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Lasagna Soup

Recipe Source: Modified from a Betty Crocker recipe.

Originally called ‘Cheesy Lasagna Soup‘

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, sliced
2 large green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups water
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 cups uncooked pasta (4 ounces)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (6 ounces)

Directions:

Cook beef, onion, bell peppers and garlic in Dutch oven over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown and onion is tender; drain.

Stir in water, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir in pasta, brown sugar, Italian seasoning and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.

Top with cheese and serve.

Jules’ Homemade Tomato Soup

Recipe Source: Everydaymommy.net

Ingredients:

2 cans (28oz) whole tomatoes or homegrowns
1-2 cans (14oz) beef or chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Half & half
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tsp sugar
House seasoning to taste *

Directions:

In large soup pot saute diced onion in olive oil over medium heat till tender. Season with house seasoning to taste.

Blend the whole tomatoes in a blender until just smooth, only a few seconds. You’ll want a slightly lumpy consistency. Pour tomatoes into soup pot. Add broth to pot to a pleasing consistency. If you prefer a thicker soup add 1 can broth. If a thinner soup add 2 cans broth. Season again with house seasoning to taste. Simmer 10 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Add half & half, sugar and butter. Stir well as butter melts. Simmer another 20 minutes. Serve with grilled cheddar cheese on rye bread. Yum!

* House seasoning is equal parts kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.

Gert’s Summer Chicken

Recipe Source: Gert Meyers, by way of Cookie at The Cook Shack Gab & Grub

Marinated Chicken for grillin’ or BBQin’…

This makes a lovely marinade with a slightly sweet yet tangy flavor, ideal for grilled or barbecued chicken. It’s my own recipe, loosely based on a book-recipe, now long lost…

Marinade:

Mix together using a spoon or blender:

juice of a small lemon
4 tbsp of runny honey
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil (or equivalent)
3 tbsp of vegetable oil (peanut or sunflower)
3 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar (optional)
a few drops of Tabasco(TM)
some finely, freshly ground black pepper
a small pinch of ground cayenne pepper
a small pinch of fenugreek or ginger powder

Marinating:

It’s often believed that increasing the time of marinating to overnight improves the result but in my view that’s not entirely true. A marinade can only penetrate the meat almost no more than skin-deep and so it’s my experience that a couple of hours (even shorter) works quite well. For an instant marinade, I recommend adding a little cornflower to the marinade, which will make it more clingy: then you can simply brush your meat with the mix, minutes prior to cooking.

Cooking:

Use skinless pieces of chicken: chunks or strips of breast meat for instance, although turkey would also work well. You can be fancy and create skewers with some yellow or orange pepper, some red onion and some cherry tomatoes or even pineapple pieces, for a great presentation and a bit of Wow!-factor…

Alternatively, simply marinate the strips or chunks together with the pepper etc, then cook and serve on a preheated serving dish. Tuck in!

I suggest cooking these on low heat barbecue (make sure it’s cooked through and through) or a ribbed skillet (I usually put a good dollop of salt on my skillet, which acts as an anti-adhesive ).

Happy eating!

Lobster Creole

Recipe Source: Jennifer / allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/4 bunch fresh parsley
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
5 cups water
red pepper sauce to taste
2/3 cup sherry
1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, julienned
1 cup frozen petite peas
4 raw lobster tail, quartered
2/3 pound fresh shrimp, shelled and deveined without tails

Directions:

Remove the stems from the parsley and discard. In a food processor combine the parsley leaves, yellow onion, green pepper, garlic and stewed tomatoes. Process just enough to chop the ingredients up. Should retain a chunky consistency

In a large pot over medium/low heat, combine olive oil and parsley mixture. Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste until completely dissolved. Pour in 5 cups of water, red pepper sauce, sherry and red pimentos. Raise the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the petit poi, lobster tails and shrimp. Simmer for 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink all the way through.

Cheeseburger Pasta (2)

Recipe Source: Campbell’s Tasty Tuesday website (tastytuesday.com)

Prep/Cooking Time: about 15-20 minutes total

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can tomato soup
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups uncooked medium shell pasta

Directions:

Cook beef in skillet until browned. Pour off fat.

Add soups, water and pasta. Heat to a boil. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until done, stirring often.

Nicki’s Variation:

This is an excellent recipe as-is, but we love it with small shells, southwestern pepperjack cheese soup and chicken!

