Loaded "Baked Potato" Soup

It is getting to be that time of year when I love to make and eat soup. I can eat soup anytime, but as the weather gets cooler in Minnesota I start looking forward to a hot bowl of soup. It really doesn't matter what time of the day it is lunch or dinner or maybe both; I just love a good bowl of soup.

One of my all time favorites is cream of potato. I like to make a potato soup with a white sauce and lots of potatoes. Only trouble with this soup it is time consuming to make the white sauce, cook the potatoes, cool the potatoes....

So when I found a recipe for potato soup that didn't take hours to make, I was very excited. I decided that I had to make it as soon as possible. The recipe was found in a Kraft food & family magazine.

So the other night I rushed home from work and excitedly started making a batch of Loaded "Bake Potato" Soup. I did tweak the recipe a little. The recipe called for only 2 medium potatoes and I add a couple more potatoes. Also the recipe called for green onions which I didn't have, so I chopped some yellow onions and cooked them along with the soup.

Recipe:

Loaded "Baked Potato" Soup

Prep: 5 min. - Total: 16 Min.

2 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled (I used 4 medium)
1 can [14 1/2 oz.] fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup of milk
3 slices Bacon, cooked crumbled, and divided
3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 tablespoon sliced green onions, divided

Pierce potatoes; microwave on HIGH 5 minutes, turning over after 2 1/2 minutes. Cut potatoes into chucks. Combine potatoes, broth and milk in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 6 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. Slightly crush potatoes with a potato masher.

Reserve 2 tablespoons each of the bacon and cheese and 1 tablespoon of the onions for topping; set aside. Add remain bacon, cheese, and onions to soup.

Serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, and onions.

Makes about 4 servings, about 1 cup each.

Note: This soup was good, but I do enjoy my  potato soup that I make with the white sauce and cook on the stove. I find that the soup that has the white sauce is more creamier and a little more enjoyable. I will make the Loaded "Baked Potato" Soup again when time is a factor. Enjoy!

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Angel Wing Cookies

I usually have homemade cookies in the house. When my kids were younger and still in school I always made sure that I had cookies baked for their lunches. Now that they are young adults I still like to have cookies in the house for them.

I will usually send a few cookies with our kids so that they can enjoy them in their dorm, apartment, or where ever they are living at the time.  I like to think that I am sending a little piece of home with them.

Another reason I like cookies is because they are a quick snack and everyone likes cookies. Most of the time anyway, once again we have the thing where my family has their likes and dislikes when it comes to eating. I think everybody likes chocolate chip, I mean who wouldn't like chocolate chip cookies. But when it comes to cookies like oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and so on not everybody in the family will eat those.

The cookies that I am talking about today, everybody enjoys. It is a cookie once again that my Mom made for my siblings and me when I was a kid. Hey, maybe that is another reason I like to bake cookies, it reminds me of my childhood and my carefree life.

Well anyway Angel Wing Cookies are like a sugar cookie in a way, but not quite a true sugar cookie. They do have some brown sugar in them which give them a little different flavor than a sugar cookie. The cookies have a  buttery flavor and are just a little bit on the crispy side.

The cookies are dipped in water and then in sugar before baking so they have a crackled appearance on top when baked. I think this makes the cookies a little more special.

Recipe:

Angel Wing Cookies

1 cup shortening (I use 1/2 vegetable shortening and 1/2 butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla together. Sift flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt and add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Roll into small balls, dip top half in cold water, and then in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven until delicately browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

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Sour Cream Apple Pie

To top off the pizza extravaganza in my last blog post I made a sour cream apple pie. Even though the pizza was very filling some of my family had room for this dessert, including myself. Now really who can pass up a delicious piece of pie? Not me!

This pie is not your conventional apple pie. It is made with sour cream along with other ingredients (that I will talk about later) mixed right with the apples. The combination of the ingredients turns out to be almost like a custard filling with the apples.

One surprise with this pie is there are no spices added to the apples like most apple pies have. Cinnamon is found in the topping of this pie and I think that is quite enough.

I hope you enjoy this pie as much as my family does. It is one of the pies that shows up every time we have a family gathering that features pies. This pie taste great with a little ice cream on the side, especially when the pie is still warm.

Recipe:
Sour Cream Apple Pie

2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups finely chopped apples
1 unbaked pie shell

Sift dry ingredients together. Add sour cream, egg, and vanilla to the dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Add the apples and mix well. Pour into the pastry lined pie pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes then turn down the oven to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes. While the pie bakes make your topping.

