Ham and Bean Soup

It has snowed so much in the past week that I'm beginning to think I live at the North Pole!!

Today's weather forecast was for more snow and cold, so it seemed like a good day to make some soup!  I didn't want to have to run to the grocery store, so I used ingredients I already had in my fridge, freezer and pantry. To make it a little more interesting, I challenged myself to see if I could be like Rachel Ray and make it in 30 minutes (or less)! We still had quite a bit of leftover ham from Christmas dinner, so it seemed like the perfect meat to use. I also had bags of both onion and corn in my freezer.  I like keeping bags of different veggies in my freezer, so I can use as little or as much as I need at a time for a meal. Taking a quick peek into my pantry, I found some fire roasted tomatoes (my new favorite kind of tomatoes) and some cannellini kidney beans. Tip: you don't need to buy the fancy frozen veggies or gourmet brand of tomatoes or beans.  From my experience, I have found that the "house" or "generic" versions from the grocery store will usually taste the same (and be cheaper).  I'm happy to report that I met my challenge :) This soup was ready in 30 minutes and I had it for lunch today.  As an added bonus, it was super tasty!!
 

 Ingredients:

2 cups cooked ham, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup corn
14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
15.5 ounce can cannellini kidney beans, drained
8 cups water

In large stockpot, put all ingredients in the order given.  Stir with large spoon to mix thoroughly.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  That's it - enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Biscotti

Chocolate biscotti has become one of my favorite cookies to make around the holidays.  I didn't even know what biscotti was until about five or so years ago :)  This year I decided to try something different when I made the biscotti. I used hot cocoa mix instead of unsweetened cocoa.  The result was delicious!

I used three envelopes of the Swiss Miss brand of hot cocoa mix (each envelope was .73 ounces).  If you have a canister or jar of hot cocoa mix, measure out 1/2 cup.  I also added some chocolate chips to make it even more decadent. This morning when these biscotti were baking, it smelled really yummy. The hubby "sampled" one of these biscotti with his coffee and declared them to be "very good." This afternoon, when I came back home after a couple hours of Christmas shopping, there was still a hint of chocolate in the air.  It smelled just like a biscotti bakery when I walked back into our house :) 

Ingredients:

3 cups white flour
1/2 cup hot cocoa mix
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs (slightly beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and slightly grease two cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine flour, hot cocoa mix, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and milk.  Beat by hand or with mixer until creamy.  Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until well combined with a large spoon.  Add semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough in fridge at least one hour.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 12-inch long log.  Flatten slightly (about 2-3 inches across).  Place each log onto the slightly greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Pull the cookie sheets out and let cool for 5 minutes.  Cut each log into 12 equal sized slices and place cut sides down.  Return back to oven for another 20-30 minutes or until the biscotti get brown and crispy.  Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets about 5 minutes. Place biscotti on wire rack to finish cooling.  Makes two dozen cookies.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Earlier this week, while looking at a popular "gourmet" cookie website, I was curious how much a large decorated cookie cake cost. They started at $37.99 and went up from there!  I decided to see if I could make something comparable (and cheaper). I had a coupon for $1.00 off a tube of Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip refrigerated cookie dough that I had clipped several weeks ago out of the paper.  The dough came to a grand total of $1.69.  I had two free coupons from Betty Crocker, so I got a tube each of both red and green decorating icing.  Even if you had to pay full price for the cookie dough and decorating icing, it still would be a lot less than $37.99!  The next time there is a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion/holiday, try making this.  Your guests will be asking you where you "bought" the special one-of-a-kind cookie cake!!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 12-inch x 1-inch circle pan with non-stick spray.  Press a 16 1/2 ounce tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough into pan with your fingertips to within one inch of the sides. Feel free to use whatever brand of cookie dough you want, as long as it is a 16 1/2 ounce tube.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Pull pan out of the oven and put on wire rack about 20 minutes.  Since you put a little non-stick spray in the pan before baking, the cookie should come out easily.  Place on plate and decorate if desired. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

If you make this one night for your family for dinner, they will think they are dining in a five-star restaurant!! Chicken Cordon Bleu is just a fancy name for a boneless, skinless chicken breast wrapped up in ham and cheese :)  I  make my own version (minus the pounding of the chicken breast). This is a "menu" favorite of Lauren's. The chicken stays moist and the cheese melts, so it is really yummy!

