Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Croutons

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C). Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread butter mixture evenly over one side of each bread slice. Place bread, buttered side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and topping is bubbly. Cut each slice of bread into 8 small triangles or squares.
2. Saute onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Add 1 can chicken broth; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Transfer broth mixture into the container of a blender or processor. Process until smooth. 
4. Return mixture to saucepan. Add remaining can of broth, pumpkin, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground pepper; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally..
5. Stir in whipping cream and heat through. Do not boil. Ladle into individual soup bowls. Top each serving with Cinnamon Croutons.

Mexican Pepperoni Pizza

Ok - this it totally made-up. Kids were having Pizza, and I'm not a pizza lover.  I want a super thin crust if I'm gonna have it.  Usually, I like BBQ chicken pizza with feta and cilantro, but I don't have chicken.  I do have tortillas, though, so I decided to make a super thin and crispy pepperoni pizza with a tortilla crust!

Ingredients:
1 Whole Wheat Tortilla
1 Tsp butter
1 Tbls pizza sauce (Contadina)
1/2 cup of Cheese
5 slices pepperoni

Directions:
1. Put butter in skillet and heat over medium heat.
2. Put whole tortilla in to heat, then add sauce and spread.
3. Sprinkle cheese over sauce.
4. Add pepperoni.
5. Add any other toppings as desired.

Super Thin Crust

The underside after it's cooked

Apple Dumplings

This is seriously to die for!! 

Wrapped Apples
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can (8-oz. crescent dinner rolls
1 large apple, peeled, cut into 8 slices


Heat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.

Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over each; gently press in, flattening each triangle slightly.

Place apple slice on shortest side of each triangle; tuck in dough edges around apple slice. Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite side; seal all seams. In a 9-inch glass baking dish or pie dish, place long side of 7 filled rolls, point side down, around outside edge of dish; place 1 in center. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon Almond extract
1 egg

Remove partially baked rolls from oven. In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients with wire whisk until well blended; spoon evenly over rolls.


Topping
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cinnamon

Sprinkle with almonds an cinnamon. Return to oven; bake 13 to 18 minutes longer or until deep golden brown, covering with foil during last 5 minutes of baking if necessary to prevent excessive browning. Serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Hot Rice (or as I like to call it, "Not-so-Hot" Rice)

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups of long grain rice
• 1 tbls butter
•  jack cheese, cut (or dice) into small pieces
• small can of diced green chilies, drained
• 3 - 10 oz cans of Beef Consumme (soup)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Melt butter and brown the rice in medium skillet.
3. Turn heat to low, add one can of soup to the rice and simmer until most of the liquid is soaked up into the soup.
4. While rice is simmering, spread the diced chilies along the bottom of a round, glass baking dish.
5. Dot the top of the chilies with the pieces of jack cheese.
6. Cover the cheese and chilies with the rice.
7. Pour the remaining soup over the rice.
8. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until the soup has soaked into the rice and/or evaporated completely.


Credits:
I remember sitting at the table with my Aunt Kay when I was a kid, watching her make this dish.  I have gotten lazy over the years with the chilies and the jack cheese.  My aunt would purchase whole chilies and then slice them lengthwise.  She would cut the jack cheese into little "fingers" and wrap the chilies around the cheese and layer in the bottom of the dish. My mom always made this dish, too, but this first time I remember seeing it was by my Aunt while we were visiting my grandmother, Alma Clark, in Arkansas. (This is the Grandmother who inspired my love of cooking.)  Now, I am famous for making this not-so-hot Hot Rice dish! It goes great with any Mexican meal!


(Pictures Coming!)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This has become one of my favorites, my "go to" recipes for church potlucks, "new baby" meals, "under the weather" meals, or family get-together meals. It's so simple to make and tastes wonderful!!!  

