Cream of Soup Substitute

Aimee posted a Cream Soup recipe a while back, I've always wanted to try it but I don't keep powdered milk in my food storage. As dumb as that may be I just never remember to buy it. So, when I ran across this recipe I was EXCITED! I really enjoy making things from scratch, particularly if they taste good...and this tastes AWESOME! Even Stuart noticed a difference, and he can't stand Cream of Mushroom soup.

I got this recipe from Chaos in the Kitchen (go ahead and click on the link to see their other fabulous recipes) and felt that I should share it with all of you (and it makes my life easier since I tend to forget to print off my recipes).

I happened to use this recipe to make Cream of Mushroom soup and had planned it that way so I had mushrooms on hand. I plan to not ever buy a can of cream soup again if I can help it. I also intend to find out how to can this stuff so I have it in my food storage.

Cream of Soup Substitute

makes 1 1/2 cup (about 1 can’s worth), prep 1 min, cook 10 min

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 small mushrooms, minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add minced mushrooms and cook until softened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and use a whisk to combine.
4. Cook the four, whisking often, until golden brown.
5. Add milk and broth and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
6. Once boiling and thickened continue to whisk and cook until thickened to your liking.
7. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

This is great for those watching their sodium intake or their budget. You can flavor it any way you like. Substitute chicken bits and chicken base or celery and celery salt if you don’t want cream of mushroom soup. You can substitute water or veggie broth if you want to make it vegetarian. It also doubles just fine if you need two cans worth.

Holiday Rolls

I have to admit that I am THRILLED to have this recipe and had to put it on here to share. These are AWESOME rolls! My friend Holly makes these every Thanksgiving and made them for a Branch Christmas dinner a few years ago. They are amazing!

1TB Yeast
1TB sugar
1/3 Cup Water
1 Cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter (the real stuff)
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
4-5 cups of flour

Combine and soften the yeast, 1 TB sugar and 1/3 cup water.
Add to the yeast mixture: scaled milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, salt and eggs.
Mix together and then add 4-5 cups flour. At this point the dough will be really sticky...that's okay, don't add more flour yet.
Place in a LARGE bowl, cover and place in refrigerator to rise overnight. The next morning when you pull it out it will have a harder almost play-dough type consistency.
Divide in half, and roll into a circle that is 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 12 wedges and roll into crescents. Place on a buttered pan and let rise for 4-6 hours. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Yields: 24 rolls.

Holly says she always at least doubles the recipe because they are so popular.

Snickerdoodle Pie

I got this recipe from here it is AWESOME! Of course it helps that my favorite cookie is a Snickerdoodle. It came out looking like a very yummy HUGE cookie. We baked the pie on a Sunday night and had a small slice then. However, when we had it for FHE tonight after being re-warmed it was even better than last night! It had a little bit of a crunch to it tonight. Next time I make this however I will double the part that gets boiled in the pan (i.e. 1/4 cup butter, water, corn syrup, and cinnamon) so it's thicker on the bottom of the pie.

Snickerdoodle Pie
adapted slightly from Better Homes and Gardens
Crust
1 9-inch pie crust (unbaked, rolled into a pie pan)
2 tsp butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature and divided
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare the pie crust by brushing the inside of the crust with melted butter. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Pour into pie plate and turn to coat the entire inside of the crust with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Set aside.
Prepare the filling.
In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, water, corn syrup and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once sugar has dissolved, boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together remaining 1/4 cup butter, sugar and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Beat in egg and remaining 1 tsp vanilla extract, followed by the milk. When mixture is smooth, blend in the flour, mixing only until no streaks of flour remain visible.
Pour flour mixture into prepared pie crust. Pour syrup over the cookie mixture. Do not mix. Carefully transfer pie to the oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until pie is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Serves 10.

Applesauce Bran Muffins

We have made lots of applesauce this year (still have a little more to go) so Mom sent me this recipe. I left her comments at the bottom. I made these the other day and we ate them up quick. They are SO good!

