Easy Vegetable Soup

It is becoming soup weather here in Chicago, and ideally I would like to do soups from scratch, but that just doesn't happen when I work all day. This one is really easy and quite tasty! I got it from Taste of Home Magazine, and I chose to add a can of Black beans because I'm a black bean fan, so if you don't like them, feel free to leave them out.

(Sorry I forgot the pic of the ingredients!)

Easy Vegetable Soup
From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (16oz) Frozen vegetable blend of your choice (I usually like something with corn in it)
1 can(16oz) Kidney Beans, undrained
1 can (15oz) Black Beans, undrained (optional)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 clove garlic
garnish with shredded cheddar cheese & sour cream, with tortilla chips on the side

Directions:
1. In a large sauce pan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain.

2. Add the tomatoes, vegetables, beans, broth, taco seasoning and garlic and bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

4. Serve with Shredded cheese, sour cream, and Tortilla Chips if desired.

Impostor Salad

When we first came back from California, I loved the salad we had out there, and I was trying to figure out what it had in it. I took a stab at it, and while I found out later it wasn't the same as my favorite salad, it was still pretty good! I realize now there wasn't any Mango in it, but I do like mango, so it was a nice addition to this particular salad. Since this is an impostor salad of my favorite, that is what I decided to call it.

Impostor Salad

Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Cucumber (peeled)
Avocado
Mango
Olive oil
Lime Juice
Basil

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the Tomatoes, cucumber, Mango, and Avocado.

2. Place in a bowl, and dress with Olive oil, Lime Juice, and a dash of Basil. Enjoy!

Warm Black Bean Chip dip

I'm a sucker for appetizers, and this one had everything I liked. I'm not sure where this came from, but it is tasty.


 
Warm Black Bean Dip

Ingredients:
8oz Cream Cheese
1 can Black Beans (drained)
1 can of Ro*tel (drained)
Shredded Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Directions:
1. Spread 8 oz of cream cheese in the bottom of a pie plate

2. Drain one can Black Beans and spread on top.

3. Drain on can rotel and pour over Black Beans.

4. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 for 10 min (until cheese is melted)

5. Serve hot with tortilla chips.

Elote

For those of you who don't know, Elote is a popular street food served in Mexico, it is corn on the cob (or off if you prefer), with a special mixture of toppings. Since I love corn... and I love the Mexican corn (Elote) you can get at some authentic mexican restaurants around here, I tried to create it in my own home (adapted from this recipe). It was good, although I think I like the ones I have had in restaurants better. :)

Elote
From: Food Blogga

Ingredients:
several ears sweet corn
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/8 tsp chile powder
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
salt - to taste

Directions:
1. You can bowl or grill the corn on the cob if you like, but I tried cutting it from the cob and cooking it with a little olive oil in a frying pan.
2. If you want to cut off corn from the cob, I was told once to use a bundt pan, and place the corn cob in the middle, when you cut them off, it falls off into the pan. This was a TON easier, and less messy, than when I tried to balance it on the edge of a bowl, or hover in the bowl. (see pic below)

3. For the sauce mix the mayonaise, lime, chile powder, and salt.
4. Spread over grilled/boiled corn, or mix it in with your corn off the cob then sprinkle with parmesan cheese! (I found out that this made way to much for us, I could definitely cut it in half and had plenty)

*** I actually accidentally mixed in the Parmesan cheese, instead of sprinkling, but it was still good ***

Margarita Pie

A few months ago we were at cookout at a friends house, and one of the guests brought Margarita Pie for dessert. It was very cool and perfect for a hot summer night. I know it is no longer summer anymore in Chicagoland, but I think it could also be a perfect dessert for a Mexican fiesta which I tend to have all year around! She shared her recipe with me, which I am thankful for, and now I'm sharing it with you!

