Tortellini Sausage Soup

This recipe is from melskitchencafe.com. I just love her recipes and her pictures are absolutely beautiful so of course I want to make something that looks delicious. We had this for dinner tonight and Jev loved it (which says a lot because he hates soup). I do have to confess though that I didn't have some of the ingredients. No zucchini, no apple cider, and only half the chicken broth so it pretty much was just a pasta dish because most of the water boiled off but it was still delicious.


Tortellini Sausage Soup

*Note: If zucchini isn’t in season, you could easily sub chopped spinach or frozen peas here. Also, if you absolutely can’t find apple cider, try apple juice and in a last ditch effort, leave it out (although it does add a delicious hint of unique flavor).

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
3 links Italian sausage (the kind that is uncooked in casings – see note above)
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 onion, diced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup chopped carrots
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated (no need to peel)
2 tablespoons dried parsley
8-10 ounce package refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini

DIRECTIONS:
Remove the casings by slicing down one side of the sausage and peeling the casing back from the sausage. In a large pot, cook the sausage over medium heat until it starts to brown, using a wooden spoon to crumble as it cooks. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the sausage is cooked through. Drain any excess grease, if needed (alternately, if your sausage is extra lean, you may need to add a drizzle of olive oil to keep it from sticking).

Stir in the chicken broth, apple cider, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, carrots, oregano, and basil. Bring the soup to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and parsley simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook until tender (usually only a couple of minutes, even when the packages call for 7-9 minutes cooking time, I only cook the tortellini for 4-5 minutes so it doesn’t fall apart). Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

This is a 5 star recipe from allrecipes.com, and an instant favorite for our family.

3 cups water
2 Tb chicken bouillon granules
2 bunches broccoli (or one bag frozen)
1/2 onion diced
2 cups milk
1/2 cup margarine
5 Tb all purpose flour
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.

1. Bring water and chicken bouillon granules to a boil in a pot. Add broccoli and onion; cook at a boil until tender, 10-12 minutes.
2. Combine milk, margarine, flour, and cream cheese in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir until the margarine melts and the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir Cheddar cheese into the milk mixture; cook and stir until the cheddar melts completely.
4. Pour the broccoli mixture into the cheese mixture in the large pot; stir well.

Original recipe can be found here. The only thing I did differently is I used butter instead of margarine, and about half as much called for.

Enchilada Sauce

This is Richie's Grandma's recipe for enchilada sauce (red).   It's the meal he requests the most.  He loves it!


oil in bottom of a sauce pan  (doesn't take a lot)

3 T. chili powder

3 T. flour (maybe a little more)

1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2-1 can el pato (depending on how spicy you want it)

3 c. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 T. sugar

Heat oil. Add chili powder and flour to make a paste. Wisk in tomato sauce and add water. Add seasonings. Simmer for one hour.

Dip corn tortillas in hot oil to soften them. Fill them with a little bit of sauce, meat (usually do ground hamburger), and cheese. Roll and put into casserole dish (13x9 works great). Cover with remaining sauce and some cheese (and onions if you want. We hate onions but i like green onions and will garnish the top with them).

Bake at 375-400 until cheese is melted on top.

*Note: I use flour tortillas and skip the softening phase, and it turns out fine.

For all of you in Pittsburgh, there is only one place I could find the El Pato sauce there.  The super walmart by Mills Mall.
 s in the 
preheated oven, or until done.

Marshmallow Brownies

Recipe from: Six Sisters Stuff

1 c. margarine

2 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa

4 eggs

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Soften margarine and blend in 2 cups sugar and cocoa.  Beat together and add 4 eggs, one at a time.  Add flour, salt and vanilla.

Spread on large (10x15x1 inch) greased cookie sheet.  Bake 25 minutes at 350.  Remove from oven and cover entire top with 1 package of miniature marshmallows.  Return to oven for 3 minutes, until soft and puffy.  Cool and frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:

1 stick margarine (1/2 c.), softened
1/4 cup milk
1-2 tsp vanilla (depending on your taste)
3 tablespoons of cocoa
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar or milk until you reach desired consistency and spread on top of bars.

