Baked Potato Soup

So this soup was amazing. I think Marshall ate 3 bowls of it. Super Easy too. I adapted this recipe from myrecipes.com. Enjoy!

4 baking potatoes

2/3 cups all-purpose flour

6 cups 2% milk (I used non fat)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup chopped green onion

6 slices of bacon

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes. 3/4 cup cheese. salt. and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts.

Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onion. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Top soups with a little cheese, green onion, and bacon.

Mike's Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bars

My favorite pumpkin desseret was posted here by Jana last fall.  However Mike's favorite pumpkin desseret are these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.  It used to be a family recipe from his aunt, but over the years I've modified it and it's now our recipe!  We made them for the church Trunk or Treat last night because it makes a lot!

3 c pumpkin
2 c flour
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c oil
1/2 c apple sauce
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients well.  Place in a greased cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

Frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 c butter, softened
1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat until creamy and spread on the bars when cooled.  I like to spinkle nutmeg on top for a little more flavor!  I think pumpkin pie spice would be good as well (in or on the bars).

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

It is no secret that I LOVE bread! And despite my long list of go to recipes I am always looking for something new to try. When I saw this recipe from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures I knew that I had to make it…NOW. Incredible! That’s all there is to say about this moist, hearty, tender loaf of goodness! What is even more incredible is that it stayed moist for a few days which is almost impossible with homemade bread. (It must be all of the oil!)
Go ahead, give it a whirl. Your family will thank you even if your thighs don’t!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I used quick)
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup room temperature water
4 tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
        (the second time I made this I used powdered milk and it    
       worked fine. I have a bunch expiring in my storage!)
1/2 cup  oil (I did reduce it a few Tbs. the second time and while it
               was still good, it wasn’t quite as moist…)
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Add 1 1/4 cups of the oats to a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and stir to combine. Let sit, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the soaked oats, room temperature water, honey, yeast, buttermilk, oil, both flours and the salt. Mix until a rough dough comes together, then switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 10 minutes.
When the dough is ready it will have a satiny finish, but it will still be somewhat wet and will cling to the dough hook (if necessary, you can add slightly more flour to the dough).
Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray then add the dough, turning to coat. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until just about doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and press down to release excess air bubbles. Shape the dough into a 12x6-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you. Fold the sides in so they meet in the middle, then roll the dough into a log, starting with the end closest to you. Pinch the dough closed at the seam.
Spray a 10-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the dough to the pan, seam side down, pressing it into the corners. (I made one 9 inch loaf and one mini and it turned out great!)

Let sit for about 30 minutes, or until the loaf rises just over the top of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 F. Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is a nice deep golden brown.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and turn the bread out. Let cool completely before slicing.

They MUST be kidding about the last part! Who can wait that long? Not me! Slice it warm and enjoy!

Mozzarella Sticks

These were a hit with everyone in our family. I got the recipe from passthesushi.com, I changed it up a bit though. http://passthesushi.com/panko-mozzarella-sticks

16 pieces string cheese, removed from wrappers

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

3 tbs milk

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Canola oil, for frying

Slice the string cheese in half.

Place the flour in a small bowl. In another separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the salt and pepper, stir to combine. In a shallow dish, whisk the eggs with the milk to combine.

To assemble, one by one, dust the cheese in the flour, tapping the excess off. Next, dip the cheese in the egg mixture, covering completely. Then lastly, roll the cheese in the panko crumb mixture. Gently remove and place on a baking sheet. Place the sheet in a freezer for 20 – 30 minutes to flash freeze sticks.

To cook, I heated my deep fryer to 350 degrees and cook them for 2 minutes. We dipped them in marinara sauce. I served them with the corn dog bites that was posted by Sally, here the link for those http://addictiveallens.blogspot.com/2010/11/corn-dawgz.html.

Pumpkin Roll

The pumpkin roll was good. I got it from http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/11/25/pumpkin-roll/.

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat eggs and granulated sugar until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Bake in preheated oven 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off wax paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

To make the cream cheese filling: combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Sweet Potato Soup

It's finally soup weather!  Yeah!  I have a versatile Sweet  Potato Soup that is so good in a couple of ways!  Tonight we added some spice, peanut butter and coconut milk so it had a Thai taste.  It's also good with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cream for an almost pumpking pie taste.  Here is the recipe with several options.

2-3 sweet potatoes (raw, peeled and cubed)
1 Tbl butter
1/2 onion coursely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic cousely chopped
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 - 1/2 cup peanut butter depending on the flavor you want
1 cup milk, cream, buttermilk, or coconut milk
Thai spices: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 2 Tbl grated fresh ginger root, 2 Tbl lime juice
Pumpkin spices: 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg,  1/4 tsp ground ginger

Melt butter over medium heat and saute onion and garlic until softened.  Add sweet potatoes, chicken stock, and spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft.  Add milk.  Puree the soup using an immersion blender or in a regular blender. 

Serve with lime sour cream or Lingon Berry sauce from Ikea as a garnish.  Peanuts are also good sprinkled on top.  Emjoy!