Beefy Nacho Soup

I'll be honest here I usually snub any recipes I find on websites that are the makers of processed foods. The goal in my house is to not eat much, if any, processed food. However I was "gifted" a can of nacho cheese soup and since we were running really low on grocery money last month I googled looking for decent recipes calling for the nacho cheese soup. I ended up choosing this one and to be honest we loved it. It was a perfect blend of flavors. I topped the soup with some cubed avocado, green onions, and fresh tomatoes. This would have been even better with some freshly made tortilla strips. Overall this was a winner in our family and I guess I'll be buying more of the nacho cheese soup in the future. This was a very simple and really quick to make dish. Perfect for those nights when time is low and yet money is too tight for take out. Also I should point out this barely fed 3 adults with no extras. Two of the adults complained about needing more. You would need to double or triple this recipe for large families.

Beefy Nacho Soup
Pillsbury.com

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (from 1 oz package) or make your own like I do
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed nacho cheese soup
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (1 oz)

In 2-quart saucepan, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in remaining ingredients except shredded cheese. Cook 8 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Top individual servings with shredded cheese.

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce

This turned out to be a really yummy tasting pie. It was simple to make and since it uses refrigerator dough it easy for even those who haven't made a pie before. My streusel had a few problems relating to three little boys who were helping so trust me there is streusel on the pie you just can't see much in the picture. Also I used two eight inch frozen pie shells so my pie wasn't as thick as the recipe calls for. I used the frozen cause it was what I had on hand. Overall everyone who tasted the pie loved it. It's a nice change from the typical pumpkin or apple pie that dominates the holiday season. It's also perfect when you have oodles of pears on hand like I did when I made this pie.

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce
Cooking Light Magazine Nov. 2008

Pie
3 ounces all purpose flour, divided (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 medium firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1/2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
cooking spray
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To prepare pie, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a larger bowl. Add juice, and pears to flour mixture; toss gently to coat. Roll dough into an 11 inch circle; fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute. Arrange pear mixture in an even layer in prepared crust.
Combine remaining 1 1/2 ounce (about 1/3 cup) flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons cold butter to brown sugar mixture; cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle butter mixture evenly over pears. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes.
To prepare sauce, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, cream, and 2 tablespoons softened butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook one minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 2 teaspoons water. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed with pie.

Yield 12 servings, serving size 1 wedge pie and about 1 1/2 teaspoon sauce. 287 calories in a slice, 11 grams of fat (sat. 5.5 g, mono 1.7 g., poly 0.35 g.), carb. 47.5 g.

I am still alive

I should be back the week after Thanksgiving with new recipes to share. Life has been crazy. Sickness, getting use to homeschooling three kids, water main break, sewer problems, cutting down two huge trees from our property that resulted in days of pain, google not letting me do much of anything on my blogs, and just plain life getting in the way. I really haven't done much cooking with new recipes for awhile just because of all the craziness. Knock on wood hopefully nothing else will go wrong until next year.

Banana Bread

What do you do when you realize you have 21 bananas that are past their prime? I made all kinds of different dishes with them. One being this bread recipe. It's a simple recipe that calls for ingredients you should have on hand. I say it took me about 5 minutes to mix this up and it took about 1 1/2 hours to cook. Not sure why my time was longer than the recipe but I did have to cook it quite a bit longer. My favorite bananas to use when making banana bread are ones that are almost completely black. They are sweeter tasting and really easy to mash. I hope you like this recipe as much as I did.

Banana Bread
King Arthur All Purpose Cookbook

2 large eggs
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana (2 to 3 very ripe, large bananas about 7 to 9 ounces)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 2/3 cups (11 3/8 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup (8 ounces) yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream (I used 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup sour cream)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and oil. Blend in the mashed banana and vanilla. Whisk together and then sift the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Add all at once to the banana mixture. Mix quickly but thoroughly, then stir in the yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream, mixing until just combined.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Bake the bread for about 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bread begins to brown quickly tent it with aluminum foil after 40 minutes in the oven.

When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and place on a rack for 15 minutes; after 15 minutes, remove the bread from its pan and place on the rack to finish cooling completely.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This is my favorite time of year for food. Why you ask? Because I love pumpkin treats. As you can see I've been posting several different recipes for pumpkins cause I've been making all kinds of pumpkin treats. These were a hit with all the adults while the kids just liked them. I think my kids ate one maybe two of these but my husband ate about 8 of them in one setting. I'm not a fan of the original whoopie pie but I can't wait to make these again.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie
King Arthur Flour website


Cake

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin
2 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or 100% White Whole Wheat Flour

Filling

8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons soft butter
2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1) To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

2) Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy.

