Cheesy Potato Soup

Yummy! Love a good filling soup on a cold day!! And after all the snow we got, I was in need of some good warm soup!!!




Take red potato and...



...cut in half



Then cut that half in half...






Then slice it into slices, I turned it so I ended up slicing it again, so it was like french fries...



Then slice into bite size pieces, so it's like the hash browns you get from the section at the store!




Perfect! :)


Slice one stick of celery


Then slice up one small red onion


Cut up some baby carrots, I think I had about 6 - 8



Bring the veggies to a boil


After it's boiled for about 10-15 minutes, take your flour and add it to your milk, stir it up...







Then add it to your veggies


Stir it up and add...



your shredded cheeses


...and add some spices... Bring it to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 15-30 minutes...


And VIOLA!!!! Ready to eat, you can add...



...bacon and cut up green onions if you like! Makes it extra tasty!!! :)





Cheesy Potato Soup

6 medium red potatoes
1 stick of celery
1 small red onion
6-8 baby carrots
Celery Salt, Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Salt
3-4 cups milk
3-4 tablespoons flour
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of cooked crumbled bacon
1 bunch of green onions, chopped

Cut up the red potatoes, celery, onion and carrots. Place it in a pot with just enough water to barely cover the top of the veggies. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Take the milk and flour and mix together until no longer lumpy. Turn heat off the veggies and then add the flour/milk mixture. Then add the cheeses, the celery salt, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. I just dump these in, so you may want to start off with a little of each, then taste, and then add more if you need. Mix it together, turn the heat back on until it boils, turn down the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15-30 minutes, or until your veggies are nice and tender.
While it's finishing cooking, fry up the bacon, and cut up the green onions.
After you've spooned into bowls, add the green onions and bacon, and then ENJOY!!!

*You don't have to use the cheeses I mentioned, you can use whatever kinds you like. Or use just one!
You could also use frozen hash browns if you want the easy way
Like I said, I don't measure the spices, I just dump. So if you aren't comfortable with just dumping, start off with a teaspoon of celery salt and garlic salt. Just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Taste it and see if you need more celery salt and garlic salt. I usually add more celery salt than garlic salt!
It is really good with the bacon and green onions! I don't always have the green onions, but I always try to have the bacon with it!

Baked Ratatouille

Ever since watching Ratatouille with the kiddos, I've wanted to know how to make Ratatouille! I was making out my menus for this week and just happened across it in one of my new cookbooks! I wasn't even looking for it! YAH!!!!

The kids LOVED this! They kept asking if the mouse made it for me, if the cook made it, or if the guy told me how to make it. I said no, I read the recipe from the cookbook! I said it looks a little different than what the mouse made, but it's still the same thing! It looked like when the food critique came in and was day dreaming of when he was a kid and his mom made it for him... But anyways...

This is really good and want to make it again!!! The kids really liked it as well! After we got them showers that nite, we watched Ratatouille! :)


Fry up some bacon and onion in the same pan. You can use a larger pan, but I just used my small one! :)


Take a can of diced tomatoes and tomato paste, stir it together.


Add salt and minced garlic. The recipe calls for 1 clove, but I used 3! :)


Then add the Italian seasonings


Then add the olive oil and mix it all together


Add the cooked and crumbled bacon and onion slices and mix


The tomato mixture all mixed up


Place half of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan


Cut up an eggplant into cubes


Cut a green pepper into slices


Cut up 4-5 zucchini into slices


Place half of the cut up cubed eggplant in the pan


Then add half of the sliced zucchini


Then add the all the green pepper slices


Then half of the cheese slices (next time I make it, I will make sure that the cheese COMPLETELY covers it all!)


Add the rest of the tomato mixture


Add the rest of the eggplant


Then add the rest of the zucchini


Then the rest of the cheese slices (remember, make sure the cheese completely covers it all, I didn't and wish I did!)



Bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes and VIOLA!!! ENJOY!!!! :)




Baked Ratatouille

4 bacon strips, cut in half
1 cup sliced onion
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, untrained
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 large eggplant, cubed
4-5 medium zucchini, sliced
1 large green pepper, sliced
8-12 oz sliced Monterey Jack cheese

In large skillet brown the bacon and onion until bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels. Place diced tomato's, tomato paste, oil, minced garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, and bacon and onion in a bowl and mix together.
Spread half of the tomato mixture into a 9x13 pan, then layer half of the eggplant, half the zucchini, all the green pepper, and half of the cheese. Then add the rest of the tomato mixture, eggplant, zucchini, and cheese on top. Bake for 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes until it's hot and bubbly.

*Next time I will do the layers like this, tomato mixture, eggplant, zucchini, all the green pepper, cheese, eggplant, zucchini, the rest of the tomato mixture, then the rest of the cheese.
Also, make sure you place the cheese slices side by side.
I used about 6 pieces of bacon and then crumbled them after they were drained.
Enjoy!

I Have Some!!

Ok, so after a nice long week of being sick and no hubby, we are back and running! BUT, my dear hubby is without a computer and I don't have enough time right now to post a recipe, takes too long to write it all out... BUT I do have some to post, just don't know when I will get them up here!! SO, keep watching... :)

Wednesday

Like my creative titles I am coming up with? It took sooo much effort to think of it! hahaha :)

Today was better, but that may because I am starting to feel a bit better!

Didn't get a GREAT nite of sleep, but am on the mend! YIPPEE SKIPPEE as my dad would say! :)

Thad woke up about 4:15 coughing, I fed him and settled back down, then he woke up about 5:45-6 and I fed him again, then he was out. I know, I am doing a no no, but he is in the bed next to me, pillows piled high on the end so he doesn't roll off. BUT with him coughing the last few nites and not sleeping the greatest, it is easier to have him next to me. So, anyways, about 6:30 I felt a slap in the face, gee thanks bud! I got him to go back to sleep a little after 7, then I was out again. Heard Gavin about 7:45 and then Skylar followed. I got them some breakfast before they spilled the milk everywhere! I heard the bowls, the refrigerator open, I knew I better get out there or I'd have a mess to clean up! I guess the good news would have been IF they spilled the milk, I would have to mop the floor, so that part would be done! :)

I got in the shower before Thad woke up again and was ready to start my day before 9am! Which is a first this whole week! Hope I can get up and ready to go earlier tomorrow! :)

Thad is feeling so much better, he is eating and played ALL morning! Didn't get him down for a nap until 11:45 and then woke him up a little after 1 to eat. He ate it all! YEAH!!!! He ate good all day! Slept normally as well! He was a tad fussy tonite, but he was tired.

This afternoon I laid down with Thaddeus, then Kotah and Gavin were up. Gavin popped his head in the room and "whispered" MOM? CAN WE PLAY WITH THE PLAY DOUGH? I looked over and just shook my head! He ran out, KOTAH!!! MOM SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) So then after about a minute, he pops his head in again said, MOM? SHOULD WE PLAY UPSTAIRS OR DOWN HERE ON THE TABLE? I said, down here please! They are usually pretty good with it, but I could just see it over the walls, stuck on the ceiling and in the play room. I would rather clean it up from ONE room than 3!!! :) They could've made cool designs with it because we have textured (the ouchy kind!) walls and ceilings up there! :) They played for about an hour with it!

I had to wake Skylar up so we could go to Karate tonite. Earlier today he said he wouldn't be able to go because he had a stuffy nose. BUT he was much better after his nap, so I figured he could go. The only person that still was coughing away is Skylar. I felt bad taking her, but what could I do? I decided that we would not go to church because of her being sick, and Thad started coughing again, so we came home afterwards.

Fixed them supper, got them showers, and then brought out the play dough since Skylar didn't get to play with it and she REALLY wanted to! Why not? Other than getting play dough in clean hair, what's the worse that could happen? :) They played for 30 minutes, cleaned up and called daddy. Didn't get to talk to him, but they left him a message. He has NO reception out there, so I hope he is ok! This is the first that I haven't been able to talk to him when he's been gone! He usually calls and talks for about 5 to 10 minutes, but he really can't this time!

The kiddos are all asleep, I should be ready for bed, but have energy to get a few things done before I hit the bed!

