Potato Soup

I know it's been a while, a LONG while. I apologize, but I wasn't sure anyone was reading this anyway. I've been a little busy adapting to a new country and trying to keep my child from seriously injuring himself! Last night I needed to find a good potato soup recipe. So I turned to allrecipes. Luckily, I found one that uses mashed potatoes, so those leftovers went to a good cause finally!

Potato Soup

- 1 Tbsp. butter

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 6 c. mashed potatoes

- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

- 1/2 c. milk

- salt and pepper to taste

In a medium soup pot melt butter over low heat and then sautee onions until tender. Stir in mashed potatoes and then slowly add chicken broth. Stirring, add milk (use more or less to reach desired consistency). Cook until heated through and then add salt and pepper.

Serves: 6

As many of the reviewers noted, this is a good starting off recipe. It will taste much better if you add your own mix-ins such as basil, chives, cheese, etc.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/potato-soup/detail.aspx

Western Omelet

In preparation for a family reunion we've been asked to gather some crock pot recipes. Here are some that I have found on allrecipes. While I haven't tried them they still look amazing!

Western Omelet

- 1 (2 lb) package of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- 1 lb diced cooked ham
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, cut into small-ish pieces
- 1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
- 12 eggs
- 1 c. milk
- salt and pepper to taste

Lightly grease a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. Place 1/3 of the hash brown potatoes in a layer on the bottom. Layer 1/3 of the ham, onion, green pepper, and cheese. Repeat layer two more times. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the contents of the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

It sounds like it would make a great easy breakfast if you have family or guests coming over. Let me know if you try it out!

Source: allrecipes.com

Horchata

Hello! I apologize for the long delay. I have been super busy trying to pack up since we're leaving for Ireland in t-19 days. Yes, I will be living in Ireland for 8 months. I'm so excited and hopefully will pick up some new recipes there!

For those of you who don't know, I adore Mexican food. It's so good! Here is my favorite drink, horchata. My friend Cidne is legit, she's half Guatemalan. I'm literally copying and pasting this recipe from their cooking blog, here is the link to the original.

This tastes best on a hot, summer day. It's not for everyone, but I grew up drinking it... The porportions are very vague so you can easily alter it to your own preferences. Some people like it really watery, while others like it very sweet.

2 cups rice

water

cinnamon

sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

lots of ice

Place rice in pitcher and add water until it completely covers the rice. Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon and let it soak for at least an hour. It's best if you can do this the night before and let it soak overnight.

When you're ready to make the drink, pour everything into a blender and blend away. Then run it all through a strainer to eliminate as much as the rice pulp as you can. My mom doesn't bother with this step, but I think it's worth it. Otherwise it's very grainy at the bottom. I just use a normal strainer, but I've heard cheese cloth works really well. I'll get back to you if I try it that way...

Once your water is strained and in the pitcher, add some vanilla extract. Now the water that you've got now is concentrated horchata. You will need to dilute this AND add sugar. How much sugar and how much water is up to you and what you like. I wish I could be more specific but I just eyeball it and every pitcher is different.

Refrigerate and serve with ice. The drink will go sour after a couple of days so drink as much as you can while it's fresh.

(Source: Cidne W. from The Tasty Spoon and Fork.blogspot.com)

Amazing No Bake Cheesecake

I'm so sorry for the long break. I'm sure it's been hard to cope without my wonderful posts. Life has been pretty busy here. Does this smile not tell it all?

Don't let the adorable face fool you, he's a handful! I'm having a very hard time figuring out how to get everything done that I need to while still staying sane. Any suggestions?

After my husband and I were first married I made him a cheesecake. Of course he said it was wonderful, but I quickly learned it wasn't like his "mom's cheesecake". I had made cheesecakes before and always worried about them cracking and looking good. Plus, they have to cool after and really set up. My mother-in-law had a wonderfully easy recipe that you just freeze instead of bake. This one does take some time to set up, but at least you don't have to worry about cracking. Plus, I think it tastes much better than baked cheesecake. I've seen different versions of this recipe, but this is the best one I've tried.

No Bake Cheesecake

- 2 (8 oz.) pkgs. of cream cheese

- 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1/3 c. lemon juice

- 1 graham cracker pie crust

- 1 can fruit pie filling (optional)

Cream together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix until there are no lumps (this is important!). Pour into the graham cracker crust. Freeze until firm. I always leave it in the freezer overnight, so I'm not sure how long this takes. Remove from freezer about a half hour before serving. Top with pie filling.

Serves: 8

(Source: D. P.)

Microwave Brownies

I've had this recipe for a few years now, but I've always been hesitant to try them! I was very skeptical that microwave brownies could be any good. But they are! They're amazing! If you can resist, they taste even better the next day.

Microwave Brownies

- 2/3 c. margarine

- 1 c. sugar

- 1 egg

- 1/3 c. cocoa

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 1 dash salt

- 1 c. flour

Cream the butter, sugar, and egg together. Add remaining ingredients except flour and mix well. Gradually add in flour. The batter will be very thick. Pour into an ungreased round glass pie plate. Microwave on high for 5 minutes (the recipe says 4, and in my microwave it takes 6, so make sure to check it for doneness). Make sure it's not too doughy in the middle (I always check with my finger - careful - it's hot!). I've found that if you lightly press on it and it does not stick that means it's cooked enough. Let cool for 15-20 minutes. At first it seems like it has a cake-like consistency, but let it cool and it's more fudgy. This is a delicious super quick treat! Careful...it's addicting!

(Source: Linda L.)

Apple Pie Granola

At my house we really enjoy granola, but it can be really expensive. I've tried a few recipes to make my own, but I had a hard time buying all the ingredients I would use maybe once or twice a year (ex. wheat germ, flax seed meal, oat bran soy grits (are those even real?)). These recipe has ingredients that I always have on hand! It's so good! It really does taste like Apple pie, just with nuts and raisins.

Apple Pie Granola

- 5 c. rolled oats

- 1 c. chopped apples

- 1 c. coarsely chopped pecans

- 1 c. raisins

- 3/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

- 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Toast oats in ungreased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. jelly roll pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Combine toasted oats and remaining ingredients except raisins and mix well. Placed back in ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally to brown evenly. After the first 15 minutes of baking time add the raisins in. Cool and stir until crumbly. Store in a tightly covered container in fridge. Makes about 9 cups.

I actually make this many times with the nuts. I even made it once without the apples and raisins, and it still tasted amazing!

(Source: Kathe M.)

Cidne's Breadsticks

Hello again! It's getting close to Christmas so I should be posting more Christmas recipes, but I had an AMAZING dinner the other night with some friends. I had the BEST homemade pizza I've ever had! The recipe for that is coming up later. But, I also had some amazing breadsticks!! While no breadsticks will ever beat out the Oliver Garden breadsticks (someone else makes them, you can get as many as you want, and they have warm plates! ), these are now my FAVORITE homemade breadsticks. Thanks Cidne!

Cidne's Breadsticks

- 1 1/2 c. warm water

- 2 Tbsp. sugar

- 1 Tbsp. yeast

- 1/2 c. dry milk

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 3 c. flour

- 1 stick of butter, melted

- Garlic salt

- Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl dissolve sugar in wate. Add yeast and stir briefly. Stir in dry milk, salt and 3 cups flour. Knead for 3 minutes adding more flour as needed. Let it rise for about 20-30 minutes.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 1 inch strips and dip into melted butter. Place strips closely together in the pan. Sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese liberally.

Let rise again for 10-15 minutes. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

(Source: Cidne W.)