Pepperoni Pizza Soup

You're going to hate me over this recipe, because there are no exact ingredients. I kind of just put stuff together one day. So, let me know what you think.

2 cans tomato soup

penne pasta, cooked and drained

pepperoni slices

small can of sliced olives

mozzarella cheese

oregano

garlic

Make the tomato soup according to directions in a sauce pan. How much pasta you want in it depends on if you like a thicker soup, or a soupier soup. :0)

Add pepperoni slices...I think I toss in about 20 or so slices, but if you want more go for it!

Stir in oregano and garlic to preferred taste, and then let all of this simmer on the stove to let the flavors meld together. Stir frequently so as not to let the soup burn to the bottom of the pan. ;0)

Add olives at the end and continue cooking until they are warmed through.

Pour into serving bowls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Serve immediately.

Ashlee side note: Landon ate this like he was starved. ;0) And it was tomato soup! Loved it! You can also make variations and do a meat lovers soup, or vegetable lovers....etc. I probably wouldn't suggest a hawaiian style pizza in this soup (yuck!) but you get the idea. Serve this with a bowl of salad and some garlic bread and your set! One of the easiest dinners to make!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna

I found this recipe last year on Pillsbury.com and fell in love with it immediately! I hope you do too!



2 eggs

1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cups diced cooked chicken

2 cups diced cooked ham

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 jar (16 oz.) creamy garlic Alfredo sauce

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese





Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, beat eggs. Stir in ricotta, cottage and parmesan cheeses and parsley. set aside.

In another medium bowl, mix chicken, ham garlic powder and Alfredo sauce. In ungreased 13x9 inch glass baking dish spread about 1/2 cup chicken mixture.

Top chicken mixture with 3 uncooked noodles, half of the cheese mixture and half each of the mozzarella and swiss cheeses. Repeat layers starting with noodles, ending with Swiss cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake 1 hour or until very hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Ashlee side note: I make this into a casserole type dish. Instead of using lasagna noodles, I cook up egg noodles and use them for that layer instead. My kids really love "noodles with white sauce" and so they still get to have that, but with a little twist. Good stuff!

Salsa

I originally got this recipe from my Jaysen's mom, who got it from her sister-in-law (Jaysen's aunt) who is from Mexico. Did you get all that? ;0) But, I tweaked it a little bit, and found that I like the flavor a lot more. Let me know what you think!


4 medium tomatoes
1 jalapeno
minced garlic
handful cilantro
2 limes
1 can Rotel
1 can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 onion
salt

In frying pan, pour enough olive oil in to cover bottom. Heat on med/low. Add a spoonful of minced garlic.

Meanwhile, quarter tomatoes and cut jalapeno in half removing seeds from inside. Add these to frying pan. Fry until just heated through to inject the garlic flavor into the tomatoes. Remove from heat and pour all (including oil) into blender. Add handful of cilantro, juice from two limes, Rotel, Stewed Tomatoes, and onion to blender. Blend until all ingredients have been chopped up. This is usually where I do a taste test to see just how much salt I need to add. Sometimes, it's a lot, other times, not so much. So, salt to taste. ;0)

Ashlee side note: Jaysen LOVES this salsa. Which is why I had to have his mom come over and show me how to make it. ;0) He likes his SPICY though. So, here a few tips if you are the same.
There are three different kinds of Rotel you can use in this recipe. Mild, Original, and HOT! So, if you like it hot...I would suggest using that version instead. I usually just buy the original to keep on hand. Not everyone wants to burn up their esophogas! ;0) So, after I'm done making the salsa, I remove half of it for the sane individuals, and then add another jalapeno to the blender and blend it in.
My family loves this stuff! It gets eaten up quickly when we all get together. And I know that the Burnham's love it just as much!

Stuffed Ground Beef

So, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you these are low fat or anything. However, alterations can be made to make them a little less scary for those of us watching our figures. Any way you make them though....YUM!