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Combine topping ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle over pie and return to oven. Bake at 350 degrees for another 10 minutes.

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Pizza Extravaganza

Since our children have grown  it is hard to get everybody together in order to share a meal. Well this weekend we did have three of our children at home plus a boyfriend thrown in, all waiting to make pizza.

This is a favorite meal at our house. But everybody has their own taste when it comes to toppings that they like on their pizza, just like I am sure it is in every family. So I decided that we would all make our own little pizzas, that way everybody would be happy.

I found the recipe for the pizza crust in the Taste of Home 2009 Annual Recipe cookbook. As I have stated in previous blog posts I am all about the bread. So of course nothing but made from scratch pizza dough will do for my home made pizza.

This pizza crust was soft and chewy and quite easy to make. I know that it takes a little longer to make the pizza when you make your own crust from scratch but in my book I think that it is worth the extra time and effort.

We had a variety of toppings to choose from. Our favorites are Italian sausage, pepperoni, onions, green peppers, and the list goes on. I did saute the onions and I had cherry tomatoes that I sauteed in olive oil for about 20 seconds.

I wanted to have fresh basil, but it was raining all day so I was not able to get to the garden, so I had to settle for some basil that had been drying in the house for a couple of weeks. Even though the basil had been dried it gave the pizza a wonderful flavor.

We all had a wonderful time making the pizza, but the best part of all was eating the homemade pizza!

Homemade Pizza Crust:
(Adapted form the Taste of Home 2009 Annual Recipe)

3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in a warm water. Add oil, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and  elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 13 inch circle. Transfer to two 14 inch pizza pans. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Spoon your favorite pizza sauce over crust and follow with favorite toppings.
Bake at 450 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until the crust and cheese have browned.




Dawn's pizza with the dried basil




Notes: I made a double recipe of the dough and we made the individual size pizzas. I patted the dough out on the baking stone (patting it out on the pan will be much easier than rolling it and trying to move it to a pan) and did not let it rest, everybody was anxious to make their pizzas and this worked out fine for us. Also When I bake the pizza I like a lower heat around 400 degrees.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes

It is the time of year that I love. The cool crisp air in the mornings. The leaves that will soon be turning colors. The slower pace of life after the busy pace of the summer months.

But one of my favorite things is the flavors I think of when I think of fall - apples, pumpkins, and spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the list goes on. Fall just seems to be the right time of year to bake those spice cakes, apple dessert, and pumpkin desserts. I came across a recipe in a Kraft magazine that was for a pumpkin cream cheese cupcake.

When I saw the recipe for pumpin cupcakes the title drew my attention, but after reading the recipe I saw that it called for a cake mix. I had my mind set on making a cake from scratch so I decided to make my own version of this recipe, but with a cake batter made from scratch.

The cake was very moist and I loved the combination of spices that were in the cupcakes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. The spices gave the cupcakes a lovely flavor.

The cream cheese filling stayed at the top of the cupcakes even though I swirled the mixture into the cupcake, which was a disappointment. The next time I make these I would put the cream cheese filling in the middle by putting some of the cake batter in to the liner and then some of the cream cheese filling and then top it off with some more batter. I think that this would work out much better.

The Carmel frosting topped off the cupcakes quite nicely. It complemented the pumpkin and the spices that were in the cupcakes.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter

1. Mix sugar, brown sugar, and butter until well blended

2. Mix eggs into the sugar mixture until it is light and fluffy

3. Add pumpkin and milk mix until well blended

4. Sift the all the other dry ingredients together and add to the mixture and mix for about 2 minutes.

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat the cream cheese until creamy.

2 Blend in sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Assembling cupcakes:

1. Fill the cupcake liners about the 1/3 of the way full.

2. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of the filling over the top of the cake mix

3. Cover the cream cheese filling with enough cake batter so the cupcake liner is about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degree oven for 20 to 24 minutes or until a tester is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

Carmel Frosting:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup cream
3 to 3 1/2 cups of powder sugar

1. In sauce pan melt butter.

2. Add brown sugar and cream and bring to a boil. Boil for about a minute stirring constantly.

3. Take off heat and let cool until this mixture is slightly warm

4. Add  powder sugar until it is the right consistency to spread.

5. Frost cupcakes and enjoy.

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Three Cheese Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

With all the canning I have done and the tomatoes we have given away to friends that don't have gardens  you would think that I would be running out of tomatoes, but that is not the case. Now when I think about it we did have around 35 tomatoes plants in our garden. So it will take a while to use all of those tomatoes up. It is a good thing that we like tomatoes.

