HERBED TOMATO SOUP
(Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)

This is such a great recipe for lots of reasons.  It's very tasty on it own, especially with bread that has been toasted with butter, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and a slice of cheddar cheese melted on it, mmmm.  It's also a good base to make vegetable soup.  And best of all it freezes so well so it makes a quick easy meal.  I usually make a bunch in the summer when tomatoes are in season and then freeze it for those cold winter days, which we enjoy so many of here.  I can not advise it for canning simply because I learned in school that you should always have a recipe tested before canning it.  Foods must be at the right pH balance to store well and prevent botulism growth.  I know that some county extension offices will test recipes for canning safety.  I haven't checked with my county's extension office yet.  Until then it's best to assume that it is Not safe for canning.  

1/2 c chopped onion
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes or on 14.4 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes cut up (I use the whole fresh tomato and puree it in food processor instead of throwing away the peel)
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (I often use 1cup fresh pureed tomatoes for this with a little salt)
1 Tbsp snipped basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp. snipped thyme or 1/4 tsp dried thyme

Cook onion and butter in saucepan until onion it tender.  Add tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, basil, and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Allow to cool, then put soup in blender (if tomatoes weren't already pureed).  This is just to make the soupr more smooth you may or may not need to do this after cooking it.

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PIZZA CRUST!
(altered french bread dough recipe from Better Homes and Garden cookbook)

My kids LOVE pizza.  I'm not sure if it is because they like to eat it, or they like to help make it.  I think the reason they enjoy making it is because they can pick at the toppings. Years, ago I was determined to find a good and basic pizza crust recipe.  One I could memorize after making it just a couple of times.  Then one day I had this idea after I had made a french bread that it might just be a good start to a good crust.  I changed it slightly by adding a few seasonings to give more flavor.  And then after I got a wheat grinder a couple of years ago I began doing half whole wheat flour.  I actually really like it a lot more this way.  This is another recipe that I had to share on this blog because I've had requests for it.  So here it is.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tbsp yeast
1/2 -1 tsp garlic powder (just a guess I never measure this)
1/2-1 tsp italian seasoning (again just a guess)
2 cups lukewarm water

I start by adding whole wheat flour, sea salt, yeast, water, salt, garlic powder, and italian seasoning.  I let the yeast sit in that warm water for just a few minutes before mixing.  Then I mix those ingredients for a couple of minutes.  Then I pull out my dough hook and add the remaining flour and mix.  You might need to add a little extra flour.  Any extra flour I add is always whole wheat flour.  Then I let it sit for about 20 minutes.  I roll it out and put on greased pans.  The above picture shows how much this recipe makes.  Then just start to put toppings on.  This above picture is so boring I rarely make pizza with just pepperoni. (A couple of tips as far as toppings go.  If you use sausage, you don't need to pre cook it.  It saves on dishes and time to just break off small raw pieces and place them on the pizza.  I usually do this after the kids have helped, so that they don't pick at it.  Also sliced tomatoes on pizza before it goes in the oven are really good.)   I bake my pizza at 425 for about 20 minutes.

BETHANY'S STUFFED TOMATOES
My own idea of how stuffed tomatoes should be made, and one of Andrew's favorites.

Okay, so I may be just a little too proud of this one, because it was my own recipe and my husband LOVES them.  I just love to impress him, especially since he is continually impressing me.  Anyway, the idea of these came years ago when my brother returned home from his mission to France, and I asked him what his favorite thing was that he ate there.  He said stuffed tomatoes, and I immediately thought of how I would stuff in tomatoes, and set out to find a recipe.  When I googled it online I found no recipe that sounded half as good as what I thought I would put in my stuffed tomatoes, so I determined to try my own idea.  That doesn't mean that somewhere someone else didn't have a similar idea, but still when I recently searched I couldn't find any quite as delicious sounding as what I make.  (Can you tell I'm a little too proud of these).  While it appears to fancy with the tomatoes all stuffed, I actually  usually just puree all the tomato and use it to top rice.  My kids don't eat the tomatoes very well, and Andrew actually prefers it this way.
Sorry if my ingredients aren't exact measurements I never measure for this recipe, I just throw them together so hopefully my guesses in this recipe for those who always go strictly by measurements work out for you.

6 large tomatoes
1 lb, regular sausage
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1 8 oz package of cream cheese

So first I start by browning my sausage, onion, and garlic.  Then I cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides.  Once my sausage is cooked I add the tomato filling, italian seasoning, and the cream cheese.  Don't forget to lightly salt the insides of the tomatoes, this can make a big differenc.  Once everything is evenly mixed and cooked I put mixture in the tomatoes.  Then I put them in my greased 9x13 pan.  You'll notice the picture has stuffing in the bottom, that's because I usually make extra stuffing and cook in the bottom of the pan for my children who won't eat the tomatoes.  Then I put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  I serve these on top of rice.  And everytime I make them I get lots of good compliments, and often have requests for the recipe. Another good thing is they are gluten free for those who can't tolerate gluten.

Cucumber sandwich and homemade bread recipes

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
allrecipes.com  (where I find most of my favorite recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian salad dressing mix (I didn't have a dry package so I used about 2-3 Tbsp Italian dressing mix)
• 2 medium cucumbers, sliced
• 1 pinch dried dill weed (I used more than a pinch, probably almost 1/2 tsp.)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and Italian dressing mix. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.
2. Spread the cream cheese blend onto slices of French bread. Top with a cucumber slice, and sprinkle with dill. You can make as many or few as you like. the cream cheese mixture keeps for about a week in the refrigerator so you can make them over and over again!

 

 

 

 

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD RECIPE

I wish I knew where I found this recipe, it is very good and a very basic recipe.  About a year ago I was determined to find a good recipe for whole wheat bread that only contained 5 ingredients (whole wheat flour, salt, honey, water, and yeast).  I found this one some where online even though it contained 6 ingredients I figured it would be as close as I could get to what I wanted without having to spend too much time experimenting to create my own recipe.  This recipe makes 2 loaves, or for those who have the nice canape' bread pans like I used for the bread made in this picture, it would fill about 4 of these pans.  Which by the way those pans are great for fun shapes for kids and it makes the bread kind of crustless (for lack of better real word), even better for kids who waste crust often.  Here's the bread recipe.

 

I measure 1/2 cup olive oil, then 1/2 cup honey and put them in my Kitchenaid. (Always do the oil first so you don't have to scrape out the honey it just rolls out of your nicely greased measuring cup.  1 Tbsp. sea salt, and 2 Tbsp. yeast.  Then I add 2 cups luekwarm water and let it sit for a few minutes allowing the yeast to warm up.  Then I add aboiut 3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and mix for just a couple of minutes.  Then I add about another 3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and then using dough hook I  mix for 5-7 minutes.  Allow to rise for about an hour or until double in size.  Punch down and let rest a few minutes.  Divid into two equal parts and shape into loaves, place into pans and let rise for another hour or until double again.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. 

Cheese Ball

CHEESE BALL

Lion House Classics Cookbook

1--8oz package cream cheese

1 pkg ranch powder mix

1 Tbsp Chives

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

1/2 c crushed pecans

The cheese ball pictured I rolled in sliced almonds instead of pecans since I didn't have any available.  For instructions all you need to do is cream the cream cheese then add the next three ingredients and rollin the nuts after shaping your ball.  Nice and easy and very tasty.