. Pour the mixture into the dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top until completely covered. Next, sprinkle the cheese over the bread crumbs.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and noodles are heated through.

Sunflower Seed Broccoli

Here is a quick and easy side dish that I like to make. Usually I focus on the main dish, and then right before dinner I think, "Oh, what am I going to put with it?" Sides are not my specialty, but this one is a big hit in my family.


1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable oil)
1 bag of frozen broccoli
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper
sunflower seeds

1. In a large skillet, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Add broccoli, cook and stir for 3 minutes.
Add the broth, oregano, salt, and pepper (to taste).

2. Cover and cook until broccoli is heated throughout. (Approx. 4 minutes)

3. Sprinkle sunflower seeds over the top. Use as much or as little as you like.

**I think the reason this has so much flavor is the use of broth instead of water. I have read in several magazines to use broths instead of water for added flavor, and I really think it makes a difference.

French Dip Sandwiches

My family would eat this every week if I made it (and did for a while). It takes 2 minutes to put in the crock pot.

roast (I use a 3 lb. chuck tender but you could use anything)
packet of onion soup mix
1/3 cup soy sauce (I use the low sodium and sometimes use a little more)
WATER
beef bouillon (optional)
sub rolls
provolone cheese

Trim the fat off of the roast and put it in the crock pot. Mix soy sauce and onion soup mix and pour over roast. Add enough water to cover the roast. Drop in a bouillon cube if you want. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Take meat out and cut or shred (it will fall apart!). Put meat and cheese on sub roll and toast for a few minutes. Dip it in the juice from the crock pot. You can tweak the juice to your taste. You might want a little more soy or no bouillon cube.

Poppyseed Cake

This sounds very simple and maybe not THAT tasty but please try it!! It's one of our FAVORITES and in the middle of my second piece last night I kept saying, "What makes this cake SO good??" (Jared said it was the opium!) It's fast, easy, and very moist. Just don't eat it before drug testing ;).

yellow cake mix (make according to directions but omit oil)
poppyseeds (I just dump a lot in)
small vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 cup oil

Mix all ingredients with a mixer (around 2 minutes) and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 325 for around 50-55 minutes (check it at 47ish). Turn onto a plate and ENJOY!

Triple Layer Peanut Butter Brownies

Ok, these are to die for :). I made them last week and was so happy to see the last bite go because I COULDN'T stay out of them. I got the recipe from the Kraft Magazine. I have pictures on my camera and will add them if I ever get them onto my computer.

1 pkg. (19-21 oz.) brownie mix, prepared in 9x13 pan (I used the Pillsbury family size)
1 cup cold milk
1 small pkg vanilla instant pudding (I actually used the large size and it was fine)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups cool whip, frozen (mine was already thawed and it was fine)
3 squares Baker's semi sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (don't skip these!!!!)

Whisk milk and pudding for 2 minutes while brownies are cooling. Add peanut butter and sugar; mix well. Cover and refrigerate pudding mixture until brownies are COMPLETELY cooled. Spread pudding mixture over brownies. Microwave cool whip and chocolate on high for 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread over pudding; sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (it gets better the longer it sits so I would suggest making it in the morning or afternoon if you are having it for dessert after dinner). Store in the fridge.

Fudge Brownie Pie

I made this last night and it is GREAT! You can make the brownie from scratch if you want, but I think it would be just as good if you used a brownie mix. My MIL made this a long time ago and I forgot that I had the recipe. Thanks Linda!!

Fudge Brownie Pie
brownie:
4 squares Baker's Semi Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flour

filling:
2 cups of cold milk
2 pkgs. (4 servings each) instant chocolate pudding (I used sugar free)
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip French Vanilla

Microwave chocolate and butter on high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add sugar; stir until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour. Spread into greased 9 in pie plate.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Scoop out center of brownie with a spoon, leaving 1/2" thick rim around the edge and thin layer of brownie on the bottom. Reserve brownie pieces.

Beat milk and pudding with a wire wisk for 2 minutes. Stir in half of the cool whip and all but 1/2 cup of brownie pieces. Spoon into brownie crust; top with remaining cool whip then sprinkle the brownie on top. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set (it is better that way but you could eat it immediately).