Cheeseburger Soup

Wow this soup is good!!!!  I made it this afternoon for lunch and I ate so much I was just miserable.  Another A+ in my book!  Thanks Carri for the recommendation!!!

1/2 lb Ground Beef, browned (I used ground turkey and actually used the whole pound.  It was delish and extra meaty!)
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp basil (reduce to 1/2 tsp if desired)
1 tsp parsley (reduce to 1/2 tsp if desired)
4 TBSP margarine
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced potatoes
1/4 cup flour
8 oz. Velveeta cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

1. In large, deep skillet, saute carrots, onions and celery in 1 TBSP marg. for 10 min.
2. Add broth, potatoes, basil, parsley and beef.
3. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 10 min.
4. In small saucepan, cook and stir remaining margarine and the flour for 3 min.
5. Add to soup and bring to boil for 2 min. Reduce heat to low.
6. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese melts.
7. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti

Last week I must have been in the mood for spaghetti.  In my mind I was trying to think of good freezable foods so I made my list of two recipes and headed to the grocery.  Came back home only to realize it was for two spaghettis!  One is one that I make quite frequently and is my Mom's favorite.  It's a tomato base spaghetti out of Paula Deen's "Paula Deen & Friends" cookbook.  It is very easy, very good, and makes a ton.  Perfect for freezing! 

The other spaghetti is a chicken spaghetti casserole that I found on My Recipes.  This is turning into one of my new favorite websites.  The one thing that caught my eye is this recipe is prepared to make two casseroles in 8 in casserole dishes.  Perfect for me....Tay and I can eat one and I can throw the other in the freezer.  Turned out that Jon was home for dinner this one particular night so I threw it all into an 11x13 dish.  My one suggestion for this dish is to cut the veggies up finely.  I don't know if it's cause I put it in a bigger dish than what it called for but the veggies were a little crunchy.  It was still delicious though!



Chichen Spagetti

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (I used a rotessirie chicken from the grocery)
2 cups uncooked spaghetti noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces (about 7 ounces)
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (10.75-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine broth, salt, pepper, and soup in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add soup mixture to chicken mixture; toss. Divide mixture evenly between 2 (8-inch) square or (2-quart) baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over each casserole. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Alice Jo's Spaghetti Sauce
 
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (6oz) cans tomato paste
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
 
 Brown the beef in a large, heavy bottomed pot, then drain off the fat.  Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic, and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, 1 cup water, and seasonings.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Let cool.  The sauce will keep for several days, covered, in the fridge.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

My neighbor and I took the kids apple picking on Monday and when we came back home she made the best apple pie!  Instead of a traditional pie top it is a crumbled topping and personally, I think that's what makes the pie.  Last night Jon came home at a decent hour and actually had dinner with us so I surprised him with making it.  It was the first time I've ever made a pie and it was so easy!  Talk about delicious with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream....we were in heavan last night!!!!!

For Filling:
1 pie shell (I used the kind that you roll out in a pie pan.  Got it in the dairy section)
6-7 apples (I used 7 and it was perfect)
2 TBSP Flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream

For Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 1 stick butter....a little softened (I used 1 stick but prob will try 3/4 next time)

• Preheat over to 400.
• Peel apples and slice thin.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the apples with the flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  You may want to adjust the taste if you want by adding more sugar or cinnamon.  I think it's delicious the way it is but thats my opinion. :-)
• Add the sour cream and mix.
• Spoon into the pie shell and press down.  (it may look like a lot but it cooks down.  I nearly took some apple slices out of the pie but I'm so glad I didn't!)
• Combine the topping ingredients: dry ingredients first, the blend in the butter in slices and combine with a fork to make it crumbly.
• Sprinkle mixture over the pie.
• Place the pie plate on a foil lined cookie sheet b/c it will bubble over.
• Bake at 400 for 15 min.
• Reduce heat to 350 and bake 45 min longer. (after 45 min take a knife and check the center to see if apples are soft.  It will probably need more time depending on the thickness of the apples.  Just make sure the topping doesn't burn!  I actually cooked it for 55 min and think it could have gone a little longer.)

ENJOY!!!

Olivia's Texas Chili

Here is a delicious and easy recipe for chili.  It reminds me a lot of my chicken taco soup that I make.  Olivia's husband is a true Texan and this recipe comes from his family.

1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg dry ranch seasoning
1 lb hamburger meat browned with an onion
1 can water (optional)

• Brown the meat with the onion.
• Put everything in a pot and heat.  That's it!!!!
• Serve with sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips

A suggestion she gave me, which I used, if you don't drain the beans, corn, etc then don't put the water.  It really depends on how thick you want it.  In my opinion, chili should be thick so don't add it. :-)  I bet you can also do this easily in your crockpot.  So delicious!!!!