Baked Potato Soup

I just tried this recipe tonight (along with the yummy breadsticks below) and it is definitely a keeper! It's perfectly yummy, fast, and made with ingredients I always have on hand. It's out of my one of my most favorite cookbooks called "Favorites: a collection of Ivory family recipes". To see this book click here. So here's the recipe:

3 TBSP butter

1 C. finely chopped onion

2 TBSP flour

1 (14 1/2 oz) can of chicken broth (I always just use warm water with bullion dissolved in)

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper (I just omitted the white and did twice as much black)

1 tsp dried basil

dash of Tobasco sauce ( I used chalula cause we had it, I'm sure you could leave it out too)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 C. half and half (I just used milk)

Garnish with:

Grated Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Crumbled bacon

Chopped green onion

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, basil, Tabasco, and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half; heat through. Serve with desired garnishes. Serves 4, but doubles easily. DELISH!

Total time: 30 minutes

Kate's Easy Breadsticks

My friend Kate makes these all the time. I just tried them out and I am sold! They are SO easy. No raising the dough, no nothin. These are a great quick fix and she taught me some tricks to speed it up too.

2 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 C. hot water

1 TBSP yeast

4-5 ish cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cube of butter

Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning (all opt.)

In mixing bowl with dough hook: dissolve sugar in hot water. When water cools slightly add the yeast and salt. Add flour until dough pulls away from sides of mixing bowl. Knead as you like it. (I usually leave it kneading for 5-10 minutes...but whatever you like). While it's kneading place cube of butter on a large cookie sheet in the oven at 350 to melt. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut into breadsticks. (here's the great trick: if you have a cutting board or another cookie sheet about the same size then flip it over, coat with flour, and role out dough in the rectangle shape. Then use a pizza cutter to cut into desired size of breadsticks. Then just invert sheet with dough over the sheet of melted butter... and vwala!) If desired sprinkle garlic powder and Italian seasoning on the buttered sheet before inverting the dough onto it. Then roll sticks over on pan to coat. Sprinkle entire sheet with Parmesan cheese if desired. Allow to raise 10 minutes if desired (but she doesn't and neither did I and they were perfect). Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy hot!

Total Time: 35-40 minutes Yield: about 2-3 dozen breadsticks.

Welcome!

Since we're always looking for new ideas for yummy food prep (and since I've eaten so many fantastic things created by ya'll) let's share some recipes! We thought this would be the easiest format to share. Thanks for your participation and enjoy!

Becky's Granola

I had this granola at a Relief Society activity and about died! It was so yummy AND healthy. I'm officially addicted to this stuff. I don't like nuts so I sans the almonds and pecans (and dried fruit), but I love it with vanilla yogurt and strawberries.

3 cups oatmeal

1 cup coconut

½ cup wheat flour

¾ cup almonds

¾ cup pecans

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 can apple juice concentrate

1 cup dried fruit

Mix dry ingredients, then add the juice and mix well. Spread out on lightly sprayed cookie sheet or cake pan. Bake at 275 degrees for around 45 minutes, stirring at least every 15 minutes.

Note: You can substitute barley flakes, wheat flakes, rye flakes, wheat germ, flax seeds, etc. for oatmeal or flour. You can also substitute other nuts. I have also used orange juice, pineapple juice, and white grape juice for the apple juice—they are all good as well. Experiment with it and enjoy!

Enchiladas

This is one of the favorite things that Jake loves for me to make (he licks the spoon from the sauce) :-). It's really easy, maybe not that healthy, but I've substituted flour tortillas with wheat tortillas and included low fat cream of chicken soup and low fat sour cream and it was still really good. You can also add any kind of vegetables you want. Sorry if my proportions aren't that specific but each time I make it it's different. If you want more heat you can buy spicy green chilies and enchilada sauce, but if you're like us and don't want too much of a kick then include more sour cream and buy the mild stuff.

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Can Green Enchilada Sauce

1 small can of diced green chilies

1 container of sour cream

6-8 tortillas

Shredded Cheese

Oven 375

Boil chicken in salt water or chicken broth until cooked. Shred chicken with a fork. (If short on time my sister likes to buy a rotisserie chicken.) In a saucepan cook soup, enchilada sauce, green chilies, and sour cream. Stir occasionally until it slightly boils. Pour a little of the sauce into a casserole pan so it coats the bottom. Place a small handful of chicken and shredded cheese (and any vegetables) in tortillas, fold and place folded part down on the pan so they don't open. Cover tortillas with the remainder of the sauce and shredded cheese. Place in oven until you see the sauce start to boil.