Applesauce Bran Muffins

1 ¼ cups flour

1 cup bran

½ cup sugar

1 tbls. Baking powder

¾ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¾ cup applesauce

¼ cup milk

¼ cup oil

1 egg

Fill 12 baking cups 2/3 full; bake 18-20 min at 400 degrees. Raisins, fresh
or frozen berries may be added.

I usually double this. I like breaking them up in a bowl and eating them
with milk, like cereal. They freeze well, if you want to make a large batch.

Cheesy Chicken Bake

I got this recipe off of a friend's recipe blog, and I had to share it. Check out the picture (and her blog) here. She has a lot of recipes we've used lately like Taco Lasagna and Cowboy Casserole...all of which have been added to my menu collection. I did however modify this recipe (see bottom to see my modifications).

Cheesy Chicken Bake

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (or use canned chicken)
1 pkg. (14 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oven to 400ºF.
PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.
COMBINE chicken and broccoli in 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in soup, milk and cheese; top with stuffing and a little more cheese.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done and casserole is heated through.

Note: Instead of stuffing mix...because I'm too cheap to buy it and because I try to do a low sodium diet in our house...I made my own. I used this recipe for the stuffing:
3 c. soft bread crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. sage
1/4 c. water

I also added 1 teaspoon of Chicken Bullion after doubling the recipe. I would only add 1 1/2 teaspoons if I quadrupled the recipe however.

Next time I make this I will quadruple the stuffing recipe. This time I only doubled/tripled...didn't measure 100%.

I also used canned chicken because it's Sunday and I was trying to keep the meal simple. Next time however we are going to grill chicken to put in it.

Salsa

8 cups chopped or pureed tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped green peppers
1 cup chopped Anaheim peppers
1 cup chopped Hungarian hot peppers or Banana peppers (I omit these)
1 ½ cups chopped Jalapenos
1 cup (canned) chopped green chilies
3 TB salt
¾ cup chopped cilantro (or less)
¼ - 1/3 cup minced garlic
½ cup brown sugar
3 cups white vinegar
12 oz. tomato paste

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 3 hours to thicken and allow flavors to blend. Put in sterilized pint jars and process in hot water bath for 30 minutes. Makes about 10 pints.

Rachel's note: I don't use the Hungarian hot peppers or the banana peppers, but if you like your salsa with more kick more power to you. Also, when I made this recipe I made a double batch (16 cups of chopped tomatoes, etc) and only ended up with 13 pints, not 20. Very flavorful salsa!!!!

Chocolate-Coconut Pinwheels

The taste of this cookie will remind you of German chocolate cake!

1/3 cup margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

FILLING
1 3-ounce package cream cheese- softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts

For filling, in a mixing bowl beat cream cheese, the 1/3 cup sugar, and the vanilla till smooth. Stir in coconut and nuts. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the 1 cup sugar, the cocoa powder, egg milk and soda. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour.

Roll half of the dough between waxed paper into a 10 x 8-inch rectangle. Spread half of the filling over dough. Roll up from one of the long sides. Moisten and pinch edges to seal. Wrap in waxed paper or clear plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dour and filling. Chill 3 to 24 hours.

Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 8 minutes or till edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on wire rack. Makes about 72.

Granola

16 cups oats (rolled or quick)
1 1/2 cups each sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnut pieces (or almonds or pecans), cocnut, dry milk
1 1/2 cups wheat germ (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup oil
2 cups apple juice (I prefer pineapple juice)
1 TB vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in LARGE bowl. Microwave honey and oil 1-2 minutes on high to soften honey, then beat well. Add vanilla and pour all liquids into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until thoroughly combined. Bake in 5 batches at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Add dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, etc) after the granola has cooled. Store in airtight container.

Note: This make a LOT of granola, but it doesn't usually last very long at our house. I like to almost double the amount of liquid (oil, honey, juice). I just think it makes better granola. This makes an excellent breakfast or snack!!!

Mom Mobley's Tortellini Soup

During the family reunion in July Mom Mobley made this WONDERFUL soup! I'm so excited to add this to my recipe collection!

Tortellini Soup

1 ½ pounds hot Italian sausage

1 ½ pounds mild Italian sausage

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 garlic cloves, minced

2 large onions, diced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

4 cups sliced zucchini

1 cup lentils

4 cups tortellini

1 29-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 29-ounce can tomato sauce

8 chicken bullion cubes

3 quarts water

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (combination basil, oregano, sage, etc.)

