Easy Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This soup is addictive.  Seriously. It’s almost last meal material if you ask me….and even better, it is easy. I have also made this soup from scratch with milk, cream, flour, etc. but honestly, it tastes just as good using the cream of potato soup and saves you time and effort. So, why not? 

RECIPE: Easy Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/4 cup diced onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 (10-3/4 oz) cans Campbell’s Cream of Potato

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon celery seed

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 oz. Velveeta , cubed

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Optional for garnish:

1-2 green onions, chopped

extra bacon crumbles

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots and onions. Saute approximately 4-5 minutes until tender.

2. In a stockpot, add cream of potato soup, milk, celery seed, bacon crumbles, carrots, and onions. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add Velveeta cubes. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve in bowls with desired toppings/garnish.

Mmmm….

I think I’m ready for a cold winter’s day now…fire burning, snow falling, and soup. Lots and lots of soup. 

Oh, and you know I can’t resist an old commercial (plus I must give credit where credit is due):

Sweet Smothered Green Beans

This sweet, buttery, brown sugary, bacony goodness always gets rave reviews. Everyone always asks me “what did you put in those?”.

RECIPE: Sweet Smothered Green Beans

Servings: approx. 6

2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole green beans, drained

1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon worcestershire

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, garlic salt, worcestershire, and soy. Add drained green beans.  Stir in crumbled bacon and onions.

2. Transfer to baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until green beans are hot.

P.S. Roots-this is for you!

 

Stuffed Romano Chicken (with garlic lemon butter sauce)

This is one of my favorite chicken recipes.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese, coated in an Italian bread crumb/romano cheese mixture, and then drenched in a garlic lemon butter sauce and then baked.   There are so many different variations you can try with this recipe! First of all, if you are trying to watch your calories (unlike me), this tastes great without the cheese filling. If you don’t like cream cheese, leave it out and just use cheddar cheese. You can also add bacon pieces to the cheese stuffing (yum!) or stuff the chicken with pepper jack cheese or use onion and chives cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese…whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Recipe: Garlic Lemon Butter Stuffed Chicken

Servings 6

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup milk

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 cup grated Romano cheese

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, mix together softened cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese.

3. Butterfly each chicken breasts by cutting horizontally through the center, but not completely through. Stuff each chicken breast with cheese mixture.

4. Place milk in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs and romano cheese. Dip each breast in milk, then in bread crumb mixture, patting firmly to coat. Place on baking dish.

5. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic and lemon juice and then drizzle evenly over chicken. Sprinkle chicken with desired amount of garlic salt and paprika.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

This recipe takes me back to my Grandma Margie’s house where I spent many summers as a little girl….mostly getting in trouble with my sisters (and occasionally my cousin Doug too) or traipsing through the woods with my Grandpa Paulie while he shared his love and knowledge of indians, birds, and trees with us…..he was a living, breathing, walking nature encyclopedia. Margie & Paulie (note: we weren’t allowed to call them Grandma & Grandpa. I know, crazy,huh? Perhaps it’s because my sisters and I were such heathens that they didn’t want to claim us? lol) lived in a big, old white farmhouse located southeast of Chillicothe, Ohio and had quite a bit of land. They had a HUGE garden and grew everything from onions, cabbage, carrots, beets (ew), cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, green beans….you name it, they pretty much grew it.

I can vividly remember waking up in the early morning to the smell of Margie frying sausage for homemade sausage gravy and biscuits.  Mmmm. The bedroom that my sister Jennie and I slept in was located directly above the kitchen and had this little secret staircase that ran from our room to the kitchen. We never used that staircase though…because it was darn creepy, but nevertheless, it allowed the kitchen smells to work their way up to our room. 

I think my love of breakfast stems from those summers spent at Margie & Paulie’s house…mostly because we always ate dinner mid-afternoon and we were never allowed to have any snacks after that…so I pretty much went to bed starving every night and woke up still starving….hence, I couldn’t wait to eat breakfast. I love breakfast. So much so, that I have made it a Christmas Eve tradition in our house to serve “breakfast for dinner”…a breakfast feast like none other that my girls always look forward to every year. I make sausage, bacon, pancakes, hashbrown potatoes, and of course…..sausage gravy and biscuits. I know for a long time I was afraid to make sausage gravy because it seemed so hard, but it’s really very easy.