I also realized that I was about a week behind on my NT Challenge. It's amazing what goes out the window when you are sick or your kids are sick! My house is a mess, I have a MOUNTAIN of laundry to do, floors to sweep, etc... But it will get done. We are all on the mend, or so I hope! :)

I guess I better get moving, have some Bible reading to do, then a few things, then bed, ah, sweet sleep!

Thursday is coming, then Friday, then he will be home!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! As long as the snow holds off, not really sure how much we are supposed to get, not sure if I want to know, he SHOULD be on time! He flies into BWI at 3:20pm! Then about an hour and a half drive home, depending on the weather! :)

Taking a Break...

I am not so sure there will be too many, or any new recipes up here this week!

My hubby is gone for the week.

Plus, the kids and I are sick... Don't feel like cooking anything right now, just trying to get us all feeling better!

Hope you all are having a good week! Check back next week for some new and yummy recipes!!!

<3

Pizza Dough

I think I've found a good recipe for pizza dough! I REALLY liked this one and the next time I made it, I added some garlic salt and Italian seasonings. I will add a bit more next time, not quite enough to taste. I wasn't sure just how much to put in so I just dumped. I really like just dumping in spices and ingredients, SOOOO much fun!!! You NEVER know how it's gonna try out! That's probably why when I make something the second time around, it never tastes the same as the first time! :)



Mix flour, salt and yeast together, then make a well in the center of flour...


Add the warm water...


Mix together... You could knead this, but I didn't have the time to knead it by hand! My KitchenAid mixer worked just fine! :)


Next, add the olive oil and mix again...


Let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size. This is almost triple in size! I cheat, I warm my oven up for about 10 minutes, then turn it off. Then I put in my dough that needs to rise... That way it is nice and warm! Ready to go! (make sure it isn't too hot though! Or it will cook the dough and not rise it like you want!)


Sprinkle your HOT stone or baking sheet with yellow cornmeal



Roll it nice and thin on LIGHTLY floured surface... You don't need a whole lot of flour when rolling this out...
Then place on already hot stone/pan... On top of the yellow cornmeal


Put sauce all over, leave enough room around the edges for your crust!



The kiddos wanted pepperoni, so I put some pepperoni on...


Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese! The trick, don't over load it, your crust won't cook if it is too heavy!



Cook until cheese is all nice and melted!


Pizza Dough


4 1/4-1/2 cups flour (you need atleast 4 cups, you may need to add up to 1/2 cup more though)
pinch of salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Mix all together, make a well in the middle and add 12 oz WARM water, mix for a minute, then add 2 oz olive oil. Mix until you get a nice dough. (Not sticky or it won't be good!)
Place in bowl (or if you are using mixer, keep it in bowl) cover with a dish towel and place in a nice and warm, draft - free place. Let it rise for 30-40 minutes. (Remember, I like to let it rise for an hour! But you can only do it for 30 minutes if you are running short one time!).
Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Make sure you put your pans in the oven as it is warming up! You want your pans to be HOT when you put the dough on them!
Once the oven has reached the temp, pull one pan out and sprinkle yellow cornmeal all over.
Remove dough from bowl once it has risen, place a small amount of flour on counter and knead the dough for a minute or two. Break in half and roll the first half to the size you want.
Place on pan/stone and then add the sauce and the rest of the ingredients you want!
Continue with other half. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted!


*The longer you let your dough rise, the BETTER!!! :) First time I made it, I let it rise for just over an hour, YUMMY! The second time I only let it rise 45 minutes, you could definitely taste the difference between to the two. Can't really say what it was, but it was different! Not bad, but gonna make sure it sits for atleast an hour! :)
Also, add spices to this before you add the water. I used garlic salt and Italian seasonings.. yummy...
Also, if you make it into a pizza, you can use string cheese, put it around the crust and then fold the crust over. You've got your very own stuffed crust pizza!
You could even make a garlic butter (with softened butter and garlic salt) and brush it over the pizza crust after it's done baking. Very tasty! :)
I like to use spaghetti sauce for my pizza sauce. I use the non-chucky regular kind. I never usually have pizza sauce on hand and always have use for spaghetti sauce! :)