Ingredients:

2 - 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices deli ham
6 slices swiss cheese
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
6 toothpicks

In small bowl, cover toothpicks with water and set aside. You have to presoak the toothpicks or they might burn in the oven.  Slice chicken breasts into six even pieces lengthwise and set aside.  In one bowl, put the egg and milk, and mix with fork.  In another bowl, put the bread crumbs.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cover an 8 x 8 inch pan with foil - set aside.  Take one of the chicken breasts and dip in the egg/milk mixture first and then dip in the bread crumbs.  Place one slice of ham, folded and then the slice of swiss cheese on top of the chicken breast.  Fold in half and secure with toothpick. Place in pan.  Repeat for the other five pieces.  Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.  The cooking time will depend on how thick the chicken breasts are - I bought thick ones, so it took close to 50 minutes to bake.  Remove toothpicks before eating :) Serves six.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

If you can believe it, this toffee is made with saltine crackers!! I usually associate saltine crackers with cheese and crackers or when you're eating a bowl of soup. This past Saturday, Cathy's Kitchen was very busy. I was in a baking mood and made four different things - sour cream kuchen, peanut butter bars, this toffee and homemade mac and cheese.  To make this toffee, you start out with a "sleeve" of  saltine crackers.
  

Ever wonder why it's called a "sleeve?" I guess maybe because it looks like a sleeve on a shirt, perhaps????  Anyways, these were easy to make, and I found the hardest part was waiting for the chocolate to firm up.  I was pretty impatient and kept touching it about every 20 minutes to see if it was hard yet - it took about three hours before it was ready for "sampling."  This toffee is super rich, but it so good (and addictive).  If you are looking for gifts to give your kid's teachers, bus drivers and other special people in their lives, you could toss some of these into a plastic decorative gift bag or a metal tin. I love giving homemade baked gifts because you can make it exactly the way you want!

Ingredients:

1 "sleeve" saltine crackers (about 38-40) 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Sprinkles or nuts (if desired)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a jelly roll pan (11 inches x  17 inches) with aluminum foil.  You have to use a pan with a little bit of edge or "lip" or else when you put the pan in the oven, the mixture will spill all over the place :(  Once you cover the pan with the foil, spray a light layer of non-stick cooking spray on it.   Line up the crackers like this:

 

 
Set the pan aside.  In medium saucepan, put the two sticks of butter and the brown sugar.   Bring to a boil slowly. Once it gets to a full boil, keep stirring occasionally for three minutes.  Remove from heat and pour the butter and brown sugar mixture all over the crackers, coating entirely.  Put in oven for five minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle the two cups of semi-sweet morsels all over.  Let it sit about two minutes and then using a spatula or knife spread the chocolate all over until it coats the entire pan. The chocolate morsels melt pretty quickly, making it easy to spread.  I put holiday sprinkles on half and left the other half plain.

 

You could certainly leave it all plain, make it all sprinkles, or add thinly sliced almonds or finely crushed peanuts.  Let this cool completely (at least three hours) and then break off pieces with your hands. Store up to one week in a covered container at room temperature.  You could get the kids to help line up the crackers or do the sprinkles.  Dominic woke up this morning saying he wanted this for breakfast.  He got the kuchen instead :)

Sweet Potato Muffins

It seems like the only time I think of making sweet potatoes are around this time of year.  I make them the way my father-in-law taught me - you prick them several times with a fork, rub all over with a little bit of butter and wrap thoroughly in aluminum foil and bake in the oven.  We had a few leftover sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving (as we usually do) and I decided to use part of one to make some muffins. My hubby had one of these Saturday morning and gave them a 9.5 out of a possible 10.  I personally think they deserved a 10.5!!  Dominic gobbled his muffin right up, so I know that he agreed with me :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cooked sweet potato, skin removed and mashed
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put paper liners into a 12-muffin tin and set aside.  In large bowl, put all ingredients in the order above.  Mix well with large spoon, by hand, until mixture is smooth.  Pour evenly into muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on rack about 10 minutes.  Makes one dozen muffins.

Cranberry and Oat Bars

I have never been brave enough to battle those crowds on "Black Friday." But, if I was adventuresome enough, I would definitely toss a few of these bars in my purse to keep me fortified for all that shopping!!!  I ate one of these this morning and I wasn't hungry for hours.  One of these bars would also be an excellent afternoon snack with a glass of milk for the kids and a cup of hot coffee or tea for you!
  
