Kitchen Adventures 17.1

Hearty soups always sound delicious when the weather starts to cool and the leaves start to fall. The sun starts setting earlier and the nighttime chill sets in right at dinnertime. Delicious soup that warms your stomach just sounds delightful at this time of year.

Several of my cookbooks have good soup recipes, and I definitely need to make more soup, stew and stoup. I have an immersion blender now thanks to my parents, so I see more soups in my future. :) Many soups do not need an immersion blender, though, and those are the ones I typically make.

This particular recipe comes from the handy triple T youth group cookbook. The recipe was contributed by a friend's mother, and it is quite delicious. I did learn that it does awhile to make this, especially getting the soup to thicken. I think I was trying to make it thicker than it is supposed to be. I had it simmering down for at least 30 minutes, when I probably could have stopped at 15, but so it goes. You be the judge on what works best for you. This is definitely one I will make again.

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

2 lbs. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
3 cans chicken broth
3 potatoes, sliced
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 quart (4 cups) milk
2 T. flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the hamburger and onion in a skillet. Boil the potatoes and drain them. Make a thickening mixture of the flour and 1 1/2 cups milk shaken up. In a large stock pot, place the hamburger onion mixture, potatoes, broth, cheese, and the thickening mixture. Heat this until the cheese melts. Turn off the heat once the cheese melts and add in the remaining milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir to thicken until desired consistency.

Kitchen Adventures 16.1

Chicken and rice is a common combination. I know I've posted several recipes involving these ingredients as the main components. Still, I always look for different ways to use these ingredients together. They are things I always have on hand, so to me it makes sense to find recipes that use these items.

This recipe is another Campbell's product advertisement recipe. Again, sometimes these are the best part of food magazines. I got this one out of Every Day with Rachael Ray. This is an easy recipe with a short prep time but a longer cook time, so keep that in mind when preparing to make this. It is a good casserole and worth the wait, though.

Cheese Chicken & Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 c. water
3/4 c. uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 c. frozen mixed vegetables
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in 8"x11" (2 quart) baking dish.
2. Top with chicken and season chicken as desired. I suggest black pepper, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Cover.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes of until chicken and rice are done. Top with cheese. Let contents stand to meld flavors and melt cheese. Stir the rice before serving.