Potato Soup

Potato Soup

6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced or cubed                       

3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped 

2-3 celery stalks, chopped       

1 medium onion, diced

½ stick of butter or margarine

            

Sauté onions, carrots and celery in ¼ cup of butter or margarine in a soup pot or Dutch oven. When tender, add potatoes and water to cover. Cook until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile mix together the following in a pan over low heat:                                 

8 oz. cream cheese softened    

1 stick butter or margarine      

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup    

2 cups of milk

1 cup heavy cream

Tip: melting everything in the microwave seems to go faster and that way it doesn’t scorch.                   

Add mixture to the cooked vegetables.

Add 1/2 lb cooked crumbled bacon or 1 cup of diced ham if desired. Heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy potatoes au gratin

Creamy potatoes au gratin

4 to 5 medium russet potatoes
2 cups of heavy cream
4 TBS unsalted butter
Salt and pepper

Wash and slice the potatoes into thin slices. A mandolin works well for this. Spray the bottom and sides of a baking dish wish cooking spray such as PAM. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to coat all, add to the baking dish. Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes and dot with the butter.

Bake in a 375° oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Chicken salad with sass

Chicken salad with sass
1 cooked and diced chicken breast half
3 TBS diced red onion
3 TBS diced celery
2 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground celery salt
3 TBS real mayonnaise
2 TBS sour cream
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to blend. Serve on your favorite bread or cracker.

  

Saucy Chicken and Rice with chunky tomatoes

Saucy Chicken and Rice with chunky tomatoes:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper (I used red because that is what I had)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 TBS vegetable oil
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked
1 cup cheddar or Monterey jack shredded cheese
Sauté onion and bell pepper in the oil until tender (about 5 minutes) over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until chicken is no longer pink. DO NOT DRAIN!  Add can of tomatoes and stock or broth, bring to a boil uncovered. Sprinkle in garlic powder and cumin and stir until combined. Add Minute Rice and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Top with the shredded cheese (or whatever you like) and serve!
My apologies because my pictures aren't very good but here is what it looks like:

Creamy Potato and Ground Beef Stoup

Creamy Potato and Ground Beef Stoup


6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
salt and pepper
Combine the vegetables in a 5 qt. saucepan, add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain.

1 lb. cooked ground beef (or ham)

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of condensed soup (chicken, cheddar, celery or mushroom)
2 cups of milk

Combine in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl and heat to melt the cream cheese. Add the creamed mixture to the vegetables and add the meat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until bubbly. (Picture not original, it's a picture of cream cheese potato soup, I didn't take pictures of my soup) :(

Lazy Night Skillet Beef and Pasta

Lazy Night Skillet Beef and Pasta

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cooked beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, any color
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 basil leaves, chopped or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, rough chopped, with the juice
1 cup beef stock
1/2 lb. Orecchiette pasta, cooked and drained

Add the olive oil to your skillet heat over medium high setting. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until almost tender, add the garlic and basil and cook another minute or so. Add the beef and cook until heated through, another 10 minutes. Pour in the beef stock, chop up your canned tomatoes and add along with the tomato juice from the can into the skillet. Stir to combine and add the pasta. This will be a little saucy, just let it cook a little while longer and some of the juice will be absorbed into the pasta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to desired seasoning and enjoy!

Chuck roast cooked on the stove top

Chuck roast is typically a tough piece of meat and the best way to cook it is slow and long, like in the crock pot or covered in a low heat oven for 3 hours. I don't have that kind of time. I am a workin' gal and by the time I got off work, I gotta get a move on! Plus it's still hot out and who the hell wants to heat up the kitchen when it's already too hot!? Anyway, I've been cooking my roasts this way for years. The roast turns out juicy and tender. See what you think...

Chuck Roast on the stove top
1 - 2 to 5 pound chuck roast
Salt & Pepper
Dutch oven or other deep skillet with a lid
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Liberally season all sides of the roast with the salt and pepper.

Heat the pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil.

When it's hot, add the roast. Brown each side until nice and brown, keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

When all sides are browned, turn the heat down to low and put a lid on it.

Let it pan roast for about 30 minutes, less if you like it rarer. Don't throw out the juices, this caramelized sauce (au jus) makes the BEST gravy EVER! Add a couple of cups of water, bring to a boil, add 1 to 2 TBS of corn starch to 1/4 cup of cold water and whisk into the au jus. Let cook for 1 minute until bubbly, reduce heat to low and serve over the roast. Season as needed.

Enjoy! We sure did!

Strawberry Mousse Filled Cupcakes

 

Strawberry Mousse Filled Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
Follow the directions on the mix and bake in cupcake lined muffin tins. Let cool.

Filling
4 oz. cream cheese
3 TBS seedless strawberry jam
4 oz. whipped topping, thawed (I used 1/2 of an 8 oz tub)
Beat cream cheese and jam until completely blended. Add whipped topping and blend lightly until combined and fluffy.

When your cupcakes are cooled using an apple corer, or handle of wooden spoon, poke holes in the center of the cupcakes to fill.

Spoon your filling into a pastry bag, or I use a ziploc sandwich bag...easy clean-up, plus I'm lazy like that and that's how I roll. Clip the end off one corner if you are using a baggie.

Begin piping your filling into the centers of your cupcakes.

Once all filled, top with the remaining whipped topping.

I topped mine with some strawberries, you can also substitute the strawberry jam with seedless raspberry or any flavor you like!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 lb. asparagus, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
4 TBS butter or oleo
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and chopped asparagus, saute until all are tender (about 10 minutes). *Add the stock and bring to a boil. With an immersion blender (or in a *food processor) blend the veggies in the stock until almost smooth. Add heavy cream and stir together. Simmer until heated through.
*Note if using a food processor: blend the veggies in the food processor before adding the stock. Return the veggies to the saucepan and add the stock, bring to boil then add the heavy cream and continue to heat through.
Tip: If you like it thicker you can combine 1 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup of stock and add to the soup stirring constantly until desired thickness.

My life of cooking and baking is born

Hello. I decided to start a new blog. Not that my old blog got much attention, however, it was pretty muddled with a mish mash of sewing and cooking, and the title is "SoSewBusy" http://www.sosewbusy.com. What better idea to separate the two...so here is it, My Life of Cooking and Baking. I really really love to cook and bake. But I also really really hate to cook and bake. You know? Aaaay...what can I say, I'm a mood cook. It would help if I lived in a city where you can actually get all of the ingredients a recipe calls for. Hmmm...maybe someday?! Anyway, I am going to take all of my recipes out of the old blog and upload them here. Not sure if that will be today, but it will be done! I love to watch the Food Network channel. Yes, I still love Paula. Hey we all make mistakes. My three favorite cooks on there are Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, and Ree Drummond. They cook like I like to cook. With reckless abandonment and easy recipes that I can usually modify if I don't have those special ingredients and it tastes fab...well in my own opinion anyway. So I hope you'll come along with me as I share my favorites, as well as my very own recipes and enjoy what I have to share with you.
Più tardi!