Creamy Tomato Soup

So I have this love affair with tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches...and I have Jamie to thank for that. She introduced me to it one cold Utah winter day while our little girls were busy playing and we were getting hungry. I started with good ol' Campbell's tomato soup, mixed with half water, half milk (it's cheaper that way right Jame?) But then I thought I could make home made tomato soup and it would be MUCH better right? Wrong! I have yet to find a recipe that beats Campbell's. It must be the loads of sodium or the high fructose corn syrup that brings me back but something in there just hits the spot every time. Well, yesterday there was no Campbell's to be found but, I really wanted some tomato soup so I decided to try another recipe. I got it from Southernfood.com. It was really easy to make and tasted pretty good. It's no Campbell's, but it will do in a pinch. So if you think you have a great tomato soup recipe, post it up, I would love to try more!



Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon (scant) ground black pepper
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
chopped basil leaves or fresh grated Parmesan, optional


Preparation:
In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion and celery; cook, stirring, until tender. Stir flour into the vegetable mixture, stirring until well incorporated. Gradually stir in milk and add the sugar, salt, and pepper. Continue to heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil.
Dice tomatoes smaller or puree in a blender or processor, if desired. Heat tomatoes in a separate saucepan then gradually add them to the first mixture, stirring constantly. If desired, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or fresh chopped basil leaves.

Caramel Popcorn

6-8 qts. popped corn (approx. 1 cup kernels)
2 sticks margarine
2 C brown sugar
1 C light kayro syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla (add at the very end)

Bring all ingredients to a boil except vanilla and boil for 5 min then add vanilla and pour over popped corn. Mix well till all corn is covered and then spread out on greased wax paper to cool. Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Cookies



Looking for a super easy fall time favorite? Look no more! These babies only require THREE ingredients! (They make for a gread kid friendly baking project!) I was very skeptical but they turned out really good. The longer you cook them the more cake like they get. I like them kind of chewy so I only baked them for about 12 minutes. I'm not a huge pumpkin/chocolate fan so I made some without any chocolate chips. Also very yummy! (Oops, I think the picture is of the non-chocolate cookies. I should have taken some with the chocolate chips. You get the idea though:) Call the kids in and start baking!


Ingredients:
1 Spice Cake Mix (or white/yellow cake mix plus cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice)
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips (or more depending on how big of a chocolate fix you need...)

Directions:
Mix & then bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. Does it get any easier then this???

A Call For Help!!!

Fall is upon us and I'm craving some homemade banana bread. I'm not sure what happened to my favorite banana bread recipe, so I'm frantically looking for a new one. I've gotten many a good recipe from all of you fabulous cooks so I'm turning to you in my time of need. Please post your favorite no fail banana bread recipe. Thanks!!!

Breakfast Casserole

My sister had been raving about this recipe that she got from her friend for awhile I was lucky enough to get a chance to taste it in person when we visited her. It was every bit as delish as she claimed and I was equally impressed with how easy it was to make.

1 can crescent rolls

1 lb bacon

8 oz cheddar cheese

1/2 C milk

8 eggs

1/2 tsp oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 9x13-inch pan. Press crescent rolls in bottom (don't separate rolls). Cook the bacon (maybe I'm just behind the times, but I didn't know that you could microwave bacon. It was life changing for me. No more splattered grease and burnt bacon. Just microwave on a paper towel for 40 seconds PER SLICE); crumble then sprinkle over rolls followed by the cheese. Mix milk, eggs, oregano, salt & pepper to taste; pour over cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes.

A shameless plug....but it's a give away!

I know this has nothing to do with food, but everybody likes free. And since I'm the only one that seems to be posting on here lately (ahhhem), then I'm just going to go for it. I started a new site www.paisleypinkboutique.blogspot.com so head over there to see what goodies are up for grabs!

P.S. I've got adult sizes now too...

Guacamole Chicken Wraps

Another easy mid-week meal with the perfect blend of flavors. I love the tip I got from Melanie at "My Kitchen Cafe" to cook a large batch of chicken in the crockpot with a little broth (although I use butter cause I'm naughty like that), then shred it and freeze for future meals. This is one of those "future meals" that it is perfect for. Also, I'm a bit of a tortilla snob. I don't like anything thick and dry, so my favorite are the uncooked tortillas you can find at Sam's Club or Costco. Don't mind that I may have slightly (okay ALOT) undercooked them here. I wouldn't recommend that. Hmm, they really don't look too appetizing in this picture. Don't blame the recipe, blame the photographer, they really are so yummy.


Guacamole (my fave recipe)
3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
Spinach flavored tortilla wraps
shredded chicken
shredded lettuce
shredded Monterey jack cheese
Tomatoes, diced
olives
Salsa

Spread tortillas with a layer of cream cheese, then guacamole then evenly distribute remaining ingredients on the tortilla (don't pile too high). Roll up tightley then cut in halves and enjoy!