Bread Bowls for Soup

Who's been holding their breath for this one? Sorry about the delay...a million excuses, but you probably just want the recipe right? This is a very simple yummy recipe, but it is a little time consuming because like most bread...you have to let it rest and rise for some time. 6 ingredients though, couldn't be easier than that and you don't need a mixer (love that, mostly because I don't have one!) Also really cost effective. Bread bowls at the store are always expensive...plus these are better!

Bread Bowls

2 1/2 C warm water

3 T sugar

2 T yeast

1 T salt

1/3 C oil

6 C flour

Combine water and sugar in a large bowl. Sprinkle with yeast. Let soften and dissolve. Add salt, oil and half of the flour. Mix well with a large spoon. Add the rest of the flour. Stir/knead well. Let rest 10 minutes. Repeat the kneading/resting cycle 5 times. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter or board. Knead lightly. Divide into 6 or 8 pieces. Shape into balls. Place on a greased baking sheet (3 or 4 balls to a large sheet). Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool. Cut off "lid" of rolls. Pick out the soft middle, leaving a 1" to 1 1/2" thick shell. Place in bowls. Fill with soup, top with "lids" and enjoy. Don't you just LOVE fall????

NOTE: Cream soups don't soak in as much as broth-based soups.

My Grandma's Clam Chowder

It is FALL and that means...soup to warm up the cold afternoons. This is a really YUMMY and fairly mild recipe for clam chowder. It also happens to be very easy and really is my grandma's recipe. Enjoy!

Clam Chowder

3 - 6 oz cans of clams (I get the minced clams so the chunks are smaller...personal preference)

1 C chopped onion

1 C chopped celery

2 C diced potatoes

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 C butter

3/4 C flour

1 qt half and half (recipe also says you can use milk, but I don't think it would be as thick...)

1 1/2 tsp salt

Dash of pepper

Place your veggies in a pan, add just the clam juice and enough water to cover them all. Simmer for 20 minutes or until they are all tender. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and salt. Cook 2 minutes on a medium heat, stirring constantly. Add half and half. Cook on medium high and stir until bubbly and very thick. (Be careful here or you'll burn the cream sauce!) Add undrained veggies and clams. Season and serve hot. This is really yummy with bread bowls...which I happen to have a GREAT recipe for. I'll try to post that tonight too if possible...

TIP: I had a busy afternoon and needed this ready by a certain time this evening. So instead of preparing it all together I chopped the veggies right after lunch and threw them in the crock pot on high with the water and clam juice. They cooked all afternoon and then it took me about 20 minutes to put the rest of the soup together later. I was then able to keep it warm in the crock pot without worrying about burning it on the stove. For me splitting it up made it a little more manageable with two smaller pieces of time to get it ready, but it did require planning ahead.

Like it? Come back and let us know!

Another cooking blog

My cousin also has a recipe blog. I have got a few good recipes off there, but haven't had a chance to look at it much lately. Check it out and see if there's anything worth trying! It's at quickandhealthymeals.blogspot.com.

Happy cooking! One of these days I'll get some more posts up. Just no energy right now :(

I see I have a lot of visitors from the tracker that I added...how come no one comments? Come on guys....share the love ;)

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is one of my favorite's and my family really likes it too. Serve it with a salad you have yourself a meal!

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

4 oz. cheddar cheese shredded

1 C. Cooked Rice

1/2 C. Sliced Mushrooms (Fresh or Canned)

1/2 C. Diced Onion

1/2 C. Evaporated Milk

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

10 oz. Pkg Frozen Broccoli

1-1/2 Tbsp. Margarine

1 tsp. Salt

5 Chicken Breasts boiled & diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 qt. Casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In saucepan combine all ingredients except broccoli, cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese & margarine are melted.

Add broccoli and cook until broccoli is heated.

Spoon into casserole dish and bake 30 minutes. Top with a little more shredded cheese and let melt.

Grilled Veggie Panini

If you've ever wondered "what the heck do you do with eggplant????" here is a GREAT recipe for you. I saw this recipe on food network a few years ago. We had it for the second time tonight and let me tell you it is SO DELICIOUS! Even if you are not a vegetarian or if you are a picky eater I think you will like it. Joey thought it was great which is saying something! Most of the ingredients came from my garden also this year which was extremely satisfying. If you don't have a garden you will have to plan ahead and get some things at the grocery store, but it is well worth it...believe me!

*A note on eggplant. I've found, especially if you are buying your eggplant, that it's best to use it within a day or two. It goes bad quickly. What we've picked from our garden seems to last a bit better simply because it's fresher. Also don't slice it open it until just before you are ready to cook it. It gets discolored quickly once cut.

Grilled Veggie Panini - from Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 c olive oil

2 small japanese eggplants or 1 medium to large regular eggplant cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 baguettes (each about 2 feet long) or other speciality bread (I used Oro Wheat Sandwhich Thins, 100% Whole Wheat)

1/2 C Basil Pesto (recipe below)

8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella cheese, drained, sliced

2 tomatoes, slices

1/2 C roasted red peppers

8 large basil leaves, optional

Basil Pesto:

2 C fresh basil leaves

1/4 C toasted pine nuts (I used slivered almonds because it was what I had and it was GREAT!)

2 garlic cloves, peeled (I just put mine through a garlic press and toasted it with the nuts)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/3 C (about) extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 C grated parmesan (I just used the regular old stuff you buy in the bottle and keep in the fridge, nothing fancy)

If your nuts aren't already toasted, heat a skillet over medium heat, add a little olive oil and toast your nuts and olives together for just a few minutes. In a blender (I used a small hand blender we have because it seemed to be better for the amount I was making) pulse the basil, nuts, garlic, salt and pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer to the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 C of cheese. (The recipe doesn't call for it, but I then had to add more olive oil because the cheese soaked up all the moisture in the original mixture!). Season with more salt and pepper if needed. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

Directions for the sandwich:

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Drizzle the oil over the eggplant, zucchini and onion slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill these veggies until they are tender and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes per side. Cool completely. (I tried to use our George Foreman grill and it worked OK, but didn't make really nice grill marks and I had to do it in small batches. I ended up giving up and just broiling most of my veggies, which seemed to work just as well!)

Prepare your bread (this size of recipe is made to serve 12), spreading with pesto and adding the slices of eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato, mozzarella and roasted pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If your bread is really soft I would actually probably toast it before prepping the sandwich.

*Other options: We actually didn't have any mozzarella so did without the cheese and it was still REALLY good. The cheese probably adds a bit more heartiness to it however and would be a delicious addition. We also added Roasted Red Pepper hummus, which gave it a totally different flavor, but was a really nice compliment to the other flavors in the sandwich.

Despite all the "fancy" ingredients and what appears to be kind of a gourmet sandwich, it was actually really easy to put together and really delicious.

Up soon...a few more eggplant recipes. I had them coming out my ears this year so experimented with a few things that turned out nicely. I will share soon...hopefully :)