Ingredients:

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups white flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl, put all ingredients in the order given except the oats and cranberries.  Mix ingredients by hand or with mixer until smooth.  Fold in the oats and cranberries gently with large spoon until well combined.  Pour batter into ungreased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Apple Crunch

The hubby recently went grocery shopping and brought back a five-pound bag of red delicious apples.  I told him that was a lot and he said, "Dominic likes apples doesn't he?"  We all like apples here and we could probably eventually eat that many, but lately I have been thinking about making an "apple betty."  I started searching through my collection of cookbooks and found something in a cookbook published in 1938 by The Midland Flour Milling Company in Kansas City, Missouri, called an "apple crunch."  I've heard of buckles, cobblers, and crisps, but never a "crunch." One of the products the company produced was/is Town Crier Flour. I did a little research and couldn't find very much information on the company and whether Town Crier Flour is still being manufactured.  I'm not 100% sure where this cookbook came from.  My grandmother was from Missouri and her dad was a baker, so it makes sense that it might have belonged to her.  But, I did acquire some cookbooks that belonged to my mother-in-law and she did a fair amount of baking, so it might have been hers.  In the ingredient list, it had nutmeg or cinnamon with no measurement listed.  I guessed at how much to use and whether I should use cinnamon or nutmeg. Being a cinnamon gal, I picked that spice over nutmeg.  I love this cookbook because it has 300 recipes all using the Town Crier Flour.  I guess I have another 299 recipes to try!!!

Ingredients:

6 large apples, peeled and cored, sliced thin
1/2 cup white sugar

Topping:

1 cup white flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.  In small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon with large spoon until well blended. Using two knives "cut" in the butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs.  Set aside.  Peel, core and slice the apples and put in a single layer on the bottom of the baking pan.  Sprinkle the white sugar on top of the apples.  Cover evenly with the topping mixture.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until apples are soft and bubbly.  The hubby and I had this after breakfast, but it would be superb warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for an after dinner dessert  :)

Mexican Taco Dip

Now that we are into the month of November, it seems like suddenly we're into the holidays!!  That means going to parties :)  Instead of taking the usual chips and salsa to your next get together, try making this mexican taco dip.  I whipped this up in less than ten minutes, so if you get invited last minute to a party, don't worry.

Ingredients:

16-ounce can refried beans
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream
Taco seasoning mix (1.25 ounce package)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small tomato (seeds removed and diced)
Tortilla chips

In small bowl, mix refried beans and salsa together until creamy.  Spread evenly on the bottom of 9-inch pie pan.  In separate bowl, mix sour cream and 2 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix.  Save remaining taco seasoning mix for the next time you make tacos or this dip :)  Spread sour cream mixture on top of beans and salsa.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly on top.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge until ready to eat.  When ready to enjoy, toss diced tomatoes on top.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Pumpkin and Oatmeal Scones

I love to make muffins, but sometimes I just feel like making scones.  A scone is a fancy word for a "rich quick bread cut into a triangle shape" according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary. Pumpkin is so versatile and I have been testing it in different baked goods lately, like my pumpkin chocolate muffins a few posts ago.  Lauren and I split one of the scones yesterday for a late afternoon "snack."  Scones are yummy anytime of the day, not just for breakfast!

*Photo courtesy of: Mary Gajda- Capital Area Women's Lifestyle Magazine

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup packed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Blend flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl with large spoon.  Using two knives, "cut" butter in until it resembles large crumbs.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  On floured surface (I used about 2 teaspoons flour) take the mixture and knead about 15-20 times.  Put flour on the palms of your hands, if necessary too - the mixture may be a little sticky!  Press into a 9-inch circle to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness.  Using a serrated knife, cut into eight equal sized triangles and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of  the scones comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store covered at room temperature.

*These scones are fabulous on their own, but if you want to make a really EASY chocolate glaze, when the scones are completely cool, just melt one ounce of a "Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar"  in a small bowl in the microwave and drizzle with a spoon!

