Lindsey's Amazing European Soup

I remember when I lived with Linds, back in the first few years she made this great soup from her mission... it was creamy and full of flavor! Two weeks ago when I had some friends come to Logan, I made this so we could have it for dinner and then left overs after snowshoeing. Everyone loved it, so I thought I'd place it here for you guys too!

1 Onion
1/2 c Butter
2 Stalks of Celery
2 Carrots (I used at least three)
1 1/2 c potatoes (about 2-3)
4 Leaks
(or substitute with 1-2 Yams)
7 c Water
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 t Thyme
Parsley
1 c of Cream (I have also used whole milk, which works just as good)

Cut up the onion and soften until clear in the butter (in the bottom of the pot you will be making your soup in). Add the other vegetables - after cutting them up and pealing them if needed (they can be bigger chunks).  Add the water, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Boil for 30 minutes, after which the vegetables should be soft. Remove bay leaves. Blend till pureed and return to pot. (Blending may take a good 3-4 rounds). Add the cream and rewarm. Be sure to season with salt and pepper. If there is not enough salt, it will NOT taste good! But this is the perfect soup on a cold day! This pairs nicely with Katie's recipe for Bread. I have a similar recipe which makes three loaves and is stored in the fridge.

Easy Hummus

I am sorry, I did not take a picture of this one, but it was super easy, and good...

2 cans of Chickpeas/Garbonzo beans, drained
3 gloves of garlic pressed
Lemon juice

Add to blender cup. For me, I could press the 'sauces' button and voila! I started w/two cloves of garlic, and worked my way up...

Hummus is great for dipping vegetables like sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and even tortilla like chips ;-)

Mom's All-Purpose Italian Sauce

 Mom found the basic recipe on a TV cooking program and then adapted it and it came out well.  It's a great spaghetti sauce, but it makes an awesome lasagna sauce, also.  Vary the amounts of each ingredients as desired.

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1  6 oz can tomato paste

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

¾ lb hamburger

½ Tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil (we actually used fresh)

⅓ C. red grape juice

Pasta

Mushrooms to taste

Brown hamburger, onion, garlic together

Add other ingredients (may need additional water to allow enough liquid to cook down)

Simmer 20 min.

Prepare pasta according to package instructions

Mandarin Pork Potstickers

We made these on New Years Eve this year. Probably more fitting for Chinese New Years, but I think I would them any time. The original recipe came from Simply so good but we made a few changes to her original recipe

2 1/2 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced

8 to 10- oz ground pork or chicken

1/4 cup chicken stock (or water mixed with chicken bouillon)

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon scallions, minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

40 - 50 potsticker or gyoza wappers

oil

water

Place cabbage in bowel and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze cabbage tightly to remove the excess liquid.

In the bowl of a food processor add the pork, stock, soy sauce, cornstarch, scallions, ginger, salt, pepper and cabbage. Process until mixture is well combined and no large chunks are visible. Alternately, combine all ingredients and stir to combine.

Fill each wrapper with a teaspoon of the meat mixture. Seal by lining the edge of wrapper with a small amount of water and folding together. Heat a large frying pan over medium until hot. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add about 12 potstickers, seam side up and cook until bottoms are golden brown, 3-4 minutes.  Add 1/3 cup water, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until water has evaporated, 5-6 minutes. Remove potstickers and keep warm.  Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, the repeat process until all of the potstickers are cooked.

Funeral Potatoes

I know the stereotype of funeral potatoes, but despite that, I really love them. Potatoes, cheese and sour cream. Who wouldn't want that? So healthy. Sort of. Various versions of the recipe are all over the internet and in tons of cookbooks, but this is how I make it.

5-6 potatoes, washed and peeled

1 TBS butter

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1-2 teaspoons salt to taste

Boil potatoes. Let cool, then grate. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan melt butter. Add onions and cook until softened. Add soup, sour cream, onion and salt and let warm once combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Don't worry if cheese is not melted all the way. Stir mixture into the potatoes. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. I think most people sprinkle corn flakes over the top with some butter, but since I don't usually have cornflakes on hand, I just sprinkle with cheese and bake it. Bake for 45 minutes.

Microwave Caramel Corn

I think I have tried to convince Mom to make this every year for New Years since I was in high school. Well, actually I go back and forth between caramel corn and fudge. I try to get her to believe it is a tradition and we have to make it. In all reality, I think she only made both of them once or twice on New Years, each on different years. Regardless, I crave caramel popcorn every year around this time and this recipe helps with that need for instant gratification. This version came from Sherri Walton.

2-3 quarts popped popcorn (depending on how coated you want your popcorn)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

In a bring butter, sugar, syrup, and salt to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from microwave and mix in baking soda. Put popcorn in a paper grocery sack and pour caramel over popcorn. Fold down top of grocery sack and shake. Place in microwave. Microwave on high for 90 seconds. Take sack out of microwave and shake to even coat the popcorn. Microwave for another 90 seconds. Take out and shake. Pour out on cookie sheet to cool.

Crusty No-Knead Bread

I've heard about this bread for a while, but finally made it over the Christmas holiday. It really is amazing! I've made four more loaves in the past three days for some visiting teaching socials I was holding at my house. It is so nice to have recipe that is so easy that turns out so delicious when you have a lot of food to make. I just mixed it up the night before and threw it in the oven an hour or two before people came. I've only made the normal recipe so far, but I definitely plan to make loaves with combinations of wheat flour, nuts, spices, citrus zests, dried fruit and whatever else I can think of. My understanding is that it is pretty hard to mess up this bread. You don't have to cook it in a cast iron pot, any pot with a lid that can go in the oven will work. I've even heard that a pan with an oven safe bowl over it works just fine. Try it. Trust me. You will be so happy you did. This version of the recipe comes from simplysogood.blogspot.com

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works great.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. 

Curried Rice and Chickpea Salad

This has become a staple in my recipe library over the past year. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to throw together and the flavor is great. I've taken it to a few potlucks and it always disappears pretty quickly. I got the recipe out of Robin Robertson's "Quick-Fix Vegan: Healthy, Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less" Cookbook.

1 ripe mango, cut into bit sized chunks
3 cups cooked rice (I used a wild rice blend here, but I like brown basmati too)
1½ cups home-cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
¼ cup minced scallions
⅓ cup golden raisins (I used dried currents)
⅓ cup toasted peanuts (I used almonds)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp mango juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine mango, rice, chickpeas, bell pepper, scallions, raisins, peanuts and parsley or cilantro in large bowl.   Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.

Cinnamon Chip Scones

We made these again over the holidays. I think I liked them much more this time than the first time I had them. They are really good, but they are also pretty rich so maybe don't plan to eat them all by your self. The original recipe comes from Taste of Home.

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 cup buttermilk

1 package (10 ounces) cinnamon baking chips

2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in chips. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times or until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half; gently pat or roll each portion into a 7-in. circle. Brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Cut each circle into six wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.