SUPER Simple Savory Summer Strawberry Pie!

 Honestly, this pie is so simple to make that I feel embarrassed even sharing it. I have the feeling that I was the last person in the world to even make it. Or try it! 

 My Hubs has longed loved this pie. If we were every anywhere that it was offered, he chose it. I looked at it (quite wrong by the way), like it was some kind of congealed blob on a crust. But last week I opened up my freezer to get something out and I saw two Marie Callender (deep dish) pie crusts still sitting there.....Like they had for months. It has been my mission this summer to get rid of some of the things that are sitting in the freezer. So I cooked up the pie crusts. I also had plenty of strawberries, so I googled up strawberry pie recipes. The recipe (formerly known as the) congealed blob came up many times. So I figured why not? 

 Since I had everything I needed I and had already cooked two crusts, I made two pies. For the Hubby, mind you.....Except that I tried it. 

 And I could hear the Hallelujiah Chorus! It will now be my go-to pie in the summer. I put on Instagram  that it takes me longer to blow-dry my hair than it did to make those two pies. That is a true statement. Well we enjoyed one of the pies and shared the other with some deserving people. (They probably think I worked all morning on making it!) Even though I know I am the last person in America to make this, I will share the recipe with you. No doubt you have all ingredients sitting in your kitchen! Enjoy!!!

SUPER SIMPLE STRAWBERRY PIE

Fresh strawberries (one large container can be used for two pies)
Deep dish pie crust (I used frozen and it was great. And if you are making one you might as well make two!)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 Tbs. corstarch
4 Tbs. strawberry jello powder (one small box makes two pies)

Prepare pie crust according to directions. Let cool slightly. Add strawberries (cleaned and trimmed) to the pie shell.  Combine water, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Boil until thickens. Add the jello and stir like crazy. Pour over strawberries into the pie crust. Refrigerate. We added whip cream when serving. 

I told you it was easy! 

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Cheeseburger Soup for the Souper Bowl!

 Last night I shared the Creamy Tomato Florentine Soup I made over the weekend. Well I also made Cheeseburger Soup for the first time. While the family all agreed that the Tomato Florentine Soup was great, my boys and the Hubs loved the Cheeseburger Soup. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the cheese and hamburger versus tomatoes, spinach and cream. No, huh uh. 

 Both of the soups made big hearty pots. Both would be delicious served to a big hungry crowd. It took me probably an hour (or less) to make both pots of soup from scratch. Plus, I made the croutons and brownies during that time as well. My point being, while both soups look like a lot of ingredients, they both could not be easier! 

 I have no idea why I plated it up and stage it on a LOVE towel. I should have put it on a big 'ole football towel! 

 I realize this is a little blurry, but these are the vegies as they sauted.  In the words of my youngest son, who came in to check on me periodically, "Mom, what do carrots have to do with cheeseburgers anyway?  I think you could have left those out!"  This recipe, I followed exactly like it said to do.....And you KNOW I never do that! So yes, there are carrots in my Cheeseburger Soup! 

 Although the recipe did say to peel and cube potatoes, I opted to just use frozen hash browns in the cube size. They seemed to work just fine too. 

 CHEESEBURGER SOUP

1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots (or in the words of Luke, "WHY?")
3/4 cup diced celery (Luke did not see that go in)
1 Tsp. dried basil
3 TBS. chopped parsley
4 TBS. butter, divided
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour ( I use Wondra)
2 cups Velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

In large pot add 1 TBS butter. Add onion, celery, carrots, parsley, and basil. Saute till tender. 
Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and tender. (Hint: I left my bag of hash-brown cubes in the fridge (vs. the freezer) the night and day before so they would not be frozen and not take so long to cook).  
In small skillet melt remaining butter and add the flour. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or so until bubbly. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt, pepper and sour cream. Cook and stir until the cheese melts. Let heat thoroughly.  I served this with homemade croutons and shredded cheese. 

 The boys gave this soup a perfect score. 

 The recipe said the soup can be frozen. I had to laugh at that. We don't freeze many leftovers at our house. There are always (grown) children here to cart any (rare!!) leftovers away. If all the boys are home, there is no such thing as leftovers! 

 Which has always made this mama's heart very happy! 