Grandma's Chili Recipe

Ever since I can remember my Grandma would make this Chili recipe for Halloween dinner. I grew up eating it every year, and have made it every Halloween since! I thought I would share it with you guys, it is a fun family tradition to have warm chili waiting in the kitchen after trick-or-treating! (especially when its freezing outside) -Have a great Halloween, I miss you all!

About 1 lb of hamburger
4 cans of red kidney beans ( you can use other beans as well, I just usually use kidney beans.
I c. onion
I c. celery
I c. red or green bell pepper.
I can of crushed tomatoes.
I small can of tomato paste
I c. ketchup
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. lemon juice.
spices:
2 teaspoons. ground mustard
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tsp chili powder,or a bit more to taste.

-Brown hamburger in a skillet.
-Chop veggies into small pieces, depending on how chunky you want the chili to be.
-I usually strain two of the cans of kidney beans, and dump the entire other two because the juice adds substance.
-Add all the rest of the ingredients, stir, and cook in crock pot on slow for about 7-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.

Pumpkin Alfredo

Don't be afraid of the word pumpkin.  It's not overpowering at all.

Tannon said this tastes like "a fancy restaurant meal".  I agree, it tasted like it should have been served at Macaroni Grill, or something.  I dare say this may be my favorite meal I've ever made.

P.S. I'm just now noticing it calls for 1/2 batch of Alfredo sauce, instead of 1 full batch.  No wonder it tasted so good.

Recipe from Our Best Bites.

Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo

1 Package Cheese Ravioli
1/2 batch Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
1/2 T real butter
1/4 C Finely minced onion
1/2 C canned pumpkin
2 T Chicken broth
1T chopped fresh sage (1t dried leaves)
1/2 T fresh thyme (1/2 t dried leaves)

Follow instructions on pasta to cook. In a separate sauce pan melt butter on medium heat. When melted, add onion. Make sure your onion is really finely diced. Since you have a nice smooth sauce, you don’t want big chunks of onion, you just want little bits.

Saute until soft. Since they’re small it should only take a couple of minutes. Add chicken broth and herbs. 

Use a spatula to deglaze the pan a bit and get any cooked bits of onion off the bottom. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine. Add alfredo sauce, stir to combine, and cook until heated through. 

Donuts

Growing up my aunt made homemade donuts and homemade root beer every Halloween.  It's one of my favorite traditions I can remember from my childhood.  I don't make donuts very often myself, but I decided to make some this year and they did not disappoint.  I got the recipe from Buns in My Oven.  The original recipe says not to poke a hole in the middle, and to fill with Nutella.  The donuts I made with no hole were doughy in the middle, so I only made one like that.  The rest, I just punched holes, like regular donuts.

You can either toss them while warm in sugar, or dip them in some vanilla glaze.

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 2/3 cups milk, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 eggs
• 7 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, cut into 7 pieces
• Canola oil, for frying

Instructions

1. In the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and milk. Allow the yeast to dissolve, about 1 minute. Add the flour, 1/3 cup of the sugar, salt, and eggs and mix on low for about 4 minutes to develop the dough. Begin adding the butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing for 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 6 - 15 hours.
3. Lightly flour a baking sheet. Flour your work surface and roll out the dough into a 12 inch square about a 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2 to 4 inch round biscuit cutter, cut out the donuts. (I ended up with 11 total.) Arrange the donuts on the prepared baking sheet and cover in plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm spot for 2 - 3 hours or until doubled in height and feel poufy and pillowy.
4. When ready to fry, heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350 degrees. Line a try with paper towels and add the remaining 1 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Add the donuts to the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry on each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on the lined tray. When cool enough to handle, toss in the sugar to coat. Return each donut to the tray to cool completely, about 3o minutes.