Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup serves 8

Soup 1/2 cup butter 1 large onion or 2 small onions  1/3 cup flour 6 med potatoes, peeled and cubed in 1 inch pieces 6 cups chicken broth 1 cup milk Toppings 1/2 lb bacon, 1/2 inch pieces 8 oz  sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 3 green onions, thinly sliced Brown bacon in a large saucepan.  Drain fat leave 1 TBL of drippings in pan.  Place browned bacon bits on paper towel. Melt butter in saucepan with drippings.  Saute onion for about 3 minutes or until tender and transparent.   Add flour, mix well.    Add broth, mix well.  Add potatoes.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 25 minutes.  Add milk and simmer 5 more minutes.  Put all the toppings in bowls.  Serve soup and customize with your choice of the toppings.

 

Sausage Stuffing

 Sausage Stuffing serves 10 

1 lb Jimmy Dean sage sausage

12 oz cubed bread (I use Pepperidge farms cubed herb seasoned stuffing)

5 TBL butter

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 cup celery, finely chopped

2 cups chicken broth

Brown sausage in a frying pan. Put browned sausage in a bowl, set aside.  Melt butter, add celery and onion, cook 3 minutes or until tender. Put broth and veggies in a large saucepan and heat to boil.  Remove from heat.

Add stuffing and sausage; mix lightly.  Cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork. Enjoy like that or stuff your turkey with it. For a cruncher stuffing put in a cassrole dish and bake 20 minutes at 325.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll Serves 10 Cake 2/3 cups pumpkin puree 1 cups sugar 3 eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 cups flour Filling 1- 8oz pkg cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar 6 Tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375.  Use a jelly-roll pan; line with parchment paper.  Grease and flour parchment paper. 

 Use a thin cotton kitchen towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar until thick.  Beat in pumpkin.  Mix in all remaining cake ingredients.  Mix well.  Spread evenly over prepared parchment paper.  

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.  Immediately loosen edges if touching.  Let cool 5 minutes.  

Turn cake onto prepared towel.  Peel off parchment paper.  Roll up cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end.  Cool on wire rack.

Beat together all of the filling ingredients.  Beat until smooth about 3 minutes.  Carefully unroll cake and remove towel. 

 Evenly spread the fillling over cake. 

 Reroll cake. Sprinkle plastic wrap with powdered sugar and place cake on it.  

Wrap cake up in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least in hour.  Slice and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. 

These are delicious fall desserts!!  I usually make 2 and freeze one for unexpected company.  If you double use 2 1/2 cups of the batter per cake and 1 1/2 cups of filling per roll. 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread 2 loaves or 6 mini loaves

3 C flour 1TBL cinnamon 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 eggs, slightly beaten 2 cups grated zucchini 1 C sugar 1 C brown sugar 1 C oil 1 TBL vanilla 1 C mini chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips
Add ins * opt. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans            1/2 cup raisins           1/2 cup coconut Cinnamon-sugar mixture 3 TBL sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Preheat oven to 325.  Spray pans with non-stick cooking spray.   Mix sugars, oil, and vanilla together.  Add eggs mix well.  Add baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Add flour one cup at a time.  Stir until all flour is blended in well.  Scrape bottom of bowl and stir until flour is no longer visible.  Add zuchinni.  Stir until zuchinni is evenly blended in.  Add chocolate chips and other add ins you want.  Mix until well blended.   Mix 1/4 cinnamon and 3 TBL sugar together in small bowl.  Set aside Makes 2 standard size loaves.  Split the batter evenly between to pans. Shake or spoon cinnamon sugar mixture over top of both loaves.  Bake standard loaves for 50 to 70 minutes or until knife comes out clean.  

Makes about 5-6 mini loaves.  I measure about 1 full cup of batter into mini loaf pans.  Divide cinnamon sugar mixture evenly and spoon over top of loaves.  Bake 25-35 minutes or until knife comes out clean from center. 

Take loaves out of oven.  Loosen sides with a butter knife.  Let sit for a least 10 minutes in pan.  Loosen with knife again. remove from pans and put on cooling rack.  Cool ocmpletely slice and serve or wrap with foil.  