The first time I made this was for my book club luncheon. I wanted something different and new. So what do I do?  GOOGLE!  I find this recipe, and decide I'll make it, just hours before the girls are due to come.  RISKY!!! What if it doesn't work?  What if it just doesn't taste good? Well, the girls are pretty forgiving. So I decide to give it a go, and I'm so glad that I did! But the funny thing was, I measured out everything, to a T. (Boy, I've said that statement a million times, but I think this is the first time I've written it, and question if that is how you spell it - or even say it, for that matter!) Anyway, I was so worried since I'd never made it before, so I as so exact with what the recipe said.  Problem was, I was trying to use ingredients from two different recipes, and their measurements were totally different! So I closed my eyes, threw in the ingredients, said a quick prayer, and Voila!!!  It worked!

My first attempt was with ground beef, seasoned like taco meat.  However, after trying chicken in this recipe, it makes it soooo much better! When I make it for my vegetarian friends, I omit the meat all together - and of course, it still tastes delicious!  

This is also a great recipe to have the little ones help with - it's so easy, and there are many easy jobs for them.  Enjoy cooking with your kids.  It's these moments that you will cherish forever!  And believe me, they will remember them.  Ask me about when I was 10, cooking with my dad....  Memories I will never forget.

Ingredients:

• 18 corn tortillas
• 1 large can red enchilada sauce (Rosarita)
• 14-oz can of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups of cheese, divided
• 10-oz can of corn, drained
• small can of black olives, sliced
• small can of diced green chilies
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*

2. Cook chicken breast, then cut up and set aside.

2. Cut tortillas into 1 in. squares, add to big mixing bowl.

3. Add and combine the sauce, soup, corn,  green chilies, chicken, 1/2 of the olives and 1/2 the cheese. Mix well.

4. Spoon mixture into a 9X12 inch baking pan.

5. Top with the remainder of the cheese and olives.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Yummy! Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Variations:

I like to chop and caramelize onions and add them into this dish, but did not have one tonight, so that step was left out.  My favorite way to cook the chicken is by caramelizing the onions, then adding the chicken and 2 tbls of water, cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pick.  Flip the chicken about 2 times during cooking. I cut the chicken into smaller strips, then I take two forks and shred the chicken.

You can use any kind of cream soup (chicken, onion, mushroom, celery, etc).  You can use ground beef instead of chicken. You can also use a variety of cheese, and/or a larger quantity, if you'd like. You can omit any of the ingredients that you do not like.  This dish can be made without meat to make it vegetarian.  Really - you can not go wrong with adding extra ingredients, or leaving out what you don't like!!  Anything goes!!!

Breakfast Enchiladas

I found this recipe on the internet about a year ago...  Great breakfast alternative for those who do not like eggs (like found in breakfast burritos).

Add caption

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (28 ounce) can green chile enchilada sauce
• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Brown hash browns and ham in 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Stir in diced green chilies and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese. Cook until cheese has melted. 
4. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with a small amount of enchilada sauce.
5. Dip each tortilla in remaining sauce, and fill with potato-ham mixture. 
6. Roll each as tightly as possible and place in the baking dish, seam side down. 
7. Top with remaining sauce and cheese, and cover with tin foil.
8. Bake, covered, for approximately 20 minutes. 
9. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. 
10. Serve immediately. 

 

Pesto-Stuffed Brie

Pesto-Stuffed Brie

Almost always, around the Holidays, you can find this stuffed Brie.   But I happened to be craving it on a "Non-holiday" day... so I asked the deli what was in it.  They told me, so I began making it myself, for a lot cheaper!!!

Ingredients:

Brie
2 tbls pesto
2 tbls parmesan
2 tbls sun-dried tomatoes (chopped into small pieces)
1 tbls pinenuts
baguette

Directions:
1. Mix all of ingredients above in small bowl.
2. Cut brie in half lengthwise.
3. Spread pesto mixture over base of brie.
4. Replace top of brie over the pesto mixture.
5. Enjoy with sliced baguette or crackers.

