Thursday, July 15, 2010

Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. minced white onion
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup frozen cut Italian green beans
1/4 c minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
4 tsp. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth (do not use chicken broth)
2 15 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained
2 15 ounce cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 c small shell pasta

1 Heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat in large soup pot.
2. Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.
3. Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.
4. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes
5. Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 2o minutes or until desired consistency.
6. Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1 c. plain bread crumbs
2 T. flour
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 c. milk
8-10 chicken tenders
2 c. dry bowtie pasta
2 T. butter
3 T. olive oil
2 t. garlic crushed
1/2 c. white table wine
1/4 c. water
2 T. flour
3/4 c. half and half
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. basil leaves
3/4 c. asiago cheese

Garnish:
8 broccoli florets and 4 mushrooms that have been lightly steamed
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Cook to al dente and drain the pasta.

Wash and drain (dry) chicken trips. Mix bread crumbs, flour and Parmesan cheese together. Place milk in a small bowl for dipping. Dip chicken first in the bread crumbs, then the milk and back in the bread crumbs.

Add the oil to a skillet and heat to medium. Add the chicken strips and fry to golden brown. Remove from pan and drain chicken.

In a sauce pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Whisk in flour and stir until blended. Add garlic and stir in wine. Immediately add half and half, water and sour cream. When mixture is smooth and blended, add the asiago cheese. Stir in the basil and remove from heat.

To serve: Place 2 cups pasta in individual dishes. Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 c. sauce over pasta. Add broccoli and mushrooms. Place Parmesan chicken on pasta and sprinkle with the red pepper.

Chicken Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts or whole chicken
2-3 celery stocks sliced
2-3 potatoes diced
2 lb. Velveeta cheese
4-5 diced carrots
salt and pepper to taste
2 cubes chicken bullion

Directions:
Cook chicken breast in 2 quarts of water with celery, salt and pepper. Remove chicken from broth, add carrots, potatoes, and chicken bullion to broth and cook until tender.
Return chicken to broth, cut Velveeta cheese into cubes and slowly add to mixture and simmer until cheese is melted. NOTE: when adding cheese into soup turn temperature down to low to prevent cheese from curdling, do not boil.

Makes 8-10 servings

Chicken Tortilla Soup with a kick

Ingredients:
1 pack Bear Creek Tortilla soup mix (dry)
2 chicken breasts (cooked & shredded or cut into small pieces)
1 Lg. can diced tomatoes
1 small package frozen corn
1 15 oz can black beans (do not drain)
1 c. chopped fresh Cilantro
1 large jar salsa
1 sm can green chili salsa
1 large fresh zucchini cut into small pieces
1/2 c pepper and onion relish
1 1/4 cups wild rice (uncooked)
Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips for topping
Shredded jack cheese for topping
1 sliced avocado for topping
Sour Cream for topping

Directions:
1. Make tortilla soup mix according to directions. Add all ingredients except avocado, tortilla chips, and cheese.
2. Simmer Soup until squash is soft, but not too soft.
3. When served add chips, cheese, avocado, and sour cream

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
One pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast cubed (Or one rotisserie chix torn into small pieces)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 15.5 oz cans of Great Northern Beans, drained
1 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 7 oz can green chilies chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you don't want the heat)
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:
In a large pot saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in vegetable oil, cook until chicken is no longer pink (or if using rotisserie chicken, cook until chicken is heated all the way through). Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately. Top with cheese, green onions, and sour cream.

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 c. chicken broth
2-3 cups coconut milk
10 slices of fresh galangal (similar to ginger)
4 stalks lemongrass, smashed and cut into 2" lengths
6 green Thai chiles, cut in half crosswise
8 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 tsp of sugar (omit if you want to)
1/2 c. drained canned straw mushrooms
1/2 c. sliced bamboo shoot
3 T. fish sauce
1/4c. fresh lime juice, or to taste
1/4 c. cilantro
2 c. cooked jasmine rice

In a large pan, combine chicken, stock, coconut milk, sugar, galangal, lemongrass, chiles, and lime leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce and simmer for 20 min. *Strain soup and place back in sauce pan. Add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, stir well. Raise heat to high and bring to boil. Add fish sauce, lime juice and then taste to adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls filled with jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro.

*the galangal lemongrass and lime leaves are meant for flavoring and are too tough to eat, so you can just strain the soup. However, you can skip this step and just leave it in if you like.

Funeral Potatoes

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken
1 cup shredded cheese 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. onion or 2 Tbsp minced onion
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 32 oz. package of frozen hash browns
1/2 c. crushed cornflakes

Mix all ingredients together except the cornflakes Put in a 9X13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, stir and add cornflakes on the top. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Grasshopper Cake

**Taken from Whitney's blog**

Hey Amy! Here's that cake recipe:

1 package mint sandwich cookies (Oreo or store brand)
Reserve 1/3 of the crumbs for sprinkling

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 container Mint Moose Tracks Ice Cream

1 large container of Cool Whip

1 Symphony bar with almonds and toffee pieces, chopped

1 jar of hot fudge sauce

Instructions:

Mix 2/3 of the crushed cookies with 1/4 c. melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a greased spring form pan or a 9X13 pan

Scoop out half of the container of ice cream and spread over crust using your scoop (your hands will melt the ice cream)

Layer the remaining 1/3 of the crumbs on top

Layer remaining ice cream on top of this, leveling out with your scoop

Layer the Cool Whip on top

At this point you may want to put the cake in the freezer for a while as it will be kind of melty at this point.

Now pour the chocolate syrup over the top. If you heat up the jar of chocolate sauce, it will cause the cake to melt a bit (it still tastes good though). A couple of other options are to use some Hershey Chocolate Syrup, or make a home made sauce that can cool and still be runny enough to pour over the top.

Now sprinkle the crushed Symphony Bar over the top and put the cake back in the freezer until ready to serve.