Chicken Tortilla Soup

I liked this soup, but anyone that knows me knows that I don't like spicy food at all so I would have cut back the rotel a bit next time.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe came from Mom

1/4 cup Butter or Margarine

1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

3 cups Chicken Broth

1 cup Milk

8 oz. Velveeta- cubed

10 oz. can Rotel

2 cups cooked, shredded Chicken

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

Salt and Pepper-to taste

Flour Tortillas-as needed

Shredded Colby Jack Cheese or Mexican Blend Cheese-as needed

In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.

Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.

Reduce heat to low and stir in velveeta cubes; stir until melted.

Stir in rotel, chicken, and spices.

Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.

For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.

Spoon a ladleful of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladleful of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Repeat for remaining servings.

*If you want to save a lot of time, use crumbled tortilla chips instead of tortilla strips. As a substitute for rotel you can use 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Spiciness can be easily adjusted by using spicy rotel or salsa and/or adding cayenne pepper to the soup.

Butternut-Curry Soup

Mom discovered this recipe last year and she really loves it (if the frozen containers full of this soup in the freezer is any sign). Surprisingly I'm a fan of it too, I love it best when it is warm and it is so creamy, yummm!

Butternut-Curry Soup

Recipe came from Mom

6 cups Butternut Squash, cut up (we used a Costco tub)

2 large Sweet Apples, cup up

3 medium Onions, cup up

2 tablespoons Butter

1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Curry Powder

6 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock

8 ounces Mascarpone Cheese

2 teaspoons Salt

Sour Cream

Fresh Snipped Chives

Melt butter in stockpot and add onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add squash, apples, and chicken broth; simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes, or until squash is soft. Remove from heat and puree vegetable mix. Wisk in curry powder and mascarpone cheese.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

For my birthday my Mom got me a stove top popcorn kettle popper (YES!), a couple of weeks ago I wanted to make some kettle corn (my favorite), so I googled to find a recipe and this popped (haha) up. I've already made this twice and it has been a favorite of everyone that has tried it.

Stove Top Kettle Corn

Recipe came from Our Best Bites

Stove Top Kettle Corn

3 T canola or vegetable oil

1/3 C popcorn kernels

3 T granulated sugar

kosher salt

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

Wait until you see your oil smoke. This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important. The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up. That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan. This step should only take about 10 seconds. Cover pot with lid. You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on, so I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well. Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times. Do this every 20 seconds or so. It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops. (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out. Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away). Continue the shaking every 20 second or so until you can tell almost everything is popped. Remove the lid and stir immediately.

Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring. You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer #2: caramelized sugar it HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely. It’s great either way!

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

I seriously have a thing for sheet cakes...they are so easy to make, they make lots and are always delicious! This was perfect for fall...light, chewy, and even better the day after.

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

Recipe came from Picky Palate

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1/2 cup sour cream

15 ounce can pumpkin

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (start w 1/4 cup and add a little more cream if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

3. Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.

4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day. Enjoy with milk!

Makes 16 to 20 squares

Taco Soup

I love, love, love this soup! I grew up with my Mom making this, she would make a big batch and freeze it in yogurt containers. It's a lot like chili but so much better :)

Taco Soup

Recipe from Mom

1 package Ground Beef

1 Onion (chopped)

1 clove of Garlic

1 Green Pepper (chopped)

Brown in large soup pot (drain off fat).

Add 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning

1 (16oz.) can of Stewed Tomatoes

1 (15oz.) can of Tomato Sauce

1 (4oz.) can of Diced Green Chilies

1 (7oz.) can of Green Chili Sauce, mild or hot

1 (15oz.) can of Pinto Beans

1 (15oz.) can of Dark Kidney Beans

2 cups Water

Add above ingredients to meat. Heat and eat. Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed corn chips, instead of crackers. It freezes very well also.