 And just in case you missed the homemade croutons on yesterday's soup, here they are again. Since it was Cheeseburger Soup, I felt it only fitting that we should use a bun for the croutons. I had stale hot dog buns and chopped them up. I put them in a baking pan, added pats of butter and put them in a 350 degree oven to cook. 

 Buttered croutons.  You could add garlic and/or onion salt to them before they cooked too. 

I don't know about where you live, but here in usually mild-in-the-winter-Oklahoma, they are saying we are in for a big bad week of cold weather. I assure you that both of the soup recipes will be pulled back out. They are quick and easy and make enough for a family. OR they would be SOUPER at a SUPER Bowl party! Enjoy. 

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SOUPer Bowl Creamy Tomato Florentine

 Last week, one of my fellow teachers was eating lunch in my room with me. She had with her a Tomato Florentine soup that she had bought at a local eatery. 

She had shared a bite with me, and we sat there trying to figure out what all was in the soup.  Finally we Googled it up and decided  we each must make a batch on our own.  She has yet to make hers, but she reassured me that hers would be fabulous. And I have no doubt. But in the meantime, I gathered all the ingredients for my version and proceeded to make several soups over the weekend. Since I loved this one so, it is the first to be posted! 

 My friend's soup was the basic Tomato Florentine.  I looked at the different recipes I had Googled and combined several of them. THEN I proceeded to make my version creamy by adding in whipping cream. I just wanted you to be aware that there are MANY recipes out there for regular Tomato Florentine.  In fact you could probably take my recipe and just not add the whipping cream. It is delicious both ways. I have included the directions for both varieties.  

 Creamy Tomato Florentine Soup

3 TBS Butter

3 TBS flour 

3 TBS Butter

1 clove garlic

1 batch green onions, chopped. (I use all the green part too)

1 TBS dried basil

1 can chicken broth

1  28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 TBS ketchup

2/3 cup vegetable juice (I used V8)

1  14.5 oz can Italian style tomatoes

Several dashes of hot pepper sauce

2 TBS sugar

Handful of chopped parsley (optional)

Black pepper to taste

1 cup macaroni noodle

2 cups Whipping cream or Half and Half

1/2 cup frozen spinach

**************In a small skillet, melt 3 TBS butter and add the flour. (I happen to use Wondra, because it is wonderful to use for gravies and bases. Flour works fine too.) Stir this together until it boils and makes your base. It will be kind of pasty. If it gets too lumpy, don't be afraid to add a little chicken broth or milk. 

When I cook, there is no exactness. Ever. 

After you have done that, let it sit to the side for a few minutes. 

In a big stock pan/dutch oven or whatever you want to call it, add the other 3 TBS butter. Let this melt and add the chopped onions.  Add the garlic and basil as well. Saute until the onion is tender.  This will smell heavenly.  

Add to this the chicken broth (I actually ended up using about 1 1/2 cans, because I had some left over from the other soup I made, so I just added it. It was not a problem. )  Add the crushed tomatoes, the canned tomatoes, vegetable juice and the ketchup.  Stir well. Let simmer. (I tasted it at his point and realized why you needed to add the sugar. The sugar helps tame some of that acidic tomato taste.) 

Add the sugar. (Add more if you think it needs it.) 

Add the parsley, black pepper and hot sauce all to taste. 

Stir. Simmer. Taste.

****************At this point, if you are going to make the regular Tomato Florentine, you would just add your macaroni and spinach and let cook for about 25 minutes.  You would not need to make the base.  Eat it up and enjoy.  

IF you are going to make it like the picture, keep cooking! 

It is at this point that you take your base in that small skillet and put it into the soup.  Whisk it up, so there are no lumps.  Stir and let simmer a few minutes.  Add the whipping cream now.  Stir well. Let it thicken up. By now your soup should look delicious and just like the picture. Let it simmer and absorb all the flavors. I served mine with homemade croutons and grated parmesan.  

 I used half of a box (see picture) of the frozen spinach.  I just cut the package in half and put the frozen spinach right into the hot soup.  I stirred it as it was breaking up, so that it would be completely cooked. Florentine means cooked with spinach, so I figured that was a key ingredient! 

 Also, it calls for macaroni noodles, which is just fine. But I always have to play around with recipes. I used the little corkscrew looking noodles (Radiatore) instead. Plus, because I cannot leave well enough alone, I added half a package of the 4-cheese Tortellini noodles. 

