Mom H's Egg Nog

When we have fresh eggs, (eggs fresh from hens in the yard or neighborhood,) we like to make this drink my mom used to make when I was a kid. Non alcoholic, of course!

The recipe is for one serving. I ask how many people want some, and make it in the quantity of those having some.

1 egg
1 C milk (any kind you want, thick or thin)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 T sugar (to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

Blend this together on high for one minute, and enjoy!

My mom had a huge family and so she'd thin things out frequently.  Here is her recipe for a whole blender jar full:

6 cups milk (the eggs will froth up a lot)
2-3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C sugar (to taste)
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash+ nutmeg

It would be a lot skinnier if I made it that way, so maybe I'll try her recipe today... :)

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Find the original recipe, pictures and fun commentary here.

Rick Bayless Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

InstructionsCombine flour and shortening in a large mixing bowl.  Work the shortening in with your fingers until completely incorporated.  Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients.  Immediately work it in with a fork.  The dough will be in large clumps.  If all the dry ingredients haven't been dampened, add the rest of the liquid.  Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth.Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball.  Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes.Heat an ungreased griddle over medium to medium-high heat.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into a 7-inch circle.  Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it, rotating a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again.  Continue until it is a 7 inch circle.  Flour tortilla as needed while rolling.Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle.  After 30-45 seconds, when brown splotches show underneath, flip it over. cook another 30 -45 seconds more, until other side is browned.  Do not overcook or the tortilla will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin.  Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and stack them on top of each other.Note, cook time is PER tortilla and is approximate.  Go by the way it looks more than you go by time.

Details

Prep time: 50 minsCook time: 5 minsTotal time: 55 mins    Yield: 12

Light Potato Cheese Soup

               

So I took THIS potato soup recipe and THAT potato soup recipe, put them together and came up with my own:

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes diced
• Vegetable and/or chicken broth to cover the potatoes
• 2 cups chopped carrots (I had leftovers already cooked)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup light cheddar cheese, cube
• 1 slice reduced fat swiss cheese
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms, sauted in 1 tbsp butter

Boil the diced potatoes and carrots in the vegetable and chicken broths until the vegetables are soft. Mash with a potato masher. Stir in the cheese until it melts, fold in mushrooms. Serve either warm or cold.  Mine needed more moisture (maybe more milk?) to make it more soupy, but oh, yummmm!

(To make it even lighter, I could have used part cauliflower and part potatoes, but I couldn't find any cauliflower in the fridge tonight.) One of the recipes describes making it in a slow cooker, but I have to plan ahead for that.

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!