Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

This soup is To Die For. I got it from my sister in law, Carrie. It has become our favorite soup. It is really easy to prepare, and makes a lot! If you aren't serving a crowd, only cook the noodles you need, save the 'soup' and when you serve leftovers, cook the remaining noodles and add them. You can put them all in, but sometimes the noodles are mushy upon re-heating. It really doesn't alter the taste, though, so you decide! We served these last week with the Cheesy Garlic Biscuits. Yummy!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

10 cups chicken broth

28 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

8 oz. can tomato paste

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

1 pt. whipping cream (unwhipped)

1 1/2 lbs. cooked tortellini

Pour chicken broth into a large pot and heat.

Add basil and oregano.

Place diced tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, and 1/2 cup water into a blender and puree until smooth; add to broth.

In a separate pan, melt butter. Add flour and stir for 1-2 minutes. Whip this into the soup and simmer until thickened; stirring often.

Add cooked tortellini and heat through.

Last of all, add the whipping cream and serve.

Bourbon Chicken

This is an easy, yummy dinner which (relax!) requires no actual Bourbon!

Bourbon Chicken

2lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)

cornstarch (for dusting, optional)

Sauce:1 garlic clove (minced)

¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I didn't have any of these)

¼ cup apple juice

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

½ cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and if you choose lightly dust with cornstarch. Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Spanish Rice Turkey Casserole

I found this Recipe in 'Taste of Home' magazine. It has a really good flavor, is simple to prepare, and makes a lot, so I always freeze some for a future meal. I use low fat sour cream and you can even omit the cheese to make it healthier. (My family won't let me get away with that!)

You'll need about 1 hour total to make this.

Spanish Rice Turkey Casserole

2 packages (6.8 oz. each) Spanish Rice and vermicelli mix

1/4 cup butter

4 cups water

2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups cooked and cubed turkey or chicken

1 can (11 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided (I use cheddar too and it tastes great)

In a large skillet, saute rice and vermicelli in butter until golden brown. Gradually stir in the water, tomatoes and the contents of the rice seasonings packets. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the turkey, corn, sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stir in the cooked rice mixture. Transfer to a greased 3 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 8 servings.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

This recipe comes from My Kitchen Cafe and we really like it. I love that it is a crock pot meal, so it is very easy. It is also pretty healthy if you use fat free sour cream, "No Yolk" noodles (tons of protein and no fat or cholesterol), and serve a salad with it! We have used stew meat and it works great, but I think I might try a more tender cut of beef next time and shred it after it cooks.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Place these ingredients in the crock pot:

2-3 lbs. stew meat

1 tsp salt

dash pepper

1 onion, sliced

Mix these ingredients and pour over the beef in the crock pot:

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cup beef broth

1 Tbs ketchup

Cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 4 hours.

When cooked, whisk 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup apple juice together. Stir into crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and serve over noodles, rice or potatoes.

Total time: about 8 hours (on low)

Servings: about 8

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

We have a hard time finding spaghetti sauce that we like, but we found a winner here. It isn't too spicy, too chunky, or too complicated. It is very easy and I've used it on Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan. Everyone is different, but our family likes it!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce ( from The Sisters Cafe)

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cans Italian diced tomatoes (I puree these)

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.

Add all other ingredients.

Simmer 10 minutes.

Anniversary Chicken

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but it is so good that I feel I should credit someone for it! I use Hidden Valley Ranch, made from the package of seasonings. (It is the only Ranch that I like) Although I'm sure freshly cooked and crumbled bacon would take this dish to a whole other level, I have used the pre-cooked, pre-crumbled, packaged bacon with great results. It is quick and easy and very tasty!

Anniversary Chicken

2 Tbls. vegetable oil

6 chicken breasts

1/2 cup Teriyaki basting sauce

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 green onions, chopped

crumbled bacon

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil and brown chicken for a minute on each side.

Put chicken in a greased 9x13 dish. Brush with Teriyaki sauce, spoon on ranch, sprinkle with cheese, onions and bacon.

Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

Easy Red Beans and Rice

We love this meal. We have it a couple of times a month. It is cheap, easy, healthy and delicious! It isn't spicy, so add your own hot sauce! I'm sure this isn't 'real' southern Red Beans and Rice, but everyone we have served it to has loved it. I usually use light kidney beans or red beans. They taste the best. The picture is when I made it with dark kidney beans - those weren't as good. I have used all kinds of different sausage. The recipe originally called for turkey sausage, but our favorite has been beef bratwurst. We've made it using crumbled sausage (ground up) and that was good too. We puree the tomatoes because Ian doesn't like the chunks. The recipe originally came from Allrecipes. Hope you like it as much as we do! We generally have it with Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread (also from Allrecipes.) Can't get any better comfort food than that!