RECIPE: Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package Bob Evan’s Original Sausage (or your sausage of choice)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 can (7.5 oz) buttermilk biscuits, prepared

Directions:

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan.

2. Stir in the butter until melted. Add flour, and stir until smooth. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until light brown (this is called making a “roux”).

3. Gradually whisk in milk, garlic powder, and onion powder. When the mixture becomes smooth, thickened, and begins to bubble, stir in the cooked sausage. Season with salt and pepper (I like lots of salt and pepper). Reduce heat, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. If gravy becomes too thick, stir in a little more milk.

4. Serve over split buttermilk biscuits.

Note: you can refrigerate the extra gravy and biscuits. They reheat well in the microwave!

Southern Style Pulled Pork

I can only guess that my love affair with southern cooking began in Marietta, Georgia….my birthplace. That’s the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with. I mean seriously, can it get any better than fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans cooked in bacon grease? Oh, and don’t forget the sweet tea…and the biscuits…and the banana pudding…

You lickin’ your lips yet? Well, I have the perfect southern style pulled pork recipe for you.  It’s pretty much to die for….if I must say so myself.  My friend Cindy told me it was better than any restaurant pulled pork she has ever had. Uh huh, that’s right.  Oh, and the aroma that will permeate your house?! One word: amazing!!! You will be smackin’ your lips no doubt. If you have dogs, they will be running around the house like cats on cat nip

I’ll be honest here, the recipe starts with a homemade barbecue sauce to roast the pork in. However, after cooking and shredding the pork, I cheat. Yep, that’s right, I cheat and add some bottled barbecue sauce…in my opinion, Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue goes the best with this recipe.  Here you go:

Recipe: Southern Style Pulled Pork

Serve 6-8

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons mustard powder

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons salt

3 lbs boneless pork shoulder

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon molasses

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Small bottle of barbecue sauce (my favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue)

8 hamburger Buns

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Mix together the mustard powder,oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt.
3. Rub over meat; set aside.
4. In a small roasting pan, heat oil over medium heat.
5. Add onion and garlic; cook until onions are translucent about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add tomato juice, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar and worcestershire.
7. Increase heat to high; cook 10 minutes. Stir frequently.
8. Add pork to sauce and cover.
9. Place in oven and cook for 3 hours.
10. Uncover and continue cooking, basting from time to time, until meat is fall apart tender,about 1-1/2  hours more.
11. Remove from oven and shred pork (I typically use two forks to do this).
12. Add bottled barbecue sauce to shredded pork until desired sauciness.
13. Serve on buns. Mmmmm. Mmmmm. Mmmmm.

Top with cole slaw and add a side of baked beans for the perfect southern-style feast!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ah, whoopie pies! Remember those? I mean what kid doesn’t think a cream-filled chocolate cake is good?  I saw a show on the Food Network last year regarding a business called Wicked Whoopies in Maine that makes the most amazing whoopies in the most amazing varieties. Hence, my inspiration for finding this pumpkin whoopie pie recipe:

Recipe: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Makes approx. 36 whoopies

Note: I have included two different filling versions below (a traditional whoopie filling and a cream cheese filling, you choose which one you like best):

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup pure pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TRADITIONAL WHOOPIE FILLING:

1 cup solid vegetable shortening

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups marshmallow fluff (or you may substitude marshmallow creme)

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in larger mixing bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract, beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets.  (Note: should make a total of 72 cakes). Bake for 10-13 minutes or until springly to touch. Allow to cool completely.

3. Traditional filling:  in medium bowl, beat shortening, and marshmallow fluff. Add in vanilla extract until well blended. Cream Cheese Filling: in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Spread a heaping teaspoon of filling onto flat side of one cake, top with flat side of second cake to make a sandwich. Repeat. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

  Hello sunshine!

If you don’t feel like making whoopie pies, you can order from Wicked Whoopies and they will ship ‘em to you! You have got to check out their jumbo wicked whoopies…holy cow…and they have red velvet whoopies…oh, heaven forbid. Here is their website: www.wickedwhoopies.com.

For those of you who would like a little history on the origins of whoopie pies, here’s a great article: https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/WhoopiePieHistory.htm.