Halloween Graham Cracker Houses

I went to one of my favorite stores, World Market, about a week or so ago.  They have over 250 locations across the United States.  The store is incredible.  They have foods, coffees, beverages and more from all over the world - I am definitely in my element in a store like that :)  Anyways, I was in there picking up some coffee and looking for chocolate Advent calendars for the kids.   For the past several years, I have been buying the Christmas gingerbread house kits from World Market.  The kits were already out, but I decided to hold off for a while until a coupon comes along in the newspaper :) I don't know that I've ever seen a kit for making Halloween houses in the store, but a few of the Halloween books that I took out from the library showed some pretty cool Halloween houses.  They were made out of graham crackers and store bought canned frosting.  I was EXTREMELY skeptical that canned frosting would hold the house together.  Much to my surprise it actually works!
 

I took a sandwich sized zipper lock bag, filled it with about two tablespoons of frosting, pushed it down towards one end of the bag and snipped a very small corner off.  Instant decorator bag :)  I found an old cookie sheet and covered it with foil to put the house on.  I used four graham crackers for the base of the house putting the frosting on the edges.  I then used another four crackers for the roof.  Two went length wise and two went width wise.  I would recommend letting it sit about 1-2 hours to dry, but if you're impatient like I was, you don't have to! 

 

Dominic was my assistant for this experiment, he made most of the roof decorations.  What I liked best about making it ourselves is how inexpensive it was. I used the Kroger brand graham crackers and frosting that was on sale :)  The little pumpkins and candy corns came out of an "Autumn Mix" from Meijer. The semi-sweet chocolate morsels I already had in my pantry. The Smarties and M&M's were snitched out of our stockpile of candy that we're getting ready to hand out in a few weeks for Halloween.  Let your imagination be your inspiration for how to decorate!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins

It's hard to believe, but the month of October is more than half over. I've been doing a lot of baking lately - I seem to do that more when the weather gets cooler (it warms up the kitchen and also makes it smell good)!!  The muffin that seems to be the most popular on the breakfast menu this month are my pumpkin muffins.  All members of our family also like chocolate. I was thinking this week, why not combine the two?? The muffins below look like they have no pumpkin at all in them. Trust me, when you bite into one of these, you can detect just a hint of pumpkin, but it's not overpowering.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup packed pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.  In large bowl, put all ingredients above in the order given.  Stir with large spoon until well combined.  Distribute batter evenly into the muffin tins and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.  Remove to wire rack to cool.

Traditional S'mores Pie

Summer may be over, but a summertime camping favorite doesn't need to be put away until next year!!  I had a request several months ago from a dear friend of mine to make a dessert featuring s'mores.  I'm always up for a challenge when it comes to baking. This pie features a graham cracker crust, chocolate and marshmallow creme.  It truly tastes like the traditional s'mores you would make around the campfire.  The closest I ever came to true camping in the wilderness was when I was little and slept in a pup tent in my backyard :)  The hubby was working from home today and I gave him a piece of this pie.  He told me he had never heard of s'mores before, much less ever eaten one.  Guess he was never a Boy Scout!!! This pie is super rich, but it's not like you eat s'mores everyday, is it??  To make it even more decadent, I drizzled some chocolate syrup on top!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup white flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk
1 ready-to-eat graham cracker pie crust
7-ounce container marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, put margarine, sugar, flour, eggs, cocoa, salt, baking powder, vanilla and milk.  Mix by hand with spoon until well combined.  Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool completely on wire rack.  Stir marshmallow creme until it becomes smooth and creamy and spread on top of pie.  Just a heads up - having never worked with marshmallow creme before, I discovered it's pretty sticky!  Put pie in fridge at least one hour.  Remove pie from fridge when ready to eat and enjoy!! If so desired, feel free to drizzle a little chocolate syrup on top. This pie must be stored in the refrigerator - not at room temperature  :)

Apple Crumb Muffins

Fall officially arrived a little less than two weeks ago. Some of the trees where we live are starting to lose their leaves. The nights are getting cooler and we might have to put on the heat soon!! 

When the air starts getting that chill, it makes me think of apples and cinnamon - a perfect combination.  Being that October is National Apple Month, I guess that's why I had a taste for apple crumb pie. But, as much as I love to bake, pies are one dessert I still need to master.  I can probably count on one hand how many fruit pies I have made in my life.  That being said, I decided instead to try and replicate the flavors and make an apple crumb muffin.  There is cinnamon in both the batter and the topping of these muffins.  When these were baking, they smelled super yummy.  I could barely wait for them to come out of the oven before I "sampled" one!!

