Cheeseburger Soup

I got this recipe from www.therecipecritic.com and really liked it.  I made a few changes to mine :)  It was good and hearty and pleased everyone in my family.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (use 1 pound)
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3-4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/4 cup all purpose flour
16 ounces of Velveeta processed cheese 
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of franks hot sauce


1.  Brown the ground beef in 3 quart saucepan.  Drain and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan add 1 T butter and add onion, shredded carrots, parsley flakes, basil and celery.  Saute until tender.
3.  Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4.  In small skillet melt remaining butter (3 T) and add the flour.  Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly.  Add to the soup and bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low.
5. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until cheese melts.  Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.  
Yield 8 servings

When I made it I did steps 1-4 then threw it in the crockpot to complete step 5 while I left the house for an hour or two.  

549 calories per serving

Chicken Pepper Spaghetti


I made this meal about 2 weeks ago and it was delicious.  I really liked it, but Jarod didn't like it quite as much as me, so we gave it a rating of 3.  It originally came from Full Bellies, happy kids.

ingredients:
6 T. butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
1 t. garlic, minced
3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 T.  fresh tarragon, minced
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t.pepper
3/4 c. half and half
1 c.  shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
7 oz.  vermicelli, cooked


Melt butter in skillet then stir in onions, peppers, and garlic.  Cooke covered on medium to high heat for 2-3 minutes until tender.  Remove from pan and cook chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper.  cook until done, but tender.  Add peppers, half and half, and cheese to the chicken.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until cheese is melted 3-5 minutes.  Cook noodles according to package in separate pan.  Toss cooked noodles to chicken mixture gently and SERVE!!

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna Soup

Not only did I think this soup was delish, but so did my soup hatin' husband.  He even gave it a 4.5 stars out of 5 (for soups).  This recipe was pinterest inspired (what isn't these days), but it originally came from a farm girl's dabbles.  Here's what you'll need!

for the soup:

2 tsp. olive oil

1 to 1.5 lb. italian sausage (I used 1 lb.)

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 T. tomato paste

2 14.5oz. cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

6 c. chicken stock

8 oz. small pasta, I used radiatori

1/2 c. chopped basil

salt and pepper to taste

for the topping:

8 oz. ricotta cheese

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 t. salt

pepper 

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and brown the sausage until done.  Add in the chopped onions for 5 minutes or until tender.  Then add in garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomato paste stirring well, cook until tomato paste turns a rustic color (3-4 minutes).

Add in the tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock, bring to boil and cook for 30 minutes.

In a separate pan cook noodles according to directions on package (unless you dont anticipate leftovers, in which case you can add uncooked noodles straight to the soup mixture itself when the 30 minutes is up and cook until noodles are done).

While the noodles are cooking mix the topping ingredients (ricotta, parmesan, salt, and pepper) together.

To serve ladle the soup into a bowl, add some of the cooked noodles and top with a dollop of topping!

ENJOY!!!

Don't you wish you had all your recipes at your finger tips all while being organized and "rated."  I sure do!  So, here I start my process of organizing all my families favorite recipes.  Next time I dont know what to make for supper all I'll have to do is jump on the internet at look!  Loving it!!!