Good ‘Ole Irish Beef Stew

Oh, have I got a great Fall recipe for you! This is soooooo delicious.  It is based on a Bon Appetit recipe but I have replaced some of the beef broth with red wine and Guinness. I mean hello, it is Irish Beef Stew people. Don’t worry….I do not like drinking Guinness at all, but it adds such a yummy richness to this recipe. You have got to try it.

Recipe: Irish Beef Stew

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup flour

6 large garlic cloves, minced (or 3 teaspoons minced garlic)

6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth

I cup of Guinness beer

1 cup of fine red wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt and pepper the beef pieces and lightly toss in flour. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, celery seed, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Goes great with crusty bread!

Old-fashioned things make me happy

Yes, I have a penchant for old-fashioned, retro, nostalgic, vintage or whatever you want to call them thingies. Here’s a  tour of SOME of the things that make me happy, make me smile, and make my heart go pitter patter just a little faster:

1) Vintage/retro aprons.

Gosh darn, I love ’em. I love to cook and I love cute little aprons. They make me feel official, like Betty freaking Crocker…..not to mention the cute appeal. I hope to have an amazing apron collection one day. Here’s an apron that I have my eye on for Fall. Oh so adorable.

2) Old Movies. 

As a little girl,  I was completely mesmerized by films such as Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  <Sigh> I would like to thank these films for my life-long, unrealistic expectations in the romance department. “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

3) Retro Cookbooks. This is another collection I’m working on. I’d love to have a HUGE bookshelf in my kitchen filled with old, vintage cookbooks. That would be so cool.

4) Old-fashioned candy stores. Need I say more.

5) Claw foot tubs

6) Old-fashioned diners. 

 It probably comes as no surprise that my favorite show on the Food Network is “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”.

7) And I want one of these…

Or maybe this one…

 

I could go on and on but I won’t torture you any longer. So, there you have it….it’s official…I was born about 40 years too late.

I will leave you with a song by one  my favorite singers…just seems appropriate for this post.

Steph’s Scrumptious Chicken Enchiladas

Ooooh, these are so very good!!! I tweaked this from a wonderful recipe that I found online a few months ago. I have made a few adjustments here and there and I think they are just about perfect. I will warn you…it’s a time-consuming recipe, with quite a few steps, but it is NOT difficult and is well worth the effort!! They are so yummy.

RECIPE: Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 5.

Evil. Pure, unadulterated, delicious evil. haha

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless,skinless chicken breast - cut into chunks 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup 1 1/4 cups sour cream 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained 1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix 1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided 1 cup water 1 teaspoon lime juice 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teasoon cayenne (optional) 1/2 cup canola oil 10-12 corn tortillas (not flour tortillas) 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional) Directions:

1.	Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 15 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2.	Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a small frying pan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, place one corn tortilla in oil for a few seconds until golden brown and flip over for a few more seconds. Remove and set aside on a plate and pat with paper towels. Repeat with all the corn tortillas. Note: watch the tortillas carefully because they will brown quickly and you don’t want to over cook them (you want to still be able to bend them).
3.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
4.	Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
5.	Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Grilled Sesame Flank Steak

Ah, I love the aroma of an asian marinade….soooo amazing.

 

RECIPE: Grilled Sesame Flank Steak

Serves 4.

 

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb. flank steak
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil (plus more for the grill)
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
1-1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1-1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Season the flank steak with 1 tsp. of the salt and  pepper. Mix 1 Tbs. of the soy sauce, 1 Tbs. of the canola oil, 2 Tbs. of the ginger, and 1 Tbs. of the garlic in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add the steak and turn and massage it in the bag to cover it with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight (my preference).

2. Heat 1 Tbs. of the canola oil and the remaining 2 Tbs. ginger and 1/2 Tbs. garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until the ginger and garlic sizzle  and just begin to brown around the edges (about 3 minutes). Add 1/3 cup water, the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, and the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with 2 tsp. of water and stir it into the soy mixture. Cook until it returns to a boil and thickens slightly, about 1 min. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Heat a gas grill to medium high.  

4. Clean and oil the grill grates. Grill the steak,covered, until it has good grill marks, 5 to 6 min. Flip and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, covered, until the steak is done to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare (cut into the steak to check). Transfer to a large cutting board, brush with about a third of the sesame sauce, and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Slice the steak thinly and serve with a drizzle of the remaining sesame sauce, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.