Broccoli Cheddar Soup

COMFORT FOOD!  Started loving this soup at Panera Bread back in the day!  Couldn't get enough of it!  Finally figured I'd probably save myself SO MUCH MONEY if I stopped buying it at Panera and made it for myself at home! :)  Have made it ever since! 

1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c butter
broccoli (they usually have three in one rubberband), chopped
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c milk
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1/3 c cornstarch
1/2 c water

Melt butter.  Cook onion in butter til soft. Stir in broccoli and cover with chicken broth.  Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10-15 minutes.  Reduce heat, stir in cheese until melted.  Mix in milk & garlic powder.  In small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved.  Mix into soup.  Cook & stir until thick.  Serve.

Pickles

So, I'm a HUGE fan of dill pickles!  Anybody with me!? :)  LOVE pickles.  I've since found out that Ezra is a HUGE fan as well! :)  He and I could both eat pickles until we're sick!  So, this was a HUGE discovery for me.  Saves much on the pocket book! :)  Pickles aren't cheap.

Cucumbers (not all of them) picked fresh from our garden!

Peeled!

Sliced!  The thinner the better.

Put in the jars!  You can see I didn't pack them in enough!

Prepared dill pickle packet in now.

9-11 lbs fresh cucumbers

1 packet dill pickle seasoning mix

3 1/3 c vinegar

7 1/3 c water
6-8 canning jars

Peel and slice cucumbers.  Fill the canning jars and pack them in from top to bottom.  Prepare the dill pickle mix according to the directions.  Pour over the top of the pickles until jar is full, leaving 1" space at the top.  Put lids on tight.  Careful not to burn self as jar is VERY HOT at this point.  Let them set, and throughout the next sevearl hours, you will hear the most thrilling sound!  The lids will *pop* one by one! :)  LOVE THAT SOUND!  These can be stored in room temperature until you use them.  Once they are opened they MUST be refrigerated.

Spatzle

When my parents lived over in Germany on a 2 year term, they came back with this most favorite German dish and served it when they came back for Laine's adoption.  Won't ever forget it!  IT WAS AMAZING!  Still is.  As a special gift, they gave each of us (their three daughters) an actual Spatzle noodle maker, but I will give you a hint on how YOU can make the same noodles!

Pork Roast:

1 (3-5 lb) pork roast

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

water, to the top of roast

Spatzle:

1/2 c water
4 eggs
2 c flour
1 t salt
2 T oil

Gravy:

1 1/2 c pork juice (what it's been cooked in all day)
2 beef boullion cubes (or equivalent granules)
1/2 c cold water
1/4 c flour

Start a completely thawed pork roast in your crock pot EARLY so it has time to really slowly cook.  Put the pork roast in your crock pot and cover with one packet of onion soup mix and water to cover the entire roast.  Set on low for about 8 hours.  This will FALL APART and melt in your mouth after it's cooked like this.  Pull pork out from juice and it will literally shred apart onto a plate.  Just before the pork is finished, stir together the Spatzle ingredients.  Boil a large pot of water, salted.  Once at a rolling boil, with a FLAT cheese grader (not the square one), spoon batter over the top and with fingers finish forcing it to go through.  (CAREFUL NOT TO CUT YOUR FINGERS.)  Boil until the noodles float to the top. Strain in a colandar.  Repeat until all the batter is cooked.  Only do about 1 cup of batter at a time.  For the gravy, boil pork juice with 2 cubes beef boullion.  In a separate bowl, whisk water and flour until there are no flour lumps.  Once the broth is boiling, add flour/water mixture while constantly stirring.  It will thicken in less than a minute, then keep on low until ready to serve.

Serve by layering a heap of noodles, then pork, then gravy!

Chocolate Reeses' Milkshake

Several years ago when my sister lived in DesMoines for the first stretch, I went to visit her.  I'll never forget going to the DRAKE DINER in DesMoines with her one LATE evening and devouring the most delicious, most unbelieveable Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake you've ever tasted.  I a few years back remembered how good that was and decided I'd try figuring out the mixture amounts to make my very own CHOCOLATE REESES' MILKSHAKE, so here it is! :)

1/4 c half & half

4 T Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

4 T peanut butter, creamy

2 c vanilla ice cream

Blend until smooth in blender.  Top with whipped cream!

Frozen Fruit Cups

One of my favorite parts of summer is when my mom used to make these fruit cups and store in our deep freeze!  They are the YUMMIEST and incredibly refreshing little afternoon treat! 

