Chicken Vegetable Soup

I made this up last night - it's loosely based off of Aunt Georgia/Mema's vegetable soup made with beef.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
· 1 tbls olive oil
· 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
· 1 small yellow onion chopped
· 2 cloves garlic minced
· 3 5.5 oz cans of V8 Spicy Hot juice
· 6-8 cups chicken broth (or water w/ bouillon granules as directed)
· 2-3 small turnips diced
· 2 carrots sliced
· 3 stalks celery
· 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
· 1-2 bay leaves
· 1 tsp marjoram
· 1 tsp oregano
· 1 tsp basil
· 1 tsp rosemary
· 1 tsp thyme
· 2 tbls fresh parsley chopped
· 1 bag frozen vegetable mix (carrots, corn, green beans, carrots, peas – allow to thaw)
· 1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed
· 1 can green beans drained
· Tabasco or Red Hot to taste
· Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Sautee chicken, onion and garlic with salt and pepper until chicken is fully cooked. Add V8 juice, broth, turnips, carrots, celery, tomatoes and all the spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and allow fresh vegetables to cook about 20 minutes. Add frozen vegetables, beans, green beans –allow soup to simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 more minutes). Add Tabasco, Salt and Pepper to taste.

Golden Winter Soup

This is from a Jan. 2008 Cooking Light issue. It is my favorite winter soup. It's so good that you think there would be cheese in it, but there isn't!!:)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Preheat broiler.
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.

Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Wine note: This is one vegetable soup that can easily handle a lighter red wine. Stick with the French theme and look for bargains from Burgundy.

They put addictive chemicals in that cheese dip - dip

This is a variation on something they serve at a favorite local restaurant. It took a while to get it right, and one of the key things to remember is that you have to buy quality cheese - otherwise it doesn't melt right. I learned that the hard way. This actually makes quite a bit - but because of the addictive nature of the dip, it won't be enough for 15 people:)

Ingredients:

• 32 oz of a quality pepper cheese (we like Hoffman's around these parts) cut in 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
• 1/4 cup of pimentos chopped
• 1 cup spinach chopped
• 14 oz can of Mexican style diced tomatoes drained (green chilies are included - Red Gold is a good brand)
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2-3 tsp (or more!) cumin

Directions:

• Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler. Stir often and taste. Add more cumin if you like more kick!
• Serve warm with tortilla chips, cut up bagels or cut up soft pretzels

Holy Cow They're Good Nutella Roll Ups

Jason got the idea for this - from who knows where - and I think they're going to be a family favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Pillsbury Italian bread sticks (I bet a french loaf or crescent rolls would be good too)
• 1 jar Nutella - if you can't find Nutella at the grocery store you could use chocolate chips
• powdered sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• Unroll the dough and slightly press to flatten - there are twelve bread sticks per can
• To make small roll ups simply leave the strips as they are
• to make 6 larger treats, use your fingers to press two dough strips together side-by-side
• Using a knife, spread a layer of Nutella on each dough strip and roll up
• Bake as directed on the dough can - for larger roll ups, you may need a few extra minutes
• Treats are done when the puff up and are golden brown
• When you pull them out of the oven, spread more Nutella on the top of each treat and sprinkle with powdered sugar
• Eat warm and enjoy!

We were out of butter, but I also thought about brushing the tops with melted butter before baking and topping with cinnamon and sugar