Baked Potato Soup

My first memory of potato soup is Gum-I always making it when she came to visit. However, her recipe consisted of milk, butter, onions, salt and pepper, and potatoes. It was yummy, but mama found another recipe a few years later that I loved because it involved cheese! Then, I was introduced to O'Charley's Potato Soup, and potato soup soon became one of my favorite hearty meals. I can't remember where exactly I found this recipe, but I have adapted it a little for my own taste. We love it!

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup flour

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

7 cups milk

3 tblsp dried onion flakes (or real onion if preferred)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 can Cheddar Cheese soup

1 cup sour cream

4 large potatoes baked (or two cans diced potatoes)

1/4 cup shredded cheddar

On low heat, melt butter.

Add flour and stir until smooth.

Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.

Raise heat to medium, stir until bubbly.

Meanwhile, cook bacon and let cool to crumble.

I always do mine the simple way, place bacon on a paper towel and cover with a second paper towel and microwave for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye out on it so you don't burn it. Don't let the crackling sound alarm you.

Once your milk mixture has thickened, add cheddar cheese soup and continue to stir.

Once your cheddar cheese soup has mixed in well, add 1 cup of sour cream and continue to stir.

Let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Then add your baked or canned potatoes.

Let simmer for another 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add your crumbled bacon.

Allow soup to simmer for a few more minutes until desired temperature.

Serve with sprinkled cheddar cheese on top!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I'm a sucker for Macaroni and Cheese. I could probably eat it everyday! My favorite is my grandmother, Gum-I's, but we can't figure out how she made hers. This is the closest we can find to it. My office was having a company Thanksgiving Celebration, so this is what I decided to bring. It's one of my husbands favorite recipe's of mine, so why not give it a try? It may become a favorite in your home too!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles

5 cups milk

1 stick of butter

12 oz. shredded cheddar

4 oz. shredded mozerella

Salt and Pepper to desired taste

Preheat oven to 450-degrees

Pour uncooked noodles in bottom of 9x13 greased pan.

Slice butter and place on top of uncooked noodles.

Sprinkle all shredded cheddar on top of noodles and butter.

Sprinkle mozerella on top of cheddar.

Pour milk over cheese and noodles.

Bake for an hour.

Now, it may be a bit runny when you take it out, but one you let it sit for a while it thickens up.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This recipe was the first time that I have come up with a dish from my own ideas. It's very simple and not much to it. But it's always exciting when you throw something together yourself and it turns out yummy! It's a perfect compliment to any entree.

Keep in mind this recipe is only for 2 servings. I just throw this into one of my smaller bowls for me and the husband. You can double or even triple the recipe if desired.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli cuts

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup shredded cheddar (or any type of cheese you have in your kitchen)

1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Cook frozen broccoli according to directions on the bag.

Take half of the butter and chop up over cooked broccoli.

Sprinkle shredded cheddar, or in my case here, I used Kraft slices. Personally, I think velveeta does the best, but I didn't have any in the fridge that night.

Melt the other half of your butter and mix crushed Ritz crackers.

Sprinkle on top of broccoli.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crackers are browned.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Cooking in your mother's kitchen is sometimes an awkward feeling. At least at first. In my case, it's hard to tell my mom that I know what I'm doing so let me do it! =) But cooking together is something I will be able to cherish for years. And hopefully as I get older, we will be able to do it more and more. Any maybe she will even trust me for once. =)

Chicken Noodle Casserole

3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked, chopped

3 cups egg noodles, cooked, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken or cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup Ritz crackers crushed

1/4 cup butter melted

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

Cook your chicken as you prefer. My mom always has some sort of QVC kitchen gadget, so we used her Cooks Essentials Pressure Cooker.

Meanwhile, cook noodles until tender.

Mix your 2 cans of "cream of" soups into a large bowl, along with sour cream. We chose cream of mushroom and cream of chicken because that is what we had already. But I prefer the taste of cream of celery.

Once chicken is cooked, chop into bite size pieces and add to soup and sour cream mixture.

Once your noodles are cooked to desired tenderness, drain them and add to soup and chicken mixture.

Place noodle mixture into a deep dish 8x8 pan. (or you can use a larger pan if it looks too shallow)

Melt butter in a small bowl and add crushed Ritz crackers. Mix together.

Sprinkle crushed crackers on top of casserole.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

Bake for additional 5-8 minutes.

Serve, and enjoy!

Zesty Chicken Tortilla Bake

I'm always up for trying new recipes. Anything that I can find and has ingredients that my husband and I like. This recipe I found on Kraft's website. My mother-in-law always has the Food and Family magazines in her house, so whenever I'm surfing the net, I make time to check out the new recipes on Kraft.com.

1/4 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz shredded cheddar
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and chopped
1/4 cup salsa
6 tortillas

Preheat oven to 375-degrees

Mix Miracle Whip and flour in saucepan with whisk until well blended.

Gradually stir in milk.

Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Continue to stir until thickened.

Add 1/2 cup cheese, cook until melted, stirring constantly.

Reserve 1/2 cup of sauce.

Stir chicken, salsa into remaining sauce.

Spoon 1/3 cup down the center of each tortilla.

Roll up.

Place rolls seam-side down in 9x13 pan.

Top with reserved sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake 25 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Gum-I's Chocolate Pie

This post is an emotional one for me. My grandmother, or Gum-I as my sisters and I called her, is the most influential person in my life. She was the most caring and supportive person I have known. If I become half the woman she was, I will have a fulfilled life.

Christmas cooking was always a big deal in our house when I was a child. Gum-I would stay for a week during the holidays and have a cooking fest with my mom. My sisters and I would come home from school to a kitchen FULL of goodies. From breakfast cookies to fudge, we would have a wide selection of sugar-filled treats to choose from. Her chocolate pie is what always stood out to me though. To this day, no one has been able to cook a chocolate pie to her standards, but I still feel as though she would enjoy sitting at my kitchen table and eating a piece of mine.

Chocolate Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tsp vanilla

1 stick butter

2 cups milk

1 baked 9-in pie shell

In a medium saucepan, mix dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa, flour)

Separate your egg by using an egg separator, or as I did, by transferring the yolk from shell to shell until egg separates. Make sure you do not get ANY yolk in your whites, as you will be using these whites to make your meringue.

Mix your egg yolks and milk gradually to your dry ingredients over medium heat. Stir constantly until thick. Now, be patient with this. If it's your first time trying this, you will think you have done something wrong. It will take at least 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bake your pie shell according to how you like. I usually use Pillsbury's roll out pie crust, but UGO had a sale on frozen pie shells. So that is what I used on this one.

Once your chocolate mixture is thickened, take off heat. Melt your butter and add to chocolate mixture, along with vanilla.

Pour chocolate mixture into your prepared pie crust.

Now, this is when I wish Gum-I was here to help me.
Take your room temperature egg whites and add a 1/4 tsp cream of tarter and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat until foamy.

Take 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating while adding sugar slowly. It should form peaks. However, mine didn't this time. Lord only knows why.

Spoon prepared meringue on top of pie. Bake at 350-degrees for 6-8 minutes or until meringue is browned.