 I ate this the night I made it, as well as the next two days for lunch. It is one of those soups that keeps getting better each time. I just warmed it up in the microwave the following two days, but it could be warmed on the stove as well. It could always be thinned down with more broth or cream.  

 It would also be a great soup to make for Super Bowl Sunday.  It would be Souper!!  

 Those homemade croutons....They couldn't be easier. I had some stale hot dog buns. I literally just cut them up, put them in a baking pan and added several blobs of butter. I put them in the oven at 350 degrees and kept them in there until they were toasty.  You can also sprinkle the bread with garlic and/or onion salt. 

 Sprinkle the croutons on top with some grated cheese and you have a great winter meal. 

Come back tomorrow and I will share the Cheeseburger Soup that I made.  It was a man-pleaser for sure! 

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Mexican Cheesecake-Super Bowl Food

My friend Kim made this Mexican Cheesecake for my nephew's shower. Not only was it visually wonderful, it was absolutely great in the taste department as well. She got the recipe off of Pinterest.  The cheesecake is not a sweet cheesecake, but more in the dip/appetizer variety. It makes a huge cheesecake and would be perfect for a Super Bowl party. Enjoy.

Mexican Cheesecake

1 cup crushed tortilla chips
2 Tbsp. melted butter
3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese
4 eggs
10 oz. grated Cheddar cheese
1 (4.5-oz.) can chopped green chiles
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa or picante sauce

1. Combine tortilla chips and butter, and press into bottom of a lightly greased  9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese and ricotta with a mixer. Gradually add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add in Cheddar cheese, green chiles, and, if desired, cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared crust.
3. Bake at 350° for 45 to 1 hour or until set. Remove from oven, and let cool 30 minutes before removing ring. Cool completely. Combine sour cream and salsa; spread over top of cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Kim also topped hers with olives, peppers, tomatoes,  and cheeses. It is versatile enough that you can add anything you want to the top. 

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National Dessert Day!!!

It's National Dessert Day. I cannot believe I do not have this day marked in red on my calendar. I cannot believe it is not the leading headline. I cannot believe that bells and whistles did not go off at midnight!

So I am posting a recipe I have posted before. These are pumpkin whoopie pies (or so named by me!). I actually made these in mini muffin pans. Easy to do! Just enjoy and celebrate this great, great day!

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIE

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice 

1 teaspoon salt 

½ cup of unsalted butter, softened 

¼ cups granulated sugar 

¾ cups dark brown sugar 

2 large eggs 

1 cup of pure solid pumpkin 

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz of cream cheese, softened 

4 ounces of unsaled bitter, softened 

2 cups of powdered sugar 

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla 

1 tablespoon of milk

To Make the Cakes:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 Mix together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until thoroughly combined and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until they are mixed well. Add vanilla and pumpkin until combined.

 In a separate bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, salt and baking powder.
Sift and stir into the pumpkin mixture until combined.

Put two large tablespoons of mixture in each of the places on the whoopie pan OR

 On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop two rounded tablespoons of the pumpkin mixture. OR

use a mini muffin pan!! 

 Bake for 11-13 minutes until cake bounces back to the touch.

 Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes and move to cooling rack to cool completely.

To Make the Frosting: 

 Beat together cream cheese, vanilla, and butter until mixed completely.

 Slowly add powdered sugar until incorporated with cream cheese mixture.

 Mix in cinnamon and slowly add the milk until filling is light and fluffy.

Put the filling in on the bottom of one whoopie pie and put another whoopie

on top for a whoopie pie!

OR

split your mini muffins and do the frosting overload!

That cinnamon in the frosting is SO good!


Come back tonight to see the progress on the house!

Kick-Off Football Season with a Few Great Recipes!!

YAY!!! YAY!!! Football season has officially begun!

Football brings up so many good memories at our house.

Besides the game, one of the best parts about football is

THE FOOD!

I pulled six (earlier published) posts together into one place to share fun football food (English teachers love alliteration). All six recipes would be good for watching TV at home OR for tail-gating with your favorite team. 

The first recipe is a CORN AND FRITO SALAD. This recipe was given to me by our school secretary. It is fast to make and delicious to eat. IF you have leftovers, it can be refreshed with some fresh Fritos. 