Margarita Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
8 Tblsp Butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup crushed pretzels

Filling:
1/3 cup lime juice
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed Milk
3-4 Tblsp tequila
2 Tbsp triple sec
1 tub cool whip

*** Note: I don't really like tequila, so I bought a very tiny bottle as you can see (this ended up being the perfect amount), and since the didn't have any tiny bottles of triple sec, I just went without. I think it tasted the same. Pretty sure you could make this without any alcohol and it would taste very similar. ***

Directions:
For the crust:
1. crush pretzels into bite sized pieces and measure out 1 1/4 cup/
2. Melt Butter
3. Mix sugar with butter, then add pretzels and coat.
4. Press into bottom of an 8x8 square pan

For the Filling:
1. Stir together all ingredients in bowl
2. Pour over pretzel crust
3. Freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. Serve!

PS - I think some zest from the lime would have been a great addition to the top of the pie... would make a little more colorful and interesting.

Garlic Zucchini Pasta

I got this recipe from My Wooden Spoon Blog. This recipe appealed to me because it looked very easy and I liked every single ingredient listed. While the end result was delicious, it did not look like how it was pictured in the original recipe (which you can see here). I couldn't get my zucchini to spread out and intermingle with the pasta, it just wanted to stay clumped together and I'm not sure why.



Garlic Zucchini Pasta
From: My Wooden Spoon

Ingredients:
2 Large Zucchini
1 head Garlic
1 pkg Angel Hair pasta
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Shred Zucchini and mince Garlic.
2. Prepare pasta as directed on box.
3. While cooking the pasta Saute garlic in Olive Oil for a minute or two
4. Add the zucchini and saute 10 - 15 min. Longer
5. Add the cooked pasta and shredded cheese to the zucchini and mix well.
6. Salt and pepper to taste

Southwestern Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad

I tried this recipe out when we were having people over and I needed a side to go with some burgers, It turned out okay, but it made a TON! So beware, even with 7 people eating it we had a LOT left over. Also, I made a whole box of macaroni without looking at how many ounces were in the box, turns out there are 16 oz... so I had to cut it in half after cooking it. I do not suggest doing it this way. :)

This is not in any way a complete picture of the ingredients... I started preparing the salad and got about halfway through before I realized I hadn't taken any pictures, so none of the dressings appear and it is also missing the BB, salsa or tortilla chips... but oh well.

Southwestern Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad
From: Cara's Cravings

Ingredients:
8 ounces wagon wheel macaroni
1 (15oz) can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (9oz) package Frozen Corn, thawed
1 cup salsa
2 tomatoes (Chopped)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 cups tortilla chips -crushed (I might omit the next time)
1 Avocado (pitted and sliced)

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbls Lime Juice
3 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 large garlic cloves (minced)

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients, mix well and set aside.
2. cook past as directed on package. Drain cooked pasta, rinse with cold water until cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, salsa tomatoes and cilantro.
4. Add cooked pasta and dressing to bean mixture, toss until well coated
5. stir in half each of the cheese and tortilla chips.
6. Place salad in serving bowl and top with remaining cheese, garnish with remaining chips and avocado.

My Favorite Salad w/ heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and red wine vinegar onions

When we were in Napa last month I had the best salad I have ever tasted. David's friend Deborah made it when we were at their house (see more about that visit here). She gave the "recipe" to Dave, who gave it to me, and I'm sharing it with you.


My Favorite Salad w/ heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and red wine vinegar onions
From: Deborah

Ingredients:
Heirloom Tomatoes (several different colors)
Cucumbers
Red Onion
Avocado
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil (We used Grgich Olive Oil, the better the olive oil, the better the salad tastes)
Red Wine Vinegar

Directions:
1. Thinly slice the Red Onion, place in a red wine bath with a pinch of salt for 45 min - 1 hr.
2. Shortly before the onion is ready, cut large chucks of Cucumbers and Tomatoes, season with salt and pepper
3. Drain the red onion and combine with Tomatoes, and Cukes, then add in slices of Avocado. Dress with the best Olive Oil you can find (seriously... I used to not think the type of Olive oil made a difference, but for this salad the better the olive oil, the better the salad).
4. Taste and add more Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper if desired.