Ingredients for batter:

2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups peeled and shredded apple (about 4 medium)

Topping:

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon white flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place paper liners in a 12-muffin tin pan and set aside.  In large bowl, place all ingredients for the batter in the order given and mix with large spoon until well combined.  Distribute batter evenly into muffin tin.  In small bowl, mix the topping ingredients together until it resembles small crumbs.  Sprinkle the topping evenly between the muffins.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes and remove to wire rack.

Favorite Sugar Cookies

Dominic has been asking me lately to make "cookies with a few sprinkles."  I've been thinking of making sugar cookies for a while now, so I dug way back in my archives for my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  I know that I've been making these cookies since at least 1976, because I know that I sprinkled red, white and blue sprinkled sugar on these for the Bicentennial.  I can also remember that I wore a pair of overalls a lot that year that were very patriotic (I think they had liberty bells all over them), but I'll spare you all the picture of that!! You don't need fancy cookie cutters to make these - just use the bottom of a drinking glass :)  I had some leftover vanilla frosting from some brownie cake that I made last week, so I used some of the frosting on the cookies. Feel free to skip the frosting if desired.  I think Dominic was very happy that "cookies with a few sprinkles" finally made it onto the "menu" this week!!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup margarine (softened)
1 large egg
3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl mix sugar, margarine and egg with electric mixer or by hand with large spoon. When well combined, add the remaining ingredients and mix together well.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.  Remove from fridge and with the palms of your hands roll into medium-sized balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  In separate bowl, put two tablespoons of white sugar.  Dip the bottom of a small glass in the sugar, then press down on cookie. If you want, you can add sprinkles also at this point.  Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly brown.  Let cool 3-5 minutes on cookie sheet, remove to wire rack to continue cooling.  Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.

Zucchini and Potato Soup

In the "reduced for quick sale" area in the grocery store last week,  I bought a big package of zucchini very cheap.  After looking at it on my counter for a few days, I decided I better hurry up and figure out what to do with it pretty quick.  I came up with a couple of ideas.  Muffins? Soup? Roasted? Steamed?  I decided on soup :)

We eat soup year round in our house.  The more I experiment with soups, I've come to realize you can make soup out of just about any combination of vegetables and meats and it will taste good.  I love that I control what goes in the soup (amount of salt, etc.).  You can make this soup with or without the smoked sausage.  I made it with, but if you want to go totally vegetarian, skip the sausage.  If you like a spicier soup, you can use a spicy sausage and/or add hot sauce to taste. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
14.5 ounce can fired roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)
6 smoked sausages, chopped
10 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In large stockpot, melt the two tablespoons of margarine.  Add the onion and celery and saute slowly until they start to become tender.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low-medium heat, covered for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables become soft, stirring occasionally.  Serves 4-6.

Chocolate/Peanut Butter/Oat Candy

The weather where I live can't seem to make up it's mind. It switches back and forth between cool and hot.  This week it's been pretty toasty during the day.  When it's warm inside the house as well as the outside, I would rather not turn on the oven to bake. So, when the urge to make something sweet hit today, I made this candy.  I have never used a candy thermometer (too confusing with all the different markings - soft ball, hard ball, etc.).  You can make this candy without one of those, because the only "cooking" you do is a quick two minutes on the stove.  To make it a little more fancy (and portable), I used a cupcake tin with the liners.

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned oats

In saucepan put margarine, sugar, milk and cocoa.  Bring to a boil slowly, stirring constantly.  Once it comes to a rolling boil, stir occasionally for two minutes.  Remove from heat and carefully pour mixture into large bowl.  Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until creamy.  Last, add the oats, one cup at time.  Stir until well combined and pour evenly into cupcake tins.  If you prefer not to use the cupcake tins, you can drop by tablespoonfuls or teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper.   Put in refrigerator at least one hour until the candy gets hard.  These have to be stored in the fridge and will stay good up to two weeks :)

Homemade Double Chocolate Brownies

One of my favorite desserts to make for my family is boxed brownies.  I like to wait until they go on sale, use coupons and stockpile them in my pantry :) Today seemed like a good day to bake something chocolate (isn't everyday a good day for that)? These are "double" chocolate because I used cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate morsels.  Making these brownies from "scratch" take just a few extra minutes to prepare than boxed brownies (I promise)!!!
 