 Next we have PIZZA BALLS. I saw this in a recipe book one day I was thumbing through at the store. I did not buy the book, but I did try to remember the recipe to make at home. This is also a quick recipe and a great finger food. These disappear quickly. 

 Who doesn't love MEATBALLS? This recipe makes a massive amount of meatballs. It has a quick little BBQ sauce that goes on the top that actually makes the recipe perfect. These would be easy to make ahead and warm up on game day. 

MEAT PIES AND FRUIT PIES are one of my favorite things to make. I will fully admit that they can be kind of labor intensive, but for an hour of work you get massive amount of great pies. The compliments you get are worth it. These would be super for tailgating. 

 Both the fruit pie and the meat pie recipe can be found on here.

 SAUSAGE BALL appetizers along with LORI'S A DIP DIP can be found on this page. The appetizers make up quickly and the dip is hands down one of my family's favorite dips ever. Go see how it got its name. 

Finally, I included my LASAGNA CROCK POT recipe. It hit me that this would be great to make the night before and be ready in the morning to take tailgating or just to have ready at home. I use a crockpot liner so it makes the cleanup super easy. 

Hopefully one or more of these recipes fits the bill for great football food with family and  friends (more alliteration) at your house. Enjoy! 

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I'm In A Hurry to Get Things Done.....

 Want a meal that is fast and easy?  Not only that, but tastes delicious? Frankly, this meal is so easy I feel embarrassed sharing it. But just in case anyone needs a quick-meal idea..........

 Start by buying a package (obviously I always get the big family size!) of boneless skinless chicken breast. I use the solid side (pictured below) of a kitchen mallet. I put a couple of the breast in a ziplock bag and pound the heck (yes, the heck) out of it. 

 I then set the pounded-thinner-breasts into a casserole dish. As you can see, I just squeeze them in there. I sprinkle the chicken with (my preferences only---you can do whatever you want) garlic salt, onion salt, and red pepper flakes. Then I generously cover the entire dish with Italian dressing (the kind already made in the bottle). Truth be told, I just buy the cheapest bottle at the store. 

Cover the pan with foil and put in the oven to back at 350. The length of time depends on how much you are cooking and your oven. Just watch them. While the chicken is baking, fry up a package of bacon. You might as well fry it all, because it gets nibbled on the whole time you're cooking. I guarantee that. When your chicken is done, take it from the oven and lay two or three pieces of bacon right on top of each chicken breast. Then cover the bacon/chicken with a slice of some type of cheese. I usually use a good sharp cheddar. Put back into the oven (without foil) only until the cheese melts. This step should not take long. It is really that simple. I guarantee everyone will love it. LOVE it. 

 With the chicken, we frequently serve twice-baked potatoes. I think they intimidate some people and they couldn't be easier. (Mine aren't always pretty, but they are very tasty). I have also discovered that the crock pot is a great place to bake potatoes. Just wrap them like normal and leave them in on low all day. It works great. (Thank you Pinterest). Ok, back to the twice-baked: I cute my potatoes open and scoop the potato out, leaving only the skin.

Put the "inards" of all your potatoes in a bowl. Then I add a stick of butter (cut up), sour cream and shredded cheese. How much you add of those is purely up to you. We like our potatoes thick and tasty, so I add several big "globs" of sour cream and a big handful (and I have big hands!!!!) of shredded cheese. Keep in mind I am usually making at least 8!!

 Moosh (technical cooking term) this all together in your bowl until it is well mixed. Then "refill" your potatoes. There should be plenty for all your 'skins. If you will notice, I have left each skin shell in their own foil. I think it is just easier this way. (And by the way, I have put all the foil/shells on a baking sheet. Sorry I forgot to mention that.) 

 Put them in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You want all your good goop to be warm and melted together. I know this sounds very vague, but please try it. The amount of what you put in your goop should depend on what YOUR family loves, not what my family loves. I have also been known to put ricotta cheese and crumbled bacon in it as well. Make these what you like. 

At the end, it really is a fast and easy meal. If you have the potatoes baked in a crock pot, you can get the potatoes ready while the chicken is cooking. For our family, we usually have all the staples needed for this meal in our fridge and pantry. That makes it super easy to get a good meal on the table. I hope I have convinced you that both are easy to make and delicious. Let me know if you try this!

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