*Bread freezes well. Just wrap with foil seal edges.  Put in a freezer gallon zip lock bags.  Zip shut and place in freezer. If you have multiply types of bread write with sharpy Z for zuchinni or BCC banana choclate chip.

**can be muffins  ***I prefer many choclate chips

I make a bunch of mini loaves and freeze them.  I usually have about 8 mini loaves of various types of sweet breads in my freezer.  I pull them out for PTA meetings, if a friend is feeling blue, thank you's, unexpected guests,  and visiting with friends.   

Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches

Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches 4-5 large, 8 meduim or 16 small crossaint

2 12.5 oz cans of chunk chicken breasts  1/2 C mayo 10-12 red grapes, halved 1 rib celery, thinly sliced 3/4 C cashews salt and pepper 4-5 large, 8 med. or 16 small croissants
Drain the chicken add mayo. Mix well, salt and pepper to taste.  

Add grapes, celery, and cashews.  

Put in fridge until ready to make sandwiches.  Slice croissants open and place 1/2 inch to 1 inch of chicken mixture over entire surface of croissant bottom put top on.   I usually slice in half.

I like to make this for luncheons or book club.  It is really easy to make and tastes like you went the extra mile.

A Few Friends Over For a Summertime Lunch

A Few Friends Over For a Summertime Lunch Plan a simple menu.  I prefer things that can be made ahead of time.  That way when the party starts I can enjoy the company and not have to fuss.  If you are doing a ton of work and cooking when your guests arrive it puts them in ackward position.  So try to get most of it done before guests arrive.  I had freinds over for a simple lunch during summer, the menu was Chicken Salad Croissant sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches, fruit, chips and mini bundt cakes. 

 I made the sandwich filling and cut up the fruit in the morning.  

I used grapes and cut them off the stem with scissors in about 8 to 12 grape bundles, then placed them in a bowl in the fridge.  Watermelon or cantaloupe is also easy to cut up ahead of time.  I usually get what is on sale. I make dessert the night before or early that morning.  I started to fill the croissants about 30 minutes before people arrived. It takes about 15 minutes.  I cut the sandwiches in half so they can try both or if not to hungry they can just take half.  

Then I pulled out the fruit, filled my picther with ice and water, put chips out. If someone offers to bring something you could always have them bring a side salad or chips.  I usually only let good friends or people that come over alot bring something. The part I love best about having a luncheon like this is that dinner is made, no more fuss the rest of the day.  I just stick leftovers in the fridge and pull them out for dinner.  I always have lots because I plan for everyone to have 2 helpings.  Most people only have one whole sandwich or 2 halves but if you plan for two whole sandwiches you have alot leftover.  People don't have to worry about you running out of food.  It works nicely for everyone that way.  I know I can stand when I go to somenones house and I feel like if took the amount of food I wanted to we would run out.  My motto is always better to have to much then not enough.

You can do any kind of sandwich or salad.  Just keep it simple!!!! So many people won't entertain because they say it is too much work. It doesn't have to be alot of work.  Remember people just want to enjoy your company. Do things that are easy for you, so you will want to do it again.   

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Butter Pecan Frosting

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake  with Butter Pecan Frosting serves 12-16

Cake 1/2 C butter 1 3/4 C sugar 1/2 C vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 C unsweetend cocoa 2 1/4 C flour 1/2 C buttermilk 2 C zucchini, grated 1 C chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350.  Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add oil slowly, mix until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in salt, baking soda and cocoa.  Mix well.  Mix in flour.  Add buttermilk and zucchini. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased 9" x 13" baking pan and bake about 30-35 minutes, until tested done. Cool 10 minutes and frost while warm.  

Butter Pecan Frosting 3/4 C butter 1 C brown sugar 1/3 C heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 C powdered sugar 1 cup pecans (optional)

Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Add brown sugar and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add cream and vanilla. Stir in powdered sugar and pecans until combined. Spread over warm cake.  The pecans are delicious in this but it is good without them too.  Half my family doesn't like nuts so I usually frost half then add 1/2 cup pecans and frost the second half.  Great use of extra zucchinni!!