2 pounds lean ground beef (can use ground turkey for a lighter version)
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups herb Stove Top Stuffing
2 cans cream of chicken soup (can use mushroom or celery if preferred)
1/2 soup can water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, milk, salt and pepper until well blended. Divide into 16 portions. Flatten into thin patties.
Make stuffing mix following package directions. Scoop about 1/4 cup stuffing each on 8 of the patties. Place a second pattie on top, then press around the edges to seal well. Place on oiled shallow cookie sheet. Brown in oven for about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix soup with water. When patties are browned, remove from oven and turn temperature down to 350. Pour soup mixture over patties. Bake for 30 minutes longer.
To serve, spoon remaining sauce in cookie sheet over patties.

Ashlee side note: I don't make these very often, but when I do, they get eaten up. For a smaller family like mine, just half the recipe. These have also been called stuffed mini meatloaves by those who have eaten them before...so if that's you..these are it! When you make these with ground turkey and the fat free cream soups, they really aren't bad at all if you are watching calories. So, eat up!

Danish Dumplings

This recipe comes from my Great Grandma Arnold. It's been in our family for awhile as I have Danish ancestors. The recipe is just for the dumplings, not the soup. But, it does make a great chicken soup. Use these instead of noodles and your set!

1 cup cold water

1 cup flour

6 Tbsp. shortening

1/4 tsp. salt

4 eggs

Put water and shortening into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour and salt at once. Mix well until blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly, while still hot.

Drop by spoonfuls in hot, boiling chicken broth.

Ashlee side note: These are soooo yummy. We always thought they were a special treat growing up and would fight over who got the most. I think my mom had to have made a double batch of them to satisfy all of us!

If you are making a chicken dumpling soup with them, make the vegetable soup in chicken broth first, and when all of that is ready, that's when you add the dumplings by the spoonful. Otherwise, the dumplings can come apart if you stir it too much.

Enjoy one of my families favorite traditional foods!

The BEST Banana Bread!

Here is my ultimate favorite banana bread recipe. Super moist, super sweet...and really easy!

You Will Need

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I use Splenda)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 large ripe bananas

3/4 cup melted butter

3 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (I use Splenda brown sugar)

Okay...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In your mixer, combine flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork. (Make sure the bananas are nice and ripe. They are the sweetest that way and you get better flavor out of them. If your bananas aren't ripe enough, you can speed the process along by keeping them in a brown paper bag with the top closed for a few days.)

Add butter, eggs, milk and brown sugar to bananas and mix well.

Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir until moistened. Don't over beat!

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for about one hour. I check after about 45 minutes to see how it's doing. Depending on your oven, you may need to adjust time, or temperature slightly. If the top or corners of your bread is browning too quickly, cover it lightly with aluminum foil.

Ashlee side note: If you like pecans or chocolate chips in your banana bread stir 1/2 cup of either into the dry ingredients at the beginning. I've also used this recipe to make banana bread cupcakes. Super good! Especially with chocolate chips in them! :0) Bake these for 25-30 minutes instead using a regular muffin pan. And...even better....stock up on it! You'll want to after you try it! Wrap the bread in plastic wrap, and then aluminum foil and you can freeze it for up to 3 months! It thaws in the refrigerator overnight...easy!

One final thought...you can actually use this bread for a twist on the old banana split recipe. Put a slice of bread on a plate, a scoop of vanilla on top, and pour chocolate syrup over the top. Tah dah! Good stuff.

I hope you enjoy it! My favorite part about this recipe is that I get to indulge, but knowing that didn't use sugar or oil makes me feel better about it. And using part whole wheat flour is even better! (Tried using all wheat...not as good! Bread doesn't work out as well)

Happy eating!

Baking Time!

So.......

I like to cook, bake......eat! Food is good and I love good recipes. I am always on the look out for a new one and I love to try them out on people. So, I'm going to post my favs here....you try them out...and let me know!

Not that I get asked A LOT for my recipes...but when I do actually go somewhere and it requires my cooking skills, I do get asked. So, here they are! And seriously....let me know what you think! I'm interested to know if you tried it, if you liked it, if you'd change it, and if so...what should I change?

Have fun with it! And if you've got a recipe I should try...please let me know!!!