Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Have you ever had this stuff?  I've never had soup this creamy.  I took Mrs. Sweet's advice for superbowl sunday and she did not disappoint.  Add in a little queso with chorizo to start the game out and we were set!

Baked Potato Soup

Serves 3 - slightly adapted from How Sweet

10 - 12 small red skinned potatoes, boiled until tender (not mashed potato tender - baked potato tender) and chopped with skins on

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup chicken stock, if needed (I did not need this)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

green onions, chopped

6 slices bacon, baked and crumbled (you can bake on a cooling rack set in a baking pan to keep out of the grease)

1.  Heat a large pot on medium heat. Once hot, add butter, melt, then flour, and whisk into a roux. Add heavy cream, and skim milk, continuously stirring until thickened. Stir in cheese, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let it thicken up. Depending on desired consistency, add chicken stock. Stir in potatoes and heat through to warm, season with salt & pepper.  Serve in bowls topped with crumbled bacon and diced green onions.  This soup only got better the next day. I would suggest doubling the recipe if you want leftovers or are having people over.

I think my bowl was half eaten when I took this picture...opps!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Every once in a while we wake up in time for breakfast Sunday before church.  This morning I was inspired by Giada and a breakfast one of my friends once mentioned she had.  The ricotta made the pancakes very light and fluffy.  I didn't have perfect measurements and didn't taste the lemon as much as I wished but they were still great.  I think you could add some lemon zest for more flavor.  This recipe made 5 average pancakes for me and Cor.

1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup ricotta
sugar
maple syrup

Mix first five ingredients together then fold in ricotta leaving batter a little lumpy.  Cook pancakes on a griddle with butter.  Sprinkle pancakes with sugar right before flipping the first time.  Serve with maple syrup.

Ricotta, Spinach, and Feta Omelet

One of my favorite things about saturday mornings is that its the one day of the week we take the time to make a big breakfast.  I had leftover ricotta to use up from the lasagna I made on Sunday so I thought it would be the perfect thing to throw in an omelet.  I also had some spinach and feta in my fridge and thought that would be a good combo.  Let me tell you...it was!

Method:
Heat a small skillet over medium heat and melt a little butter in the pan.  Whisk two eggs with a couple tablespoons of milk in a small bowl and pour into pre-heated pan.  Let this set up and start to cook partially through without touching the eggs.  Sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and italian seasoning over the entire egg surface and then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella over one half of the eggs (or other white cheese you may have).  Next sprinkle on some feta and then one layer of spinach leaves on the same half.  Next add ricotta by teaspoons (I added around 6 per omelet) over the same half.  I turn down the heat to medium low around this time and let the eggs continue to cook through without moving them. When your eggs are about done you can use a rubber spatula to check the bottom to make sure they are not burning.  Just before you are ready to flip up the half over the filling sprinkle a little more mozzarella over the filling so that the omelet will stay together.  Perfection!

Mexican Wedding Cakes

After I made these, Corey informed me that his favorite cookie was a mexican wedding cake.  No not snickerdoodles or double chocolate chip like he previously told me, but now mexican wedding cakes!  Another chance to try something new!  I found the recipe via the Joy of Baking.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup toasted nuts (I used walnuts)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Method:

Toast nuts at 350 in the oven for about 8 minutes until fragrant. Once the nuts have cooled completely place them, along with 2 tablespoons of the flour from the recipe, into your food processor, and process until they are finely ground (but not a paste).  Or you could just roughly chop and and toss with the flour which is what I think I would do next time.  That way you would get bigger pieces. 

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the remaining flour and salt and beat until combined. Stir in the nuts. Your dough will be fluffy and sort of crumbly:

Cover and refrigerate the dough for about one hour or until firm. 

Preheat oven to 350. Form the chilled dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets (I used ungreased and they didn't stick at all). Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar on the bottom of the baking pan and then place the slightly cooled cookies on top of the sugar. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar over the top of the cookies (or you can just roll the cookies in the sugar). Store in an airtight container. Makes about 2-3 dozen cookies.  Yum!
I didn't get to catch a picture of these before they were gone (with the help of buster who stole the last 5 out off the plate when we were upstairs!), but below is the picture from the joy of baking website.  You must try these when they are still a little warm out of the oven.  Phenomenal!

