Only 2 1/2 hours left!!

OK, January is almost history for this year....yippeeeee! I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. Or rather warmer and happier things.

Over the weekend we had a celebration for my daughters' birthday in Lincoln. The plan: get together with Nate, Heather, her wonderful in-laws Rod and Linda and our son James. We met at the birthday girls house, and got in on the tail end of a birthday brunch that Nate had for her. Lots of good friends were there, it's nice to witness others showing love for someone you care so much for.

We did a little shoppin' and then had a supper of what else but soup?!? That's what January has been all about this year, definitely it's been soup weather since before Christmas. Since tomorrow is February, (actually in 2 1/2 hours it will be February) I am posting my LAST soup recipes until the season of Fall rolls around in 8 or 9 months. I am ready to move on!

I tried two NEW recipes for the gathering, I know that sounds dangerous - right? But my theory has always been that if it's not good, who's really going to say, "yuk this is awful!"?? If you have lots of people and everyone eats a little, it's gone before you have time to think about how good it was, or wasn't.

As luck would have it, I found two soups that hit it out of the ball park!! The first was a soup my friend Kristin's mom sent me last week. It is similar to a tomato bisque I used to eat at a local restaurant. The second soup is a version of a jambalaya, and believe me there are MANY versions of jambalaya!! I LOVED the second soup, but I'm not the biggest tomato soup fan in the world. Those who like tomato LOVED that one, so you'll have to make both and let me know what you think!?! :-) And just in time for the SOUP-er Bowl!

TOMATO TORTELLINI SOUP
1 pkg 9oz refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
2 cans tomato soup
1 can vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half and half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (more if you want some for garnish)

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large pot combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through stirring often and be careful not to boil hard. Drain tortellini and add to the soup. Stir in cheese and it's ready to go!

Now for soup number 2!

SLOW COOKER JAMBALAYA
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/2 lb sausage diced - like a kielbasa (I used a turkey version)
-- if you can find andouille sausage use it, but it's pricey!
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 med. onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 can chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2-3 cups of cooked rice

In a slow cooker combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery & chicken broth. Stir in oregano, creole seasoning, hot sauce, by leaves and thyme. Cover and cook on high or 3 hours OR low for 7 hours. Stir in the thawed cooked shrimp and cook just until the shrimp is heated through, about 5-10 min. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

We let each person put rice in their bowl so they could decide how much they wanted. It was SOOOO good, I can't wait to make it again!

Another pot o' soup

Tonight I plan to make a pot of bean soup so we can have it tomorrow. The weather is STILL cold, icy and blah. Soup just seems like a natural choice. This recipe is a favorite that I made when we used to ski in Steamboat Springs. Our good friends Kari, Larry, Kim and Gary were always so much fun on those trips. Nothing but wonderful memories of those times. I think one of the things I like about this soup is the fact that there are tomatoes in there, it adds a little more flavor.

STEAMBOAT BEAN SOUP
1 tube of mixed beans (in the soup aisle)
1 tsp salt
2 qt water
ham hocks or bone from a ham with some meat left on
1 large onion - chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes -or diced
chili powder, salt & pepper to taste

Cover the beans with water and add salt, soak overnight. Drain and add 2 quarts of fresh water and the ham hocks. Bring to a low boil and simmer 3 hours. Add the onion and crushed tomatoes, then chili powder and salt/pepper to taste. It will depend on how salty your ham is, you may not need any salt. Simmer another hour or till beans are tender.

It's soup weather!

I've made a lot of soup the last few days. Mega snow drifts tend to make you think along those lines. The soup recipe I found today is one that I discovered at least 15 years ago. It was a favorite the first time we tried it! You can add heat or keep it mild depending on what type of salsa you use.

