Classic Tomato Soup

Now my favorite tomato soup is Campbell's and my favorite way to eat it is with a white bread grilled american cheese sandwich. I'm high class like that.

But maybe, just maybe I should branch out and try this recipe, again from Cook's Country magazine. We shall see...

Classic Tomato Soup

2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Drain tomoatoes, reserving juice, pressing lightly to release juice. Mix juice with chicken broth.
2. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minute. Add 2/3 of drained tomatoes, bay leaf and brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste and flour to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until paste begins to darken (1 to 2 minutes). Slowly stir in juice/broth mixture, remaining tomatoes, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Discard bay leaf. Puree soup in batches. Return pureed soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. (Soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days.)

Paprika Potatoes

This recipe is from Cook's Country Magazine. It looks tasty.

Paprika Potatoes

2 lbs baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1/4 cup EVOO
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper

1. Place cut potatoes in colander. Rinse under cold water until water runs clear, about 1 minute. Drain.
2. Heat 1 Tbs oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and 1 tsp paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add potatoes, broth, and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered until potatoes are just tender 12 to 15 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates, about 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Whisk remaining oil and remaining paprika in small bowl. Ad paprika oil to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Aligot Potatoes

I have no freaking clue how to pronounce these things, but they made me say Mmmmmmm. I got this recipe from the website framed-mylifeonepictureatatime.blogspot.com. She takes beautiful pictures of beautiful food. This recipe makes a LOT of potatoes, so the next time I am going to halve it.

ALIGOT POTATOES



2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1. Put sliced potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Add salt. Bring potatoes to a boil, partially cover and, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and wipe out pot.

2. Put potatoes, garlic and butter into food processor and process for 10 seconds. Add one cup of milk and process until smooth, about 30 seconds more.

3. Put potatoes back into pot over medium heat. Gradually stir in cheese, stirring continuously until cheese is melted and potatoes are smooth. If mixture becomes too thick, gradually stir in more milk until creamy. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I know this is a little late for Thanksgiving, but it's also tasty for Christmas dinner. My nephews call this stuff candy it's so yummy.

This recipe is fondly referred to as our "stolen casserole". We had been wanting to find a good version of sweet potato casserole and it was before the internet recipe explosion. Mom, sister and I were doing some Christmas shopping in the mall and decided to check the cookbook section in Waldenbooks. Well, we found what looked like a fabulous recipe, but the rest of the cookbook, eh, so not worth the money.

Waldenbooks doesn't have those cozy little nooks with chairs for you to sit, browse and drink your high dollar coffee, so we snuck around the store until we found a less crowded section. Mom and Sister stood guard while I frantically copied the instructions on a scrap of paper we found. Once done, we put the book back and made our escape, giggling the whole time.

Yeah, I know, we're wild and crazy girls.


Sweet Potato Casserole

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cooked (we use canned, drained and rinsed)
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 lg eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix the above ingredients with mixer. Put in buttered dish.

Topping:
3/4 stick butter melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix and then crumble on top of filling.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am not a veggie fan. At all. So, it's kind of a shock that this is one of my favorite dips. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the cheese. The recipe is borrowed from a poster on recipezaar.


Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

2 cups parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) box frozen spinach, thawed
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained (I like using a jar of the marinated artichoke hearts, drained. I also chop them in smaller pieces)
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons garlic, minced

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Mix together Parmesan cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts.
Combine remaining ingredients and mix with spinach mixture.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.

I eat this with the gold tostitos, but you can also use crackers.