Hamburger Soup

I made this last night for dinner. It was really, really yummy. I seasoned my beef quite a bit, which I think made all the difference. I also added potatoes (not included in the original recipe), which made it a very hearty soup. Oh and since I didn't have any canned tomatoes, I used fresh tomatoes and added an extra cup of water. Probably could go either way.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 cups diced potatoes
6 cubes beef bouillon
5 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons ketchup

In a medium skillet, brown hamburger over medium heat. Be sure to season with salt and pepper. Drain off fat. Combine beef, carrots, celery, onions, bouillon, water, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, salt, corn, basil, and ketchup in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Southern Pecan Pie

3 eggs
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 c. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
pie crust

Blend eggs,sugar,butter,syrup,and salt in the blender until smooth.Spread chopped pecans over bottom of pie crust.Pour blender mixture on top of pecans.Bake at 375* for 45-50 minutes,or until fully bro...wned.It will still jiggle slightly.It's the easiest pie you'll ever make!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

It's me again, with another soup recipe.

I actually halved this and it worked out great. I think the water is what you'll want to tweak depending on how thick you like your soup.

Ingredients:
2 medium-sized butternut squash (or 1 large and one small), cubed
3 apples
1 yellow onion, sauteed
5 cups water
2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
pepper to taste

Bring to boil. Then simmer for 20 minutes. In batches, blend in blender, food processor or immersion blender.

I would serve with a nice slice of crunchy bread.

Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

A friend of ours made this for us the other night. It was DELICIOUS! My daughter (almost 3) did okay with it, and her son (2) loves it.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Deborah Madison

2 T. butter or olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups diced onion
1 lb. carrots, thinly sliced
2 T. white rice
Sea salt and freshly milled pepper
2 T. parsley, chopped
3 T. dill chopped or 1 1/2 T. dried dill
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
6 cups water or basic vegetable stock

Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the pepper, onion, carrots, rice and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Cook over medium heat, covered until the onion has softened completely, about 10 minutes, stirring several times. Add a grind of pepper, the parsley, dill, orange zest, juice and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until the rice is cooked, about 25 minutes. Cool briefly, then puree all but a cup or two of the soup and return it to the pot. Taste for salt, season with pepper, garnish and serve. This soup may be served hot as well as chilled.

Restaurant-style Taco Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese
salsa
ranch dressing
1 pkg taco seasoning
* grilled chicken/taco meat optional

Combine all ingredients in a giant bowl. Serve with tortilla chips. This. Was. Heaven. The key: the taco seasoning. Ranch + salsa makes for a GREAT dressing.

Should serve 4-6 for a meal; 6-8 as a side salad.

Hershey's Fudge

3 cups Hershey's semi-sweet chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole roasted almonds

Melt chips and milk over very low heat until smooth. This will be THICK. Stir in almonds -- they won't want to stick, this is normal. Line a 9x9 glass dish with wax paper. Pour into wax paper and smooth out the top with the back of spoon. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Pull entire brick of fudge out, using the edges of the wax paper. Cut into squares on a cutting board. ENJOY!

* Keep refrigerated
* If you can handle ultra sweet milk chocolate, you could use milk chocolate chips instead. :D

Squash Casserole

4-5 yellow squash
1 small onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag croutons
2 cups grated moterrey jack cheese

Peel the squash, then cut into 1/2 inch rings. Cut onion into 1/2 inch half rings. Stir in soup. Pour into 13x9 glass baking dish. Top with cheese, then croutons. Bake at 350*, covered for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 10 minutes.

* You be the judge on the baking time. Some like their squash soggy ... me, not-so-much.

How to fix runny jam

Since it's the jam making time of year, I though this was appropriate. It's happened to me before.... runny Jam! I found the fix on this blog Chez Beeper Bebe .

Runny Jam Fix
I ngredients:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
4 Tbsp lemon juice
8 tsp of no-sugar
pectin

Materials:
8 canning jar lids

Instructions:
Empty out your runny jam from the jars into a bowl.
Wash and sterilize your jars and jar rings again, discarding the lid tops.
Sterilize your new jar lid tops. Drain and set aside on clean dish towels.
Fill your canning pot with water and bring to a gentle boil. Keep it at a
gentle boil throughout so it will be ready when needed.
Mix pectin with sugar in a large pot. Add water and lemon juice and mix.
Place over high heat and bring to a boil, while stirring continuously.
Add the jam and bring to a vigorous boil over high heat, continuing to stir
throughout. Boil for 1 minute (and no longer) while keeping that stirring
up.
Remove from heat, stir and ladle hot jam into sterilized jars, securing lids
tightly. Place jam jars in your canning pot with gently boiling water and
boil for 5 minutes (again, keep your time on this—too long may make
your jam runny all over again and how sad would that be?). Remove jam
and allow to cool. Check lid seals once cooled—any tops that pop back
when pressed should be refrigerated.
Fixes 7-8 jars of jam (8 oz or 1 cup each)

Sour Cream Apple Pie

I can not take credit for this recipe, I found it on a blog, and here it is in all it's glory.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Topping

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour

Filling

1 1/3 c. sour cream
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 or 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Pie crust (you can make your own, or use a pre-made one from the refrigerator section of the grocery store — I always do) fitted into a deep-dish 9" or 10" pie plate and chilled

To make the topping, in a bowl blend the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and flour until the mixture is combined well. Cover and chill the topping.

To make the filling, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, and flour until the mixture is smooth. Add the peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples and stir the filling and apples together.

Spoon the filling into the chilled shell and crumble the topping evenly over it. Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the middle of a pre-heated 350-degree oven, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. (You might need to put a bit of tinfoil on top of the pie during the last 15 minutes to prevent the top from burning.) Transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely.