French Onion Soup

I love going to the grocery store! It is my favorite store to go to. After this week's grocery store trip, I came home and got busy in the kitchen. I've been really excited to get cookin' in Buttercream! She didn't disappoint.

I made a pot of French Onion Soup, and I also made a double recipe of Chili. Everything is now in the freezer for those nights that I don't feel like cooking, but The Dish Washer feels like eating. You may remember me talking about how much I love the French Onion Soup at the Christmas Dinner Theater at my in law's church every year, so I knew I wanted to try a pot of this on my own. Of course, there is another very important step to all French Onion Soups (the croutons and cheese!) that isn't pictured above because I wasn't ready for that step. I'll include the whole recipe for you, though.

French Onion Soup

1/2 c. butter
6 large yellow onions, thinly sliced*
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
5-1/2 c. beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef consomme
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Croutons (see recipe below)
Gruyere cheese (or Swiss!)

In a dutch oven (Buttercream!), melt butter over medium heat; add onions and sugar. Stirring often, cook for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, beef consomme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Ladle into 6 oven safe bowls; top with croutons and shredded cheese. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 3 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.

*I used Vidalia onions, and a co-worker pointed out that (although it is good) it was sweeter than the French Onion Soup she orders at her favorite restaurants. If you want a more savory soup, stick with the yellow onions! I will use yellow next time.

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Croutons

1/2 loaf French bread (or any bread, for that matter), cut into cubes
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Place bread cubes in a bowl. Pour in remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Place on a baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until bread is lightly toasted.

**If I am making croutons for salad, I love to have them crunchy on the outside but soft on the insde. To accomplish this, you may have to add more melted butter. You can get creative with the herbs and seasonings that you add depending on what kind of crouton you want.

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Buttercream is busy while we speak. Check back in (hopefully tomorrow) to see what we are having for SOUPer Bowl Sunday!

Last-Minute Lasagna

This past Thursday night, I had The Former Roomy, The Baby Daddy (her hubby), The Son of a Preacher Man (her brother) and The Cupcake Baker (his girlfriend) over for dinner. They wondered what their names would be...what do you think? :) It was a blast.  I was enjoying their company more than I was worried with taking a picture, I guess. The Dish Washer was out of town, so he missed out. We got to talk about the new baby and old times growing up (catching trees on fire and wrecking with rednecks come to mind).

Here's the story behind the recipe: Our friends had us over for dinner one night several years ago, and we were served this. It was so good, so I knew I wanted to make it for my crowd. The first time we had these same friends over to dinner at our house, they brought me a copy of Real Simple: Meals Made Easy. What do you know? It included this recipe. I was planning our menu at work, so I emailed Ashley for a little help with the recipe. Thanks again!!

Last-Minute Lasagna

1 (24-26 oz.) jar pasta sauce
2 (16-18 oz.) bags frozen cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
1 (8 oz.) bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 350. Spoon 1/3 of the pasta sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place half of the ravioli on top of the sauce in a single layer. Sprinkle with the spinach and half of the mozzarella. Layer on the remaining ravioli (you may not need all of them). Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella and the Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbling, 5 to 10 minutes more.

**I found that I had to allow mine to bake longer than the suggested time, so just check center of lasagna before removing foil.

I served this with SALAD (spring mix greens, craisins, walnuts and balsamic vinegarette...normally it includes feta cheese that is delicious with it, but I left that off since The Former Roomy is pregnant), French bread, and cake balls using spice cake mix.

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Meet Buttercream! She is my new dutch oven that I am so excited to have. She is the most beautiful pot I have ever seen! I got her as an early birthday gift from my parents. I have big plans for her!

Cajun Meatloaf

Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday, as I intended. You know how much we love meatloaf at our house! Not only do we love beef meatloaf, but we also love pork and this gives us the best of both worlds. It was crazy that I made this Sunday night...apparently it was a pretty hot topic that night. I clicked over to The Pioneer Woman's website to see January 18's (Sunday) post and then Desperate Housewives talked about Cajun Meatloaf that night. The one I made, I adapted from a recipe that I saw on allrecipes. It is different from the one over at PW, so check it out to see the differences. SPICY ALERT!!