Vegetable Soup with Cheese Tortellini

In Indy its been snowing and icing like crazy (across the whole country actually - I think there is a 20 ft of snow blizzard in Chicago where my friend Katie lives).  When its cold out I think everyone craves something warming and comforting.  This soup will do it for ya.  And add this side dish, inspired by ina, and you'll forget you're eating something healthy!

Vegetable Soup with Cheese Tortellini - from Good Stuff Maynard 

Shredded chicken breast (1 or 2 breasts - our addition)
1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, chopped  (or red onion in my case was all I had)

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth (I used reduced sodium and a mix of both)

1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used the no salt added variety)

handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped (1-2 teaspoons dried)

1 teaspoon of oregano

salt and pepper, to taste

2 small zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces

1 small yellow squash, chopped into bite size pieces

13 oz frozen cheese tortellini

3 cups sliced fresh spinach (about 3 ounces)

Asiago cheese, shredded (or grated Parmesan was what we had)

olive oil

Place the olive oil in a large pot oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, onions, carrots and celery then cook 4-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked and veggies are softened. Add the seasonings and garlic then stir constantly for 60 seconds before adding the tomatoes and broth. Cover and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium high, then add the tortellini, zucchini and squash. Cook for 10 minutes or until the tortellini is cooked through. Stir in spinach and simmer, uncovered, until spinach is wilted and all vegetables are tender, about 1 minute longer. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Asiago cheese.

Note: If not serving immediately, add the spinach just before serving to retain the bright color and prevent overcooking.

Two 49 cent loaves from jimmy john's were calling my name after watching one of ina's episodes this past weekend.  She made her own ricotta (who does that?)  I did not, but I did use her idea to mix in some herbs to ricotta (purchased at the grocery) and spread it over some "grilled" bread.  Soo good.  This was phenomenal dipped in the warm soup.  I just brushed slices of this bread with olive oil and dusted w/ a little S&P and grilled on both sides on our griddle.

 Then spread a thin layer of herbed ricotta over the top and dip in the warm soup.  Don't mind if I do!

 

Cajun Southwestern Steak Salad

I forgot to take pictures...I must have been really hungry!

What you'll need for this salad:
Top Sirloin Steak (I purchased one that was about 3/4 of a pound)
Cajun or Creole spice
Gorgonzola
Sliced Almonds
Grape Tomatoes
Romaine Lettuce or Spinach
Red Onion
Garbanzo beans
Dressing of choice: may I suggest Ranch dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette

Season steak on both sides with cajun seasoning and sear on both sides in a pan and finish is oven (or if its not 23 degrees outside like it is where I currently am, you could grill this and it would be fabulous).  Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and top with sliced steak.

White Cheese Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

We try to eat pretty healthy through the week but Sundays I usually fix a nice big meal for us to really enjoy!  I have been wanting to make a chicken and spinach lasagna and this hit the spot.  I think if I added mushrooms next time it would be perfect.  The original recipe made it in a 13x9 pan, but considering its just the two of us and we didn't want to be eating on this for the rest of the week, I made it in an 8x8 pan and adapted the recipe to cut down the size by about half.  Here is the way I made it:

Ingredients

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles

1/4 cup butter

1/2 to 1 onion (depending on size), chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon italian seasonings

fresh ground black pepper to taste 

1 cup ricotta cheese (or more if you are me) 

1 to 1/2 cup thinly sliced, cooked chicken meat

1 (10 ounce) package spinach 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil with a bit of olive oil so noodles don't stick together. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes (al dente). Drain, and rinse with cold water. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Whisk in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the italian seasonings and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside. Mmm...it should be looking nice and cheesy

Wilt the spinach in a sauce pan with a little evoo (or you could use frozen spinach and thaw and dry it - this was just easier to me). Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, 1/2 of the spinach, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and 1/2 of the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles, and spinach, chicken, and ricotta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. (your layers don't really matter which way you do them). Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.