Enchilada Soup

This is my new favorite soup recipe.
I got the recipe here- my favorite cooking blog, besides this one of course!
It's similar to taco soup, but creamier & with chicken. I love it.
I altered this recipe from it's original to suite our tastes & the ingredients I had at home, so you may want to check out it's original link.

Put all of these ingredients into a 3 to 5 quart crock pot:

15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes

10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped yellow, green or red sweet pepper

2 cups water

2-3 boneless chicken breast cut into cubes (mine was partially frozen)

Mix these together and pour into crock pot:

1 package dry enchilada sauce mix

2 cups water

1 small can tomato paste

2 chicken boullion cubes

2 cans cream of chicken soup

*Cook on low for 6 hours or high 3-4 hours- then add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips & grated cheese if desired. This soup can also be made without chicken.

Sloppy Joes

This is a really great recipe because there are no exact measurements involved. It also is great for camping...I make it ahead of time and freeze it then just warm it up on the stove or over the fire.

• 1 lb Ground beef
• 1 can Campbell's Chicken Gumbo Soup
• Ketchup
• Brown Sugar (optional)
• Onions (optional)
• Chili Powder (optional)

Brown the ground beef with onions and chili powder. Add the Chicken Gumbo soup and enough ketchup to get it to desired consistency . Then add a small amount of brown sugar (optional) for a barbecue flavor. Cook on medium heat until all flavors are blended serve on hamburger buns or rolls...tastes best at a "Fire-up Friday" football dinner, camping or if you just need something fast for dinner.

homemade tomato basil soup

I love this recipe. It's easy & all the ingredients are usually in my pantry.

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup or less olive oil

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

1 small stalk celery chopped

1 small carrot chopped

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 Tblsp. butter (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves or dried basil to taste (1 Tblsp?)

1/2 cup heavy cream, milk, or 1/2 can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 450. Strain the canned tomatoes, reserving the juice. Spread them onto a baking sheet & season with salt & pepper to taste. Drizzle some of the olive oil & roast until caramelized at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining veggies & dry basil, if using. Cook until softened. Add the roasted tomatoes, juice, chicken broth, bay leaf & butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender. Add basil - if using fresh & cream or milk. Puree with immersion blender. I ALWAYS double of even triple this recipe, it doesn't make a lot.

This recipe was adapted from here.

ENJOY!

Pasta Salad Chef Emily Style

Emily wanted to make her favorite pasta salad for dinner tonight.......she does not cook very often so even though this is a simple recipe I still wanted to post it for Emily. She told me that she was not a blogger mom so she could not post a recipe but I told her she could be a guest chef. So here is guest Chef Emily's pasta salad recipe. This is a quick and simple recipe especially during the summer months!
1 bag of Veggie Pasta cook according to directions on package and rinse
Add
1 large jar of Zesty Italian Dressing
1 can of olives sliced
1 c broccoli
1 c cauliflower
1 pkg sharp cheddar cheese crumbles
Any other veggies that you want to add.
Mix all together

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

There is just nothin' better on a busy day than a crock pot recipe!

My friend Lori gave me this one & I made it today. It was really good. Of course, the picture does not do it justice!!

2lb. beef stew meat

2 Tblsp. oil

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 8oz. package sliced mushrooms

1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce\

Brown meat in oil. Mix all ingredients into crock pot. Cook on low all day or high 4 hours.

Just before serving I added 1/2 cup of sour cream, but that's optional. I served it over whole wheat rotini. My kids are really liking whole wheat pasta, but any pasta will do.

Double Tomato Bruschetta

The cast of characters:)

every things mixed in...

The final product.


6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1-3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil (or to your liking)
1/4- 1/3 cup fresh basil, stems removed
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1 French baguette (or what ever bread you want to use)
2 cups mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (or a mix of both)

*In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes.
*Next, cut the bread into small slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the bread in a single layer. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until slightly brown.
*Lastly, spread the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices, top the slices with cheese and broil until cheese is melted.