This recipe made so much for the two of us, so I decided to make two loaves and freeze one. I'll include the freezing directions.

Cajun Meatloaf

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

4 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper (or you could use green)

4 green onions, chopped

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (optional if you don't like too much heat)

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. evaporated milk

1/2 c. ketchup

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. smoked sausage, casings removed (NOT AS EASY AS YOU WOULD THINK!)

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. cooking oats

In a small bowl, combine the bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin, and nutmeg; set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning mix. Saute until mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 6 minutes. Stir in the milk and ketchup; continue cooking for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetable mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. REMOVE BAY LEAVES.

Place the beef and sausage in a bowl. Add the eggs, vegetable mixture and oats. Mix well by hand and form into a loaf. (I did find mine to be more moist than I thought it should be, but I went with it and it turned out fine.) Place on a rack to cook because it does produce grease and you don't want the loaf sitting in that.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes. Raise heat to 400 and bake for another 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

For freezing: Prepare meatloaf with the above directions in its entirety. Allow to cool. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 6 months.

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower is my new favorite vegetable! Remember when I made Mashed Cauliflower? Well, now I've roasted it too. "Delish!" as Rachael Ray would say. The whole reason for roasting it was because I wanted to have Roasted Cauliflower Soup, but I didn't care for that recipe too much. (Honestly, NOT AT ALL!) I will try again with another recipe I have, but for now I'll just tell you how I roasted the cauliflower.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil

In a bowl, mix cauliflower, garlic, onion and olive oil until coated well. Spread out in a roasting pan and bake at 425 for 30 minutes.

**You may want to double entire recipe for four people or more.

The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

I wish y'all could smell my house right now with those vegetables roasting! The last recipe I wanted to share with you was a recipe that used the remaining new potatoes that I had from making Roasted New Potato Salad . I've had it starred in my google reader for quite some time and was so glad to finally be able to make it.

My version is pictured above, but you really should check out her site if you haven't already. She is great at taking pictures of her food (and not making the pan look as greasy as mine!).

The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

Very easy and very good!

Quick and Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Quick and Easy Chicken Pot Pie

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 c. milk, divided
½ tsp. dried parsley
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 (1 lb.) bag of frozen mixed veggies (I like corn, peas, carrots, green beans), boiled 10 minutes until
     tender (or just thawed, if you prefer a crisper veggie)
1 potato, peeled, diced and boiled until tender
3 c. chicken, cooked and chopped
1 ½ c. Bisquick
½ c. cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a deep baking dish dish.

In a large bowl, combine soup, sour cream, ½ c. milk and seasonings.  Stir in vegetables and chicken. Spoon mixture into baking dish and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine Bisquick, remaining ½ c. milk and grated cheese.  Drop biscuits by heaping tablespoonfuls evenly over chicken mixture.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until biscuits are browned and pot pie is hot and bubbly.

Sergeant's Potatoes

Before I get to the rest of my recipes from this past weekend, I wanted to share this one with you. My Co-Worker makes this for our breakfasts at work, and it is sooo good. The real reason for sharing this recipe now is to tell you about her 16 year old son, Carson, and his friends. They are being recognized for having good, clean fun and they deserve every bit of this excitement! You can read all about it here and here.

If you live in Birmingham, they will be featured on the local CBS news tonight and Fox's Great Day Alabama Friday.

I've also included their YouTube video and THE commercial, which is what got them all this attention in the first place. The shots are REAL and took hours to complete.

Hampton Inn commercial features Hoover boys

Their commercials are going to be played in TIMES SQUARE, y'all! Can you imgaine!?!?!
Not that they would EVER read my blog, but GREAT JOB GUYS!! You deserve the biggest bowl of Buffalo Chicken Dip ever from me!!

Sergeant’s Potatoes

6 medium baking potatoes
6 Tbsp. butter
2 c. cheddar cheese
2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion

Boil potatoes until done. Let cool then store in refrigerator overnight. In a large sauce pan, cook butter/cheese/sour cream/salt/pepper/onion until melted. Peel and shred potatoes and mix into cheese mixture. Bake uncovered in 2 quart casserole for 45 minutes at 350. Serve immediately.