I always do a lot of canning. We like home made spaghetti sauce so I make lots of spaghetti sauce. It is nice to have over the winter months. It is very versatile and can be used in so many kinds of dishes, not just spaghetti.

Then there is the salsa that we like to can. So I guess it is the reason for so many tomato plants. Plus the fact that we just like to eat tomatoes.

This year the tomatoes have been just wonderful - very meaty and juicy. Great for eating!

The other day I decided I wanted to try something different with tomatoes, something that I have not made in the past. So I decided I would try to find a recipe for stuffed tomatoes. I know people that stuff raw tomatoes with tuna salad or egg salad to make a nice simple meal, but I wanted something a little different.

So I started to look for a new recipe. When I didn't find what I wanted I decided to make something on my own.

I made a baked tomato that was stuffed with cheese and oregano and fresh basil from the garden. It was a big hit with Mike and me. He thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact he mentioned that when he goes to visit his dad this fall down south he is going to make it for him. 

Usually when I make a new recipe I will ask him if I should make it again, this way if he says yes I know he truly likes it, but this time he answered the question before I had time to pose the question. I have a feeling this will become a favorite recipe in our house.

Three Cheese Baked Stuffed Tomatoes:

4 Ripe medium tomatoes
1/2 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cut out the core of each tomato.

3. Spoon out some of the meat of the tomato to make a well and set aside

4. Mix the cheese along with the basil and the oregano.

5. Take a teaspoon and take your cheese mixture and stuff each tomato until it is full, really pack it in.

6. Place tomatoes in a baking dish  and bake in preheat oven for 20 minutes.

7. Enjoy!!!

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Orange Sweet Rolls

When I was in my teens my Great Aunt Francis came to visit us. She was an aunt on my mother's side.  To tell the truth I don't remember too much about her visit. It was a long long time ago, too long ago to mention. I do remember that she did do some baking while she was visiting my family. You see I come from a family of wonderful bakers. I am not sure how many generations it goes back to, but the love of baking has been passed down from generation to generation.

Now to get back to my Great Aunt Francis'  visit. The one thing that I definitely do remember about her visit was the fabulous orange sweet rolls that she baked for my family. They were so delicious that I still make them to this day and my family would agree that orange rolls are their favorite sweet rolls that I make.

The orange flavoring is wrapped around the sweet roll dough and then more orange is added to the frosting. If you are a lover of oranges you will think that you have died and gone to orange heaven. I am not sure but it might be said that one of the reasons Mike married me is because I could make orange rolls. He lovessss orange rolls!!!

Recipe:

Orange Sweet Rolls:

5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup shortening or butter
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt; mix well. In a microwave bowl, heat milk, water, and butter until very warm (shortening does not have to melt all the way). Once this is heated add to the flour mixture and add eggs. Blend by hand until everything is mixed together. By hand, gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. (You want the dough to the point that it just sticks to your a hands a little bit). Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and workable. Place the dough in a greased bowl turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled, 1/2 hour to an hour.

Orange Filling:

Grated rind from one orange
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter softened
1 cup of sugar

While the dough is rising prepare the filling. In a mixing bowl combine the orange rind, stick of butter, and sugar; mix well. Set a side until the dough is ready to roll out.

Once the dough has double divided into 2 parts. Grease the surface that you will be working on with shortening. Pat one of the parts of dough into a rectangle to about 12x9 inches. Spread half of the orange filling evenly over the dough. Start with the shorter sides and roll up tightly. Pinch the edges to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Placed in a grease 13x9 inch cake pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the rolls are almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let rolls cool slightly and frost with orange frosting.

Frosting:
About 2 cups of powdered sugar
A dab of butter
A dash of salt
Squeeze the juice from the orange that you have used for the grating of the rind.
Combine the powdered sugar, butter, and salt; mix together. Gradually add the juice of the orange until you the correct consistency. Beat until smooth.

Enjoy!!!

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Fresh Garden Salsa

The tomatoes in our garden are finally ripening. I have been canning up a storm, getting ready for the winter months that will soon be upon us.

We were hungry for some fresh salsa. I like to can salsa for the winter months, but some fresh just sounded like it would hit the spot. I have a recipe for fresh salsa that my sister gave to me, which is just to cut up the vegetable you want in the salsa and add a hot sauce to it. The salsa turns out good this way, but I wanted to change it up a little. So I decide to experiment a little bit on my own.