TACO SOUP
2# ground chuck
1 med yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder (use 1 fresh garlic clove if you have it)
1 - 28oz can tomatoes, diced
1 package taco seasoning
1 - 8 1/2 oz jar salsa
2 cups water
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 cups shredded cheese (jack, cheddar or both!)
tortilla chips

Brown ground chuck and onion - drain. Combine with garlic powder, tomatoes, seasoning, salsa and water in a large pot. Simmer 30 min. Let each person garnish with broken chips, cheese, sour cream and lettuce. Pass more chips and lots of water.

So many cheesecakes, so little time.

It's no secret that I LOVE cheesecake. I love a creamy rich cheesecake, so many taste bland. For years I've made a chocolate chip cheesecake that I have used as the measure for all others. I think I found one that may be almost equal to the legend. It is a recipe from the same cookbook, so that may be why I like it so much. These girls just know my taste!

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
(I thought it was better the 2nd day)
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp margarine - melted
Mix together and press into bottom of a spring form pan
Cheese filling:
24 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (baking powder)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
Blend cream cheese, sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add eggs slowly. Pour over crust. Bake @350* for 35 min. After completely cooled, spread on topping; then garnish with chocolate curls.
Topping:
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut
Melt butter over low heat. Blend in milk, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in nuts and coconut and spread on cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate.
Serves 12-16

I believe I baked mine another 5 min. because the center was not quite done. It's a tough call because it needs to wobble to be moist, but cooked. I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one!

Christmas Food

It was brought to my attention that when my family is home and we are cooking together, I usually give my son-in-law the "tricky" recipes to prepare. He thinks I'm testing him ;-) but I just know he has the eye for detail that is needed for challenging recipes. When Nate first cooked with me I gave him a recipe for crab stuffed snow peas, and he did that with great panache! The recipe I gave him this time was a tiny little quiche appetizer, and they turned out SO well. I'm anxious to make these again, the flavor was wonderful.

MINI BACON CHEESE CUPS

1 package Pillsbury pie crusts
4 oz cream cheese
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
3 chopped green onions - use the green part as well
2/3 cup shredded cheese - I used a white and yellow mix
4-5 Tbsp packaged precooked bacon bits

Preheat oven to 425* and spray 24 mini muffin cups with Pam. Unroll the pie crust that has been at room temp. for about 15 minutes. Use a 2-2 1/2" round cutter to make circles from the crust. Place one in each muffin cup and press gently to form cup.

Blend cream cheese, egg, egg yolk, & onions until well blended. Divide evenly among the pastry cups. Top with cheese and bacon and bake 12-15 min until edges are light golden. Cool about 5 min before removing from the pan.

These are time consuming, but worth it. I loved the flavor! Good job Nate :-) What will I have for you next time you visit?????

Twenty Ten

Happy New Year to any of you that might still be following this blog after a long hiatus. My son asked me what my new years resolution was, and I told him sarcastically it was to drink more coffee. As a rule I don't believe in New Years resolutions, they simply set you up to feel bad about what you didn't get accomplished. I realize however that I do need to work on this blog with some new enthusiasm. It's been easy to put this on the back burner when things get busy. I guess that's my hope and goal for 2010, to keep more in touch with people in my life whether it's through this, or other means of communication.

My first post of the year is going to be a great casserole I made last Tuesday night anticipating my family coming home for Christmas. We were delayed a bit because of weather, then James was delayed a little longer with work commitments, but finally everyone made it safe and sound. This dish uses long grain and wild rice, and I bought a pretty good quality rice and made it in my rice cooker ahead of time. Those cookers are great because you can just walk away and forget it!

CHICKEN AND WILD RICE CASSEROLE
4 cups of cooked chicken cut into chunks
2 cups of cooked wild rice (I used a little more)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups celery diagonally cut
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sliced almonds (2oz)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 sleeve round buttery crackers crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350* Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. In a large bowl, combine chicken, rice, soup, celery, onion, mayo, almonds, broth and lemon juice. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish. In a small bowl combine cracker crumbs and butter and toss to coat well. Sprinkle crumbs over casserole and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
I made this the night before and let it set out about an hour before baking it. I think it almost tasted better the second time around!