Roasted New Potato Salad

picture from myrecipes.com

I've done a lot of cooking this past weekend because I had company all weekend long! On the first night for dinner I made meatballs using the basic meatball recipe that I've made before (meat, oats, eggs and onion - obviously NOT the hot sauce). To that meat mixture I added lemon pepper for flavor and used the sauce from those yummy pork chops we had a while back (mushroom soup, milk, dijon mustard). This was The Dish Washer's suggestion and it was a great one. They were very good. For sides, we had Squash Casserole and this Roasted New Potato Salad. I've been making this recipe for quite some time and, to be honest, shocked that I haven't shared it until now. I cut it out of Southern Living years ago. Certainly a family favorite of ours. Even if you don't want to make it, you HAVE to click over and look at the picture. If that doesn't make your mouth water, I don't know what will!

My Buddy turned four yesterday, so we also had a birthday party for him. He helped me make his birthday cake, and it turned out precious!

Oh, and I had some more spend the night company earlier last week and made this Sausage and Egg Casserole for breakfast. I told them that I would bump the link up so they could find it easier.

My sister also posted her late mother in law's brown rice recipe that I mentioned, so be sure to click over if you are looking to make brown rice.

That's enough links for one post...more food to come later...my computer keeps freezing up!

Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings

Not much time, because I want to watch the BCS game. There is also no picture to go with this one, because none of the ones I took turned out. I had more help in the kitchen with this one from My Buddy. Mom made her chicken and dumplings like this when we were growing up. They are SOOOO good! There really is no particular recipe to how much of each thing to use, so I will tell you what I think I used. You can add or take away whatever floats your boat!

Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings

3 large chicken breasts (enough for about 3 c. shredded chicken)
chicken bouillon cubes
1 stick of butter (HELLO!)
1 (10 count) can of refrigerated biscuits
pepper to taste

In a large pot, place chicken and just barely cover with water. Add 1-2 bouillon cubes to the water and boil until chicken is cooked. Remove and shred chicken. Reserve approximately 2 c. of the chicken broth (unless you like yours more soupy...then keep more water). In same pot, add 1 stick of butter to the broth. (You can add less if you are scared of butter!!) Open can of buscuits and flatten each biscuit. Then cut into pieces. Drop into lightly boiling broth, being careful to stir while adding so that the biscuits don't all stick together. After about 5 minutes of cooking, add shredded chicken. Season with pepper and serve.

Mmmmmmm

Tater Tot Casserole

Well, we had a great time with The Under 6 Crowd this weekend! They were very good for us and even slept until 8:00 every morning! I told their mama that they could stay here everyday if they would do that. We had to come up with a lot of entertainment, so we did fun things like Jump Zone, movie and popcorn, hiking up our backyard woods, and making homemade goodies in the kitchen. They were very good helpers and wanted to put their aprons on and bake stuff all weekend long. We made homemade chocolate chips cookies (recipe from the back of Nestle chocolate chips), 1-Pan Brownies (my mother in law's recipe) and blueberry muffins (from Martha White!). There was lots of bowl and finger licking!

I made it real fun and let them do all the work. They did all the cookie dropping and I baked them that way.

This dish was a big hit for The Under 6 Crowd. It is a recipe that my friend's mother (the friend that really likes to eat Jiffy corn muffins with me!) made for us one night when we were still in high school and I think the two of us ate the whole thing ourselves. I called her the other night for the recipe. She very willingly shared!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded cheddar cheese

1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen tater tots

In a large skillet, brown ground beef and drain. Mix in mushroom soup and drained corn. Put meat mixture in 9x13 baking dish. Top with cheese. Arrange tater tots on top. Bake in oven for 350 or 375 until tater tots are golden. (I did 375 for 30 minutes.)

We ate it as leftovers a couple of times and even put some ketchup on top. Very good with ketchup, too!

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Round 2 is on their way now, so I am off to make Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings. I'll post that one later. I just love lots of company!!