I gather my tomatoes, onions, peppers... and started chopping away. I love the colors of the fresh salsa, they are so vibrant, so eye appealing.The salsa didn't turn out too spicy, it was more on the mild side. But we didn't add a lot of the jalapenos, so if you like hot spicy salsa I would recommend that you add more of the hot peppers.

My lovely daughter Krista was the photographer for this post. I think she did an amazing job! Thank you Krista.

Recipe:
(Dawn's recipe)
4 cups tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
2 medium onions
3 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon cilantro
1/4 olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Chop vegetables and cilantro into desired size chunks. Mince the cloves of garlic.  Mix all the vegetables along with the garlic into a medium size bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix the vinegar, olive oil, cumin, oregano, ground red pepper, and sugar. Once this is mixed pour over the vegetables and mix altogether. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
3 Serve with your favorite tortilla chips

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Lemon Meringue Pie

I had one lone lemon sitting in my refrigerator today. It was an absolute good reason to make lemon meringue pie.  Pie is one of my favorite desserts to eat and to make. Years ago I never made pies because I thought they were too complicated. You had to make the crust and then the filling...

Once I made my first pie I was hooked. Lemon meringue is one of my favorite pies; I love the sourness of the lemon along with the sweetness on the meringue. It is just a great combination, what more is there to say.

This lemon meringue pie recipe is one that my mom made when I was a kid; and now I carry on the tradition with my family. I think they love it as much as I do, it sure doesn't take long before every bite is eaten. I hope after reading this recipe that you start a tradition of making lemon meringue pie too, and enjoy it as much as I do!

Recipe:
(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

Plain Pastry
For one single-crust pie:

11/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening with pastry blender till pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of mixture. Gently toss with fork, push to side of bowl. Repeat till all is moistened. Form into ball. Flatten on lightly floured surface pressing with edge of hand 3 times across in both directions. Roll from center to edge till 1/8 inch thick. Fit pastry into pie plate, trim 1/2 to 1 inch beyond edge; fold under and flute edge. Prick bottom and side with fork. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar

Beat eggs whites with vanilla and cream of tartar till soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating till stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread meringue over hot filling sealing to edge.

Lemon Meringue Pie:

11/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dash salt
11/2 cups hot water
* * * * * * * * * *
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
 2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 9 inch baked pastry shell, cooled

In saucepan, mix 11/2 cups sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt. Gradually add hot water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over moderately high heat till mixture comes to boiling. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
Stir a moderate amount of hot mixture into egg yolks, then return to hot mixture. Bring to boiling and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add butter and lemon peel. Slowly add lemon juice, mixing well. Pour in pastry shell. Spread meringue over filling seal to edge. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool before cutting.

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Beetroot with soured cream

We don't usually visit our local farmer's market. There is a fruit and vegetable store that we patronize for most our fruits and vegetable needs. But we happened to drive by the farmer's market last weekend and we decided to stop and see what it was all about.

I was amazed by all the brightly colored vegetable stands. As we were strolling through the farmer's market I mentioned to Mike that it was almost like looking at  pieces of art work, with the array of vibrant colors. Purple eggplants, yellow squash, red and green peppers... all neatly stacked on their stands.

We found some beets that looked interesting. I have eaten canned beets, but never fresh. I bought a bunch out of curiosity; I wanted to see what they would taste like.

 Next I needed a recipe for my newly purchased beets. I found a recipe in a cookbook called The Classic 1000 recipes by Wendy Hobson, which sounded very interesting. Beetroot with soured cream sounded quite tasty.

I cooked the beets the night before I made the recipe. It seemed like they took forever to cook and then the next day I discovered that I should have cooked them a little longer. But over all I liked this recipe. It was quite flavorful. As for the topping that was put on top of the beets, I think that it would be good on other vegetables as well.

Recipe:
Beetroot with soured cream (Adapted from The Classic 1000 recipes by Wendy Hobson)
Serves 4

6 Cooked beetroot (red beet), sliced
2/3 cup dairy sour cream
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon
1tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Arrange the beetroot in an ovenproof dish and pour the soured cream over. Mix together the lemon rind, parsley, breadcrumbs, and cheese and sprinkle over the beetroot. Dot with the butter or margarine and season to taste. Place under the broiler until brown and bubbling.

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