Recipes- Baked Potato Soup and Waste-Not-Potato Skins

My mother Karen (like her mother AND grandmother before her) belongs to an S.O. (serving others) Circle at her church.  If they host a large luncheon or dinner, they will send duplicate recipes home to their members, and bring the smaller batches all made so that way they can feed a whole bunch of people the same meal.
This Baked Potato Soup from her S.O. Circle is what my mom served us for part of our Christmas Eve dinner (see the Trinidad Slaw recipe here).

Baked Potato Soup
Can be doubled
4 large baking potatoes or 8 small ones (about 2 1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (we used leeks...cause we had them)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.
Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400* for one hour or until tender.  This step can be done in advance or you can even you can even use leftover baked potatoes.  Allow to cool.  Slice in half and then scoop insides into bowl (there will be some potato still inside the skins).  Discard the skins (OR see our Potato skin recipe below) and break any large potato chunks into bite-sized or smaller pieces.

Place flour into a large pot and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.  Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly but do NOT bring to a full boil!!!!  Boiling will lead TO CURDLED SOUP, and hey, no one likes curdled soup!  (direct quote from recipe)

Add potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until cheese melts and remove from heat.  Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions.

Cook over low heat until soup is heated thoroughly.  Again, this is a reicpe where you have to be vigilant!! Don't let it boil and don't let it burn the bottom of the pot....no running off to check you email (once again, another actual quote LOL).
Serve warm- garnish with rest of cheese, rest of onions and top with bacon.


Waste-Not-Potato-Skins

Using the skins leftover from making the soup, melt some butter and brush onto the potatoes in the skins.  Top with cheese, bacon (we used a reserve from the soup recipe above), and salt and pepper.
Broil for 2-4 depending on distance of shelf in oven.
Serve with sour cream (optional) or dip into your soup, or ranch dressing.

We wanted something nice & cozy and this was perfect after sitting around the bonfire singing Christmas carols!  Thanks Mom!

Recipes- Holiday Leftovers Turkey Noodle Soup

By now you're tossing or freezing your leftover Holiday dinner (if you haven't eaten it all!).  Tonight my husband reluctantly deboned our turkey (NOT his favorite job) and we decided to toss together a quick, easy soup.

Holiday Leftovers Turkey Noodle Soup

Leftover turkey - still on the bone (we brined ours so was super moist!)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves of garlic
2 Bay leaves
Lemon juice
Left over from our Thanksgiving dinner stuffing ingredients:
Cup of real bacon bits cut into small pieces
3 stalks of chopped celery
1/2 large onion diced
3 carrots chopped

Remove as much turkey as you can while you break down the carcass- set dark meat aside but soak the white meat pieces in a little bit of lemon juice (this will make it more tender).  Boil the bones in about 2 quarts water (depending on size of turkey) for 10 minutes or so and let simmer for an hour on medium heat.  While that is cooking, using olive oil, saute onions, carrots, celery and 3 cloves of garlic.  Add about 3/4 cup water and let it cook on low until al dente.
Strain bones from broth and put the broth back onto stove.  Add the sauted mix and the bacon pieces with a couple of bay leaves and bring to a boil (add additional water if necessary).  Add flat egg noodles (or in this case, shells since that's what we had!) and cook according to package directions.  During the last two minutes, add in the turkey pieces you had removed from bone earlier including the lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste- if flavor is too strong, add more water.
Serve with those leftover dinner rolls!

Dinner and A Movie- Italian Night with Letters To Juliet

We thought it would be fun to host a Dinner/Movie night so we threw one together at the last minute on Friday.  For our first movie, we picked Letters To Juliet (see our review at Friday Flick- Letters To Juliet) and since it's about being in Italy, we picked Italian menu items of course.  

