Beer Cheese Soup

Sounds really good right? Well this simple recipe is defiantly a keeper. I served it with brats. I think I am going to buy some soft pretzels to dunk into the leftover soup.

For lactose free- you can substitute your milk (goat, rice etc) for the milk. As far as I can tell the bisquick is dairy free.

Serves 6

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 medium carrots, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup milk
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (1 lb)
1/2 cup regular or nonalcoholic beer

In 4-quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
In large bowl, mix broth, Bisquick mix, pepper and red pepper until smooth. Gradually stir into vegetable mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Stir in milk and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. Stir in beer.

Scalloped Potatoes

I hate the boxed scalloped/Au Gratin potatoes. But these are super yummy & quick & easy. You can peel the skins off the baked potatoes or leave them on.

Serves 4

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or swiss or whatever you have
4 medium sized potatoes baked & sliced
4 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled (optional)
Sliced green onion (optional)


Directions

Melt butter in saucepan; blend in flour.
Add milk gradually and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add garlic powder and 1/2 cup cheese.
Combine potatoes and sauce in 2-qt. baking dish; sprinkle with remaining cheese & bacon.
Bake at 375°F, 25 minutes or until golden brown and heated through. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.

Shepherds Pie

Well, I have to say that, well I had never made shepherds pie before last night. This recipe was pretty simple. I liked the flavor combination of the veggies. I did think it needed more salt & pepper. I'm not one to salt & pepper my food after it is made, but this needed it. Jon did not add hot sauce to it, so he must have liked it. I bet with the leftovers though he will be adding some spicy mustard to it. Next time I make this, I'll be putting cheesy mashed potatoes on top. Or I might put some frenchs fried onions on top. Lactose free- use lactose free milk.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 lbs ground beef (ground turkey or chicken would be good also)
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped or 1 tablespoon minced
1-2 cups vegetables - examples- chopped carrots, corn, peas, green beans, celery
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
Butter
Milk

Directions
Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

In another pan, add ground beef and onion & garlic sauté until no longer pink. Drain. Add salt and pepper & worcesterchire sauce.

In the same skillet that you browned your meat in, add you veggies. Sauteing in a little of the fat from the meat (about 5 minutes), or you can use olive oil or butter. If adding corn, add towards end of the sauteing of veggies.

Mash potatoes in bowl with butter & milk

Place beef and veggies in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

Cook in 350 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Note- if using canned corn or green beans, you will need about 1/2 a can of each. Just remember to drain it first.

Mom's Rice

My mother in law makes this rice & it is so good! I think I could eat the entire pan by myself. So super yummy! You won't regret trying this recipe out. Great with chicken, beef or pork.

Serves 4-6


1 (10 3/4 ounce) can French onion soup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can beef consomme
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
1/2 stick butter
1 small can sliced mushrooms

Place rice in a 9x9-inch deep casserole dish
Mix French onion soup and consomme; pour over rice.
Cut butter in pats and place in dish.
Cover and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Herbed Chicken in Pastry

Found this yummy recipe on Campbell's website. It was really good. I can't wait to try it with a different stuffing, like a jelly with cream cheese or french onion dip. I served it with oven baked tomatoes.

Serves 4

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Ground black pepper (optional)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons butter
1 container (4 ounces) garlic & herb spreadable cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.
Season the chicken with the black pepper, if desired. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken to a plate. Cover the plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut into 4 (7-inch) squares.
Spread about 2 tablespoons cheese spread in the center of each pastry square. Top each with 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 chicken breast. Brush the edges of the pastry squares with the egg mixture. Fold the corners of the pastry squares to the center over the chicken and press to seal. Place the filled pastries seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Gorilla Bread

If you like monkey bread, then you will like Gorilla bread. Yummy Yummy Yummy!!!! A friend posted that she was making this & I had to try it. I have posted the recipe as it was given, but I put a note at the bottom on how I think the recipe could be improved.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count; pay attention to the ounce size of the can)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.


Note- I think it would be better if you mixed 3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar into the cream cheese. That way it is cinn. & sugar cream cheese & you don't end up with a bite of unflavored cream cheese.

Can be served as dessert or as breakfast with a cup of coffee.

Yum Yum Chicken

Ok, so yeah, I think they could have come up with more of a creative name. However, I have to say it is yummy!

chicken (any kind, boneless works the best but can be bone-in, about 2 pounds, can be frozen also)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of celery or mushroom works well
1 box of stuffing mix (unprepared/no liquid)
slices of cheese (american, muenster, swiss, whatever you like I think shredded works best)

Layer like this in crock pot...
1/2 box of stuffing, then layer the chicken , cheese slices (or whatever cheese you need to use up in the fridge) next to cover chicken, then pour the soups over top, dump in stuffing mix.
Cook for 6 hours on low...PERFECTION!
You add NO LIQUID to this recipe at all, except the soups. After you make it, you can of course tweak it to your liking :)


I turned the crockpot on, but forgot to plug it in. So you can also do this in the oven at 350 for 1 hour