Chili

My mother-in-law's recipe and the only chili worth having, according to my husband. It even won us the chili cook-off at our church competition one year!

Chili

1-2 lbs ground beef
2-3 pkg. McCormick's Chili Seasoning (original)
1 large can (46 oz.) tomato juice
2-3 cans light red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
Sugar to taste (brings out the flavor)
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Brown ground beef.

Add seasoning and a pinch or two of sugar.

Add 1/2 of the can of tomato juice, and let it cook into the meat.

Add beans and remaining tomato juice. Allow to simmer until desired flavor is reached.

Top with sour cream and shredded cheese.


Freezer Meal: Freeze after preparation, then thaw and heat through when ready to eat.

Swedish Meatballs in Sour Cream Sauce

I found this recipe on Land O' Lakes website years ago. To make it a little easier, I started using frozen meatballs.

Swedish Meatballs in Sour Cream Sauce

2 bags (16 oz) Armour meatballs
2 cups half & half
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon salt
1 package egg noodles

Cook meatballs as directed on package in 13x9 baking dish.

Combine half & half, sour cream, cream of chicken soup and salt in medium-sized bowl. Pour over meatballs. Continue baking, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes or until sauce is heated through.

Meanwhile, prepare noodles as directed on package. Drain.

Serve meatballs and sauce over hot cooked noodles.

Makes 8 servings.

Taco Soup

I've tried several different taco soup recipes, and this has become my favorite. So easy to make, fabulous as a freezer meal, and perfect for making large batches (I can make 6 of these in about an hour with five boys running circles around me). We think adding sour cream and shredded cheese is a must (haven't tried the tortilla chips), but to each his own.


Printable Recipe

Taco Soup

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning

2 cans corn, undrained

2 cans ranch-style beans (pinto beans in seasoned tomato sauce)

2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained

Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream (for serving)

Brown ground beef.

In crock pot, combine ground beef, taco seasoning, corn, beans, and tomatoes.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

To make as a freezer meal:

Brown ground beef. Allow to cool

In a labeled gallon-sized Ziploc bag, layer the beef, seasoning, corn, beans, and tomatoes (no particular order). 

Seal and freeze flat.

The night before you plan on cooking it, move to fridge to thaw. 

Once thawed, pour into slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over crush tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Homemade Applesauce

Once you taste homemade applesauce, you'll never want to go back to store-bought. And while sometimes that makes me immediately skip past that kind of recipe (it's so easy to buy it, so why would I want to make it??), this recipe is fairly simple and not time-consuming, so I make an exception. The only difficult part is peeling and coring, but that's where that terrific apple slicer, corer, peeler gadget truly comes in handy and makes this quick work.

This recipe is for canning, so if you want to make a smaller batch, you'll obviously need to adjust the amounts and just store the sauce in the fridge after you're done blending it. When adding the sugar and spices, I always started with just a little bit of each, tasted, and then added more as needed. Even with fruit from the same tree, some batches needed more and some needed less to get it just right.

I also skipped the ascorbic acid step and didn't have any issues, but I figured I'd leave it in there in case.

We used fruit from our own tree, and I'm not sure exactly what it is, but we believe they are Jonathan apples or something close. You'll want to use a sweet apple, such as: Braeburn, Cortland, Crispin (Mutsu), McIntosh, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Liberty, Ida Red, Rome. Mixing apple varieties can make it even better.

Printable Recipe

Homemade Applesauce

Quantity: An average of 21 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 13-1/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 14 to 19 quarts of sauce—an average of 3 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select apples that are sweet, juicy, and crisp. For a tart flavor, add 1 to 2 pounds of tart apples to each 3 pounds of sweeter fruit. 

Ingredients:

21 pounds of apples

1 cup water

1 cup honey

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

Wash, peel, core and quarter apples. If desired, slice apples into water containing ascorbic acid to prevent browning. 

Place drained slices in an 8 to 10-quart pot.

Add 1 cup water. Stirring occasionally to prevent burning, heat quickly until tender (5 to 20 minutes, depending on maturity and variety). 

Remove from heat and add honey, sugar and spices. Stir to combine. Sauce may be packed without sugar, if desired.

Press through a sieve or food mill, or use a blender or food processor to get to the consistency you want. (I used a food processor)

Taste and add sugar or spices as needed. 

Reheat sauce to a rolling boil.

Fill hot jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. 

Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.

Recommended process time for Applesauce in a boiling-water canner

            Process Time at Altitudes of

Style Jar             0–                  1,001– 3,001– Above

of Pack Size            1,000 ft 3,000 ft 6,000 ft 6,000 ft

Hot                Pints 15 min 20                20              25

       Quarts         20                 25                 30                35

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

An excellent remake of Red Lobsters yummy biscuits.

Printable Recipe

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bisquick mix
4 tbsp cold butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine Bisquick and cold butter, using a fork or pastry cutter. Don't combine too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter about the size of peas.
 

Add cheddar, milk and 1/4 tsp garlic.
 

Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Make 12 equal portions and place onto greased cookie sheet.
 

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are light brown.
 

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a bowl. Stir in 1/2 tsp garlic powder and parsley flakes.
 

Use a pastry brush to spread garlic butter over tops of biscuits.

Sock-It-To-Me Cake

This recipe came from my mother-in-law. I have no idea what the name "Sock-It-To-Me" comes from, but it's one of my favorites. Super easy and sweet enough on it's own to not need frosting.


Printable Recipe

Sock-It-To-Me Cake

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Cake:

1 white or French vanilla cake mix with pudding in the mix

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

Mix together filling ingredients and set aside.

Mix together cake ingredients.

Pour half the batter into greased pan.

Sprinkle filling on top of batter.

Pour remaining batter into pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.

Shredded Pork Tacos

We were trying to make more things with pork, so I found this recipe at www.mealsmatter.org. It made quite a bit, but that was okay because it was delicious. Anthony even tried it as a sandwich, and it works that way too. All of the spices really come together for a fabulous taco filling.

Printable Recipe

Shredded Pork Tacos

Pork Filling:
1 3 lb. Boneless pork prime rib roast
8 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon Onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground red pepper
1 cup Beef broth

Tacos:
2 cups Shredded Savory Pork
8 Taco shells or eight 6- to 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup salsa (if desired)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Trim fat from meat.
In a small bowl combine garlic, coriander, cumin, oregano, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; rub into the meat.

Place meat in a roasting pan that has a cover; add beef broth. Cover and roast in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. (Or put in crock pot--6 to 8 hours on low, 4 to 6 hours on high.)

Remove meat from liquid with a slotted spoon; discard excess fat from cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the liquid.

When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it.

Stir in 1/4 cup of reserved cooking liquid to use as taco filling. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Prepare tacos as normal.


You can also freeze the prepared meat and reheat later for an easy freezer meal.

Snickerdoodle Bread

I love cinnamon desserts during the winter, and this one did not disappoint. Absolutely amazing straight out of the oven, and still fabulous cold. This is one of my favorite new quick breads, and it got rave reviews at a meeting.

Printable Recipe

Snickerdoodle Bread

 adapted from Key Ingredient

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pkg Hershey's cinnamon chips

Topping:

3 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 2 loaf pans (or 4 mini loaf pans).

Cream butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy.

Add eggs and mix well.

Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.

Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until all combined.

Add cinnamon chips and stir by hand.

Spoon batter into loaf pans until about 2/3 full.

Mix 3 T. sugar and 3 t. cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the batter in each loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes (35-38 minutes for mini loaves).

Let cool before removing from pan.

