Christine's Pantry: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Fajita Soup

Years ago soup was consider fast food.

I know people like soup in fall or winter. But I like soup anytime of the year. Soup is quick and easy. And one pot wonders. You can use leftovers for soup. You can add just about anything to pot and add stock and call it soup. The foundation of any soup is the stock. You can cook a soup in 30 minutes or less, but it will taste like you cooked the soup all day.

Definition of fast food has changed over the years, soup is versatile one pot wonders.

Fajita Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound thin chicken cutlets, cut into thin strips

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 large green bell peppers, seed and veins removed, sliced

2 red onions, sliced

2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic

4 cups chicken stock

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 package of fajita seasoning mix

Louisiana hot sauce, to taste

shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper, set aside. While you cut the onions and peppers. Add oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Heat oil, then add chicken, make sure the chicken is in a even layer. Brown chicken, and remove from pot. Add onions, peppers, garlic to the pot, stir and cook about 2 minutes, until vegetables just start to get tender. Add stock, make sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of pot. Add chicken to pot. Then add diced tomatoes and fajita seasoning mix, and couple of dashes of hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup in bowl and garnish with cheese. Enjoy!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Cream Cheese Strawberry Pie

I was home alone yesterday and bored. I decided to make cream cheese strawberry pie. Off to the store I go. Cannot wait to get back home to make cream cheese strawberry pie. Yum!

I love strawberries anyway you fix them. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. I thought this would be the recipe to make. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. I rather use fresh. If you use frozen, they need to be thawed. If desired, you can thaw the frozen strawberries in the microwave.

While I was driving to the store to buy the ingredients for the pie, it brought back some wonderful memories. As a little girl, my mom, sister and I would go to this strawberry stand. And we went to the strawberry stand often. If you picked your own strawberries you got a discount. So we always picked our own strawberries. It was so much fun picking strawberries. On day when we was picking berries, my mom thought she saw a snake, she didn't say a word she just took off running. And running fast. I didn't think she could run that fast. All we could see behind her was dirt flying. Not even sure if her feet was hitting the ground that's how fast she was running. My sister and I was laughing.

Cream Cheese Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

6 oz cream cheese

2 pints fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust

Directions:

Cream cheese and vanilla extract together. Spread over bottom of crust. Sprinkle semi sweet chocolate chips on top of cheese. Washed, hulled and halved strawberries. Place 1 pint of strawberries in sauce pan with water and simmer about 3 to 5 minutes. Combine sugar and cornstarch. Add to cooked strawberries. Stirring constantly, cook until syrup is thick. Add lemon juice. Cool. Place remaining uncooked strawberries in the crust. Pour cooked strawberries and syrup on top. Chill before serving. Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup cooked rice

4 medium bell peppers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean bell peppers, remove veins and seeds. Prepare rice according to package directions. In large skillet, brown pork and onions. Cook meat until brown. Spoon off excess grease. Add tomato sauce and spices. Stir in cooked rice. Spray 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place peppers upright in pan. Spoon meat mixture into peppers. Bake about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Quesadillas

Ingredients:

8 (6 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

1 large tomato, halved and seeds removed, finely diced

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

Sprinkle each of 4 tortillas with 1/4 cup of the pepper jack cheese, sprinkle tomato on top of each tortillas, then add the remaining cheese to each tortillas. Cover with the 4 remaining tortillas. Heat skillet over medium heat, add 1/4 olive oil. Add the quesadillas, 1 at a time, cook for 2 or 3 minutes per side, or until tortillas are golden and cheese is melted. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with remaining oil and tortillas. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Note: I like to serve with salsa and tortilla chips.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Broccoli With Stuffing

Ingredients:

2 (16 oz.) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 eggs, beaten
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup butter, melted
1 (10 oz.) package herb stuffing mix

Directions:
Cook the broccoli according to package directions. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Spray 2 quart casserole dish with your favorite non stick cooking spray. In a bowl combine eggs, onion, soup, mayonnaise, set aside. Place layer of cooked broccoli in 2 quart casserole dish. Add layer of cheese. Pour small amount of sauce over the top of cheese. Repeat layers until all are used. Top with stuffing mix (do not stir). Drizzle butter over top of stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chocolate Cupcakes

On Valentine's Day, give the perfect gift... homemade snacks. The way to his heart is through his stomach. Valentine's Day... spending quality time with your loved one. Grab a cupcake, hot coffee or hot chocolate and get cozy. As cold as it has been!... you can toss some wood in your fireplace. Get cozy in front of the fireplace. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Ingredients:

1 (18.5 oz) box of chewy brownie mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups confectioner sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/ 2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/ 8 teaspoon ground ginger

3/ 4 cup sweethearts candies, finely chopped

1 large resealable plastic bag

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cake like brownies, add sour cream, blend well. Fill the cups half full with brownie batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or when toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. When cool enough, remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

For the frosting: In a bowl together cream cheese and butter. Slowly add sugar and mix well until smooth. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon and ground ginger. Frost when cupcakes are completely cool. Place candies in the plastic bag, seal the bag, with rolling pin break up the candies. Sprinkle chopped candies over top of cupcakes. Enjoy!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Monkey Bread

nonstick cooking spray
4 packages buttermilk biscuits
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 stick butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Cut biscuits into 1/4 pieces, roll in cinnamon and sugar. Place in bundt pan. Melt butter and mix with remaining sugar and cinnamon. Pour over top of biscuits. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pan. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Avocado Dip

Game day just right around the corner. Nobody wants a fancy meal on game day. Hardcore football fans don't want to get off the sofa, they don't want to miss a play. The Super Bowl is an American tradition. Folks huddle around the TV yelling and screaming, eating and drinking themselves silly. And there's lots of laughter. Enjoy game day!

3 avocados, peeled, pitted, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cumin

pinch salt, more if needed

3 tablespoons lime juice

4 oz sour cream

Directions:

In a bowl mash avocados, add remaining ingredients. Blend well. Enjoy!

Velveeta Chicken Dip

1 cup of Velveeta cheese (Kraft Foods, Inc)

1 can Ro-tel* (Ro-Tel * is a registered trademark of Conagra Food Inc)

Directions:

In microwave safe bowl, melt cheese. Add chicken and Ro-tel. Blend well. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Debo's Crazy Rice

2 pounds ground beef

1 pound hot pork sausage

14 oz pecan smoked sausage, sliced

2 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz)can diced tomatoes

1 (7.76 oz) can salsa Verde

1 (14.5 oz) can Ro-tel*

1 large onion, diced

2 green bell peppers, veins and seeds removed, diced

2 red bell peppers, veins and seeds removed, diced

1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups uncooked rice

1 tablespoon Weber roasted garlic herb seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

16 oz water

Directions:

In large stock pan, add olive oil enough to cover bottom of pan. Add onions, bell peppers, salt. Cook until just tender. Remove onions and bell peppers and place in a bowl. Add ground beef and hot pork sausage to pan, add pepper and garlic herb seasoning, breaking meat up using a fork, cook until brown. Spoon off excess grease. Add smoked sausage, onions, bell peppers and remaining ingredients. Stir often. Cover and cook on low, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Ro-Tel * is a registered trademark of Conagra Food Inc