Brown the sausage and cook through. Drain well. In soup kettle cook garlic, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil. Add water and bring to a boil and bullion. Add lentils, and cook for about ½ hour or until lentils are nearly soft. Add salt, pepper, seasoning, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer for a couple of hours. Add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes. Add tortellini and cook an additional 15 minutes. Serve to the troops.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Garrett and I love this recipe...seriously, we've made it at least 4 times in the last 2 weeks. The great thing about it is that all of these ingredients are so common that you most likely have them at home already. All you need are the bananas. I hope that you like it as much Garrett and I do!

1 3/4 c. flour, divided
2/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2-3) bananas
1/3 c. softened butter
2 Tbsp. milk
2 eggs
a handful and a half of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine 1 c. flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add mashed banana, softened butter and milk.
Beat with electric mixer on low speed until blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes.
Add eggs and remaining flour, beat until blended. Stir in nuts.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Just Cook Already

I know that we're supposed to submit our own recipes, but I just found a new blog in which I have just become a huge fan of; Just Cook Already. They have tons of fabulous recipes and creative ideas.

Check it out....the Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars are to die for!I hope you enjoy the blog as much as my belly has!

Blondies, Blondie Cookies & Caramel frosting

All I have to say is....YUM!!!

Blondies

melt 2/3 cup butter, 2 cups brown sugar.
Mix with 2 eggs, 2tsp vanilla, add 2 cups flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp soda, 1 tps salt
Put in a 9x13. Bake at 350 degrees for 23- 25 min. Eat plain or put the Caramel Frosting from below on it.

caramel frosting
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar
melt butter and brown sugar over med heat. Stir and boil 2 min, remove from heat and stir in milk then cool until it is luke warm about 30 min. Gradually stir in powdered sugar and beat until it is spreadable if it is too stiff, add milk 1tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.

It refrigerates well, and is YUMMY!

For Blondie Cookies, use your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and instead of using white sugar; replace it with brown sugar. Make sure you also use the other brown sugar in the recipe as well. Mix and bake according to your recipe and then frost with Caramel Frosting.

Corndog Casserole

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the name of this dish may be a little bit unappetizing. However it really was decent and QUICK....which we all know is important at times. And the kids liked it!

Ingredients:
2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds hot dogs
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (8.5 ounce) packages dry corn bread mix
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, saute celery and green onions in butter for 5 minutes. Place saute mixture in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Slice hot dogs lengthwise into quarters, then cut into thirds. In same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to celery/onion mixture and mix all together. Set aside 1 cup of mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, sage and pepper. Add all but reserved 1 cup hot dog mixture. Stir in corn bread mix and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Mix all together and spread mixture into a shallow 3 quart baking dish. Top with reserved 1 cup hot dog mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
5. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Note: I didn't include the celery, it's not popular in our home.
Also, the recipe calls for A LOT of sage! Next time I will either cut the sage down a lot or not include it. The sage gave it a stuffing taste.
I also didn't do a whole pound and a half of hot dogs, I used 1 pound plus 3 leftover hot dogs I had thrown in the freezer. Stuart thinks it needed more hot dogs, but I thought it was fine the way it was.

Monkey Bread made with Amish Bread

Amish Bread (this is a sweet bread)

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Once you have the Amish bread made then you gather these things and do this:

Brown Sugar: 1/2cup will be needed
* 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
* Bundt Cake Pan (feel free to use dorky shapes)
* Cinnamon: 2-3 teaspoons
* 3 cans of Buttermilk Biscuits (the non-flaky ones)
* Sugar!: 1 cup

Now before you do anything…go ahead and preheat that oven to 350 degrees You’ll need this in about 10 minutes.