Sweet Potato Casserole

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes that I've made for years. I've never been big on sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and this is a yummy, easy alternative. We don't usually put the pecans on (at my husband's request), but we love the sweet topping. Most of the time I do about 3 large sweet potatoes, which I know is over two pounds, but it still tastes fabulous without changing the other ingredients. We make it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Printable Recipe

Sweet Potato Casserole

(from Better Homes and Gardens)

3 medium to large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup  sugar
1/4 cup  butter, melted
1/4 cup  milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon  vanilla

Topping:

1/2 cup  packed brown sugar
1/4 cup  all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon  butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut off woody portions and ends. Cut into quarters.

In a large saucepan, cook potatoes, covered, in enough boiling salted water to cover for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender; drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Mash lightly. 

Stir in sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. Transfer sweet potato mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish.

In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, flour, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Crockpot Apple Butter

One of my favorite memories of growing up is taking a fall drive through Southern Indiana to Brown County. I don't know if there is anywhere else in the world that can rival the gorgeous colors of the trees when the leaves are changing.

And of course when you're there, you have to stop in Nashville and pick up some apple butter. Yum! If you don't know what apple butter is, it's an apple spread with lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc). It's a super thick apple sauce consistency, and my favorite thing to put it on is homemade biscuits (this recipe pairs VERY well with these biscuits).

I adapted my recipe from this one (I prefer some of the ingredients, and I wanted to do it in the crock pot since slow cooking is important in making apple butter) and from the Utah State University Extension--the latter is my go-to when I'm canning because I know I can trust them to give me a safe recipe that has all of the correct directions. ***Sidenote, whenever you find a canning recipe online, it would be wise to check it with a trusted source. I've seen so many that don't mention the amount of headspace needed or leave out key ingredients (spaghetti sauce and green beans, for example, have to be done a certain way or with certain ingredients, or you're putting yourself and anyone who eats it in serious danger of some major food poisoning.) Just because your grandma did it that way, or you've never gotten sick, it doesn't mean it's safe. One of the most important things to check is processing times. If the recipe gives you an exact time for processing (i.e. 15 mins in a water bath canner), check with another source. Processing depends on the size of your jar (pint vs. qt), whether you're doing hot pack or cold pack, and the altitude of your location. Fifteen minutes might be correct for the blogger, but it doesn't mean it's right for you.***

If you'd rather not can it, just put it in jars and place in the fridge (or freeze it). I'm not sure of the shelf life. Usually jam is a couple weeks, but many people say it keeps longer, so use your best judgement. That is another reason I use pint jars, so I don't have an open jar for too long.

Printable Recipe

Crockpot Apple Butter

Use Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, or other tasty apple varieties for good results.

8 lbs apples

2 cups apple cider

2-1/4 cups white sugar

2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints (I ended up with 6 pints)

Procedure:   

Wash, remove stems, quarter, and core fruit. (I used an apple corer, peeler, slicer and that made the process a lot faster.)

Place all ingredients in crock pot and stir so all apples are coated. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce to LOW for 8 to 10 hours; stir occasionally.

Once the apples are a rich brown color and mash easily, drain off excess liquid. 

Use either a blender, hand-blender or food processor, and blend just for a few seconds to get a good, thick consistency (it should look like a thick, slightly chunky applesauce).

Fill hot into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Quart jars need not be presterilized but should be clean and kept hot until filling. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.

Recommended process time for Apple Butter in a boiling-water canner

(from the USU Extension)

Process Time at Altitudes of

Style                      Jar                         0–                           1,001–                           Above

of Pack                 Size                        1,000 ft                 6,000 ft                        6,000 ft

Hot                         Half-pints                5 min                        10                                      15

or Pints

Quarts                      10                              15                                     20

S'Mores Pie

If you know me well enough, you know my deep and abiding love for S'mores. They are the only reason I tolerate camping, and it always makes me a little sad at the end of summer. No longer--I can make this pie any time and have S'mores all throughout the year. I don't know if that's such a good thing, which is probably why I let this recipe sit for awhile before I made it. But it was so amazing when I did. Very easy and satisfying.

