Welcome to my recipe blog! I started it when my brother, Mark, moved away and was in need of some recipes....or so I thought.... The goal is to post recipes that can be made quickly, easily, and inexpensively. If you have something to contribute, please let me know and I will be glad to add it!!

Friday, February 29, 2008

Spaghetti Lover's Soup

I got this recipe from my friend Jean (naturecoastcrafter on SCS)......

Hey Mel: I borrowed your recipe for Chicken Alfredo Soup, so I'm sending a payback. I found this soup in a magazine and we had it this week. It was so good, my husband was even eating it cold from the refrigerator instead of his nightly ice cream. Remember school lunch spaghetti, this was a nostalgia trip back there!

Spaghetti Lover's Soup
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small green sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups water
2 14-1/2 ounce cans diced tomatores
1 13-to 15-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash crushed red pepper
2 ounces dried spaghetti broken into 2-inch pieces

In large saucepan or dutch overn, cook meat, onion, sweet pepper, celery, carrot, and garlic over medium heat until vegetables are tender and meat is no longer pink. Drain off excess fat. Add water, undrained tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, and black and red pepper. Bring to boiling. Add broken spaghetti. Return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until spaghetti is tender. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 Servings

Saturday, February 23, 2008

New York Style Cheesecake

New York Style Cheesecake


Crust
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Sugar
1 Tsp grated lemon rinds
¼ Cup Butter
1 Egg Yolk
½ Tsp Vanilla

Cream Cheese Filling
5 (8oz) pkg. Cream Cheese
1 ¾ Cups Sugar
3 T flour
2 Tsp grated lemon rinds
2 Tsp Vanilla
5 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Whipping Cream
Stir together flour, sugar, and peel. blend in butter, egg yolk and vanilla with fork till dough holds together. Press 1 cup of mixture onto bottom of 9x13 inch spring form pan. Bake at 400o for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool then press remaining dough up sides of pan. In mixer beat together cream cheese, flour, peel and vanilla on med high speed till light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks and beat well after each egg. Blend in cream. Pour into ready spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes at 500o. reduce heat to 250o and bake for 50 to 60 minutes till a knife inserted in center comes out clean when cooled top with sour cream mixed with sugar.

Mississippi Mud Cake

Mmmmmmm......this one ALWAYS wins awards!!


Mississippi Mud Cake

1 Cup Cooking Oil
1/3 Cup Cocoa
4 Eggs
1 ¾ Cups Sugar
1 ½ Cups Self-rising Flour
2 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Chopped Nuts

Mix ingredients together and
bake in an oblong cake pan at
300 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
Cover with small marshmallows
when removed from hot oven.

Fast and Simple Cheesecake

Fast and Simple Cheesecake

8 oz cream cheese
1 can cherry pie filling
1 box cheesecake mix with crust

Make cheesecake according to directions on the box. Add cream cheese. Using a Tupperware Jello mold, layer as follows: Pie filling, cheesecake, crust. Chill 2-3 hours or overnight. Remove cheesecake from mold just before serving.

Cranberry Pecan Cheesecake Treats

Cranberry Pecan Cheesecake Treats

4 8-oz packages cream cheese
4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped cranberries
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 box vanilla wafers
1 pkg white chocolate chips

Blend chream cheese until smooth.
Add eggs; mix well. Add sweetened
condensed milk; blend well. Stir in
cranberries and nuts. Place one vanilla
wafer in the bottom of each cupcake paper.
Add cheesecake batter until about 2/3 full.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until set in
the middle. Cool completely. Melt
chocolate chips and drizzle over the top.
Yield: about 2/12 to 3 dozen

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

OK....here is another soup recipe that I really enjoy. When we make this at my parent's house, we often make it with the Chicken Alfredo Soup....to give some variety. When I have people over for soup, I like to make two kinds. That way if someone doesn't like one kind, they will probably like the other one.


Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

8 oz wild rice, uncooked (1 1/3 cup)
1 ½ Lbs Fryer Chicken, cut up
7 Cups water
12 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
4 cups milk
¾ tsp white pepper
½ cup butter
¾ cup flour
2 tbsp instant chicken bouillon granules


Cook wild rice according to pkg. directions for 30 minutes; drain off liquid and rinse thoroughly. Set partially cooked rice aside. In a large saucepan, Combine the chicken and water. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth and let stand until cook enough to handle. Skim fat from broth. Strain and reserve broth. Cut into bite-size pieces. In the same saucepan, cook celery and onion in hot oil for 4-5 minutes; add mushrooms and cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until everything is tender, stirring now and then remove from heat. Return broth to the saucepan. Add the partially cooked wild rice to the chicken broth mixture. Stir in the bouillon granules and white pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. In a large separate saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour until it all clings together and is smooth. Add the milk all at once and stir and cook until it's bubbly and thick. Add some hot broth mixture to the white sauce mixture and stir until smooth; return all to the broth mixture. Stir in the chicken pieces and heat through.

Chicken Vegetable Alfredo Soup

Ok -- here is a really yummy soup recipe. I've been thinking about making it for a while....yum!!
When we make this at my parent's house, we often make it with the Chicken and Wild Rice Soup....to give some variety. When I have people over for soup, I like to make two kinds. That way if someone doesn't like one kind, they will probably like the other one. If anyone was wondering, this is a Pampered Chef recipe.

Chicken Vegetable Alfredo Soup

1 Cup Chopped Broccoli
½ Cup Chopped Carrots
½ Cup Chopped Onions
½ Red Bell Pepper, Diced
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
14 ½ Oz Chicken Broth
2 Cups Cooked Chicken, diced
16 oz Alfredo Sauce

Place broccoli, carrots, onion, bell peppers, and garlic in sauce pan. Add broth.; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Add chicken and alfredo sauce to broth; simmer 5 minutes, or until heated through. Delicious served in bread bowls.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight

Well....I'm having my first dinner party tonight at the new apartment, so I decided to make some of my favorite foods -- BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Salad, and this really YUMMY and very rich chocolate cake that I absolutely LOVE!! We don't get to make it at home very often, because Joshua is allergic to peanuts.

So, without further ado -- here it is....
(DA DUM DA DAAAAAAAAA)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight
1 Chocolate Cake mix
1 Egg
1 fourth Cup Milk
1 half Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup Sugar
8 Oz Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup creamy peanut
16 Oz Cool Whip, divided
butter
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Chocolate Chips Nuts (optional)
14 Oz Sweetened Condensed Milk


Mix cake mix, egg, milk, and butter. Bake in a 9x13 greased pan at 350 approximately 25 minutes, or until almost set. Let cool. Mix cream cheese, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla until creamy. Fold in half of the cool whip. Spread on top of cake mixture. Spread remaining cool whip on top. Melt chocolate chips with 1 tbsp butter and a dash of vanilla. Drizzle on top. Note: Can add nuts to first and second layers if desired.