Stuffed w/ pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan & pinenuts

Baked Bacon - Sautrday, Breakfast

Baked Bacon

Everyone knows how to make bacon, right?  Well, do you know how to bake it?  During one of my visits to Vegas to visit my brother David, his wife Bonnie and kids, Blade and Ava, Bonnie BAKED the bacon. Seriously?  No mess, no splattering, no big grease clean up afterward? Nope!  She simply placed aluminum foil on the cookie sheet (for even easier clean up after breakfast), place the slices on the foil, and baked! You pop it in the oven and forget about it til the timer goes off.  No need to even turn the bacon, but you can if you want.


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Cover cookie sheet with foil.
3. Arrange bacon on cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, depending on how soft or crisp you like it.
5. Transfer to plate lined with paper towels to blot up the excess grease.
Note: Let grease solidify on foil while you eat.  Then, simply roll foil up and throw away!  Super easy clean-up!

Variations: My sister, Sarah, said that she actually broils it for 3 to 5 minutes instead of baking.  I have not made it that way yet, but she did, and it tasted just as good.  However, I happen to like the slower cooking process - but I would broil it for about a minute at the end to crisp up.  


Credits:  Bonnie, of course!!  And Sarah for the broiling part!

Sausage Croissant Bake & Hashbrown Quiche - Friday, Breakfast

Sausage Croissant BakeIngredients:
Croissant Dough (package of 8)
16 oz Breakfast Sausage, bulk
8 oz cream cheese
Maple Syrup, optional
Butter or Egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Brown sausage over medium high heat and drain. Cool.3. Spread 4 croissants out on baking sheet. (I use aluminum foil for easy clean up).
4. Top with drained, cooked sausage.
5. Drizzle Maple Syrup across meat, optional.
6. Cut cream cheese into small pieces and evenly dot the top of the sausage.7. Top with last 4 croissants, pressing sides together to seal.8. Brush top with butter or egg to brown the pastry.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and flaky.Credits:
This comes from my SIL, Bonnie Brown. Many of the recipes you see on this blog will come from her. I love our visits to Las Vegas because I will surely return with lots of new, yummy recipes! This has become a Brown family staple at our brunch get-togethers. Thanks Bonnie!!

Hashbrown Quiche2 Individual Portions

Ingredients:
1 cup Hashbrowns, shredded and pressed between two paper towels (try to remove all liquid)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup ham, chopped
1/2 cup cheese (cheddar/Mozzarella OR cheese of your choice)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425*
2. Press hashbrowns into sides and bottom of baking dish (2-cup ramekins)3. Drizzle butter over sides and base.
4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
5. Dice ham.6. Blend eggs and milk.
7. Remove hashbrown crust from oven. Reduce heat to 350*
8. In the crust, layer ham & cheese, then poor the egg mixture evenly over both dishes.
9. Return quiche to oven and continue cooking for 20 - 30 more minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Variations: There are too many to list! But rest assured, I will be making many, many more quiches, and the choices are endless. Get creative!

Credits:
Once again, I want to thank Julie Novak for inspiring my love of quiche! After your Book Club Quiche lunch about 4 years ago, I make quiche of every kind now: Veggie, Spinach/Feta, Dessert Quiche, Broccoli, Ham & Cheese, etc. I'm already dreaming up the next one! Thanks Julie!

Millionaire's Shortbread ~ Thursday, Dessert

Millionaire's Shortbread
Ingredients:
Shortbread
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
Topping
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 oz dark or milk chocolate

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Spray baking dish lightly. (small cake pan)
3. Mix flour, cornstarch and sugar in large mixing bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until you form tiny crumbs.4. Press mixture into baking dish.5. Bake shortbread for 20-25 minutes until pale golden in color.
6. When there is about 5 minutes left, combine syrup, butter and brown sugar in the saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until butter is melted.7. Boil for one minute.
8. Stir in heavy cream and cook for 30 more seconds.
9. Poor over the hot shortbread. Smooth evenly over shortbread. Allow to cool and set.10. Once bread is cooled, melt chocolate and drizzle spoonfuls over the set topping. 11. Chill until set. Cut into pieces and serve.