 
Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa
3/4 cup white flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a            9 x 9 inch square pan with cooking spray.  Put all ingredients in the order above into a large bowl and mix well by hand until all ingredients are well combined.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool on rack about 1/2 hour.

If desired, you can use powdered sugar for decoration on the top of  the brownies.  Here's a dual duty tip - since the holes on a salt shaker are small, it seemed like the perfect size to use to sprinkle powdered sugar. Somehow,  I ended up with two extra salt shakers and no pepper shaker in my cupboard (not sure how that one happened). I filled one of the extra shakers up with about a third of the powdered sugar and then sprinkled the top of the brownies. You can certainly leave the brownies plain if you want and/or add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream :)

Dad's Biscuits

I was lucky enough to find in my vast collection of recipes, my great-grandfather's biscuit recipe from August 1959.  It was on a typed index card with the title, "Dad's Biscuits."  The "dad" being my grandmother's father on my mom's side of the family.  He owned a bakery at one time in Missouri.  I guess that's where I get my love of baking from, it's in the "genes." I made these this morning and Dominic and I did a little taste "test."  I asked Dominic what he thought of the biscuits and he said, "good!"  I did change the measurements slightly, the original recipe used one teaspoon of salt, I cut it down to 1/4 teaspoon.  Also, there was no measurement for the amount of milk, the recipe said, "add enough milk to make medium workable dough for rolling."  I found that 3/4 of a cup of milk was "workable."  I  have a small collection of biscuit cutters and decided on the littlest one. I don't remember where I got that biscuit cutter from, but I'm pretty sure it's older than me :) I was able to make 20 biscuits out of the dough.  Depending on what size biscuit cutter you use, you will be able to get more or less than that.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheet with baking spray.  In large bowl, put all ingredients together and mix well with spoon.  On flat surface, sprinkle one tablespoon of flour.  Take dough mixture and knead about 20 times (don't over knead the dough or the biscuits will be tough). Flatten with hands to get to desired thickness and use biscuit cutter.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top.

*September is right around the corner and it is National Biscuit Month!!

Crispy Rice Treats

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats have been around since the early 1940's.  They are super easy and quick to make at home (only three ingredients).  You can even buy them individually packaged at the grocery store. They are definitely not low calorie, but they are fun to have once in a while :)  I used the "house" brand of marshmallows and crispy rice cereal that Kroger makes.  I also used the crispy rice treat recipe on the back of  the bag of marshmallows.  The only difference between the Kellogg's version and the Kroger version is the Kroger version uses one additional tablespoon of margarine/butter.  You can use margarine instead of butter, but my feeling is that it's not like you eat these every day, so why not splurge a little?!?! A while back I had bought a container of 100 cookie cutters from Bed Bath and Beyond (I think because I had a coupon) and I recently found them again in our basement.

I decided to get a little creative and made some of the treats into the below shapes.  It was a little sticky making them, but isn't that half the fun??  You can get the kids involved making these because they are so easy to make.  I enlisted Dominic to help me :)

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 package (10 ounces) marshmallows (any brand)
6 cups crispy rice cereal (any brand)

Melt butter or margarine slowly in a large saucepan.  Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal until it is completely coated.  Pour into lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.  Press the mixture evenly into the pan.  Let cool slightly.  Cut into squares or desired shapes.  Store at room temperature covered for no more than two days.   They start losing their freshness pretty fast, that's why their "shelf" life is so short!! If your family can't eat them within a few days, I'm sure your co-workers, friends or neighbors would be happy to "help" you out!  You could even whip them up for a new mom :)

Carrot Muffins

My favorite grocery store was selling three pounds of carrots for a $1.00 this week.  I usually buy the shortcut carrots when they are 10 for $10.00, but decided since it was such a good deal, I would buy the three pound bag. Once I got them home, I was thinking of different ways to use them.  The first thing that came to mind was to whip up some carrot muffins, since we were all out of breakfast "bakery."  While grating the carrots for the muffins, I was wondering why it was taking so long.  After I got to the end of the second out of four carrots, I realized I had the grater upside down :)  Once I got that "issue" figured out, it made the grating go much faster!!  Usually when I'm all done grating the carrots, I toss the remaining bits of carrots that are leftover into a bag and put in the fridge for a snack for later.  This time I put them in a sealed bag and tossed them into the freezer.  I'm working on a recipe for Carrot Pumpkin Soup and thought they could be used later on!!

