Chicken Velvet Soup

I've gotten a little lot behind on posting on here, but hopefully I will get back to it in the coming weeks. A couple of weeks ago, I did make the Chicken Velvet Soup from the cookbook. It was extremely easy (and quick) to make, but I felt like it was missing something. I love soup, but I like my soup to me more chunky. This soup had really good flavor, but it was more of a broth with just a little bit of chicken mixed in. I feel like it would be good to eat when you are sick...the broth would be great for a sore throat. As for a meal, it didn't do much for me. You definitely need to have this soup with something else because it's not very filling. I am glad I tried it, and if I fix it again, I will probably be sure to add some kind of vegetables in with it.

Baked Potato Soup

James has been bugging me for quite some time to find a new potato soup recipe. The one I usually make has celery and carrots, which aren't his favorite. So, I found the Baked Potato Soup recipe in Home Again, Home Again and I thought I'd give it a try. According to James, it's his new favorite potato soup. Am I a good wife or what? haha I have to agree...it was yummy! It was a really simple dish to make and it would be sure to impress your guests! Everyone likes potato soup so I'll go ahead and include the recipe:

Baked Potato Soup

4 large baking potatoes, baked a cooled (I just cooked them in boiling water, like mashed potatoes, and it worked just fine)

2/3 cup margarine

2/3 cup flour

7 cups of a milk (Yes, there are really 7 cups of milk!)

4 green onions, sliced

12 slices of bacon, crisp cooked and crumbled (I used 8 and it was plenty)

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Peel the potatoes and chop into pieces (We like the skins so I kept them on, much easier). Melt the margarine in a large pot. Stir in the flour until smooth. Add the milk, gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add the potatoes and green onions. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Heat until the cheese melts, stirring constantly. Ladle into soup bowls. Serves 8

Note: If you plan on reheating the soup in the microwave I would recommend not putting all of the bacon into the large pot of soup, and just putting it in the individual bowls. When you microwave the soup with the bacon it makes the bacon chewy and hard to eat. If you will be reheating the soup on the stove the bacon stays crispy :)

Enjoy!

Recipe Requests...

Sorry for the delay but I just realized that several of you were wanting the Company Chicken and Saucy Stuffed Shells recipes... Here they are :) Enjoy!

Company Chicken
1 (6 oz) pkg wild rice
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (10 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 cup Hellman's mayo
1 tsp curry powder ( I omitted this... I don't like this flavor)
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare the rice using the pkg directions. Layer the rice, broccoli, chicken, mushrooms, and Cheddar cheese in the order listed in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Combine the soup, mayo, and curry powder in a bowl and mix well. Spread the mayo mixture over the prepared layers and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350* for 50 minutes. You may substitute chopped cooked ham for the chicken, adding 2 tsp. of prepared mustard to the soup mixture. Serves 8-10.

Note: I halved the recipe and it made enough to serve about 6-8...so be prepared for leftovers! It heated up great for days!

Saucy Stuffed Shells with Four Cheeses
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 tsp garlic salt
3 cups water
3 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp basil
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
Jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
8 slices Provolone cheese

Brown the ground beef and sausage with the garlic salt in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until the meats are crumbly; drain. Stir in the water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Combine the ricotta cheese and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Fill the pasta shells generously withe cheese mixture; the shells will be overflowing with the stuffing. Arrange the shells stuffing side up in a single layer in a 9x13 inch baking dish sprayed lightly with non stick cooking spray. Arrange the provolone cheese slices over the top and spread with the ground beef mixture.
Bake, covered at 350* for 45 minutes; remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand at room temp. for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serves 12

Note: I halved the recipe and it still made a ton!

Saucy Stuffed Shells with Four Cheeses

Let's just say making this dish was quite an experience. It all started when I decided that I wanted to half the recipe (which still made a TON). I wasn't feeling to well the day I started making it but I thought, well we've got to eat so I might as well suck it up and make it. I started making the sauce a realized that it had to simmer for an hour...which at this point I didn't have time for. So, we decided to go out for dinner and have this the next night. Sounds easy enough. I finished the sauce and let it simmer for about an hour. The next morning James and I come down stairs and James says, "Well, there is your sauce sitting on the stove." Ahhh I was so mad. Needless to say I had to throw it all out. Luckily at this point I also realize that I had put 1/2 the meats and ALL of all the other ingredients. I guess it worked out good that I messed it up considering it might have tasted a little funky. So...I started over. Made the sauce, let it simmer, and then cooked the shells, stuffed the shells, and then poured the sauce on top. It baked in the oven for about 35 minutes. While it was baking I told James that I was never going to make it again... Too much of a pain. But, then we ate it and it was DELICIOUS!!! It did have a lot of prep work but I have to say that I will be making this one again. Next time hopefully I'll only have to make it once!

Company Chicken

Whew... I've gotten behind on my blogging! Last week I made the Company Chicken. It was sooo yummy, I can't wait to make it again. It's a very simple casserole style dish :) This would be the perfect dish to make for a new family on the block...Well, that's what the cook book says....Who does that anyways? haha That brings up a question...If a neighbor you haven't met yet brought you a home cooked dish as a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" thing would you eat it?

Anyways, back to the dish... It has wild rice, broccoli, chicken, mushrooms, cheese, and cream of celery. All layered in a large dish and baked in the oven for a while... SOO tasty and hearty! And of course, we were starving so I didn't have time to take a picture before we dug in! haha If you'd like the full recipe let me know :)

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

I have made this dish several times and we LOVE it! It's super easy and it will definitely impress your guests! It has alot of flavor and goes great with french bread :) The first time I had this I didn't even like shrimp and I thought it was delicious! You can make this with fresh or frozen shrimp, which makes it so easy!

I don't have a picture of the dish but I'll share the recipe :)

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
16 oz. linguine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
8 oz. med. shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut lengthwise into halves (I've never cut them...)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (This is ALOT of parsley, so I don't use quite that much)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Cook the pasta. Drain and rinse with hot water. Cover to keep warm. Saute the garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp. Stir-fry until the shrimp turn pink. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
Spoon the shrimp mixture over the pasta on a serving platter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6 (This dish does not reheat very well, so if you are making it for two you might want to half the recipe.)
Enjoy!

It's Shake-n-Bake and I helped!

No, not really Shake-n-Bake, but I did make it all by myself! On Thursday night, while my husband watched the opening night college football games, I completed my first recipes out of the cookbook my two very talented friends have been using for weeks.

I made Chicken Romano and paired it with The Love House Rice. YUM-MY.

This dish was very easy to make. The Chicken Romano was SO juicy and tender and cheesy and crunchy and light.

All you need is:

1. a sleeve of Ritz crackers (or any other butter crackers) crushed


2. 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese


3. 1 teaspoon garlic powder


4. 12 to 14 boneless chicken pieces (I used 4 large boneless chicken breasts)


5. salt to taste


6. 1/2 (1 stick) margarine, melted

You mix the cracker crumbs, cheese, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. Coat the chicken breasts in the the melted butter and coat with the crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

The Love House Rice was a perfect side dish for this yummy chicken. This recipe can be found on page 95 of Home Again, Home Again. It was light and enough to fill you up.

My only complaint is that it took 1 hour to bake. The smell drifting from the oven made our taste buds angry and it was hard to wait! After devouring the entire meal, my dear, sweet, husband says: "We'll have to make this again." We?? The only thing he did to help was reach the shallow dish for me. ::sigh::

Add some buttery Cresent rolls and you'll have yourselves a really good chicken and rice dish!