Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is one of the best comfort, sit wrapped in a blanket, read a book, soups that I know how to make. It is a staple at our house on cold nights (and even an occasional summer night too!). I make up a batch of soup and some breadsticks and ENJOY! 4 cups cubed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 c. shredded carrots (I use a bag of preshredded carrots from the grocery store)
2 c. chopped celery
3 c. cut up broccoli

Boil all veggies but broccoli in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and boil for 10 more minutes. DO NOT drain!

Sauce:
1/2 c. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. milk
1 pound velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. pepper
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or 3 t. granules)

In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour. Add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Add cheese and other ingredients. Mix until smooth. Add to undrained veggies and heat together but do not boil.

Sweet Potato Fries

These fries are one of my favorite side dishes! They go with everything, are healthy, and the kids and hubby just gobble them up!!

3-4 sweet potato's, peeled, and cut into desired thickness (we like ours on the thicker side)

1-2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (I use my convection oven.) Cut the sweet potato's into "fry shape" and place in a large bowl. Pour in olive oil and salt and pepper, mix together. Place fries on a greased cookie sheet (I just spray mine with some Pam, or brush a little olive oil over it). Cook in preheated oven for 15-25 minutes until tops begin to brown slightly. Cooking time varies depending on size of fries. We like to dip ours in homemade "fry sauce", or a mixture of prepared horseradish, ketchup and mayo. Just plain ketchup works fine too!!

Brussel Sprouts: The underused Veggie.

My husband loves brussel sprouts. He is always begging me to make them. I have tried a lot of different ways and I finally fell in love with making them with bacon. They work really well together and even my kids will eat them this way!! (bonus!).

1/2 lb bacon, sliced into bite size pieces

1 bag brussel sprouts

1 c. chicken stock

salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste

Bring about 2 inches of water to boil in a large saute pan. When boiling add the brussel sprouts and boil for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cool water to stop cooking. Cook bacon in saute pan until crispy, drain off all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the brussel sprouts into the same pan with the bacon over medium high heat. Add salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste. Add chicken stock and cook until stock cooks out, stirring frequently.

Teriyaki Sauce

This is a homemade teriyaki sauce/marinade that I found on allrecipes.com. It was really good! I made it with "Anniversary Chicken" and I can't wait to try it out with other things!!

2/3 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine) - I found this in my regular grocery store in the asian section.
1 cup soy sauce
4 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup white sugar
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 dash red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste

Bring mirin to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. Season with garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and black pepper; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Anniversary Chicken

This was a recipe that I tried the other night. I modified it a little bit to my taste. The original can be found on allrecipes.com. I made my own teriyaki sauce, which made it even better...It is an interesting combination of flavors, but my family really liked it! Give it a try!

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup teriyaki basting sauce
1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 green onions, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked, drained and cut into bits
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing, spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Pumpkin Waffles with the most AMAZING buttercream syrup

We had this for breakfast over at a friends house a couple weeks ago and I couldn't stop eating it! Perfect combination of flavors for a warm, fall breakfast. Thanks for sharing Jamie! (The original recipe comes from Jen on her "Yummy Fun" blog).

2 c. Flour

2 T. Baking Powder

1 T. Cinnamon

1 T. Sugar

1/2 t. Nutmeg

1/4 t. Salt

Combine above ingredients and set aside.

4 eggs - separated and reserve the egg whites

1/2 c. milk

1 c. Pumpkin

3/4 c. soft Butter
1 T. Vanilla

Blend the egg yolks with milk, butter, pumpkin and vanilla until creamy. Combine with dry ingredients until smooth and creamy. Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter and mix lightly until just combined. Batter will be thick. Bake in preheated waffle iron. Serve with buttercream syrup. (recipe follows).

Buttercream Syrup:

*this is one of the MOST AMAZING syrups/sauces ever made. ever. You can literally eat spoonfuls of it at a time. It is so good on these waffles, and we used the leftovers to dip apples in later for a snack. SO GOOD.

1 c. Heavy Cream

1 c. White Sugar

1/2 c. Brown Sugar

1 Stick Butter

Combine in a small sauce pan until bubbly. Refrigerate remaining and use again next time.