Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Creamy Potato Soup

1 onion, chopped (my family dislikes onion, so I substituted onion powder for flavor)
1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)
1/4 cup chopped carrots (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
5 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups whole milk (or evaporated milk)
3 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
1 pinch ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
cheddar cheese, shredded

In a large pot, saute onion, celery, carrots, garlic and parsley in butter until soft but not browned. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add broth slowly, stirring as you add.

Add milk, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, allspice, celery seed, thyme, seasoning salt, and chicken bouillon. Simmer until thickened, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are cooked through, approximately 25 minutes. During cooking, break up potatoes with the back of a spoon. Serve warm with cheese as garnish.

Audrey's little note: my college roomate Heidi used to make a soup similar to this, and I was craving it the other day and ran across this recipe. All but one of my family gobbled it up...super good with biscuits!

adapted from: Best-Potato-Recipes.com

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Billikaye's Pumpkin Cake

1 yellow cake mix (15.25 oz. + 3 oz. more mix or flour)
1 small instant vanilla pudding
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ginger
1 c. water
15 oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat all ingredients together for 4 minutes, pour into greased sheet cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Topping:
Whip 1 pint whipping cream, fold in 1/2 c. brown sugar & 1 c. Cool Whip. Spread on cooled cake and enjoy!

from: Billikaye :)

Popovers

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 t. salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
4 T. butter

In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt; make a well in center. In another bowl, beat together eggs and milk, then pour into well. Gradually stir egg mixture into flour until batter is consistency of heavy cream yet slightly lumpy; do not overbeat. Allow batter to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut butter into 12 pieces and place one in each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin. Heat in oven until butter melts, about 1 minute. Divide batter among cups, filling each about 3/4 full;. Bake until popovers are puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn out popovers and serve warm.

Audrey's little note: These light, flavorful 'rolls' are wonderful with soup...and so, so easy!

from: Country Living Magazine