Compare to the original salad:

I don't think I did a half bad job. My cukes aren't as prettily cut and I wish the farmers market had had a yellow tomato to add to the beautiful color, but over all not a bad match. I can also see she sprinkled some kind of herb on top that wasn't in the "recipe," kind of looks like basil to me... maybe this is her secret ingredient.

Chicken Spaghetti

I got this again from The pioneer woman cooks... you can see the original recipe HERE. I wanted to include the full blown recipe, but I also wanted to include the faster recipe for people like me who don't have that much time to make dinner. I hope it isn't to confusing. Enjoy, I sure did!



Chicken Spaghetti
From: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 "Cut Up Fryer" Chicken (this is option one... or you can choose option 2 - buy a rotisserie chicken at the store to save on time)
2 1/2 - 3 cups Thin Spaghetti (broken into pieces)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (or 1 can of C. o Mushroom, and one can of Cream of Chicken)
Onion (diced)
Green Pepper (Diced)
4oz. Jar of Pimentos (next time I will substitute diced red pepper because I like them better)
3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I think I ended up using more like 2 cups)
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt & Pepper
If using Option 2 you will also need a can or 2 of chicken broth with your rotisserie chicken

Directions:
OPTION 1
1. Boil water in large pot
2. Rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water. Put the chicken in the pot and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a few minutes then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for a good 30-45 min.
3. Take cooked chicken pieces out of the pot. Turn heat to high
4. Dip a measuring cup into the pot and retrieve 2 cups of broth
5. Break the thin spaghetti into 2-inch pieces until you have about 2 1/2 - 3 cups
6. Put spaghetti pieces into the boiling chicken broth to cook.
7. Allow Spaghetti to cook for several minutes until very al dente. Do NOT over cook teh spaghetti, as you will be baking the dish again later. When it is ready, drain the spaghetti and set aside.
8. Pick 2 cups chicken meat off the bones (once cool enough to work with)
9. Place the cooked spaghetti into a large mixing bowl. Add the Chicken.
10. Add the soup and the diced peppers, onions, and pimentos.
11. Add 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese. Add Lawry's salt and a generous sprinkiling of black pepper & add Cayenne Pepper if you would like it a litte spicier (I did not do this).
12. Start to add a little chicken broth beginning with 1 cup. Stir it up and then add a little more. You want the mixture to be stirrable, but definitely NOT soupy. No more than 2 cups.
13. Stir Thourghly and place mixture into a casserole pan. Top with an additional 1 cup of grated sharp Cheddar.
14. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 Minutes until hot and bubbly

OPTION 2 (This is the version I used, because I just didn't have time to do my own chicken after work on a weeknight)
1. Break the thin spaghetti into 2-inch pieces until you have about 2 1/2 - 3 cups
2. Boil Spaghetti in water mixed with some chicken broth
3. Pull apart rotisserie chicke while spaghetti cooks (I used the whole chicken)
4. When Spaghetti has finished cooking, drain and place in a bowl. Add the chicken.
Then FOLLOW 10 - 14 on option 1 above using the cans of chicken broth for #12.

Chicken Deep Dish

This is another recipe I received at a wedding shower. It is pretty easy and pretty good!

Chicken Deep Dish
From: Appledorns

Ingredients:
4-5 Chicken Breast halves (diced)
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 can cream of Chicken soup
1 can of mushrooms
1 small jar of pimientos (I might substitute red pepper next time)
1 onion - chopped
1 small can peas
1/2 small green pepper - diced
1/4 cup milk
2 sticks Butter - melted
1 package of stuffing mix


Directions:
1. Spread 1/2 of stuffing mix in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

2. Mix all the other ingredients (except for butter) together.

3. Spread mixture over stuffing in pan

4. Top with the remaining stuffing.

5. Cover the stuffing with melted butter.

6. Bake at 325 for 45 min.