Our Italian Menu

• Hostess Dawn served Brushetta, coffee, and a Caesar salad
• Stephanie made Florentine Ravioli
• Alisa and her mom Pat did an Italian Wedding Soup from the crock-pot
• Moira brought a bottle of 14 Hands Hot To Trot (yeah- another cork for my collection!)
• Laura had some lemon/liquor drinks but since I already had a few glasses of wine, I'm not sure what they were LOL

Since we did last minute, a couple of gals couldn't come so you could add: Italian Sodas, Caprese and Tiramusu

Brushetta with Tomato and Basil 

6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.  Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Casear Salad

Romaine lettuce

Maria Calender's Caesar Dressing

Fresh Parmesan cheese

Lemon 

Toss the salad with the dressing and then let your guests sprinkle the cheese and squeeze their lemon.  The lemon was a nice touch- I actually went back for seconds and that is HUGE for me (not the getting seconds part but that it was for SALAD!)

Florentine Ravioli 

2-3 TBS Extra Virgin Oil

4 cloves of garlic chopped (saute for about 40 seconds until "aromatic")

1/4-1/2 chopped red onion

2 handfuls of spinach

2 chopped Roma tomatoes 

1 can of sauce- we used Constandina Alfredo from the refrigerated section at Safeway

Opt- grilled chicken

1. Start your water to boiling (this goes fast) and follow the directions for your pasta.
2. Saute your garlic in about 2-3 TBS EVO for about 40 seconds until it's "aromatic.  ADD the red onion and spinach- stir a couple of times until the spinach is wilted.
3. In the meanwhile, saute a container of chopped fresh mushrooms with 1 TBS butter then add the mushrooms and tomatoes to the spinach mixture.
4. Warm up the sauce and add all the completed pasta.  Sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and viola! Opt:  you can add grilled chicken to the top

Italian Wedding Soup (crock pot)

1 pound small meatballs
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped (slightly under cook this to avoid over-drying)
1 cup carrots, diced or cut into matchsticks
1 cup celery, diced
1 head escarole, chopped OR 1 package (8 oz. size) chopped spinach (I did Endive cause Safeway didn't have Escarole and I didn't want to do spinach since Steph had it in her dish)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup acini di pepe pasta (or other tiny pasta)

1/4 cup romano cheese (had a hard time finding this- can sub Parmesan) 

To save time in the morning, we pre-cut everything and put in the fridge overnight

1. Saute meatballs until browned.  If using larger pre-made meatballs you can quarter them.   We bought pre-cooked ones so skipped this step and then cut the meatballs smaller after it was cooked.
2. Combine all ingredients except pasta & cheese in crockpot and cook for 8-10 hours on low. 
3. Add the pasta during the last hour of cooking.
4. Top with cheese when serving.

Looks a little green in the pic but it WAS yummy!

We had a wonderful evening visiting, eating, and watching the movie together.  Thank you Dawn for hosting and to everybody who was able to come!  Can't wait for the next one...

Recipes- Card Making Brunch

While the husbands are away.....the wives will.....






craft?




Seems to be our tradition that whenever our hubbies are out of town on business or otherwise, we use that time to get together to scrap or stamp.  If I'm given consecutive DAYS, I'll possibly get something done but these one day-ers mean I will leave not finishing anything LOL.  Thats OK with me because the conversation is a form of therapy....though a lot cheaper ;) My friend Heather hosted today and -besides the company- the best part is getting to eat!!!

Since I had to wait for the littlest to wake up, I was later to Heather's than I was hoping but when I got there, I was treated to coffee, muffins and candy (OH!  Orange Slices remind me of my late Grandpa Hawkins!).

For lunch, we started off with a yummy, yummy salad with our choice of dressings.  Then Heather dished up some deli potato soup and served with a side bread warmed in the oven.

Card Making Brunch Menu

Fall Pumpkin Muffins
Follow the directions for any muffin mix (pumpkin in this case) but when filling muffin cups, add a dollop of cream cheese then bake as directed.

Heather's Salad

Spinach

Lettuce

Tomatoes- sliced into thin wedges

Carrots- shredded

Craisins

Walnuts- chopped

Hard Boiled Eggs- sliced

Toss all together and serve with your choice of dressing

Bread and soup were a total delicious cheat...which is the best way!  Make sure to get items fresh from the grocery deli and warm using the stove instead of a microwave for a home-baked taste.

Thank you Heather!!!

Recipes- Brunch with The Hungry Housewives at Jody's

Whenever The Hungry Housewives get together for meetings or just to visit, we take turns hosting and then provide the meal that day.  This time it was Jody's turn and here are the recipes from older cookbooks she had.  YUM.

