Soup + Friendship = Heartwarming!

So, my best friend, Michelle...she's afraid of soup. Yeah, you read that right. Soup.

Well, not to eat soup, but of making it. Because I am so not afraid of making soup and have been known to make up my own from time to time, I got her a big ole soup cookbook for her bridal shower, a ladle, and soup crocks (among other gifts) to help her along the way. After all, Michelle is an excellent cook and baker, soup should not be standing in her way to culinary greatness!

At Michelle's wedding - Courtesy Potter Photography

This week we decided to have our first "soup night" - i.e. we just get together, hang out, and make some soup. We used to have "bake nights" at some point where we just got together and baked up some new, fun recipes but for the time being conquering soup fears are much higher on the list than baked goods. I let her choose the recipe and she picked a Tomato & White Bean Soup from myrecipes.com.


It came out delicious, and, we both agreed, even better reheated the next day! I think our first tryout was a success and at least has seemed to alleviate Michelle's soup fears for now. Next time, we'll try something a little more difficult perhaps! And in the meantime I not only did my friendly duty of helping her cook her first soup, I also introduced her to Smiles french Fries....because, what's better than soup and french fries? Especially "Smiles" fries!


Tomato-and-White-Bean Soup
(from MyRecipes.com)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients (tomatoes through pepper), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.

Operation Baking GALS - Part 2!

As you may know, in September I participated in Operation Baking GALS (which stands for "Give A Little Support") for the first time. It is a small way to show our appreciation towards soldiers who are making many sacrifices to be serving our country - by giving them a taste of home. This time around, my friend Danielle, who got us all going on this great cause in September, hosted her own team - Dani's Delightful Darlings!



Obviously I signed right back up to take part of this and this tiem of course as a member of Dani's team! I also recruited some friends to join in on the fun! I got some of my best friends in the world - Michelle, Amy, & Melanie to lend a hand in the baking action. While finding a mutually agreeable time to get together for baking festivities would have been fun, it was near impossible, so basically they all brought me their goodies and I packed them up and shipped them to our marine, Corporal Jason Manley yesterday. (Below is me attempting to figure out how to fit everything in there!)

As part of Dani's 18 person team, we really put together a great package of goodies! And a lot of them - had I not used the Flat-Rate postal box they told me it would have cost $29 to ship them! That's a lot of goodies packed into one package! Amy, Melanie, and Michelle each made a batch of chocolate chip cookies...and how can you ever really go wrong with chocolate chip cookies? That will be sure to please our Marine and his buddies! Melanie also made a batch of peanut butter cookies, yummy! And I made Potato Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Oatmeal Raisin Squares. The latter 2 recipes appear below.

Thanks again to Dani for putting the time and effort into hosting this team! And thank you to Michelle, Melanie, & Amy (who appear in the picture below at my '04 MBA graduation) for joining me in this cause!



Peanut Butter Blossoms
(from Hershey's)

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.


Quaker's Best Oatmeal Cookies
(from Quaker Oats & Prepared as noted in the "variations" section)

1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; mix well. Add oats; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie or 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Servings – about 3 dozen.

Variation - Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 Bars.

Variation: Stir in 1 cup raisins or chopped nuts.

Pork Chops with Stuffing & Curry

I got this recipe from my "Fix It & Forget It" cookbook and threw all in the crockpot on the fly one morning before I left for work. Of course I know this recipe is full of things many food bloggers shun...pre-prepared stuffing, cream of whatever soup, etc. Well, guess what? I don't care hehehe....sometimes easy is still good!

Anyway, I added a couple of things to the recipe, about a 1/4 apple juice to the bottom of the crockpot, used cream of celery soup instead of cream of mushroom, and some diced onion & celery.

All in all, this came out pretty good! I actually cut down the curry a tad from the original recipe (which called for 1 teaspoon of curry powder) which I think was good. While I like curry, there is only so much of it I can tolerate too.

Also I threw these chops in frozen since I completely spaced on taking any meat at all out of the freezer for dinner. It all worked out well though, 8 hours later the chops were fully cooked, moist, and tasty! The stuffing seemed a little crunchy on top of the chops, but I have to admit, I kind of liked that it ended up a little crunchy ;-)

Oh, and I will completely admit that this picture looks totally un-appetizing, please don't let it deter you!

Pork Chops with Stuffing & Curry
(from Fix It & Forget It)

1 box stufing mix (I used whole wheat stuffing)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple juice
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 finely diced stalks of celery
1/2 finely diced small yellow onion
3-4 pork chops



Combine stuffing mix and water. Pour apple juice in bottom of crockpot. Place pork chops in pot.



Combine soup, and curry powder and then combine with stuffing. Place on top of pork chops.

Cover, cook on low 6-7 hours (8 hours for my frozen pork chops).

Savory Cheese Soup

In cold weather, there isn't much better than a bowl of soup. Lo and behold, we've been having some cold weather here in New England (who would have thunk it?) so today soup sounded like a perfect meal.

I busted out an old recipe that I haven't made in awhile, I don't even remember where I got it (sorry! I think it may have been a magazine) but I just had to make it today. Soup on a cold day is wonderful. Cheesy soup on a cold day is even better!

I made some changes to this recipe this time around (recipe appears written to include my modifications). I did not use a bell pepper as originally called for an added a few frozen broccoli florets. I also doubled the amount of cream cheese, and since the soup just wasn't at the consistency I wanted it to be (I also subbed lowfat cream cheese for regular cream cheese). I doubled the amount of onion as well. I used minced garlic instead of garlic powder. Something else I did to jazz this up was use Sargento's bistro selections cheddar cheese that also had bacon bits in it. Bacon and cheese? How can you really go wrong with that???

(p.s. I just used Bud Light for the beer here, didn't have anything else in the house we thought would work, but I imagine you could really have fun with some flavors depending on the type of beer you use)

Savory Cheese Soup

1 Can chicken broth
1/4 Cup chopped carrot
1/4 Cup chopped celery
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
5 frozen broccoli florets
1 Teaspoon butter
1/8 Teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 Teaspoon dried oregano
1 Pinch salt
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons water
6 ounces softened, cubed lowfat cream cheese
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 Cup beer

In a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker combine first 10 ingredients, cover & cook on low for 5 hours.

Combine flour & water until smooth, stir into soup. Cover & cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cream cheese & cheddar cheese until blended. Stir in beer.

Cover & cook on low for 10 minutes or until heated

Chocolate overload!

Last night we had dinner with friends. I asked what I could bring over and the response was dessert! I was going to make an apple pie but I got a request for something chocolatey and so I decided to flip through some of my cookooks that I haven't used in awhile for inspiration.

I came upon a recipe for "Beatty's Chocolate Cake" from my Barefood Contessa at Home cookbook. It definitely fit the chocolatey bill! I decided to make the cake but not the frosting recipe that goes along with it because it called for an uncooked egg yolk. Something about that just didn't seem right. I searched on allrecipes.com and found an easy recipe for Mocha Frosting on there. The recipe for that will appear as written, I, however, found the original recipe's frosting was a bit too thin for my taste and so I added more confectioner's sugar to achieve the consistency I wanted. I garnished the cake with mini-chocolate chips, just to up the chocolate factor a tad.

But, long story short, this cake was tasty, rich, and just really great and really easy too! The addition of coffee to the cake, and obviously the frosting (duh! That's why it's "mocha") were a great combination. I think it was a hit with our friends Matt & Alexis! My friend Melanie was over today and I gave her a piece and she loved it too.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

(from Barefoot Contess at Home)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans*

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular salt)

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. (*I skippted this process and just used "PAM" for baking and sprayed that generously on my cake pans - they came out perfectly)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, andsalt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes, then turn them onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place one layer, flat side up on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting eveny on the top and sides of the cake.

Mocha Frosting

(from AllRecipes.com)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup strong, hot, brewed coffee
3 cups confectioners' sugar*
1/3 cup melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Combine coffee and cocoa in small bowl of electric mixer. Beat until blended. Add sugar, butter or margarine, salt, and vanilla. Beat until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat icing until it has a spreading consistency. Frost the cake. (*I added at least a 1/2 cup more confectioner's sugar to achieve a thicker consistency)

Friday's Frugal Fun

If you know me, you know I like to save money. I love a good bargain, an awesome sale, or a butt kicking coupon.

I've recently been reading more "frugal living" blogs lately. While I, by no stretch of the imagination, have saving money down to a science like some ladies do (and probably never will) - I at least appreciate what I've read and learned.

I have decided that every Friday (or every other Friday depending on how much time I have) I'm going to share with you either cool blogs I've discovered along the way, any pointers and tips I have myself, money savings websites, or any other information I've picked up along the way in my readings. and just in life Don't worry, this blog will still be 99% about food, you can be assured of that since I could never compete with some of the money-saving blogs out there. I just thought a little deviation, once a week, is sometimes a nice breath of fresh air!

Like free samples? Then you'll love Mommy Saves Big. This is one I've been using for awhile because I really, really love free samples. I can be picky about which ones I sign up for though so some days with this site can be hit or miss - for me at least. But when it's a hit it's usually a pretty big hit! This blog is a great central location for capturing all that is available about there whether it's for free samples of coffee, shampoo, or food products. Best thing I've discovered about free samples is that generally they almost always come with a money saving coupon (typically a better than one you'd find in your weekly Sunday paper too!).

Speaking of coupons, I am an avid user of Coupons.com. This website has a lot of similar coupons to what you will find in your Sunday circular, however, I find sometimes the money-off deals are off a lesser quantity of items sometimes, etc. Since it's only my husband and I at home, I really hate some of those coupons that are $1 off of 5 items, or something crazy like that.

Last is a site I've been a member of for awhile called MySurvey. MySurvey sends you emails when you may qualify for a survey. I usually get 2 -3 survey offers per week in my inbox, sometimes less, occassionally more. The qualifying part of the survey usually never takes more than 10 minutes most of the time less than that. If you qualify, well, the time to take the survey can vary but with that also comes a variation in how much each survey is worth - usually between 200 - 750 points if you qualify for a survey (100 points = $1). You can redeem your points, for cash or prizes, once you reach 1,000 points (which is equivalent to $10). You can click on the banner below for more information and to sign up.