Open up all three cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. (Or in our case cut up your bread dough into small pieces.)
At this time you’ll want to combine the 1 cup of regular sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon. I use 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and this gives it a fairly strong cinnamon flavor. If you’re not so hot on cinnamon, cut it back to 2 teaspoons. Dump these into a 1 gallon zip bag and shake to mix evenly. Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix. Go ahead…all of them. Yes, they’re sticking together right now, but just trust me.
Once all the biscuit quarters are in the bag, seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces unstuck from one another and nicely coated with the cinnamon-sugar. You might have some excess sugar left over and that’s okay.
Spread these nuggets out evenly in your bundt pan. I suppose you might want to grease this pan before doing this, but I’m pretty sure the gallon of butter we are about to add will keep it safe.
At this point, you’re going to want to melt those two sticks of butter together with 1/2cup of brown sugar. This can be light or dark brown sugar. Stir together over a medium-high heat until the two become one.
Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits.
At first…it’s going to look like too much. It’s okay though.

Bake this @ 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes until the crust is a deep brown on top.

If you have the willpower, allow this to cool for about 15-30 minutes before turning it over onto a plate. If it doesn’t slide right down onto the plate, give it a few love-taps until it plops. It’ll hold.


If you'd like a tutorial (probably because it just looks SOOOO yummy) click here.

Carrot Applesauce Layer Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon-and-sweep)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
2/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
2/3 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup finely shredded carrots

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 deg. Line the bottoms of two 9x2-inch round cake pans with parchment or wax paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and cloves onto a piece of wax paper; set aside. Combine applesauce and shredded carrots; set aside.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle blade, beat the butter on medium speed until it is lighter in color, about 45 seconds. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then stop the machine and scrape down the bowl. Return to medium speed and beat, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is very light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the applesauce mixture. After each addition, beat just until smooth and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gently fold in the raisins and nuts. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pans.

Bake until the tops spring back when the cakes are lightly pressed in the centers and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Transfer to wire cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto the racks or plates and remove the pans. Peel off the paper liners and place them back on the layers, sticky sides up. Invert onto wire racks, right side up, and cool completely on the wax paper.

Manna from Heaven Orange Bread

In a mixing bowl, combine:
3 cups white flour
1 cup wheat flour
5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ cup brown sugar

In a separate mixing bowl, combine:
3 eggs, well beaten
½ cup oil
1 cup milk
1 cup orange juice (approx. 3 oranges)
4-5 TB orange zest

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until flour is just moistened.

Add:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Scrape batter into 3 medium (greased and floured) loaf pans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pans and cool completely.

Note: This recipe came from Grandma Staples files. I'm not a big fan of orange and chocolate together, but this bread was very good. It is not especially sweet, but it has plenty of flavor. The wheat flour gives the bread a nutty quality.

Creamy Ham Broccoli Casserole

This is technically supposed to have Spam in it. However, since I am NOT a fan of Spam and don't keep it in my food storage we used some of the ham leftover from Easter Dinner. I got this from my America's Favorite Brand Name One-Dish Meals cookbook.

Creamy Ham Broccoli Casserole

Nonstick cooking spray
1 (7 oz) package elbow macaroni
2 cups frozen cut broccoli, thawed and drained
Ham
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
2 teaspoons margarine, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. In prepared casserole, combine macaroni, broccoli, Ham and bell pepper. In small saucepan, stir together milk, cornstarch and black pepper until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir sauce into Ham mixture. Combine bread crumbs and margarine; sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Makes 8 servings.

Note: I did not measure my noodles, but did double the sauce. It filled to the top of a 9x13 pan. Next time I probably wouldn't use the bread crumbs and margarine. However we did put some parmesan cheese on top which was great. Phillip had 4 servings of this and the other two ate more than Stuart and I ate. Even with all of what we ate we still have half of the 9x13 pan left...not normal in our family. It was GREAT!

Stuffed Pesto Chicken

I got this recipe from a friend at my bridal shower and haven't tried it until this last week. And let me say that it was amazing! Serves 2.

2 chicken breast
Pesto
Roasted red peppers
Salt and Pepper
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

• Preheat oven to 350.
  
• Butterfly the chicken.
• Place and spread desired amount of pesto inside.
• Place desired amount of roasted pepper.
• Stuff shredded mozzarella cheese inside.
• Close, then spread pesto on top of chicken.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper.
• Place on baking sheet.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as Garrett and I did!