Printable Recipe

S'mores Pie

from Life as a Lofthouse

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 (7 ounce) jar Marshmallow Creme (do NOT use regular marshmallows)

4 Regular sized Hersheys Bars, broken into pieces

wax or parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch glass pie pan with baking spray.

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy and combined.

Add egg and vanilla until incorporated.

On low speed add in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Divide the dough in half.

Press half of the dough in the bottom and sides of the prepared pie pan.

Evenly spread the Marshmallow Creme over the bottom of crust.

Spread the broken chocolate pieces on top of the Marshmallow Creme.

Form the remaining dough into a ball and place it on a piece of wax or parchment paper.

Top with another piece of wax or parchment paper and flatten into a 9 inch circle with a rolling pin.

Carefully peel off the top piece of wax paper.

Flip the crust onto the top of pie and peel off the other piece of paper.

Pinch the dough together to form the crust.

Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool until just slightly warm and then slice and serve.

Pecan Pie

This is a recipe from my grandmother. We've been making this version as long as I can remember. The few times I've tried something else, it's been a disaster, and we always run back to this one. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

 Pecan Pie

3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup dark corn syrup (or light, for a slightly less sweet pie)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves
1 9-inch pie crust


Beat eggs well.

Add sugar, salt, melted butter, corn syrup and vanilla. Mix until combined.

Add pecans. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between outside and center of filling comes out clean.

Cool before serving.

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is almost here, and I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. By far my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. It always turns out well and is very light and creamy. This is Paula Deen's recipe, but I can't believe there's only half a stick of butter! :)

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Pie

from Food Network

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional

1 piece pre-made pie dough

Whipped cream, for topping


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern.

Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up.

Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. (I don't have pie weights, so usually I just prick holes in the crust, put the foil on, and don't worry about weighing it down.)

Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights, and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer.

Add the pumpkin and beat until combined.

Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined.

Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined.

Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set.

Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

KFC Biscuits

We had these biscuits when we were visiting friends, and even though they were a day old, I had to have the recipe. So, so good! They're supposed to be a copycat of KFC biscuits, but I like them even more than those. Yum!

Printable Recipe

Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, softened


Preheat oven to 425

Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Make a well in the flour mix and add the milk.

Add butter and begin kneading until thoroughly mixed.

Pat into 1/2 inch thickness, then cut into biscuits.

Bake for 10-13 minutes.

Makes about 12 biscuits.

Best No-Knead Pizza Dough Ever

I wanted to get this out there early in the week, just in case you're like me and plan for Pizza Night on Fridays. I have tried a lot of pizza dough recipes. A LOT!!! And so many of them claim to be the best. But after all is said and done, I'm left thinking, "That's the best you've got?" So I've had this one tucked away on Pinterest for quite awhile, but by the time I saw it, I'd grown tired of making my own, barely decent, dough, and we'd gone to frozen pizza. Plus the "18 hours" of resting time scared me (PLEASE DON'T STOP READING!). When I looked at it again, I realized that while, yes, you do have to be thinking ahead for this one, the dough takes about 5 minutes to measure out and mix up, and then it just sits there. So all I have to do is remember sometime Thursday evening to whip it up, and then we're good for dinner Friday. And actually, the original blogger who posted it said it's very forgiving, and one time she only let it rise for 5 hours and it still turned out great, so even better! Just don't forget the extra hour at the end that you're supposed to let it sit (although I think I only did half an hour last time; again, forgiving).

I did the "heat a pizza stone first" trick, and the result was absolutely amazing! Not super thick and doughy, just thin enough without being overly so, and enough crunch to keep me from thinking I'd made fancy breadsticks instead. Much closer to restaurant style than I've ever accomplished before. I only had one stone, so I used an upside down cookie sheet for the other, and it was still great. (I have no idea why I turned it upside down, so don't ask.) And we freeze the third ball of dough, so by the third week, I don't even have to remember to make it because I have enough for two pizzas that just need to be thawed!