Cookies that just scream FALL!

As much as I do love to cook, baking is one of my favorite things to do. I really consider myself more of a baker than a cook. I don't know why, but I just love filling the house up with the oven's warmth and the cozy smells of something fabulous brewing behind that oven door. There is just something so cozy and homey about baking. This is one of the biggest reasons I love the fall. After baking very little all summer due to not wanting to heat up the house, it's a relief for me when cooler weather comes and my baking adventures can resume.

Last week I did quite a bit of baking, for the reasons mentioned above and to a great extent to really keep some warmth in the house since we were holding off as long as possible trying not to turn our furnace on! Long story short, we turned it on last Wednesday but the baked goods were of course worth it. One of the things I baked last week was the Glazed Apple Cookie recipe below.

Apples are my favorite fruit. I love apple pie, apple crisp, apple bread, apple sauce - but a cookie? That's definitely "outside the box." My discovery with this recipe is that it is absolutely awesome to have apples in a cookie!!! These cookies are definitely staying on my list of favorites!

Glazed Apple Cookies

(from AllRecipes.com)

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup apples - peeled, cored and finely diced
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons half-and-half cream

Beat shortening and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and blend thoroughly.

Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Stir half the dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts, apple and raisins, then stir in remaining half of dry ingredients and milk. Mix well.

Drop from tablespoon 1 1/2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies to racks and while still warm, spread with glaze.

To make Glaze: Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and enough cream to make glaze of spreading consistency. Beat until smooth. Spread on warm cookies.

A bit negligent with my picture taking these days...

Yet again I've neglected to take a picture for this blog of something new I've made. Sometimes we start eating and I remember and figure I'll take a picture when we have leftovers. Well I forgot then too! I guess you will just have to take my word for it that this recipe is fabulous, easy, and wonderful. Nothing better than a crockpot recipe....but nothing better than a crockpot recipe with very few ingredients!

This pork came out moist, tender, and flavorful. It wasn't dry at all - I was a little skeptical it might be. I left my roast whole and cooked it about 7 hours. I also threw some potatoes and baby carrots in with it and they came out super tasty. A thanks to my friend Pam M. for this recipe!

Apple-Dijon Pork Roast

2 Pound(s) - 3 pound pork loin
1 Can chicken broth
1 Cup apple juice
1/2 Cup(s) Dijon mustard
6 Tablespoon cornstarch
6 Tablespoon cold water
Cut roast in half; place in a 5 quart slow cooker. Combine the broth, apple juice & mustard; pour over roast. Cover & cook on low for 4-4 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.

Remove roast & keep warm. For gravy, strain cooking juices & skim fat. Pour juices into a small saucepan. Combine cornstarch & water until smooth; gradually stir into juices. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with pork.

Apple-Pear Crumble Pie

I love fall for many reasons - leaves turning color on the trees, the sites, the smells, Halloween, Thanksgiving and of course for the pure reason that my favorite fruit - the apple - which is in its best season in our area.


In following my love of apples, I have tried out yet another apple pie type recipe - this time an Apple-Pear Crumble Pie from KratFoods.com. It was dessert for the other night when our parents came over dor dinner. It was certainly easy to make and of course incorporated apples so that's always a plus in my book.


Everyone said it was good. My verdict? It is just ok - not bad, but not spectacular. It's a good recipe to keep around but I probaby won't be running out to make it again anytime soon. Idid make it using Splenda & Splenda Brown Sugar blends as substitutes where possible so that may have affected the taste a bit.



Apple-Pear Crumble Pie
(from KraftFoods.com)


3/4 cup crushed NILLA Wafers (about 24 wafers)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 large baking apples, peeled, sliced
1 large fresh pear, peeled, sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1-1/4 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix wafer crumbs, brown sugar and butter until well blended; set aside.
Place pie crust in greased 9-inch pie plate. Spread cream cheese carefully onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture. Set aside. Combine fruit in large bowl. Add granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss to coat. Spoon over crumb layer in pie crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake 35 min. or until fruit is tender and crust is lightly browned, covering loosely with foil after 25 min. if necessary to prevent crust from overbrowning. Cool on wire rack. Serve topped with the whipped topping. Store any leftover pie in refrigerator.

Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese

I started coming down with a cold this week and being that it's the time of the year it is, nothing sounded better than some good old comfort food for dinner - mac 'n cheese to the rescue. I've tried a few versions of macaroni & cheese and I was a big fan of this one, it was quick, easy, and delicious. I added about a dash of paprika to this to bring out a little bit of a smoky taste. I also used a combo of cheddar and mozarella shredded cheeses since I had both in the house and rotini pasta since I didn't have elbow but even after those minor changes all I can say is: Yum!


Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese
(from myrecipes.com)

4 cups uncooked medium elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
Dash of paprika
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.

While pasta cooks, place flour, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Drop cream cheese by teaspoonfuls into milk mixture; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes or until thick and cream cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire, paprika, and garlic; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Combine pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl; toss well.