4) Stir in the pumpkin.

5) Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition.

6) Use a muffin scoop to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2" around each mound.

7) Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 16 to 18 minutes.

8) Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

9) To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.

10) Beat in the sugar in two additions.

11) Add the vanilla. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.

12) Stir in the crystallized ginger.

13) To assemble: Sandwich two cookies around 2 tablespoons of filling. For best storage, wrap each pie in plastic wrap.

Yield: 1 dozen 4" whoopie pies.

Emmy's Pumpkin Bread

I made this bread a few weeks ago much to the delight of the family. No lie the two loaves of bread didn't last the night. Very simple recipe for a bread that tastes so great. Reminds me of a local bakery called Great Harvest who makes bread very similar to this. I wish I had made the glaze to go on top but I was out of powdered sugar and the bread didn't last long enough for me to go to the store to buy some.

Emmy's Pumpkin Bread
King Arthur Flour

2/3 cup shortening or 1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups (or one can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening or oil and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, pumpkin and water. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, stirring to blend, then mix in the chips and nuts.

Spoon the batter into two lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack. When it's completely cool, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and store it overnight before serving.

If desired, just before serving, drizzle with an icing made of 1 cup confectioners' or glazing sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 tablespoon milk.

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

These were a hit with the whole neighborhood. Or to be honest with my three boys and the neighbor girl mainly. They ate the whole sheet full of them in a matter of oh about a 1/2 hour. I did manage to get five hidden from their view so a few other people were able to try them. They are delicious and full of pumpkin flavor. And the cream cheese frosting took them over the top flavor wise. Trust me you won't be disappointed in these bars. The only problem with them is I am sure they are chocked full of calories and as such not so good for the waist line.

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Cake
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, or 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
1 cup (7 ounces)vegetable oil
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup (9 1/2 ounces) pumpkin puree


Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons(1 3/8 ounces) maple syrup
2 cups (12 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 18 x 13-inch half-sheet pan.

For the cake: Put the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well incorporated. Set aside. Beat the oil and the sugars together until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and turn onto a rack to finish cooling. Frost the cake and cut into bars when cool.

For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and the butter together. Add the maple syrup and stir well. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until the frosting is the right consistency; adjust the consistency with more maple syrup or confectioners' sugar. Frost the cake. Cut into bars; a pizza wheel works well for this chore. Yield: 36 (2 x 3-inch) bars.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

Okay so looking at this picture it doesn't look like soup. I'm guessing the barley I added soaked up the broth in the half hour I waited to take the picture. However don't let this stop you from making this soup cause it was really really good. The flavors blended together well for a really delicious creamy soap. I added cooked pearl barley to the dish just for some added nutrients. And if you know me well you know I just had to add garlic to the dish. I think I add garlic to every recipe if it doesn't call for it. I especially love garlic with vegetables.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup
slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free or low-fat)
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 cup cooked pearl barley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley, garlic and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, pearl barley, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

The Best Tuna Salad

Those who know me know I don't like seafood and tuna ranks up there with something I'll never touch. However I married someone who loves tuna sandwiches and as such I've been learning how to make the best tuna sandwich. According to my husband this recipe comes the closest to perfection that I have hit. In fact he has asked for this to be made several times over the past month.

The Best Tuna Salad
Cooks Country Magazine Aug./Sept. 2010

3 5 oz. cans solid white albacore tuna packed in water
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 celery rib, chopped fine

Place tuna in fine mesh strainer and press to dry with paper towels. Transfer to medium bowl and mash with fork until finely flaked. Microwave onion and oil in small bowl until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Combine onion mixture, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sugar with tuna and let sit 10 minutes.

Stir mayonnaise and celery into tuna mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. Can be refrigerated in airtight container for one day.

Vegetable Kabob Marinade

Honestly this recipe also works well for beef and chicken. Lately though I've been eating a lot less meat so I made vegetable kabobs. I love this marinade. I've made it several times and every time I like it more. It's a perfect blend of seasonings and makes a nice grilled meal. It's also easy to make and the longer you marinade the more flavor your veggies (and/or meat) will have. Use what ever veggies are your favorites. We prefer mushrooms, red onions, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, and whatever other veggie we have extras of.

Vegetable Kabob Marinade
Allrecipes

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or I've used 3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 pinch ground ginger or I've used about a half teaspoon freshly grated ginger

In a large resealable plastic bag, mix the teriyaki sauce, honey, garlic powder, and ginger. Add veggies (and/or meat) and marinade 4 to 24 hours. Prepare as desired.