Printable Recipe

 No-Knead Pizza Dough

Handle the Heat

Yield: about 3 balls of dough (you can easily double this recipe)

3 3/4 cups (500 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour (I used bleached, just because that's what I had on hand)
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (be sure not to use really hot water as that will kill the yeast)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, yeast, and salt.

Gradually add the water, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the water is incorporated and a shaggy dough forms. You may need to use your hands to fully incorporate the water. Just remember, you don't need to knead!

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a clean large bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature in a draft-free place until the dough is doubled in size. This may take up to 18 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. Don't worry too much about the time as this dough is very forgiving.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface.

Divide into 3 equal portions.

Take one portion of dough and gather 4 corners to the center to create 4 folds.

Turn seam side down and roll into an even ball.

Repeat with remaining portions.

Let dough rest, covered, until soft and pliable, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 425.

Roll dough to desired shape.

Take pizza stone out and carefully slide the dough onto the stone.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Top with favorite toppings.

Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until done.


The dough can be made ahead of time: Refrigerate the dough, individually wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days. Unwrap and let rest at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, for 2 to 3 hours before shaping.

Freeze the dough, individually wrapped in plastic and placed in Ziploc bags, for up to 1 month. Defrost the dough overnight in the fridge then allow to sit at room temperature as directed above before shaping.

The dough is now ready to be shaped into pizza or whatever else you desire.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I am not a soup person. Every time I find what looks like a good recipe, I still think to myself, "Soup's not a meal." But then there is this one. Oh, my, gosh! I am having a love affair with this soup. (And if anyone can tell me the three t.v. shows I've pulled from in the last four sentences, you have my admiration.) Wow, is it amazing! Honestly, you've got to try it. It's a copycat recipe for the Chicken Gnocchi soup at Olive Garden, and even if it's not right on target (I couldn't remember well enough to compare), it doesn't even matter because it's so good on it's own that I don't even care. Make it as soon as you can!

I left out the celery (which I hate), and I did not use the whole rotisserie chicken like the original recipe because it seemed like too much.

Printable Recipe

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

from Jamie Cooks It Up

Time: 30-40 minutes total    Yield: about 12 servings

1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups Rotisserie Chicken + 1 C reserved broth from the bottom of the chicken container (if you don't have enough, I just used regular chicken broth to supplement)
7 cups water
8 chicken bullion cubes
1 (16 ounce) package Potato Gnocchi
4 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups spinach, chopped
1 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup cold water
5 Tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper 



Peel and chop onion and garlic; peel and grate carrots; chop celery.

Heat a large pot up over medium high heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil into it.

When the oil is hot, add the vegetables into the pan. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. 

Pour the broth that is left in the bottom of the chicken package into a large measuring cup. If needed, add extra canned or homemade broth to make 1 cup.
  
Pull the skin off of the chicken, and take the meat off of the bones. Chop it up with a sharp knife.

When the vegetables are done cooking, pour the broth from the chicken and 7 cups of hot water into the pot.

Add 8 chicken bullion cubes and stir.

Add 2 cups of chopped chicken and bring the soup to a boil.

Pour Gnocchi into the pot. Let the soup come to a boil again and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 3-4 minutes. The gnocchi will be cooked  through when they float to the top of the broth, which should happen pretty fast.

Chop about 1 1/2 cups of spinach and add to the pot.

Pour in 4 cups of Half and Half, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir and then let it come to a boil. 

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup cold water and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix it well and pour it into the soup pot.

Bring the soup to a boil, while you stir. It will thicken as the soup reaches a boil. 

Taste it and season to your liking with salt and pepper. 


Serve with: Breadsticks, Salad

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

It's rainy and cold, so it felt like a good day for fall treats. I found this recipe in my search for a good caramel corn. Amazing! And I actually had all of the ingredients (except almond bark, so I substituted white chocolate morsels and it worked out just fine). Twelve cups of popcorn might sound like a lot, but it's really not. This would be a great one to hand out as gifts. We also used the caramel mixture to make a caramel apple--definitely my go to recipe to make those in the future. SO much better than the bag of caramels.