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
2 large eggs
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2  teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and fill a 12-muffin tin with paper liners.  In large bowl, put all ingredients in the order given.  Using a large spoon, mix until well combined.  Distribute batter evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean.  Cool for 5-10 minutes in tin and then remove to baking rack to finish cooling.

Mexican Corn and Bean Salad

I definitely think this is the hottest summer that I can remember since we have lived in the Midwest.  For about the past week, I kept trying to figure out a different kind of side dish, besides potato salad, pasta salad or coleslaw that could be taken to a  picnic. This salad is meant to be eaten cold, so you can keep it in a covered plastic container, in a cooler with some ice for hours and not worry about it spoiling in the sun :)  You can assemble this salad very quickly (less than five minutes), so if you get invited last minute to a get-together, don't worry about what to bring - just make this! This recipe could easily be doubled or even tripled to feed more.  If you want to "spice" this salad up, feel free to add a little hot sauce when you're making it!

Ingredients:

15.5 ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed
12 ounce bag frozen corn
1.25 ounce packet taco seasoning
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

In colander, put kidney and black beans.  Rinse under cold water and drain.  In large bowl, put beans and the remaining ingredients.  Stir with large spoon until well mixed.   Enjoy immediately or put in fridge until ready to eat.  Serves about 8.

For a quick and easy dinner, you can put a couple of tablespoons of the salad into an 8-inch flour tortilla, roll it up and you're done!

Lemonade Biscotti

Two things I make all summer long are lemonade and iced tea. As I sat recently looking at my containers of powdered lemonade, I got the idea that maybe it would be cool to make something out of it besides lemonade, so I made some biscotti.  These also have a little lemon juice added.  You can squeeze your own lemons (which I think are a lot of work) or use lemon juice in a bottle.  A little juice, taste wise goes a LONG way :) If you can believe it, these cookies have pink powdered lemonade in them.  I had containers of both pink and yellow powdered lemonade from Country Time.  Since I was almost out of the yellow, I used the pink.

After dinner on Thursday, I had the hubby "sample" my latest creation from Cathy's Kitchen.  I asked him what kind of cookie they were and first he said "biscotti."  I was like, "yes, but what kind?"  He guessed lemon!  These smell super yummy baking, kind of like a batch of sugar cookies :)  These biscotti are a little bit of summer wrapped up in a cookie!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups white flour
6 tablespoons margarine, softened
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pink powdered lemonade
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two cookie sheets with cooking spray.  In large bowl, combine all ingredients together in the order shown with large spoon.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 12-inch long log.  Flatten slightly (about 2-3 inches across).  Place each log onto the lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.  Pull the cookie sheets out and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove logs from cookie sheets and cut each log into 12 equal sized slices.  Return slices to cookie sheets and place cut-sides down.  Return back to oven for another 15-20 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove slices to wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container, to maintain freshness.

Classic Deviled Eggs

A "classic" picnic food has to be deviled eggs.  There are MANY variations, but this recipe is simple and only has three ingredients - mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar. I was curious as to how deviled eggs got their name, so I did a little research.  The word "deviled" according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is to "season highly."  It doesn't necessarily apply only to eggs.  For example, if you seasoned chopped ham, then you would have deviled ham.  I learn something new everyday!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

Boil eight large eggs about 15 minutes.  Let cool completely either in cold water or in fridge.  Remove shells and split eggs in half with sharp knife.  Remove yolks and put into small bowl. Using a fork, break yolks into small pieces until it resembles fine crumbs.  Add mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar.  Stir until smooth and creamy.  Spoon into egg halves.  Arrange on platter.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in fridge until ready to eat.

