Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1lb. Pork sausage

1-2 TBS Olive Oil

4 carrots (sliced)

2 celery stalks (sliced)

8 mushrooms(sliced)

1/2 large onion (diced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

salt and pepper

48 oz box Swanson broth

1 can Swanson broth

1/2 bag of Cheese Tortellini

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Cook the sausage until no longer pink. Drain and place on a paper towel.

In a medium to large stock pot saute the carrots, celery and onions for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic in for about 1 minute.

Add the Broth, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, diced tomatoes and water. Let this simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes. Add in the tortellini and let them cook for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Results:

This was a delicious quick soup. Soup is always good because you can throw anything you want into the pot. I don't think you can really go wrong. I topped the soup off with some Parmesan cheese and some crusty bread. It was tasty and filling.

Buttery Cinnamon Cake

INGREDIENTS :

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat shortening, 1 1/3 cups white sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for at least 1 minute after each egg. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Remove cake from pan while it is still warm, and poke holes around the top of the cake with a fork. Pour the warm cinnamon syrup into the holes and onto the top and sides of the cake.

To Make Cinnamon Syrup: In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup white sugar, butter, water, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Heat and stir until butter melts.

The Results:

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. I use it sometimes when I want a morning dessert. It is kind of like a coffee cake. It is super easy to make and tastes great right out of the oven. I ate this a couple morning with a cup of hot chocolate. YUM!

Colorful Kielbasa

Ingredients:
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, combine the soup, water and butter; bring to a boil. Add kielbasa and rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 18 minutes or until rice is almost tender. Stir in peas and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender and peas are heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until melted. Yield: 4-6 servings.

The Results:

This was definitely a quick dinner. I like things like this when I want dinner on the table quick and the kielbasa was on sale too.Plus for me. The only thing I did different was add some corn to it because I didn't have enough peas. Also if you don't like kielbasa I'm sure you could throw in some cooked or rotisserie chicken. I got this recipe out of my Taste of Home cookbook. Since I haven't posted so much lately I have lots of good recipes coming up. Hopefully it doesn't take me so long to post them though.

Coconut-Cranberry Chews

Ingredients:
About 1½ cups (¾ lb.) Challenge Butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups dried cranberries
1½ cups sweetened flaked dried coconut

Directions:
In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1½ cups butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg, until well blended.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low speed until dough comes together, about 5 minutes (see notes). Mix in cranberries and coconut.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on buttered 12" x 15" baking sheets.

Bake in a 350°F regular or convection oven until cookie edges just begin to brown, 11 to 15 minutes (shorter baking time will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time will yield a crispier cookie). If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking.

Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

Yield: About 6 dozen cookies

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

NOTES: The mixture may look dry until it comes together as a dough. If its too crumbly to form into balls, the dough need to be mixed longer; it should be a smooth homogeneous mass.

The Results:

These turned out really good. They are definitely a sweet treat. I would also suggest that they are just barely even be golden brown before you take them out. If you leave them in for long they will just be a a hard cookie. I got the recipe from www.challengediary.com.

Baked Tilapia

Ingredients:
3 Tilapias

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Paprika

Directions:

Place tilapia in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine the sour cream, Parmesan cheese, butter, dill, salt and pepper; spoon over tilapia.

Cover and bake at 375° for 20 minutes.

Uncover; sprinkle with paprika.

Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Parmesan Green Onion Couscous

Ingredients:

1 box of Parmesan Couscous (Follow directions according to box)

1/2 cup green onions

Directions:

Make couscous according to box. When the couscous is done add a 1/2 cup of green onions.

The Results:

The results of this dinner was good. My husband liked it alot and I just thought it was good. I was a different dinner for us and I thought it was a success. My boys both gobbled up their dinner. So I guess it was good for them too. This recipe originally called for halibut but I didn't have halibut. I changed most of the recipe but got the idea out of my Taste of Home cookbook.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 jars spaghetti sauce
2 bags mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped dried basil

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain.

In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a lightly sprayed 13X9 baking dish, place some of the sauce in the pan. Place half the pasta in. Add the spaghetti sauce and spread mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and sour cream on. Repeat layers till mozzarella cheese is on top.Sprinkle with basil.

Bake in preheated oven Covered for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly.

The Results:

This was so simple to make. I've never made ziti with sour cream and thought I would give it a try. It gave the pasta a different kick then ricotta and was really good. I served this with salad and garlic bread. Oh and my pasta wasn't ziti but I can't remember what it is called. Any round noodle should work. Enjoy! :)

Oven Baked Potatoes and Award

Ingredients:

2-3 Tablespoons Olive oil

3 Baking potatoes (cubed)

1/2 onion (diced)

1/2 bell pepper (diced)

4 button mushrooms (sliced)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Cut baking potatoes in 4th. Boil them for 4-5 minutes. Drain. Dice potatoes into bite size pieces. In a 9X13 pan spray pan with cooking spray. Add the olive oil to coat the potatoes. Add the onion, bell pepper, mushroom Parmesan cheese, garlic , salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Make sure your potatoes are fork tender before pulling out. Enjoy!

The Results:

These went perfect with the Beer Bratwurst. I just kind of started to throw things in the pan and ended up with this. I love potatoes and don't get to eat enough of them due to my husband and little boy aren't big fans. Who doesn't love potatoes? Weirdos! So I got to enjoy my potatoes and they were great. Hope you enjoy.

Lemonade Award : for a refreshing blog

Spryte from Spryte's Place gave me this award. I was so happy to see a comment from her the other day. I loved being able to look around her blog and see what i could start book marking to make. Go check her blog out.

So I'm going to pass this on to:

Priscilla Bakes

Two Peas and Their Pod

For the Love of Cooking

Ezra Pound Cake

Priscilla, Maria, Pam and Rebecca all have refreshing blogs. I look forward to seeing what new things they cook all the time. They all make delicious looking food.