Black Forest Pie

Black Forest Pie

I got this from Taste of Home. It's really chocolaty and VERY rich, but it's good.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Domino or C&H Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling, divided
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
Whipped Topping (optional)

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa and flour. Stir in milk until smooth. Add butter. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into eggs; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Fold in half of the pie filling.
Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until filling is almost set. Coll completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, top with remaining pie filling and whipped topping if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

¾ cup dried, pitted cherries
1 Chocolate cookie crust, baked in 9-inch springform pan, cooled
2 lbs. Cream cheese, softened 3-4 hours at room temperature
1 ¼ cup plus 2 TB sugar
2 TB unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB whipping cream
6 oz. Semisweet chocolate, chopped into approx. ½ -inch pieces

Put the cherries in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them, just to cover the cherries. Let the cherries sit in the hot water for 30 minutes. Drain the cherries and pat dry with paper towels.
Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of the springform pan with curst with a large piece of heavy aluminum foil and place it in a large baking pan with sides at least 2 inches high.
Put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until the cream cheese is smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and mix until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour. Add the eggs, two at a time, mixing the batter smooth after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl twice during this mixing. Mix in the vanilla, almond extract, and the lemon juice. Mix in the whipping cream. Stir in the soaked and drained cherries and chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Put the cheesecake in the oven and pour hot water into the large baking pan to reach 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 1 hour, or until when you give the cheesecake a gentle shake, the top looks firm. (see note at bottom)
Cool the cheesecake, covered loosely with paper towels, in the water bath for 1 hour on a wire rack. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Remove the paper towels and cool 1 hour more. The cheesecake should feel cool to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Rachel's note: I didn't bother with the crust when I made this. Also, after the cheesecake baked for one hour, instead of taking it out of the oven and cooling it on a rack, I left the oven door closed and just turned off the oven. I let it sit there for another hour before taking it out of the oven to cool for another hour on the counter. This cheesecake is so thick it really needs the extra "baking" time.

Fast Pork Fajitas

3 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
pork tenderloin, about 2 pounds, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
10 to 12 flour tortillas, warmed

In a shallow bowl combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Coat pork pieces with fajita seasoning.

In large skillet over medium-high heat, stir-fry pork pieces with onion and green pepper and 2 Tbs olive oil until pork is cooked and vegetables are just tender.

Wrap portions in flour tortillas with any of the following: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese.

I made this for dinner last night and we all really liked it. Even Ellen who has been pretty picky lately. It was a large amount, but it was just right for dinner for our family plus some leftovers for James' lunch. There was plenty of extra seasoning mixture left over so I think next time I'll just use half of it and save the rest for next time. I served it with rice, which we like to put in the fajita instead of eating on the side.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This is an incredibly easy recipe, and is really good! It is meant to be microwaved, but I cooked mine on the stove.

Prep: 5 min. Total: 16 min

2 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 can (14 1/2 oz) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 TB sliced green onions, divided
1/4 cup Sour Cream

Pierce potatoes; microwave on High 5 min, turning over after 2 1/2 min. Cut potatoes into chunks. Combine potatoes, broth and milk in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on High 6 min, stirring after 3 min. Slightly crush potatoes with a potato masher.

Reserve 2 TB each of the bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 cup each


When I made this I trippled the recipe as it doesn't make a whole lot. Instead of the can of chicken broth I just made 2 cups of broth from buillion, which does make a few ounces more than the recipe calls for. Also, instead of sliced bacon I used bacon end pieces which we like since the pieces are thicker. When we have this again, I will use more potatoes and rather than mashing them slightly will just leaved them in chunks. With the potatoes mashed they settle at the bottom of the soup, so the bottom is thick but the top layer of soup is pretty runny.
Next time I also plan on making the soup a little thicker by adding some flour; it was pretty runny.

Upside Down Pizza

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls

(I often just use my left over spaghetti sauce and then the cheese's and crescent rolls!)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brown beef, onion and garlic in large saucepan over medium high heat. Once browned, drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.
3. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread a layer of sauce. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, another layer of sauce, and the rest of the cheese. Top with crescent rolls, pinching seams together.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.