Soup Anyone?

With the winter season amongst us, what better way to warm up then to have a hot bowl of soup. Would everyone post their favorite soup recipe. Thanks and happy eating!!!

Caramel Popcorn

1 C butter
2 C brown sugar
1/2 C corn syrup
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn

preheat oven 250. Place popped popcorn in a large bowl, remove kernels. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat. Place in baking dish and bake in oven 1 hour; stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Karen's Chocolate Cake

Triple Chocolate Cake
1 pkg devil's food cake mix.... 18 1/4 ounces

1 pkg(4 serving size) chocolate instant pudding mix

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract.

Beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in choc. chips. Pour into greased and floured 12 cup bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes then invert cake onto a wire rack. Cool completely. For glaze, mix sugar, milk and butter in small saucepan on medium heat. Stirring constantly on medium heat, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat...stir in chocolate chips and pure vanilla until chips are melted. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Chocolate Haystacks

These taste really good and are so easy!

1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups Miniature Marshmallows
1/2 cup Salted Peanuts

MICROWAVE chocolate chunks and butterscotch chips in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until almost melted, stirring after 1-1/2 minutes. Stir until completely melted.
ADD remaining ingredients; stir until evenly coated.
DROP teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto large sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.

Cheese Garlic Biscuits

I made these for part of dinner tonight and they were really yummy and super easy! That's my kind of recipe!

2 c biscuit
2/3 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c melted butter
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Mix bisquick,milk and cheese until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Mix butter and garlic salt. Brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits.

A Taste of Thai

Well I am no cook =), but just wanted to let you know that the "Taste of Thai" products make some pretty descent Thai Food. I used their peanut sauce and added carrots, chopped peanuts, sprouts and green beans. Here's a pic:

P.S. We had Edamame and Egg drop soup as side dishes

Raspberry bars

This is the easiest dessert you will ever come by :), Karen

1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 cup of raspberry jam, warm it
1 T veg. oil

soften the tube of refrig. sugar cookies to room temp. slice a hole in one end of the tube. Squeeze the dough into a 9 x 13 in. pan...press the dough to cover the ungreased pan. (flour your fingers a bit)
Evenly spread 1/2 the bag of white chocolate chips on the dough.
Bake this at 350 deg. for 15-17 min...to lightly browning.
Take out, pour the cup of jam over the white chips, smooth it out.
Bake another 10-12 min. til edges slightly brown
Mix remaining chips with oil, microwave 45 sec...stir til blended, drizzle at angles over the bars.
cool before serving...excellent!!

Another yumm pasta dish

Not bad, coming from an Atkins fan....two pasta posts in one day!!
Karen

Nutty Pasta (a great vegetarian entree)
8 oz Spinach Linguini
1/4 cup Olive Oil to cover pasta when cooked
1 Stick of butter
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 C each of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and chopped walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
I/2 C Italian bread crumbs
1/2 - 3/4 C Fresh chopped parsley
8 oz cream cheese in 1 inch cubes,
Cook Liguini , mix with olive oil and set aside.Melt butter in a skillet, Mix in garlic and nuts and sauteMix in in bread crumbs - mixture should be slightly thickRemove from heat and mix into pasta, Add the fresh parsley and stir in the cream cheese.

Grown Up Mac and Cheese

Hi folks...
don't waste this yummy dish on kids :)

Smoky Mac and Cheese
1/2# each, mild Italian Sausage, and lean ground beef
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (12 oz)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream Substitute evap. non fat milk, for lower fat recipe
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
8 oz smoked Cheddar cheese, shredded (in my deli case, it is Hoffmans smoked Cheddar)
2cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, well drained Natural food aisle...it matters, these have a smoky flavor)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
Preparation Directions
1. Cook and drain fat from meats.
Cook and drain macaroni as directed on box. Return to saucepan; keep warm.
2.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 2-quart saucepan, heat cream, mustard, salt and red pepper to boiling. Reduce heat; stir in Cheddar cheese with wire whisk until smooth. Pour sauce over macaroni. Stir in tomatoes and onions. Pour into baking dish. In small bowl, stir together Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs; stir in oil. Sprinkle over top of macaroni mixture.
3.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly and top is golden brown.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 18-23 min.
Success Tip:
Be sure to use whipping cream when making the sauce for this decadent mac 'n cheese. Milk or half-and-half are more likely to curdle when combined with acidic ingredients like tomatoes, unless you use NF evap milk, which doesn't curdle, or non fat half and half (what is that stuff)

Apple Dip

Beware!!! This dip is addicting!!!

2 pkg cream cheese
1 TB vanilla
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp milk
1/2 bag heath bits

Slightly soften cream cheese and whip until smooth. Add vanilla, brown sugar, milk, and mix. Add heath bits and mix. Great with any kind of apples!

Out of this World Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay so I know everyone has their favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe but this is my fav!

1 c crisco
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 TB vanilla
2 tsp hot water
4 1/2 c flour
1 pkg chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, crisco, and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and hot water. Mix dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Mix well and then add chocolate chips. Drop on a ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 7-10 minutes.

Baked Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and Pears

I normally don't like sweet potatoes but I love them in this recipe!!!

2 cans 15 oz sweet potatoes, drained
1 can 15 oz pears, drained
1/3 c chopped pecans
1/3 c brown sugar
3 T plus 1/2 cup flour
2 eggs beaten
1 c Italian bread crumbs
1 T McCormick chicken herb seasoning
4 pork chops 3/4 inch thick

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 8-inch square baking dish, combine pears and sweet potatoes. In a small bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, 3 TB flour and the butter to make a paste. Crumble mixture over pears and sweet potatoes and set aside.

Spray roasting rack then place on baking pan. Place eggs in a bowl. Place 1/2 cup flour on another bowl. Mix bread crumbs and herb seasoning and place in another bowl. Dredge pork chops into flour, then egg mixture, and last bread crumbs. Arrange chops on rack in prepared pan and coat lightly with cooking spray.

Bake chops alongside sweet potatoes and pears for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Black Bean Soup

This is so good and so easy. We just started a dinner group in our ward so if there are good recipes I'll pass them along.

1 cup jarred tomato salsa (plus extra for garnish)
2 15 1/2ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth

Optional Toppings
sour cream
cheese
tortilla chips
lime

Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 min. Stir in beans and broth, then heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min. Cool slightly then spoon half the soup in to a food processor or blender and puree. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan and heat through. Serve with sour cream, tortilla strips, salsa, and lime.

Serves 4

Pastrami & Swiss on Rye

We ordered this at Schlotzsky's Deli & decided to make it ourself. It's just a simple sandwich that's really tasty!

Ingredients:
rye bread
turkey pastrami
sliced swiss cheese
spicy brown mustard

You just broil on high in your oven, only bread first (2 slices). Then put on the cheese & meat each on their own slice of bread, broil. Put the mustard on & combine both slices. You only need to broil for maybe 2 minutes each time.

White Chicken Chili

I just tried this new recipe out tonight, very good, but very spicy (& I like spicy stuff)!!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
1.Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.