This is a great appetizer. I originally got this recipe off of "allrecipes.com" I only changed it slightly. I have also served this "buffet style". Mix up your tomato mixture and broil your cheese right on top of the bread and then let people add there own mixture to the bread. This works really well. Very yummy:)

Grandma Fujikawa's Teriyaki Sauce

This is a picture of Kelly's Grandpa and Grandma Fujikawa, Kenzo and Hatsumi. Emily is named after his Grandma Fujikawa. Her middle name is Hatsumi which means first born but we did not know that at the time we named Emily we just lucked out.

I did not get to know Kelly's Grandparents very well they did not speak very much English. Grandma Fujikawa was a very small women, under 5 feet. She was a hard worker all her life. Life was not very easy for them being immigrants. They did not plan on staying in US but they never returned to Japan except to visit. Grandpa died at 100 years old a year after we were married and Grandma died when I was pregnant with Emily....that is partly the reason for the middle name. Below is Grandma Fujikawa's teriyaki sauce recipe that everyone in the family uses.
1 cup soy sauce ( We like Yamsa but it getting hard to find)
1 cup sugar
1 t ginger
1t red pepper
1t garlic powder
1/3 c mirin(Japanese Rice Wine you can usually find it in the Oriental section at the grocery store)

Mix all ingredients together.

I use this sauce to marinate meat in. Our very favorite is teriyaki beef strips. I have the butcher slice a london broil or steaks in strips and then marinate the meat and then grill them. We also marinate chicken like in the picture above. I also use this sauce when making stir fry. I marinate my stir fry meat in the sauce. I add the sauce and the meat to the wok and cook it first and then add veggies. My kids love it when we have teriyaki anything!

lemon butter cream frosting

i am a huge lover of lemon desserts. in frustration over not being able to find a really good lemon butter cream frosting for cupcakes, i made one up myself and it was a huge hit! the best part is that you can adjust the lemon juice to fit your taste buds.

1 cup butter (not margarine) slightly softened

1 tsp salt

5 1/2 - 6 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup -(maybe slightly less than) milk

blend these ingredients for several minutes in mixer or with beaters until smooth. add to the mixture, finely grated peel from one whole lemon. the trick to this is to not grate all the way down to the white part of the lemon peel, that stuff is too bitter. grate all the way around the lemon and then wipe any leftovers on your grater into the mixture. then cut the lemon in half and squeeze all the juice from both halves into the mixture, be careful of the seeds. i personally like the frosting to have a little bit more of a lemon kick to it so i add the juice from one more half lemon. beat together for another minute. pipe or spread onto lemon cake. enjoy!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Every St Patrick's Day we have our traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage meal. We look forward to March when corned beef goes on sale and it is finally inexpensive to buy. Here is how we make our corned beef and cabbage.

3-4 lb corned beef
1 med bag carrots
5-6 red potatoes
cabbage

The corned beef comes with a seasoning packet. I put the seasoning in a large pot of water and then add the meat. I boil the meat until it is done....usually about 1 hour or so. Right before the meat is done I add a bag of carrots and some diced red potatoes and continue to boil. Right before the meat, carrots and potatoes are done I add a bunch of cabbage and continue to boil for about another 3-5 minutes. We don't like soggy cabbage so I don't boil it very long. Viola you are done! Enjoy!!

Cheese Potato Soup

This is hands down my kids favorite dinner...they have been know to ask for it even during the summer. We serve this with scones for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner....you can serve with hot bread also....soooo yummy!


5Cups water
1 Cup chopped Onion (I use dried onion)
3-5 potatoes (5 small or 3 large)
3 chicken bullion cubes
6 Tbs margarine/butter
6 Tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp dill weed
Dash pepper
3 Cups milk
1 Cup shredded cheese (we add way more than this 2 or 3 at least)

In a large pot combine water, onion, bullion cubes,potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft. Use a potato masher and mash to desired Constancy (we like to leave some bigger chunks).

In a sauce pan melt the butter, stir in flour, salt, pepper and dill weed. Add the milk slowly, cook and stir mixture until thick and bubbly. Then once the potatoes are cooked and mashed combine with large pot and add desired amount of shredded cheese.