2 c water
1 c sugar
2 c pinapple juice
1 - 16 oz frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 - 16 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
20 ounces frozen strawberries
6-8 fresh bananas
32 - 4 oz disposable cups
32 - 4 oz disposable lids

Boil water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved.  Pour into a large bowl.  Add orange and lemonade concentrates.  Also add pineapple juice.  Crush the frozen strawberries or blend just until mashed.  Add into liquid mix.  Place containers on counter and cut 3 or so slices of bananas into EACH cup.  Top with liquid mixture.  Press on lids tightly.  Freeze COMPLETELY in a deep freeze or regular fridge freezer.  Let set on counter about 15 minutes before eating. 

Cowley Homemade Ice Cream

If you are a part of the Cowley family or extension, you've probably had this homemade ice cream at some point or another! :)  It's in my opinion, the most perfect formulated recipe for making homemade ice cream.  This recipe makes the 2 quart ice cream makers worth.

3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
4 c Heavy Whipping Cream
4 c Half & Half
2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 T vanilla

Beat the eggs until completely combined.  Add everything else and stir until mixed.  Pour everything into the ice cream maker and prepare the ice cream as instructed on the ice cream maker instructions.

Pepperoni Pesto Pizza

Chef JoJo's FAVORITE pizza of all time! :)  Even over Taco, but taco is a VERY CLOSE SECOND!  This pizza is just "different."  Not your ordinary type pizza.  When I was told to "back off" on my acidic food intake, this suggestion was given to me by my dear sweet sister in law, Aubrey!  THANK YOU AUBREY!

Pre-made "Pizza Crust" under "breads" over to the right
1 jar pesto sauce (Found in pizza sauce area, I use Classico.)
pepperoni
1 lb mozzarella cheese

Prepare my "pizza crust" as the recipe says.  Prebake for about 8 minutes, shouldn't be all the way baked.  Take out of the oven and spread 1/2 jar of Classico pesto on the crust.  Lay pepperoni slices evenly around the pizza.  Finish by topping with shredded Mozzarella cheese.  Bake in the oven at 350 about another 12 or so minutes OR until the cheese is golden around the edges and bubbly.  For the ULTIMATE of this, add freshly chopped chilled green olives AFTER it's been baked!

Heart Attack Baked Beans

These aren't "good" because they are "fat free." :)  Need I say more!?

1 lb bacon

1 onion, diced

3/4 c brown sugar

1 c ketchup

2 T yellow mustard

6 cans baked beans, drained

Take the whole package of bacon and cut it up raw by slicing it up and put in a big pan. Cook until brown. On medium to high heat. Dice up the onion. Put in the bacon grease and cook them until semi-clear. Drain off most of the bacon grease. Add 3/4 cup of brown sugar too the grease left in the pan. Simmer just until the sugar dissolves. Squirt in about a cup of ketchup and about 2 Tablespoons of Yellow Mustard. 

This is the sauce for your baked beans. Now add the pork and beans (pour off the soupy part in the can).

Now for cooking them. Put them in a crock pot on low for 8 hours.

4th of July Jello Salad

3 - 6 oz boxes red jello (or equivalent)

3 - 6 oz boxes blue jello (or equivalent)

2 tubs Cool Whip

Boil 3 3/4 c water.  Pour into the red gelatin from the box.  Stir and let dissolve for about 3 minutes.  Pour into a 9x13 pan and refrigerate for 3 hours.  Do the same but with the blue gelatin from the box.  Pour into a DIFFERENT 9x13 pan and refrigerate for 3 hours.  Once they are "set" cut into bite size pieces and layer as shown in the picture.  Refrigerate until eaten.

Applesauce

Won't ever buy another jar of store bought applesauce. I don't think you will either once you see how easy it is to make applesauce.

This is how I start my applesauce!  Big case of apples! :)

This picture got turned, sorry.  These are the apples peeled, sliced and cored. I have a handy dandy apple peeler corer from Pampered Chef if you're wondering! :)

Here are the apples cooked down!  They cook down A LOT!

Put them in your blender (see all the juice?).

Pureed.

Add sugar and cinnamon.  (I've also substituted Stevia for sugar.)

Stir.  See how different the color!?

Store in quart size bags!  Can freeze!!

14 or so good size apples (should fill a large pan)
1/4 c sugar
2 t cinnamon

Peel, slice and core apples. Put in a regular large pan on the stove and let cook down (adding NO WATER, as they apples provide their own juices when cooking down) to a soft state. They will break apart when they are ready. Usually about 30 minutes on a low-medium heat. Once they have been cooked down, throw them in a blender until they are all completely pureed. Mix in the sugar and cinnamon. Eat fresh or it will freeze VERY WELL! I usually buy a huge case of apples when they are in season and do about 10 quarts of applesauce and freeze it. However, it doesn't last very long over here.

Note, you can use any type of apple you have/want, but our absolute favorite variety are Honeycrisp. You can make applesauce with as few of apples as you have also, just need to cut the ingredients. This is just a basic vague synopsis of how I do applesauce, but it really is a forgiving recipe.