Hearty Ham Soup

1 1/2 c. chicken broth
4 c. milk
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 T. butter (to saute onion)
1 t. garlic powder
4 medium potatoes (baked, peeled, chopped)
2 - 3 c. lightly cooked broccoli
2 - 3 c. ham
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. hot pepper sauce
1 - 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Steam broccoli (just a little undercooked). In frying pan melt 2 T. butter. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic. In large pot melt 1/3 c. butter and add flour (stir until smooth). Add milk and chicken broth. Add onions, potatoes, broccoli, ham, spices, pepper sauce and shredded cheese. Simmer until soup thickens.

Banana Slush Punch

This is the slush punch we had at Ethan's baptism open house.

4 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 cups water
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
3 cups water
3 liters ginger ale

Directions

1.In a blender, combine bananas, sugar and 3 cups water. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and stir in pineapple juice. Blend in orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate and 3 cups water. Divide into 3 plastic containers and freeze until solid.
2.Remove from freezer 3 to 4 hours before serving. Using one portion at a time, place slush in a punch bowl and pour in 1 liter of ginger ale for each.

Light Banana Bread

I'm always looking for a good banana bread recipe. I found this one on Cooking Light. It is really good and a little healthier than some recipes.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

IHOP Pancakes

1 1/4 C Milk
1/4 C Vegetable Oil
1/4 C Sugar
1 egg
1 C Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda

Makes about 10 pancakes. Enjoy!

Maple Breakfast Souffle

Okay, I haven't made this yet, but I am planning on it. It might be our Easter breakfast. I found the recipe in a Smith's coupon booklet that came in the mail. I can tell just by reading the ingredients that it's going to be good. I was ready to throw away the coupon booklet but didn't want to lose the recipe. Sorry to post recipes I haven't tried yet.

1 loaf Hawaiian or egg bread coarsely chopped

1 8 oz. pkg reduced fat cream cheese softened

3/4 c. syrup divided

1/4 c. butter softened (original recipe calls for butter flavored crisco.)

10 large eggs

3 c. whole milk

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp. powdered sugar

Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle bread pieces evenly over bottom. Beat cream cheese, 1/4 c. maple syrup and butter in bow of electric mixer until smooth. Spread mixture over bread. Beat eggs, remaining syrup and milk. Pour over bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Heat oven to 350. Uncover. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until puffed and golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with syrup and butter. Serves 8

to 10.

Scalloped Potatoes

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. It's super easy and really good. They are definitely not for the dieter though.

1 teaspoon unsalted butter
4 cups heavy cream ** I ended up using about 3 c. heavy cream and 1 c. evaporated milk since I didn't have enough cream. You could probably use half and half.**
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 to 3 1/4 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
8 ounces Swiss cheese, grated ** I just used sharp cheddar **

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with the butter and set aside.


Place the cream in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add salt and pepper, and stir well. Add the potatoes, adding more cream if necessary to completely cover the potatoes. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are barely fork tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.


With a large spoon, transfer 1/3 of the potatoes with some of the cream to the prepared dish, forming an even layer on the bottom. Top with 1/3 of the cheese, and continue layering the potatoes and cheese, ending with cheese on top. Place on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.


Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve hot

Shepherds Pie

This is Rachael Ray's recipe. I changed the instructions a tiny bit because I like my vegetables to be soft. The first part of the ingredients are for the mashed potato topping. You could just make your favorite mashed potatoes if you wanted or you could even use instant.

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 pounds ground beef or ground lamb
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it
1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.

While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with olive oil. Cook carrots and onions together until soft. Then remove from pan and brown and meat. Spoon away the fat. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Remove meat carrots and onions from skillet. Cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

Preheat broiler. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and place under the broiler about 6 to 8 inches from the heat. Broil until slightly golden. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

** I ended up sticking mine in the oven at 350 to make sure it was heated through. Then I broiled the top a little.**

Strawberries & Cream

6 oz cream cheese (softened
1 tsp Vanilla
Beat Together
2/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream
6 TBSP Sugar

Chill 1 hour.

Cut an X in the tip of the strawberries (about 2/3 of the way down the strawberry). Pry it open a little (like a tulip) and fill with the cream. Does about 40-50 strawberries - they are delicious and easy!

It also makes a great fruit dip with other fruits!

Fruit Flavored Popcorn

• 10 cups popped popcorn
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 package fruit-flavored Jello (3 ounce size)
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease two 9 x 13 baking dishes and distribute popcorn evenly over both. Place baking pans in the oven to warm the popcorn.
3. Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Add sugar, Jello, corn syrup, and water. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the mixture reaches about 260 degrees Fahrenheit - about 4 minutes after it comes to a boil.
4. Add baking soda and stir well to combine. Remove popcorn from the oven.
5. Pour Jello mixture evenly over the popcorn and mix well to coat evenly. Bake the popcorn in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Popcorn may take additional baking time to dry and become crisp, but watch it carefully to prevent burning.
6. Remove popcorn from baking pans and transfer to wax paper to cool. Break the popcorn up into small clusters.
7. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Yum! This just might be our new Christmas breakfast tradition. It's great because all of the prep is done the night before. All you have to do in the morning is stick it in the oven.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 loaf French Toast bread, homemade bread or french bread sliced about 3/4-1" thick
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In medium saucepan melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup stirring until smooth. Pour into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Remove crust from bread. Lay bread slices on top of brown sugar/butter mixture covering the bottom of the pan in one layer. Combine eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator over night or for about 8 hours. In the morning preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until the edges get slightly golden. We ate ours with pureed raspberries. It was delish!

Harvest Hamburger Soup

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 (10.5 oz) cans beef consomme (I used beef broth)
2 C. water
1 1/2 C. chopped fresh tomatoes
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 C. frozen corn
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 t. taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add enough so we had to add our own)

Brown beef and onion. In a large saucepan combine all ingredients and cook until veggies are tender.

*This is so easy and healthy. You could add any vegetables that sound good. I think I'll try green beans next time. I've also thought about zucchini and celery.

Rice Pudding with Leftover Rice

2 c. cooked white rice

3 c. milk

1/2 c. sugar

dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg (optional)

raisins (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom. Bring it down to a simmer and cook until most of the milk is absorbed. (30-45 minutes depending on how absorbent your rice is.) When it is simmering you don't have to stir the entire time. Just every once in a while to prevent burning or sticking. Serve warm or cold.

Nothing Bundt Cake

I make this cake all the time and it's always a big hit! (Especially at work :)

1 pkg. Devils Food cake mix
1 pkg. instant choc. pudding (the small one)
1 C Sour Cream
4 Large eggs
1/2 C Water
1/2 C Oil
1 1/2 C Mini Chocolate Chips

Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bundt cake pan (spray well with cooking spray).

Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool. (I usually take it out of the pan right away and it works fine, but you might want to let it cool).

Frosting - (I only make 1/2 this recipe and it's plenty!)

2 8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C Butter, softened
3-4 C Powdered Sugar
2 Tsp. Vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. (Start with 2 cups then keep adding more until it is nice and thick. ENJOY!

P.S. You can make any kind of cake - I've done White, Yellow, Butter Pecan - anything goes! Just use a complimentary pudding flavor and you're set!

Moist Cinnamon Streusel Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream
4 whole eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Blend cake mix and pudding. Add rest of ingredients. Beat all together until smooth.

Streusel

3/4 c. brown sugar packed

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. butter cut into pieces

dash of salt

Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add butter. Pinch together with fingers until it forms a crumble. Spread half of the batter in a greased angel food pan (I used a 9x13 baking pan.) Sprinkle half of the streusel on the batter; add remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining streusel. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Bake at 350 degrees