Credits: Latrice has made this at Hideout several times with the kids during Baking Club. It's a very easy recipe to make. Simple, yet delicious.

Brussel Sprouts ~ Thursday, Side Dish

Wow! What a night... This post's title should have been "Dinner Disaster"! I was a bit frustrated with how it all went, but Dione says that the big boo-boos make for better blog entries!!

So, it starts like this: Wind. Lots of wind. BBQ won't light. Call maintenance. Wait. Call again. Wait some more. Find fireplace matches. Yeah! We don't need no stinkin' maintenance. Light the match. Wind blows it out. Match 2. Same. Match 3, same. Match 4... oh, yes! It's gonna work... blew out again. Match 5. Success!!! Put burgers on the barbie. Go back into to tend to Brussel Sprouts & Caramelized Onions. Back out to flip burgers. And back in again to the Brussel Sprouts. Back out to burgers... hmmm. Not looking right. Not cooking like they should. WHAT? Fire blew out again! Matches 7, 8, 9, 10 ~ won't light. Way too windy... I give up. Take burgers to inside grill. They seem a bit soggy. Is that the right word? Put them on inside grill. Not cooking. What's the deal? Grill SUCKS!! Into a skillet to pan-fry. Been cooking these stinkin' burgers for like 45 minutes now, and they are falling apart. Have I mentioned that the utensils in this timeshare suck??? I'm bringing my own next time. They are flimsy and too big, so I can barely turn the darn things. But they are finally finished - and they taste? well, just OK... and to top it off, I nearly burned my Brussel Sprouts! Have I mentioned that the stove in this timeshare sucks, too! I think it has HI or LOW temperature only!!! Man, what a night. But in the end, the Brussel Sprouts tasted great. Burger was average. Dessert? To die for!!!
Pan-browned Brussel Sprouts







Ingredients:
10 Brussel Sprouts
1 sweet onion
1 tbls olive oil
salt
Parmesan cheese
1-2 tablespoons pine nuts

Directions:
1. In skillet over medium high, caramelize onions in olive oil
2. Trim ends off brussel sprouts and cut in half lengthwise
3. Remove onions from skillet, place brussel sprouts flat side down in skillet.
4. Salt to taste. Cover and simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Transfer Brussels Sprouts to plate, flat side up.
6. Return onions to skillet to reheat at medium heat and add pine nuts to toast. (about 3 -5 minutes).
7. Grate Parmesan over Brussel Sprouts.
8. Top with onions and pine nuts. Serve.
Credits: I had NEVER had Brussel Sprouts before - EVER. One relaxing day in Napa with my book club girlfriends, Julie Novak mentioned that her youngest son LOVED Brussel Sprouts, which floored me. So I asked her how she makes them. I believe that she told me something similar to what's above, but I couldn't remember. I was really interested in trying them, at least once, so I googled Brussel Sprouts and searched about 5 or 6 recipes until I found this one. Well, sort of. I added the Parmesan and the caramelized onions. But huge thanks to Julie, because this has become my FAVORITE vegetable. 40 years ~ wasted!!! Well, better late than never!

Croissant Dogs & Sauteed Veggies - Wednesday, Dinner

Croissant Dogs

Ingredients:
Hotdogs
Croissant Dough

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Place hotdog at the narrow end of the croissant.
3. Roll the dough around the hotdog, covering as much of the hotdog as you can.
4. Place croissant dog on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until croissant is golden brown.

Sauteed Veggies

Ingredients:
1 tbls Olive Oil
1 Carrot
1 Zucchini
10 - 12 mushrooms
2 tsp chopped garlic (or two cloves)
1 tsp butter
1 sweet Onion, sliced thinly
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Slice mushrooms, zucchini and carrots thinly.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Add veggies and saute for about 20 - 25 minutes, stirring often.
4. While the veggies are sauteing, heat the butter in a different skillet and add the sliced onion.
5. Caramelize onions, stirring occasionally until transparent.
6. Add the caramelized onions and chopped garlic to the veggies during last 5 minutes of cooking.
7. Season to taste.