Corn Chowder turned Cheesey Veggie Soup

It started just like any other Saturday morning. I was looking at recipes to  make my monthly menu. I found a recipe for Corn Chowder (my husband's favorite). I noticed that I had everything for the recipe so I decided to make my version for lunch!

I got the crockpot out and started pouring in the following:
1 bag of frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen peas
3 carrots sliced
3 celery stocks slices
1 onion sliced
3 cups of chicken stock
2 cups cubed ham
1-2 potatoes cubed
cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

After cooking for that amount of time, the chowder called for evaporated milk and other goodies. Well I went and got my evaporated milk out.... only to realized it was old. So then I immediately start to think... What to do with this crock pot full of veggies that I have nothing to do with now.

Well you add:
8oz cream cheese
8oz shredded cheese ( I used colby jack in the soup)
Parsley
Salt and Pepper
** add more chicken stock or water if the soup gets way too thick
Let cook for about another 30-45minutes or until cheese is melted!
Yummy goodness in your mouth!

Meatless Monday’s: Tuscan Potato Casserole

I have a binder for all my recipes I have been given or cut out of a magazine. I cut this recipe out a while ago from one of my Better Home and Garden’s magazine and I hadn’t tried it and when we decided to try meatless Monday’s I quickly added it to our menu. According to my magazine, this recipe won $400 because it was that good lol. I must say, it was pretty darn good! I see it as a side item instead of a main dish though! Ok enough blabbing…

2lb Red potatoes
3 or 4 cloves minced garlic (only if you want people to stop talking to you)
2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic
½ tsp crushed dried Thyme
¼ cup butter
1cup buttermilk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
4oz Fontina cheese (sliced or shredded)
4oz Parmesan cheese (shredded) I used asiago because I didn’t have any Parmesan in the house
1/3 cup Blue Cheese I do not care for blue cheese so I substituted Gorgonzola
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4tsp Italian seasoning
1TSP Olive Oil
Parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub and cut potatoes into little chunks (I like the skin on my potatoes but you can peel them if you’d like) cook potatoes in boiling water for 10-12minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

In that same pot, over medium heat, add garlic, butter, and thyme for about a minute. Add potatoes and Mash with a fork until coarsely mashed. Stir in buttermilk ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper. Then start to stir in your cheese ( ½ of the parmesan). Once the mixture is nice and creamy, pour it into a greased 9x13” pan and spread evenly.

In a small bowl, mix ½ parmesan , panko, Italian seasoning, and oil. Sprint mixture evenly over potatoes.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the breadcrumb mixture is brown.

You can add parsley to the top of the bake if desired.

Fruit Cobbler

Last Saturday morning I went into my fridge to make some breakfast and I found a bunch of fresh fruits I had kind of forgotten about. I really wanted to use them before they went bad. So I started thinking of things I could make with them.

I stumbled upon a cobbler recipe and decided to make it. I looked more like a cake recipe than a cobbler!

1/3 cup butter                                                  1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar                            1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder                            1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Then I added almost a pint of blueberries, a pound of sliced strawberries, and a sliced gala apple.

Preheat oven to 375F. Add butter to an ungreased 9x13” baking pan and place in oven to melt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, milk, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. This batter will be thin with a few little clumps
Pour batter into the pan. The butter will move to the cover the edge of the batter.
Pour fresh or frozen fruit over the top of the cobbler.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45minutes.

Grilled Pizza Burgers

Why choose between pizza or burgers? We love making this recipe and getting the best of both of our favorites!

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup sliced pepperoni

8 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and then coarsely chopped

1 lb store bought pizza dough

1 cup store bought pizza sauce

1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

2 tablespoons granulated onion powder

6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons flour

In a medium sized bowl, add ground beef, bacon, onions, black pepper, salt, oregano, onion and garlic. Mix until all incorporated (be careful not to over mix). Make three 5 ounce (try to make burgers around 3-3 1/2 inches round in diameter) burger patties and grill until medium, about 3-4 minutes on each, then remove from the grill and set on a plate to rest.

 In a small bowl, mix pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce together and set aside. 

You can customize this to be like your favorite pizza

Dust the cooking board with flour and cut the pizza dough into thirds, roll it out until you have about a 5-6 inch diameter. Put one burger patty, on one side, of one piece of the dough, leaving at least 1/2" from the edge available to be sealed. Put a 1/3 of the cheese and sauce mix on top of the burger. Fold the other half and pinch until sealed tightly. Mold the dough around the burger to make it round, without applying to much pressure. Repeat for the other two patties.

Oil both sides of each burger wrapped in dough and grill for 4-7 min (on both sides or until desired crispness) on the medium-hot part of the grill, turning with a flat spatula. Then slide to the warm part of the grill, close the lid, and let cook for an additional 2-3 minute Open lid, remove and enjoy.
When making these on the stove, cook on medium about 4-5 minutes for each size with the lid on.

recipe from food.com

wooohooo

This is so exciting for me!

I have been wanting to start a lot of my cooking, baking, and sewing projects... and here it is!

Right now I am compiling a list of recipes I have been compiling a list of recipes I have tried and failed or have always wanted to try. I am determined to make these recipes and make them well.

In our household, we have decided to start making Mondays... (drumroll)... Meatless Mondays! I am excited to share those recipes with you and get your opinions of the recipes as well as ways you tweaked them to make them your own.

so WELCOME!