Tomato Basil Soup

Tonight I made the nom-nommyiest Tomato Basil Soup. And it only took about 10 minutes of prep time (tops) and 10 minutes on the stove. Now I need to jar it up and freeze a ton for the winter.

I'd seen a recipe online but there were some things I didn't like about it, so I started from scratch and created my own.

Here's what you'll need:

2- 14 oz cans of crushed tomatos

1- 140z can of whole tomatos

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

olive oil

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1 teaspoon of sea salt

3 tablespoons of sugar

pepper

1/4 cup of whipping cream

3 tablespoons fresh cut basil

Before you start on the stove, pour all cans of tomatos in the blender. Pulsate the blender until any big chunks are gone (however, don't mix it so much that you've got a really thin liquid). Set aside the tomato mixture.

Put your garlic and olive oil in a frying pan. Only heat for about one minute, then pour in your tomato sauce. Add chicken stock, sea salt, sugar and pepper.

Bring it all to a boil and then let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Take the soup off the stove and mix in whipping cream and basil.

Voila!

You're done.

Eat with sourdough bread.

Yum.

the yummy breakfast casserole

So I took the normal egg/sausage breakfast casserole, doctored it up a bit and renamed it the yummy breakfast casserole because i'm so clever with naming dishes.
Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 eggs, beaten

1 cup of milk

1 cup of half and half (you can substitute half and half for an additional cup of milk, but it can make the casserole soggy)

2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 big loaf of french bread.......

green onions

love

Directions:

Brown sausage in a pan.

In a large bowl, mix together salt, eggs, milk, half and half about 3 tablespoons of chopped green onions.

Take the large loaf of french bread and cut thick slices (about 1.5 inches). Lay the bread in the pan and make sure it covers it all. I just squish all the entire loaf in the pan.

Layer the cooked pork sausage over the top of the bread.

Pour the egg mixture on top of the sausage and bread.

Finally, layer 2 cups of cheese over the top of the casserole.

Cover the pan and let it sit for 8-12 hours.

In the morning, cook the casserole at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour.

Lemon-Zucchini Fettuccine

K, so this is totally Nat's recipe but it's AMAZING and the perfect summer pasta. She's quite the cook!

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 lemons, divided

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 medium zucchini

Salt and pepper

5-6 cloves garlic

8 ounces of fettuccine

Fresh basil (about 1/2 cup)

Fresh oregano (about 1/4 cup) or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place chicken in a ziploc bag with the juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the red wine vinegar. Seal the bag and gently squish the bag to make sure the ingredients are incorporated and surrounding the chicken. Set aside for 15-30 minutes.

In a large pot, bring water with about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small saucepan on the stove, place 1/4 cup olive oil and add garlic. Turn the burner to medium-low heat. It shouldn't be popping and frying, the oild should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When the water is boiling, add the pasta.

Remove the chicken from the bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place the chicken and zucchini on a grill.

WHile the chicken and zucchini are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs, and prepare the cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn't been juiced.

When the zucchini and chicken are done, remove them from the grill. Allow the chicken to stand for 5 minutes and then chop the zucchini and chicken.

Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and immediately place in big bowl. Place the chopped zucchini and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and the garlic-olive oil mixture.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water or a little more olive oil.

And yes, that is a phone picture. I work with what i've got people.

carrot cake

Ugh, I wish this wasn't the best carrot cake ever. Even people who don't normally like carrot cake like this stuff......

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups grated carrots

1 1/2 cups oil

4 eggs

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Add oil, mix, add carrots. Mix and add eggs one at a time-beat. Bake at 350 in greased layered pans35-45 min. or sheet pan 45 min.

Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick of butter

1 cup chopped pecans

1 lb. box conf. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese-add sugar, vanilla and nuts. Spread on cooled cake.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Made these dudes for V-Day.

Ingredients:

Barbeque Sauce

1/2 Chopped Red Onion

Cilantro

2 Chicken Breasts

Pizza Cheese

Dough recipe:

2 c. flour (I use whole wheat flour)

1 Tbl. yeast

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbl. sugar

2/3 cup very warm water

Mix 1 cup flour with all other dry ingredients. Mix in water. Add in remaining flour (be careful not to over-stir, it'll kill the yeast) and let rise 15 minutes. The dough will be sticky when done. Lay on bed of flour and roll out to desired size.

Pizza:

Grill two chicken breasts on stove and shred. Brush BBQ sauce onto rolled out dough. Sprinkle Pizza Cheese on top of the BBQ sauce. Layer chicken, red onions and cilantro on top of the cheese. Lightly brush crust with olive oil and sprinkle with a touch of garlic and parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

White Bean Chicken Chili

I'M ALIVE!

ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL?

So today I started craving some good ole white bean chicken chili which is completely weird.

It's not weird because white bean chicken chili is weird, it's weird because i've never had it before.

But maybe that's just something to bring up with my therapist.

Anyways, it was really good.

Made a ton but I'll just freezer it.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 can chopped green chilies, drained

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 cans (15 oz) white beans

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

1 1/2 cups finely copped cook chicken breast

shredded cheese (optional)

sour cream (optional)

PREPARATION

In large skillet, cook onioin in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot.