Golden cheese/broccoli chowder

There were no images on the Internet to do this amazing soup justice. I took this to a relief society dinner last week and it was the only soup gone at the end of the night. It's good stuff!

2 C water
1 C celery, chopped
1 C carrots, chopped
1/2 C onion, chopped
1 pound fresh broccoli, washed and chopped

Cheese Sauce:
1/2 C butter
1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper (I use regular black pepper)
4 C milk (this is good with milk and even better with half-and-half!)
hot pepper sauce, as desired (I have never desired any, so I have never included it at all)
1 pound process cheese spread cut in 1/2 inch cubes or 4 C shredded cheddar cheese (my family makes it with the process stuff and I like it, but have changed to the cheddar and I like that too)
2 C ham, cut in 1/2 inch cubes

In large saucepan, combine water, celery, carrots, and onion. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for about 5 minutes or until tender/crisp. Add broccoli; cook until broccoli is tender/crisp, about 4-5 minutes. (to keep broccoli bright green, leave the cover slightly ajar.) Do not drain vegetables. To make sauce, melt butter in large saucepan; blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in milk; cook until mixture thickens. Add several drops of hot pepper sauce if desired. Stir in cheese and cook until melted; add the ham cubes. Combine cheese mixture with undrained vegetables; stir to blend. Yield 12 servings.

Clam (or bacon!) Chowder

My mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid. Then one day I started refusing any seafood, so she would dish me out a bowl before she put the clams in. Then one day she had the quite brilliant idea of replacing the clams with bacon! Genius!

1 C onion, finely chopped
1 C celery, finely diced
2 C potatoes, finely diced
2 Cans (6 1/2 ounces each) clams, undrained (I use one package of bacon cut in small pieces and cooked until it's crisp)
3/4 C butter
3/4 C flour
1 quart half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine vegetables in small saucepan. Drain clams; pour juice over vegetables (I just skip that part); add enough water to barely cover. Cook, covered, until tender - about 15 minutes. In meantime, melt butter in large heavy saucepan. Stir in flour until blended and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in cream until smooth and blended. Return to heat; cook and stir with wire whip until thick and smooth. Add undrained vegetables and clams (or bacon!); heat through. Season with salt and pepper (I ended up using less salt than called for because bacon is salty too).

Old fashioned chicken noodle soup

This is a recipe my mom had from somewhere and put in the recipe box she gave me when I left home.

1-3 lb stewing chicken, cut up
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
1 bay leaf
4 sliced carrots - cut into 1" slices
celery to equal amount of carrots - cut into 1" slices
1/2 lb small white onions - washed and peeled (or regular white onion diced large to equal amount of carrots)
1 C fine noodles, uncooked (I use wide egg noodles)

Wash chicken, place in large pot and cover with water. Add seasonings, simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. remove chicken from pot. Prepare vegetables, bring stock to a boil and add vegetables. Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove skin and chicken from bones 10 minutes before the vegetables are done. Add noodles and chicken pieces. Cook minutes longer.

Zucchini Whoopie Pie

I got this recipe from Real mom kitchen, and they are delicious! I must say that is has got my mind going in circles for other recipes I could use this same idea with. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with a chocolate cream cheese frosting, or just plain cream cheese frosting. Yummy!!! My winter cookie months just got a little more exciting!!

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup finely chopped nuts (optional, I didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 large egg
1 cup grated zucchini-squeezed
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix shortening and sugar. Add in egg. Mix. Add milk and mix.
2. Add in dry ingredients and stir.
3. Blend in the zucchini and vanilla.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350* for about 12-15 minutes, until the bottom gets browned.
Cool and sandwich cookies with cream cheese filling.

Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat all ingredients together until light and fluffy.

German Pancakes

The kids are off track and asked for something different for breakfast this morning. We tried the pancakes, my first time ever, they were super SIMPLE and a big hit!

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 C. flour
1 C. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp butter


Cut up margarine into a 9x13 pan, place in oven while it preheats to 400 degrees. Combine remaining ingredients and blend smooth. Once margarine is melted pour batter into the pan and cook for 20 minutes. It will puff up and get light brown around the edges. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Egg Salad Sandwich

I haven't had one of these in years, but I remember growing up these were one of my favorite sandwiches my mom would make. I love it when the eggs were still warm and they had that tangy sauce...my mouth is watering already. This is the classic simple recipe my mom used, you can't go wrong with that!

2 eggs
2 Tbsp Miracle whip
Mustard to taste
S&P to taste

Scramble eggs in skillet, once eggs are cooked thru, add Miracle Whip, mustard and salt and pepper to taste and texture preferences. Serve on warm toasted bread while filling is still warm.

Greek Summer Squash

This is another tasty way to use up the squash and Zucchini that are growing in your garden. I love that you can just pop this on the grill while you are cooking your dinner and then you have an awesome dinner when it's done. Once again credit goes to Taste of Home, love their website!

• 2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup pitted ripe olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place the yellow squash, zucchini, tomato, olives and onion on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 17 in. x 18 in.). Combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic salt, oregano and pepper; pour over vegetables. Fold foil around mixture and seal tightly.
Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Carefully open foil; transfer vegetables to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Yield: 4 servings.