Jules’ Sweet ‘n Smoky Chili

Recipe Source: Jules @ everydaymommy.net

“Our extended autumn-like weather came to an abrupt end yesterday when the temperatures dropped to below 20º and Kansas City was hit by a wave of sleet. The frozen ground is now covered with one to two inches of tiny ice pellets. When the weather is this bitter there’s only one thing to do. Make chili! I’m not sure if I’ve shared my chili recipe before, but here ’tis. I think everyone has their own way of making chili, and this is mine. To those of you in Texas, I apologize. This is yankee-style chili. But, it tastes darn good.”

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lg green bell pepper, diced
2 lg yellow onions, diced
3 cans chili beans (I prefer Brooks brand chili hot beans)
1 can beef broth
1 x-large can tomato juice (juice, not sauce – get the x-large can)
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
3-4 tbsp liquid smoke (I prefer Colgin brand liquid smoke)
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
Chili powder
Dash Cayenne pepper
1/2 stick butter

Directions:

In your largest pot saute the diced onion and diced bell pepper in about 2 tbsp olive oil till tender. Season with salt. Add beef and pork and brown completely. Drain excess fat. Season with garlic powder and salt. Add beans, beef broth, tomato juice, brown sugar and liquid smoke. Stir well and let simmer on low about 30 minutes. Liquids will reduce slightly and flavors will blend. Season to your taste with chili powder and cayenne pepper. Be careful with the cayenne as a little goes a long way. Stir well and taste for seasoning. When it is seasoned to your taste add (yes, this is the secret) the half stick of butter. Let it melt in the chili and stir well. Check seasoning before serving. The longer you allow the chili to simmer the more reduced the liquid will be and the more concentrated the flavors.

Serve with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese on top and crackers. Enjoy!

Tomato Pie

Recipe Source: Donna Walters, allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
4 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 pound bacon – cooked, drained, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In alternating layers, fill pastry shell with tomatoes, basil, scallions, bacon, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper. In a small bowl, mix cheese with mayonnaise. Spread mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Makes 6 servings.

Aztec Chicken Salad

Recipe Source: From the Cookbook, “Cajun Clark’s One Inch from the Top”

Notes:

Like most recipes, the amount of ingredients you need is in direct proportion to the number and size servings you want to wind up with, including any leftovers. This once again being the case, you can estimate how far the following amounts will go. But, do yourself a favor and cook the entire package at one time; you can then make a larger salad or have what you don’t use for another meal the next day. Makes sense to da ol’ mon Caj, especially if you’re cookin’ One Inch From the Top.

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned to your liking, cooked–broiled, fried, grilled, you name it; it’s your decision–and sliced in 1 inch chunks.
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 medium to large tomato, chopped
1/2 bottle Catalina dressing
Tabasco: brand Pepper Sauce
Tortilla chips

Directions:

Mix chicken, beans, corn, lettuce, onion and tomato together. Add Catalina dressing and hot sauce to taste. Serve over Tortilla chips. Can’t get much easier than this, no way.

Creole Jambalaya

Recipe Source: Ruby Williams / Bogalusa, LA

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham,
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can beef broth,
10 1/2 ounces water
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, parsley. and garlic. Cover and cook until tender. Add the ham, tomatoes, broth, water, rice, sugar, thyme, chili powder, and pepper. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Add the shrimp, and simmer until the shrimp are cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Tips: This recipe can be seasoned according to taste. Hot sauce can be added to make it fiery. Smoked sausage can substitute for the ham if desired.

Red Rice

Recipe Source: www.co.beaufort.sc.us / Dennis Adams (1998)

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 smoked sausage, chopped small or diced
4 slices bacon
Salt and Pepper to taste
A dash of sugar
A dash or two powdered Seafood seasoning (optional), to taste

Directions:

In a pan, fry the bacon until brown (keep the bacon fat). Fry chopped onion in bacon fat until transparent (frying the uncooked rice along with the bacon will add a nice flavor). Add all other ingredients, bringing mixture to a boil. You may add the optional sea food seasoning powder at this point, or sprinkle it “dry” over the rice as a garnish after cooking. Reduce heat to simmer (lowest stove heat) and cook for 20 minutes until rice is done (in true Lowcountry fashion, do not stir or otherwise disturb the rice during cooking).