Beefy Tortellini Soup

4 servings 332 calories per serving

2 medium carrots

1 med onion

1 TBS olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed through a press

1/4 lb lean ground beef

2 1/2 cups beef broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 lb fresh cheese-filled tortellini (about 2 cups)

1 med zucchini

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (opt)

1. Cut the carrots into 1/4" slices and set aside.  Coarsely chop the onion.
2. In a medium saucepan, warm oil over med-high until hot but not smoking.  Add onion and garlic and stir-fry until the mixture begins to brown- about 3 min
3. Crumble in the beef and cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink- about 3 minutes.
4. Add the beef broth, water, and crushed tomatoes.  Cover and bring the mix to a boil over med-high heat.  Add the carrots, basil, and pepper and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tortellini and cook until al dente, 10-12 min or according to package directions.  
6. Meanwhile, halve the zucchini lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/4" half-rounds.  Three minutes before the tortellini are done, add the zucchini to the soup.  Continue cooking, uncovered, until the zucchini is crisp-tender.  Serve the soup with Parmesan cheese on the side if desired.

Baby Spinach Salad With Raspberries & Candied Almonds

Serves 8 152 Calories per serving

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 TBS corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

Pinch ea salt and cayenne pepper

12 cups baby spinach (12 oz)

1 cup raspberries

Dressing:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 TBS granulated sugar

2 TBS raspberry or white wine vinegar

1 TBS sesame seeds, toasted, or poppy seeds

Pinch ea salt and pepper

1. In small bowl, toss together almonds, corn syrup, sugar, salt and cayenne until coated.  Spread in single layer on parchment lined baking sheet
2. Bake in 325 over,stirring occasionally to break up clumps, for about 12 minutes or until golden and sugar is bubbly
3. Let cool completely on pan on rack and then break into pieces (can make ahead:  store in single layer in airtight container for up to 5 days).
4. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, vinegar, sesame seeds, salt and pepper (can make ahead:  refrigerate for up to 1 day)
5. In bowl, toss spinach with the dressing and then sprinkle with candied nuts and raspberries (Jody served the dressing and toppings separately) 

Jody had yummy bread (store-purchased) to go along with the soup.  I have NO idea how she does it- she's one of the thinnest women I know but is always serving us carbs!!!  Must be a Canadian thing ;)

Mimosas (ahhhhhh) and fresh, cut up fruit were also served. 

For dessert, we had coffee and coffee cake (from a Krusteaz mix- they're the BEST!).  Thank you Jody!!!!  Next time is at my house...........don't expect this nice LOL

Recipe- Frito Soup (or easiest soup to make- EVER)

Yes, I know....first recipe and it's SO not gourmet but this is a soup we've eaten for ages and is a total staple in our house (most ingredients you will have on hand). Every time we eat this we mix it up...usually by accident.  EASIEST SOUP TO MAKE- EVER.

Frito Soup

1 lb ground meat (turkey, sausage, hamburger, stew meat, etc)
2 14oz cans of corn (we use ONLY sweet frozen corn.  Costco's is the best)
1 14 oz can of kidney beans
2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce 
3 14 oz cans of your choice: black beans, navy, garbanzo beans, etc
1 cup of shredded cheese 
1 lg bag of Fritos Corn Chips- scoops or regular (Fritos make it legit but we also use Tostito Scoops alot)
S&P to taste
Chili Powder or Taco Seasonings to taste
Optional: top with sour cream 

Brown the meat (turkey in this instance) then season with S&P and Chili Powder or Taco Seasonings to taste

My husband does NOT like tomatoes so he usually purees the tomatoes to make a sauce before adding in the beans.

While you are browning the meat, empty the canned foods  (DO NOT PRE-DRAIN THE JUICE)  and corn into a large pot.  Cook on medium heat until warm (usually 20 minutes). 

After it's done, drain fat from meat (our turkey never seems to have any) and stir into soup. Try to not overcook the meat.

Serve topped with cheese and chips (in this case, we used Boulder Canyon chips from Costco- thanks Buffy for introducing us to them!).   For a cool zip, you can also top with sour cream!  There you go- so easy your kids can make :D