Yummy, Easy, Tortilla Soup

Am I the only one who knew it was national soup month all month? Boy, did I celebrate! We had all sorts of soups, mostly out of necessity, but they were definitely yummy and hearty. Sarah's favorite one is my tortilla soup, which is super easy. We made it for her birthday dinner this year. Here's the recipe, for all you last minute soup lovers!

Corn and Black Bean Tortilla Soup

1 C Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1-2 tsp garlic powder

1 T minced onion

16 oz can refried beans

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

2 C chicken broth

1 1/2 C cooked, diced chicken, if desired

Crushed tortilla chips

Shredded cheddar cheese

Combine everything except chips and cheese in a large saucepan. Over medium to medium low heat, simmer 10 minutes. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and cheese. It's just THAT easy!

Upside Down Banana Walnut French Toast

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving! Wasn't it just Easter?! When I was little, it was always the "old people" like mom and dad who would say how fast time goes, and it looks like I'm "old" now, because time really does slip away from me!

I love dishes that I can make ahead and put in the fridge to bake later. I'm not a breakfast person, unless you count Diet Coke, but when I have people over and need to have something, this is a great recipe! I love how you just layer things and then throw it in the fridge for up to a day. That's my kind of breakfast! Hope you all enjoy it - all 4 of you readers! LOL

Upside Down Banana Walnut French Toast

1 1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C butter, melted

1/4 C corn syrup

1/2 C chopped walnuts

3 medium bananas, sliced

1 loaf (about 1 lb) of sliced, unfrosted, cinnamon bread

6 eggs, 1 1/2 C milk

1 tsp vanilla

Lightly grease a 9/13 pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and walnuts until smooth. Gently stir in bananas. Spoon banana mixture into baking dish.

Set the heels aside to eat yourself. Arrange 2 layers of bread on banana mixture, tearing bread to fit if needed.

In medium bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla with wire whisk until well mixed. Pour over bread. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours.

Heat oven to 325. Uncover bread mixture and bake 45-55 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve portions upside down, spooning sauce from bottom of dish over each serving.

Browned Butter Cookies with Caramel Frosting

Well, this is one of my FAVORITE cookies of all time. It makes a big batch, but it's no surprise when I eat most of these myself. The secret is that you have to frost them as soon as they cool. The frosting locks in the moisture and they stay chewy and fresh for days! Browned butter is a great trick to add to your bag of tricks. Mmmm...

Browned Butter Cookies with Caramel Frosting

1 C butter - do NOT use any substitutes

2 C brown sugar

1/2 C milk

2 eggs

3 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 400. Melt butter in 2-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until butter is light brown. (Butter will foam and you will have to swirl the pan to see the butter. You'll notices dark solids on the bottom of the pan. That's the GOOD stuff!) Cool at least 10 minutes.

Mix browned butter, brown sugar, milk and eggs in a large bowl with a spoon, Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 9-11 minutes, or until almost no indentation remains when touched in the center. Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. While cookies are cooling, make caramel frosting. Spread frosting on cookies.

Caramel Frosting

1/2 C butter

1 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C milk

2 C powdered sugar

Melt butter in 2-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat. (I use the same one from the browned butter. No sense in dirtying another dish!) Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes. Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Frost on the cookies.

"Sharon Hornbeck" Chicken and Spinach Salad

So we're having some new friends from church over for dinner. How funny is it that after you ask what people don't eat, that's all you can think of to serve?! If they'd said, "Well, we don't eat any meat or dairy", all I'd be able to think of is meats drowned in some creamy sauce. I do love to think of fun things to cook that meet dietary restrictions though. So here's what's for dinner tonight...

We're having "Sharon Hornbeck Chicken", which is named for Sharon Hornbeck, bet you couldn't have figured THAT one out, right? We were down visiting them a couple years ago in Arizona, and I mentioned how her chicken recipe was our family's favorite. She said, "That's not my recipe...is it?" So she asked me for the recipe. How funny is that? Well, we all thought it was funny. I told her she could still have all the credit for it, so thanks Sharon!

Also, we're having Wilted Spinach Salad with Candied Pepper Bacon...Mmmmm Boy! This is a definite crowd pleaser! Let me know what you think of these if you ever try them!

"Sharon Hornbeck" Chicken

1 whole fryer chicken, cut into pieces

1 C flour

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 C honey

1/3 C soy sauce

1/3 C chili sauce

1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Wash and dry chicken pieces and pat dry. Place flour and salt and pepper in a paper bag or mix together on a plate. Dredge chicken in flour mixture to lightly coat.

Place chicken in a foil lined pan with a lip around the edge. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, chili sauce, honey and ginger.

After cooking chicken for 45 minutes, increase heat to 400. Baste chicken with the soy mixture every 5 minutes for 15 more minutes, not forgetting to use the juices in the pan to baste as well.

Remove from the oven and ENJOY!

Wilted Spinach Salad with Candied Pepper Bacon

8 slices thick cut bacon

6T plus 1 tsp brown sugar, divided

1 tsp black pepper

12 oz fresh spinach

1 medium apple, cored and cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 C thinly sliced red onion wedges

3 T cider vinegar

4 tsp dijon mustard

4 hard cooked eggs

Preheat oven to 400. Line rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Lay out bacon slices and top with 2T plus 1 tsp brown sugar then sprinkle with black pepper. Bake 22-25 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon to towel lined plate to cool completely. RESERVE 2T bacon drippings from pan. Cut bacon into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, apple and onion. In a small microwave safe bowl, stir together remaining 4T brown sugar, reserved bacon drippings, vinegar and mustard. Cover and microwave the vinegar mixture on high for 2 minutes, or until bubbly. Pour over spinach mixture. Toss to coat. Top with eggs and bacon pieces.

I like to use strawberries instead of apples sometimes, which is AWESOME! I also use whatever kind of vinegar or mustard I have on hand and it always turns out great!

Happy Cooking!!!

Man, oh man!

So, this is supposed to be a cooking sort of blog, but today was all work and no play. I know I don't have to write something on here every day, but it's sort of cathartic I guess. I'm having some new friends over for dinner on Friday, so there should be some new, fun recipes to post that day. I'm hoping to get the apple bread with pecan praline sauce on here tomorrow, so stay tuned!

There's a First Time for Everything!

Well, so I took the advice of the wonderful Audrey Thomason and decided to start a blog! Holy cow! What was I thinking? Like I really need one more thing to occupy my time, right?

After years of cooking (as we mom's tend to do), and throwing large events and cooking for some pretty big crowds, I have some good recipes and what I think are some good ideas. Here's my venue to share them!

I highly anticipate that I will have no more than 4 followers, so probably will be venting a bit too and sharing some funny things my kids say to me. They are oh so witty!

I guess here goes nothing!