Sunshine Toast

my mom use to make this all of the time while we were growing up and I must say that I loved them. I always thought it was super cool. I also love that when I eat the over easy egg, there is already toast surrounding it to soak up the yummy golden sunshine that runs out of the egg. This is an easy twist on eggs and toast that your kids will love!

Set your burner to medium heat and place your frying pan on the burner. Add a dab of butter to the pan. Now butter one side of a piece of bread.

With butter side up take your glass drinking side down and press it in the center of your toast to cut a perfect circle in the center. Do not discard the center, toast it in your pan to eat later.
Once the burner is warm, drop your bread butter side down in the frying pan. Take your egg and crack it open over the bread to fill the hole.

When you can get the spatula under the egg without breaking white of the egg flip it over and heat until the whites of the egg are fully cooked.

When the whites of the egg are done. Place on a plate and serve.

Chicken, Tomatillos and Poblanos

Just trying to use up some Tomatillos from my garden, this is another great recipe, roasting the chiles takes a little time, but otherwise it's a quick fix for dinner. I got this from allrecipes.com and it's a great blend of flavors, depending on the heat of your poblanos it might be pretty mild or fairly hot seasoning wise.

• 3 fresh poblano chile peppers
• 3 Anaheim chile peppers
• 3/4 pound tomatillos, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Roast peppers for about 25 minutes, until the skins can easily be removed. Remove skins, and chop peppers.
In a medium saucepan, combine chopped peppers with tomatillos, onion, red pepper, green onion, and garlic. Stir in chicken broth. Heat to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in flour, then saute briefly. Pour tomatillo mixture over chicken. Season with oregano, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the cilantro just before serving. Serve over rice.

Korean Bulgogi

This week I got my first lesson in cooking Korean food. A good friend of ours from Korea agreed to teach me to cook some traditional Korean dishes, and this week she came and taught me to cook Bulgogi, and can I just say it was heavenly. I am not addicted to learning to cook more Korean dishes, so there will be more recipes to come for sure! The flavors of this went so well together, and it was such a simple dish and so easy to make. Try it, you won't be disappointed! Most of the ingredients can be found at your local oriental market.

2 lbs Beef Sirloin sliced thin (ask the butchen to slice it for you, or buy it at an oriental market)
1 large yellow onion julienned
4 green onions sliced in 1 inch pieces
8 oz sliced Mushrooms
5-6 oz of Dang Myun (you can buy these at a local oriental market)
2 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds
8 oz CJ Bulgogi Marinade



Marinate beef in Bulgogi Marniade for 30 minutes prior to cooking. In a large skillet or wok start to brown beef, add in yellow onions and sautee until onions are soft. In a medium size sauce pan bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then add Dang Myun noodles to water. Boil noodles until "al' dente". In the mean time, add mushrooms to beef mixture as well as green onions. Once noodles are done, add them to the beef mixture as well, and allow flavors to soak into the noodles. Taste to make sure it's not too salty, and also to make sure it has enough flavor, if additional flavor is needed add more of the marinade to mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste, top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.

You can add additional vegetables to your own taste, but the traditional Korean veggies are onions and mushrooms.

Easy Turkey Wraps

his makes for a quick after school snack or even for a quick fix lunch or dinner. You ca add whatever veggies you like or whatever meat you choose. I like to add a little seasoning to my cream cheese. Sometimes it's dry ranch dressing, other times dry Italian dressing, it all depends on what effect I'm looking for. I hope you enjoy.

• 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 (6 ounce) package sliced deli-style turkey
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 cups minced tomato

Spread cream cheese evenly over the tortillas. Top the cream cheese with lettuce leaves. Arrange the turkey slices in even layers on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle the carrots and tomato over the turkey slices. Roll the tortillas into wraps. Cut the wraps diagonally into bite-sized pieces. Secure with toothpicks.

Green Salsa

My garden is overflowing with Tomatillos, and so I have been on the hunt for new recipes, this is a great recipe for spicy green salsa. I got it from allrecipes, and it's great either on burritos or fresh with chips.

• 8 tomatillos, husked
• 3 shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded
• salt to taste

In a food processor, place tomatillos, shallots, garlic, green chile peppers, cilantro, jalapeno pepper and salt. Using the pulse setting, coarsely chop. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Calabacitas con Maiz

Translation: Little Zucchinis with Corn
Here's another idea for those of you wondering what to do with all that zucchini in your garden!
Cook about half of an onion diced in some oil in a frying pan until tender. Then add zucchini slices and fresh or frozen cut corn and cover to steam. When the veggies are about done, add a diced tomato and cook a couple minutes longer. Salt to taste. That's the traditional Mexican side dish. Or to make it a meal, we cook sliced smoked sausage with the onions and skip the oil. We sprinkle cheese on top, sometimes Mexican cheese, sometimes cheddar or Jack, and we eat it with white corn tortillas or with corn chips--and hot sauce for those who like to spice it up. We do it year round with stuff from the store, but it's even better when you have any or all of those veggies from your garden!