Easy Red Beans and Rice

1 pound sausage (if using links, cut into 1/4 inch slices)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 15oz. cans kidney or red beans, drained
1 28oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes, or diced tomatoes pureed in blender with 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
2 shakes pepper

In a large skillet over low heat, cook sausage for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic. Saute until tender.
Pour in beans and pureed tomatoes. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Chicken and Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

I love that this recipe has sweet potatoes in it! (Noelle hates that it does!) This was a great soup and was relatively easy to prepare; lots of chopping and dicing! It took me about 1 hour to make. It comes from one of my new favorite sites: My Kitchen Cafe. Just about everything on there that I have tried has been delicious! I made a couple of little changes to fit what I had on hand. I didn't have the corn muffin mix, so I used the dry ingredients from my favorite cornbread recipe and it worked great.

This recipe makes A LOT! I actually had to transfer it from my huge pan to my ginormous pan about halfway through. I would say it could feed 10 people easily.

Chicken and Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

3 cups whole milk (I didn't have whole milk so I used 2 cups 1% and 1 cup cream)

2 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

(Or you can use 1 cup of a yellow corn muffin mix in place of the previous 5 dry ingredients)

2 T. butter

1/2 onion, chopped fine

3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin (I actually didn't have any of this, so I didn't add it)

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

2 quarts chicken broth

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 " cubes and cooked

2 sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

3 cups frozen corn (not thawed) (I used 3 14oz. cans of corn and it worked great)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (I -of course- used dried parsley)

1/2 tsp. salt (add more or less to your liking)

3 shakes pepper

Mix milk and muffin mix in bowl until well combined.

Meanwhile, heat butter in large pot over medium heat until foaming.

Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes.

Stir in garlic, cumin and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add broth, chicken and sweet potatoes.
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sweet potatoes are just tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in milk and muffin mixture and simmer until soup thickens, about 10 minutes.

Add cheese and corn and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 2 minutes.

Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Serve.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe. I made it last night for dinner and it was so yummy! I accidentally used Teriyaki Marinade instead of Soy Sauce, (I was in a hurry and didn't read the label...doh!)but it is made up of mostly soy sauce any way! Also, I only baked it for about 35 minutes and it was perfect! It was quick and easy! I served it over rice for the family and I had it in a salad (watchin' the carbs!) and I'm willing to bet mine tasted every bit as good as theirs - maybe better!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stove top. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Chicken Divan

Or as Russell always called it growing up, "Chick in dee truck!"

We love this dinner and it is one of the few that even my pickiest eaters gobble up. Cut up the chicken and broccoli really fine and babies can't get enough! I am frequently asked for the recipe.


This recipe comes from my Mom, but I have altered it a little, so here's my version.

Chicken Divan


2 bunches fresh broccoli, cut and steamed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
3 or 4 chicken breasts cooked and cubed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (Plus some to sprinkle on top)

Preheat oven to 350.

Put cooked broccoli in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Blend in flour. Add chicken broth. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Stir in Cream of chicken soup, lemon juice, salt, Parmesan cheese and a dash of pepper.

Pour half the mixture over the broccoli. Top with the cubed chicken. Pour the remainder of the sauce on top. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Broil until top browns just a little.

Serve over rice (which, of coarse, you cooked while it was in the oven!)

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe comes from The Sisters' Cafe and here is my take on it. It is definately more noodles than soup - but that is the way Ian likes it! I made it twice in the last 2 weeks for sick friends. Just what the doctor ordered!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

28 oz. chicken broth

1 cube (or 1 Tbs.) chicken bouillon

2-3 carrots, sliced

2-3 celery stalks, sliced

1/2 medium onion, chopped fine

8 oz. noodles (I used No Yolk wide egg noodles - lots of protein, no fat!)

1 pound chicken, cooked and diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

12 oz. evaporated milk

Boil broth, bouillon, carrots, celery and onion for 20 minutes or until tender.

Cook noodles with another chicken bouillon cube and drain.

Add noodles, diced chicken, cream of chicken soup and evaporated milk. Heat, add a few shakes of pepper and serve!

(Goes awesome with my homemade bread recipe!)