Printable Recipe

 Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

from Our Best Bites

12 cup popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup light corn syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark (or 1/2-3/4 cup white morsels and 1 TBSP shortening)

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, it's better to use a “natural” flavor that’s low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popped popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a 2-qt, microwave-safe bowl. Mix well.

Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture.

Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine.

Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes.

Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and pecans.

Stir immediately until everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Give it a final stir and spread it out on a clean piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil.

Melt the almond bark according to package directions. If using white morsels, place in microwave-safe bowl with the shortening, and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until melted.

Drizzle over the popcorn mixture; allow it to harden, then break into pieces and enjoy!

Caramel-Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

It's already September?! Every year keeps flying by faster. I've tried to hold off on the "fall" recipes, but it's felt like fall here in Alaska since mid-July, so I can't stop myself anymore. These cookies are so amazingly good. C'mon, apple-flavoring and caramel mixed in a cookie? How can you resist? You can either eat these straight out of the oven (give them just a couple minutes to cool off though--that caramel gets HOT!) or warm them for just a few seconds in the microwave. They're best if the caramel is soft and gooey

Printable Recipe

Caramel-Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

 from The Cooking Photographer

1 cup butter, very softened
1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*
2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) bag Kraft Caramels


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Line rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper. (I used my Silpat--had a little trouble with some of the caramel, but in a pinch, it works.)

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy.

Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, then mix in the flour mixture until just combined.

With a standard cookie scoop, scoop the dough, scraping off the excess as you go up the bowl.

Flatten the dough slightly in your hand and place a caramel in the center.

Work the dough around the caramel sealing VERY well (so the caramel won't leak out).

Place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

After baking, carefully slide the parchment with the cookies onto the counter.

Let cool until they are no longer soft but still slightly warm.

Twist gently to remove, and cool the rest of the way upside down on the parchment or on a cooling rack.

Makes 51 cookies.

Blackberry Cheesecake Torte

I'm sure you've heard this from me before, but you're not going to find a lot of cheesecake recipes on here. Whenever I see a recipe that takes 4 blocks of cream cheese, I skip over it, no matter how good it looks. I could tell myself, "The serving sizes are very small, so it's not so bad." But who am I kidding? No one's taking a tiny slice if it's that good. But this recipe miraculously only uses ONE! And it is oh, so good. I got it off the back of the package of blackberries, which isn't always the best source, and I'm not a huge fan of blackberries anyway, but the result was amazing. You've got to try it!

Printable Recipe

Blackberry Cheesecake Torte

1 package (12 oz) frozen blackberries, thawed and drained

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

9-inch graham cracker crumb crust

1 package cream cheese (8 oz), softened

2 large eggs

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar & cinnamon, and sprinkle over the berries, tumbling and coating them. Let sit 10 minutes.

In an ample bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed until well blended.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Pour filling into the crust.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, until filling is set.

Remove from the oven, and arrange berries on top.

Bake 10 minutes, until the sugar on the berries is melted.

Let the torte cool partially.

Top with whipped cream if desired. Serve warm

Makes 8 servings.

Fluffy Pancakes

Pancakes are one of my absolute favorite breakfast foods, and I love it when they're tall and fluffy. But I've always had trouble getting them just right. We've tried several different recipes that have been pretty good, but this one had 5 stars and almost 4,000 reviews, so I figured it must be pretty good. It definitely lived up to it's name of "Fluffy Pancakes." They didn't take a lot of work, but I think in the future I'm going to try buttermilk instead of the soured milk, just to see if there's any difference in taste. If you have a smaller family, you can cut this recipe in half, but this barely fed three boys and I even without my husband home.

Printable Recipe

Fluffy Pancakes 

from All Recipes

1-1/2 cups milk

4 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk eggs and butter into "soured" milk.

Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray.

Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface.

Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Makes 16 pancakes.