Cream of Broccoli soup

This is not going to be some fantastic, gotta try recipe.

I'm trying to be very conservative in my lunches (read: living like a poor college student), so I bought some condensed soups for those days when I have no leftovers from the night before and no time in the morning to pack anything else for lunch.

So, today, I threw a can of Cream of Broccoli soup into my purse as I rushed out the door to catch my bus.

Around 12:30, I was starving.

I grabbed that can of soup -- super excited for my delicious lunch -- only to read the label that clearly states MIX WITH 1 CAN OF MILK.

Milk?? Drats.
No milk here at work.

No credit card.
No cash.
Meant no run to the convenience store for a little jug of milk.

By now, I was super starving.

Guess I'll just make it with water and hope it's not too disgusting.

And then *epiphany* I'll just add some powdered coffee creamer to it to make it all creamy.

Is it the best tasting soup ever? Definitely not.

Points for creativity? You tell me.

At least I'm no longer starving.
At least there was some plain creamer in the cupboards and not Hazelnut flavored.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past Thursday was a rather cool summer evening, so I decided to bake some cookies. I found a recipe for peanut butter cookies and decided to make it my own by adding a little oatmeal and chocolate chips, because honestly, don't those two ingredients make all cookies a little better? Okay, maybe not, but it certainly didn't hurt this recipe.

I brought a couple dozen into work the next day, and everyone said how good they were. When I got home from work, Jeff couldn't help but rave a bit about these delicious cookies!

This recipe is modified from a recipe found in my KitchenAid mixer recipe book.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 T milk
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

Cream together peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla until well blended. Add egg, mixing until well blended. 

Combine flour, salt, and soda in a separate bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to peanut butter mixture. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten slightly with a fork in a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 7-8 minutes or until set and lightly browned. 

Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The joy of rhubarb

Ok so I don't have any pictures of these recipes. But they are so good that they are worthy of your imagination doing the job! If you think that making jam is hard, don't worry, this jam is so easy I think that a monkey could do it and it is TASTY!

All I have to say about the RHubarb custard cake is this one word.....Heaven. Yep it is that good. So here is 2 recipes for you all! Hey 2 for the price of one!!! YAY always a good deal!!!

Rhubard (whatever flavor jello) Jam

• 5 cups chopped Rhubarb
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 package Jello of your choice (I used orange it was great but strawberry would be awesome!!!)

First gather up about 4 pint jelly jars...make it 5 to be on the safe side. Find a pot that will hold enough water to cover the jars tops with about an inch of water. Put it on to boil. Meanwhile toss rhubarb and sugar in a non reactive pot and cook down until, I think that technical term is mushy, stirring often. Add jello packet and stir until disolved. Don't forget to heat up your covers in hot water. Fill up hot jars and seal them up. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Voila you are done. You just made JAM!!!


Rhubarb custard cake

• 1 yellow cake mix prepared per cake box instructions
• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream

Grease a 9x13 cake pan. Pour prepared cake batter in. Sprinkle rhubarb evenly on top of batter. Sprinkle sugar evenly over rhubarb. Pour whipping cream over the top of the cake. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until cake is nice and set. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. It takes a little while for the yummy custard to set. Beware though, this is highly addicting and will give you a belly ache if you should eat too much of its yummy goodness.....

hope you will enjoy these super easy but super good recipes!!

jennifer

Twenty-Minute Chili

I received this recipe the other day in my Inbox. There was a chill in the air outside, and chili sounded great for dinner! This was pretty simple and quite delicious. I modified it a bit, including making it a meatless. Since my husband generally likes his soups/chilis pretty thin, I tripled the amount of liquid in this dishes. I have included the original ingredients in brackets or you can visit the link above for the original recipe on MyRecipes.com.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chili, 1/2 cup rice, and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Ingredients

• 1 c long-grain white rice [originial recipe: 1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain rice]
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1/4 c dried, minced onion [originial recipe: 1 cup chopped onion]
• 3/4 c chopped green bell pepper
• 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed [originial recipe: 1/2  pound  ground turkey breast]
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp Wrcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14.5-oz can Southwestern-style diced tomatoes with green chiles, jalapeños, and lime juice, undrained [original recipe: 1 (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained]
• 2 (5.5-oz) cans V8 [original recipe: 1 (5.5-ounce) can tomato juice]
• 1 (5.5-oz) can of water (use empty V8 can) [original recipe did not call for water]
• 1/4  cup (1-oz) preshredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Preparation

Cook rice according to package directions.

While rice cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, [and turkey]. Cook 3 minutes or until done. Stir in chili powder and the next 9 ingredients (chili powder through water); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Serve over rice, and sprinkle with cheese.

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

We're trying to incorporate more fish into our diet. It's difficult because we're not huge fans; however, we did try some tilapia when we were in Costa Rica back in January. It was prepared so deliciously that I bought some frozen fillets when we got back home. They sat in my freezer, untouched, for a few weeks, and then I received this recipe for Pecan-Crusted Tilapia in my Inbox and thought it would be a good way to start.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 tilapia fillet)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped pecans
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/2  cup  low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2  teaspoon  hot sauce
• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 4  (6-ounce) tilapia or snapper fillets
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil, divided
• 4  lemon wedges for garnish

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish. Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a medium bowl; place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 fillet in flour. Dip in buttermilk mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining fillets, flour, buttermilk mixture, and breadcrumb mixture.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and fillets. Serve with lemon wedges.

Other than halving this recipe (there are only two of us), the above is unchanged from the recipe on MyRecipes.com. I served this with a side of white rice. I thought it turned out really quite delicious; Jeff thought it needed a little more breading to more significantly change the texture of the fish. I do think I'll try this recipe again.

Peanut Brittle

A friend of mine over at Recipe Shoebox asked me to participate in her Baking Through The Holidays theme. My contribution was a tasty recipe for Peanut Brittle. So easy, so divine!


She's posting yummy treats everyday in December. You should really check them out!

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

It's a snowy morning here in Minnesota. I'm talking suh-noooo-eee! I can barely see the tops of the tires of the car parked out on the street.

And it's still SNOWING out there!!

Nothing better than baking on a snowy morning. :)

I found a recipe for some Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins in my Taste of Home cookbook. I had to make a few modifications because I kept running out of ingredients, so I had to make some substitutions.

These muffins turned out so delicious...and picture perfect. Seriously, I'm having difficulty choosing the best pictures to post of the final product!

Of course my kitchen was a bit too messy for in-process pictures. Sorry!

Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• scant 1/4 cup canned, evaporated milk
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• scant 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients.

In another bowl, combine the eggs and evaporated milk (adding enough water to bring the milk up to 1/4c); stir in the bananas, yogurt, and vanilla.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid mixture into the well and whisk just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

Coat muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

Enjoy with yummy hot chocolate. I did!