Tomato Basil Soup

There's nothing quite like the warm yumminess that is creamy tomato basil soup. I haven't always felt that way though. I didn't start liking tomato soup until I was 18 years old. Now, it's pretty much a staple soup in my house. I particularly like the V8 tomato soup, but I've been searching for one I can make myself, and I think I finally found it... on Pinterest, of course: Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. I've tried this soup several times, and I kept making it too spicy. So, this round, I left the crushed red pepper out completely. Otherwise, this is a really simple, quite tasty soup. It doesn't make too much, but definitely enough for several bowls. If you decide to make this, please, please, please, make sure you have an immersion blender. I've burnt my hands, and made quite a mess in my kitchen because I've had to use my regular blender. Next time, I will be prepared!

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 (14 ounce) cans of hunt's fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian)
1/2 cup half and half
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper (if using)
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped (I used two tsps)
salt and pepper, to taste

In a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat, pour in the olive oil and saute onion until translucent. Add the chopped garlic (except for 1 clove) and sauté with the onion for 2 minutes.

Next, add the cans of fire roasted tomatoes (including the juice) to the pan and cover for about 15 minutes, stirring as needed.

Add the chicken stock and half and half and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered, for 10 minutes or until it has thickened.

Add the remaining chopped garlic clove, crushed red pepper if using it, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Lower your heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes more.

Using an immersion blender (or carefully transfer soup to a blender in two batches to avoid splattering), puree soup until there are no large chunks of tomato left. 

Soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.

Coconut Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm working at being more adventurous, both in my personal life and in my palate. Oftentimes I don't succeed, but every once in a while I do. This recipe was a success! Of course, I found this one on Pinterest: Lime and Coconut Cookies with White Chocolate Chips, and with all the cold weather we've had this winter, I thought it would be a nice recipe to liven up my family and coworkers with some summer flavors. It worked. The cookies have a very mild lime flavor, and the coconut doesn't detract from the texture of the cookie. The white chocolate chips just melt in your mouth and blend it all together in a wonderful little cookie.

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
zest of one large lime
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I used two smaller limes)
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Toast coconut until lightly brown and fragrant (5-7 minutes). Zest and juice the lime.

In small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. 

Add in the egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest, and beat until well combined. 

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Lastly, fold in the toasted coconut and white chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Roll rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough into balls and roll in sugar. 

Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. The cookies will look slightly cracked. Let the cookies rest on cookie sheet for three minutes, then move them onto a cooling rack.

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Grilled Peanut Butter

The tried and true stand-by 10-minute dinner in my house has always been grilled peanut butter. I know, I know! Huh? Yeah, I get lots of "you're fixing what???" every time I make this and post something about it, so I figured, why not share? This is something I grew up with my daddy making for me, and I've made it for my daughter nearly all her life. She's even introduced it to a few of her friends. Apparently, grilled peanut butter and banana was one of Elvis Presley's favorite dishes, but since I don't like the texture of bananas, I'll just stick with my favorite!

Bread

Crunchy peanut butter

Butter

I'll go ahead and warn you, if you've ever made a grilled cheese, then this will be a easy-peasy for you. Put about 1-1.5 Tbsp of butter in your skillet, and turn the heat on med-high. Then simply spread a healthy dose of crunchy peanut butter (yes, I have tried it with creamy, and while it works in a pinch, it will run out of the sandwich a whole lot more) on one piece of bread. Then butter one side of the other slice of bread.

Once the butter in the skillet is hot, place the sandwich, butter side up into the skillet. Be sure not to let it sit too still. I like to shake the skillet back and forth slightly to move the sandwich around. Cook for a couple minutes until the bottom is brown, then flip the butter side down and cook for a few minutes more.

Sometimes we serve it with fries; sometimes we serve it with chips. Add some grapefruit or cantaloupe, and you've got a tasty and very quick meal.

Sautéed Brussel Sprouts

I don't hate fruits and vegetables by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a rather picky eater. So, I'm always on the lookout for new ways to try the varieties that I do actually like. The only way I had ever tried Brussels sprouts was steamed with a bit of butter and salt. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest for the Best Brussels Sprouts, I knew I needed to try it. While my daughter wasn't thrilled with them, I enjoyed them so much that I fixed them again! With one making, I also added some Hollandaise sauce, and it was phenomenal. It was a very simple recipe, and you can adjust it to make more or less. I'll give you the ingredients as the recipe calls for, but I actually only used about half a bag of Brussels sprouts, which was just a bit more than enough for my daughter and I.

3 cups brussels sprouts, halved

1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
2 Tblsp olive oil
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Add brussels sprouts, black pepper, garlic salt and 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a skillet. Cook over a low heat allowing the brussels sprouts to brown on each side before flipping them.

After about 10 minutes add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned bread crumbs. Cook for another 10 minutes, flipping occasionally. The edges should be browned.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm not what you would call a morning person. I like quiet and no conflict for the first hour or two of the day. I also am not a big breakfast person. Just never have been. I prepare breakfast meals maybe four times a year. We usually eat cereal or oatmeal or Cream of Rice/Wheat or eat oat bars or crackers. I know, it's awful. So, a couple weekends ago after my kiddo woke up, I asked her if she would be interested in some chocolate chip muffins. Not my thing, but I know she likes them, and I had pinned a recipe on Pinterest for them: Chocolate Chip Muffins several months ago. The recipe was very easy to follow, and she liked them a lot and finished off all the muffins for breakfast and snacks during the next week, so all-in-all I consider it a success.

1 1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
¾ lb chocolate chips



Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and prepare muffin pans with butter - I ended up with 18 muffins. In small bowl combine baking powder, salt, and flour, set aside. In large bowl combine butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer, or like I did, use a stand mixer.

 

Slowly beat in eggs, until combined. Add milk. Slowly add sugar, until completely combined. Mix flour mixture into butter until just combined, but still lumpy. 

Add chocolate chips and combine. Pour mixture into muffin pans, filling each cup two-thirds full. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until muffins turn golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Meatloaf

Several years ago, I was having a conversation with my best friend, and I mentioned that I really wanted a good meatloaf recipe. She said she had one, and she quickly wrote down the ingredients and directions. I looked at what she had written, and I couldn't believe it could be that easy. When I tried it, I couldn't believe it was that easy AND tasted that good. Thank you, Romayne, for this wonderful recipe!

2 lbs ground beef

1 packet onion soup mix

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

3 Tbsp brown sugar

6 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp mustard

Mix the ground beef, onion soup mix, milk and egg together until combined.

Press the meat mixture into a loaf pan. I bought a meatloaf pan specifically for this purpose, and also bought one for my best friend to thank her for giving me this recipe! The pan has two layers - the normal shape loaf for the meatloaf, but there are holes in the bottom to drain out all of the fat that cooks off, and then there's an outer layer to, of course, catch the grease. They aren't terribly expensive, so if you prepare meatloaf, even occasionally, then this is a great investment for you.

Next, combine the brown sugar, ketchup and mustard in a bowl and stir until smooth. I actually used brown spicy mustard, because I had some open and I rarely use mustard and definitely didn't need two bottles in my fridge. It worked just as well for my taste.

Spoon the mixture on top of the meat mixture. Just to let you know, I was preparing this to cook the next night, so to keep the plastic from sticking, I stuck two toothpicks into the meatloaf - that's what they're doing in this picture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Slice, and enjoy!