Lasagna Soup

I finally cooked again tonight! In our new house. I looked at a couple recipes online, and then invented my own. Noah is scarfing it down :)

Ingredients:
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/2 onion
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
About 3 cups water
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
2 cups mafalda or rotini pasta
1/4 cup shredded/parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Directions:
Brown beef and onion. Drain grease. In a pot, mix beef, onion, tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, and seasonings. Add pasta. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer about 30 minutes. Mix in parm cheese just before serving. Top with mozzerella.

Thought this was tasty, quick, and simple. Next time, I'll probably try sneaking in extra veggies! You just have to be careful not to simmer too long, as your pasta gets larger and more slippery the longer it cooks!

Christmas Morning Biscuits

I was so stinking proud of myself. For the first time, I made biscuits from scratch. Probably not a big deal to most, but oh well. Not only was it my first attempt, they were AWESOME!! Unfortunately, I could eat these every weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be doing that. Not hard to make at all, very simple recipe. And they will easily translate to Any Morning Biscuits, too. :)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

Directions
1.In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2.Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

One reviewer suggested replacing half the shortening with butter to avoid blandness. I didn't have any shortening, so I used all butter. Great taste and texture! Soft, and not at all dry like biscuits can be. I also used a star cookie cutter for most of them since I don't have a real biscuit cutter and I wanted to be festive! Served hot out the oven with a buttery spread :), apple butter, honey, and blueberry jam.

T. Flo’s Dr. Pepper Chili

A while back, I read this recipe on Tina's blog and, with my love of Dr. Pepper, knew I had to try it. Tonight was the perfect snowy, frigid night. And it is delicious! Besides being an amazing photographer, she makes a mean chili recipe too!

Ingredients
1.5 lbs of ground beef
5 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs. cumin
1 tbs. oregano
3 tbs. chili powder
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
salt & pepper to taste
1 large tomato (from garden)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of Dr. Pepper
1 tsp beef concentrate or 1 cup of beef broth
1 block of chocolate
1 tsp cinnamon

Before you start cooking combine the onion and the jalapeno together. Also, mix the chili powder, cumin and oregano together in a bowl.

Render the bacon until crisp in a large pot; set bacon aside.

Brown meat in the bacon fat until brown, then drain and set aside. Salt & pepper the meat.

Add some OO to the pot, and when hot, add the onions and jalapenos. Cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a minute, being careful not to burn it.

Add the chili powder, oregano and cumin to the onions and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavors.

Add beef & bacon to the onions and spices. Mix together and cook for a few minutes.

Add the Dr. Pepper, tomato sauce and tomato soup and bring to a simmer. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add diced tomato and beef concentrate (or broth). Stir everything together.

Bring to a simmer and cook for one hour.

After one hour add chocolate and cinnamon and continue simmering for another hour.

Adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve alone or with rice, nacho chips, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream and or hot sauce. Enjoy!

Served with cornbread made from scratch! I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, including using the slow cooker, but you can make your own! My only suggestion is frying the bacon whole, very crisp, then crumbling as small as possible before adding to the mix. I used turkey bacon because I have some, but it's probably better if you go whole hog. :) Thanks, T!

Sweet Potato Mash

I read a few recipes online and then concocted this. Everyone loved it!

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes (Sorry, forgot to measure. I used 2 large and 2 small.)
1 stick of butter
1 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2-3/4 cup candied pecans, ground

Peel, cube and boil sweet potatoes until soft. Place in mixing bowl with butter, milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Mix using hand mixer until desired consistency. Top with finely chopped pecans.

Best Apple Pie

From our Thanksgiving 2010 table to yours!

5 cups Granny Smith Apples, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. butter

Mix the apples, brown sugar, water, and lemon juice in a pot, heat to boil, reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender, 7-8 minutes. Mix flour, white sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add to the hot mixture, cook for one minute. Add vanilla and butter. Pour pie filling into the crust and bake for 25-40 minutes at 425. Use pie saver or foil to protect crust. It may be necessary to add an extra half recipe of pie filling to a 9 inch pie.

Tomato-Herb Fritatta

I got this one from Alli's blog and it was scrumptious and simple!

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach
1 (10 oz) can mild Rotel, drained
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
12 large eggs, beaten
1/2 C crumbled garlic-and-herb feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a 10-inch (2-inch deep) ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add garlic & saute 1 minute. Stir in spinach & cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or just until spinach begins to wilt.

Add Rotel, salt & pepper; cook, stirring frequently, 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Add eggs & sprinkle with cheese. Cook 3-5 minutes, gently lifting edges of frittata with a spatula & tilting pan so uncooked portion flows underneath.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until set & lightly browned. Remove from oven & let stand 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

Tomato-Sausage variation:
Brown 1/2 lb ground pork sausage in skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often. Remove from skillet, drain & wipe skillet clean. Proceed with recipe as directed, adding sausage with the Rotel in step 3.

I had to fill in my feta with mozzerella to make a full half-cup and added my own herbs since I didn't have the proper type of feta. I think it would be much easier to have the herbed feta on hand and would go ahead and add some extra mozzerella to it anyway. You can never add enough cheese right? :) I think adding some meat would be good too. Nice weeknight dinner!

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

Oh yum! Made this as an appetizer, sort of, tonight and it was excellent. I tried making couscous crusted tilapia for dinner from Sarah's blog but I didn't do a very good job of it. Probably lack of egg. Anyway, the soup was delightful. :)

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 quart chicken broth
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
ground cinnamon to taste (optional)
fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Scoop the pulp from the skins. Discard skins.
2.Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion until tender.
3.In a blender or food processor, blend the squash pulp, onion, broth, brown sugar, cream cheese, pepper, and cinnamon until smooth. This may be done in several batches.
4.Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Garnish with parsley, and serve warm.

I used about 7 oz of reduced fat cream cheese and thought it was just fine. Only used one tbsp of butter and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Skipped the garnish. Sweet but not too sweet! And very easy!