No-Bake Cheesecake

I read in my local paper that this coming Monday, July 30th, is National Cheesecake Day.  I didn't even know there was such a day!!  A homemade cheesecake is time consuming, loaded with calories and expensive to make. This is a recipe that involves no baking, just a minimum three hour chilling time in the fridge.  I used fat-free whipped topping and fat-free cream cheese to try and lighten it up, but feel free to use "full strength" whipped topping and cream cheese :)  I also used a ready to eat graham cracker pie crust instead of making my own.  I bought the "house" brand of whipped topping, cream cheese and graham cracker pie crust, because I personally can't taste the difference.  It's usually less expensive too!!
 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
8-ounce package fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8-ounce tub fat-free whipped topping
6-ounce graham cracker pie crust

In medium bowl, put sugar, cream cheese and vanilla extract.  With large spoon, mix until well combined.  Gently stir in the whipped topping until smooth and creamy.  Pour into graham cracker pie crust and put in fridge for at least three hours or until firm.  Remove from fridge and enjoy.  Serves 8.

Bursting with Berries Blueberry Muffins

This is the time of year when most grocery stores have blueberries on sale.   Blueberries are great on top of your breakfast cereal, but they are awesome made into these muffins.  If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know by now that I love to bake. Blueberries are packed with vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, the list goes on and on!!  I put an entire pint of blueberries into these muffins, which is about two cups.  Please feel free to put in less :)

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine (softened)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Topping:

1 tablespoon white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line twelve muffin tin with paper liners. In large bowl, mix all ingredients (but the blueberries) together in the order shown with large spoon.  In small bowl, rinse and thoroughly pat dry the blueberries, removing any stems.  Gently fold in the blueberries with other ingredients until well mixed. Pour evenly into muffin tins.  Sprinkle the tops of the muffin batter with the one tablespoon of sugar.  Bake about 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack about 5 minutes.

Watermelon Popsicles

 
It seems like watermelon and summer just kind of go together.  Have you ever wondered what to do with all that watermelon juice that seems to collect in the container with all the cut-up watermelon?? How about recycling it into homemade popsicles!!  I went on the hunt for popsicle molds this past Tuesday and found some fancy ones for $3.99 at a home goods store, then went to Kroger and found the molds on sale for 70 cents!! With the price of some "fancy" popsicles, you can't beat the cost of these! I like to buy seedless watermelon, so you don't have to worry about the seeds.  To make these, just pour the juice into the mold, pop them into the freezer and in about 3 hours, they are ready to eat!!  The best way to get these out of the mold is to put them into a bowl of hot water for about 20-30 seconds.  These popsicles are the perfect way to cool off during these hot summer months!  If you don't have leftover watermelon juice, don't worry, just toss about two cups of chopped watermelon into a blender.  Choose the puree and/or liquify setting to get it the consistency you want and then pour into the popsicle molds.

Gazpacho Soup

When it's over 90 degrees, do you really feel like cooking something in the oven?? This soup you eat cold.  The first time I made this soup, I kept thinking it needed to be hot, because that was the only way I had ever eaten soup! This is basically cold vegetable soup that is chilled in the fridge for at least one hour.

Ingredients:

Two 28-ounce cans stewed and sliced tomatoes, undrained
One cucumber, peeled and chopped (remove seeds)
One medium onion, peeled and chopped
One green, red or yellow bell pepper, chopped (remove seeds and membrane)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

In large bowl combine all ingredients together until mixed well with large spoon.  Into blender or food processor put three cups of the mixture at a time and grind until desired consistency.  I like a thicker soup, so I did it about 20 seconds on the "grind" setting on our blender.  After mixture is blended pour into large bowl, cover and refrigerate at least one hour.  Serves 4-6.

Flag Cake

To celebrate Independence Day (and my birthday which is July 3rd), it seemed fitting that this patriotic cake made an appearance on the "menu." It is super easy to decorate and the kids can help you!! I used a yellow boxed cake (18.25 ounces) and a 16-ounce tub of vanilla frosting. Both were the Pillsbury brand, but please feel free to use whatever brand or flavor is your family's favorite.  Blueberries are the "stars" and strawberries are the "stripes."  You could use blackberries or raspberries in place of the blueberries.  Just make sure whatever fruit you use, rinse and thoroughly pat dry. For the "stripes",  I used eight strawberries (which were all different sizes) and cut them in half and then cut each half into three slices. I used 36 blueberries for the "stars."  

  

  I would suggest making this cake ahead of time for your picnic or get-together, loosely cover with foil and put in the fridge until just before you want to eat it.  You probably don't want this cake sitting out in the sun :)  I think using the fruit instead of decorator icing is kind of a welcome change.  There is really no wrong way to decorate this cake - let your imagination run wild!!  Happy 4th of July!!