Cream of Anything Soup Mix

Marie Ricks

2 cups Nonfat dry milk (I use Morning Moo)

1 cup cornstarch

2 tbsp onion flakes or powder

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp dillweed (opt)

1 tsp celery salt

To use, mix:

1/3 cup dry mix

1¼ cup water

1 tbsp margarine (for coloring)

2 chicken bullion cubes (need 16 for whole mixture)

Cook for 3 minutes on high in microwave, stirring each minute. Cook longer when doubling or tripling.

Yummy Cheesy Potato Casserole

6-10 potatoes boiled (may boil w/bay leaf), grated (Use frozen hash browns for EASY)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

4 green onions, chopped

½ tsp salt

¾ cup grated cheese

6 tbsp butter

 

Topping:

1 cup cornflakes, crushed

¼ cup melted butter

Mix all ingredients (except topping). Sprinkle topping over it all in a casserole dish. Bake 350 for 40 minutes to 1 hour. ( To make dairy free: may use IMO instead of sour cream, and prepared cream-of-anything-soup.)

The Best Tomato Basil Soup

Original recipe found here.

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of heavy cream (I used evaporated milk)

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.  

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich.  Get the recipe for The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich here.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

I found this salad on Pinterest, and LOVED it!! I've made it several times for the family since finding it two or three months ago! It is my new favorite taco salad. So I have to post this here, so as to NEVER loose it! The recipe supposedly serves four, since not all my family is as crazy for it as my husband and I are, it "feeds" us all. Click on the picture to go to the original post, although I'm cutting and pasting most of her recipe text below:


salad:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 head ice berg lettuce, washed and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp ranch seasoning
1 tbsp taco seasoning

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips.  

In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients together.  Pour dressing over salad, starting with about half of the dressing.   Toss to combine, then gradually add more dressing until it is dressed to your liking.  Top with tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

Susan Beckstrand's Zucchini Casserole

(This is my husband's favorite - and it's a low-carb, most delicious way to use summer zucchini - sometimes we even have to have it in the middle of the winter!)

Slice and par boil one large zucchini, drain and lay it in a casserole dish.

Make a very basic tomato sauce with cooked ground beef* & onion, 2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. (NO flour or other spices!) Poor over zucchini.

Sprinkle grated cheese over this, & be generous. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the cheese. (I usually make them with a piece of toast.) Broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

 

Mmm, mmm good!

*I fry all my hamburger up when I buy it -with or without onions- and pkg it for individual meals (1/2-1 lb sizes) & freeze - very quick to thaw, and makes meal prep VERY fast.

Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas andvanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  Stir in walnuts.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

4.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

Find original recipe & pictures here: Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting - mmm!

Best Brownies - from Allrecipes.com

Best Brownies Rated: Submitted By: Angie Photo By: CC♥'s2bake Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour Servings: 16 "These rich, fudgy brownies are easy to whip up!" INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 3 tablespoons butter, softened 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup confectioners' sugar DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan. 2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. 3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook. 4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com

I'm including this useful review:

 Reviewed on Jan. 22, 2004 by The Spicelands

These are great! I changed the recipe to make them better for you. I used 1/2 c. applesauce instead of butter and 1/2 cup Equal spoonfuls and 1/2 cup sugar instead of 1 cup sugar and used egg substitute and omitted the glaze. They ended up with only 45 calories apiece and 0 grams of fat! they were SOOOO GOOOD!!! :-)

Find the source recipe here.