Cream Cheese Chicken Potato Soup

Just made this soup tonight and it was fabulous!!! With easy, normal ingredients. My kind of meal! I thought I'd just put a link to the blog in case any of you want to check out any of her other recipes. They're mostly desserts.

French Onion Soup

There is something so delicious and wonderful about this soup. My husband, who hates onions, even likes it. This recipe was fast and easy.

To make it even easier, instead of sticking the whole soup bowl in the oven I just put the baguette slices covered in cheese on a cookie sheet and put that in the oven. That probably helped it be a little healthier as well because I don't know about you, but I have a weakness for cheese and tend to engulf my soup bowl with it before sticking it in the oven.

French Onion Soup

1 Tablespoon butter
5 medium onions ( a mix of yellow and red)
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
6 cups beef broth
4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
Freshly cracked pepper

Sourdough baguette bread, sliced
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese (I also used jalapeno monterey jack cheese, which was divine)

Heat the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and salt. Cover the ot and cook over low heat until very soft, about 30 minutes.

Add the bay leaves, broth, and thyme. Simmer on low heat for at least 15 minutes. Season with pepper. Discard the bay leaves.

Preheat the broiler. Divide the soup among 4 oven-proof bowls. Top each with a slice of baguette and cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3 minutes.

Honey-Mustard Salmon

I know that fish is usually a love it or hate it thing. I love it. And you might hate it. That makes me feel sorry for you, because this salmon was delicious. And so easy!!


Honey-Mustard Salmon

1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, until they have melted together. Stir in the mustard, honey, and soy sauce.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and add to the pan flesh-side down. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until fully browned and flip. Brush with half of the glaze and place the pan in the oven until the salmon is firm and flaky (before the white fat begins to form on the surface) about 5 minutes. Remove, brush the salmon with more of the honey mustard and serve!

{From Cook This, Not That}

Stovetop Chicken Fajitas

2 tsp canola oil

2 red bell peppers,stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin

1 red onion, halved and sliced thin

salt and pepper

4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, pounded if necessary

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 TB Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped, medium

3 scallions, sliced thin

8 whole-wheat flour tortillas, warmed

1. Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add the bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and well-browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cover to keep warm.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Combine the orange juice, 1/2 cup of the cilantro, Worcestershire, garlic, and chipotles in the skillet. Add the chicken and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. When the liquid is simmering, flip the chicken over, cover and continue to cook until the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes longer.

3. Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it into bite-sized pieces when cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, continue to simmer the sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes.

4. Off the heat, stir in the mustard, tomato, scallions, remaining 1/4 cup cilantro, and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the pepper-onion mixture and warm tortillas.

From America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Ultimate Spicy Beef Nachos

SALSA

1/2 small red onion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1 TB fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 TB canned pickled jalapeno chile, drained

1/4 tsp salt

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes drained

REFRIED BEANS

1/2 cup canned refried beans

1 ounce pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup)

1 TB chopped canned pickled jalapeno chile

SPICY BEEF

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TB chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

12 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef

2 TB tomato paste

1 tsp brown sugar

1 medium canned chipotle chile, chopped

plus 1 tsp adobo sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp fresh lime juice

ASSEMBLY

1 9 1/2 ounce bag tortilla chips

16 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)

2 jalapeno chiles, sliced into thin rings

Sour cream (optional)

Diced avocado (optional)

cilantro sprigs (optional)

1. For the Salsa: Pulse the onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, jalapeno, and salt in a food processor until roughly chopped, about five 1 second pulses. Add the tomatoes and pulse until chopped, about two 1 second pulses. Transfer the mixture to a fine mesh sstrainer and drain briefly; place in a small bowl and set aside.

2. For the Beans: Pulse all the ingredients in the food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

3. For the Beef: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beef and cook, breaking the meat into small bits with the wooden spoon and scraping the pan bottom to prevent scorching, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain grease if there is any. Add the tomato paste, sugar, chile, and adobo sauce and cook until the paste begins to darken, about 1 minute. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is nearly dry, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and transfer the mixture to a plate lined with several layers of paper towels. Use more paper towel to blot up excess grease.

4. To assemble: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread half of the chips on a large, oven-safe serving platter or a 13 x 9 baking dish. dollop half o the bean mixture over the chips, then spread evenly. Scatter half of the beef mixture over the beans, top with 2 cups of the cheese and half of the jalapenos. Repeat with the remaining chips, beans, beef, cheese and jalapenos. Bake until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Top with the salsa and garnish with sour cream, avocado, and cilantro leaves if desired.

From Best of America's Test Kitchen, 2008

Everything Bread

This bread is delish. And beautiful.

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
1 egg white
2 tsp water
1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp each sesame, caraway, and poppy seeds

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, egg yolk, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour to form a firm dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes) (or just use your Bosch). Place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide dough into thirds. Shape each into a 20-inch rope. Place ropes on a large greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Combine egg white and water; brush over dough. Combine the salt, onion and seeds; sprinkle over bread. Bake at 375 for 22-28 minutes or golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

{From Taste of Home magazine}