Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. white wine to deglaze the pan *

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

2 Russett potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 c. fresh kale, chopped **

3 c. chicken broth

2.5 c. water

1 c. heavy cream

salt and pepper

* I cut this out.

** I didn't have any kale on hand so I just did without.

Recipe:

1.  Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until well browned. Remove the cooked sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl; set aside.

2. Add the chopped onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant.

3. Add the wine to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.

4. Add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth, and water to the pot. Return the sausage to the pot.

5. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer on medium-low. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and cooked through.

6. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Rating: 3 of 5

When we go to Olive Garden, this is the soup I always get. I love it because of it's strong flavors! So, while this was a good copy-cat, I really don't think it comes close. Not nearly strong enough. But, if you like flavor/heat on the weaker side, then this is your dish!

Source: Annie's Eats, Zuppa Toscana

French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 2.5-3 lb beef roast (frozen is okay too!)

2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper

2 1-oz. pkg dry onion soup mix

2 c. water

2 cans beef broth *

6-8 large buns (Try this Quick French Bread recipe!)

Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced

* I just used 2 1/2 large beef bouillon cubes and added 2 c. water (in addition to the 2 c. called for)

Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a large pot oven medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

2. When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

3. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

4. Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. The longer it cooks, the more tender it will be.

5. When meat is ready, shred with a fork. Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty. *

6. Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

* Rather than put everything under the broiler, I simply buttered the sliced open bread and put them on a griddle until they were golden, like a grilled cheese sandwich, and then placed the meat and cheese between the two pieces of hot bread. It melted the cheese and kept the whole sandwich from getting a little too much heat.

Freezer directions: 

1. Prepare roast through the first 2 steps above. After meat has cooled, place in a plastic freezer-safe container, cover with onion soup mix and bouillon, and freeze.

2. When ready to cook, pop it straight into the crockpot (frozen), add 2 cups of water, and set to high until warm or, even better, simmering. Turn to low; cook for a total of 8-10 hours.

* I used a frozen roast and basically skipped all of the instructions I could! Haha! I just dumped the roast in the pot, and sprinkled and covered according to step 3.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

Loved this! The meat was so extremely tender and juicy and delicious! Can't wait to make these again! I think the original recipe calls for 6-8 loaves, but we demolished the meat in just 4 sandwiches! Easy and delicious. I'm tellin' ya!

Source: Our Best Bites, French Dip Sandwiches

Quick French Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 c. warm water

2 1/2 t. dry active yeast

1 t. sugar

1 T sugar

1 t. salt

1 c. + 2 T. warm water

3 1/2- 4 c. all-purpose flour

1 egg white and 1 T water*

* in an effort to save my lone egg for something else, I brushed my bread with a little bit of milk(which makes the top of the loaf turn a darker brown). I'd imagine that you could also use warm water and baking soda which would leave the loaf closer to it's natural baking color.

Recipe:

1. Combine 1/4 c. water, yeast and 1 t. sugar in a bowl. Allow to stand until bubbly.

2. Add in 1 T. sugar, salt and remaining water.

3. Gradually add in flour, mix well and knead for 5 minutes. Let rise for 15-20 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven to 300 while dough rises.

4. Place several cups of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil while you form the loaf. If you want to make 2 smaller loaves, divide dough in half. 

5. Flour a surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Roll up the dough and turn ends under and place seam side down onto a greased cookie sheet. *

6. Cut 3 diagonal cute into the loaf about 1/4 inch deep. Combine water and egg white and brush onto loaf.

7. Pour boiled water into an oven-safe dish and place on the lower rack of the preheated oven. 

8. TURN OFF THE OVEN! Place sheet with bread on the rack above the water. Let rise until double and then take out the pan of water, about 10-15 minutes.

9. Turn oven on to 425 degrees and bake 10 minutes.

10. Turn heat down to 375 and bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

*I actually thought the rolling out process produced rather puny loaves, even when I didn't divide it and tried to make a single (I divided my dough into 4 parts in order to use for some delicious French Dip Sandwiches!). I recommend forming the dough into a ball and then rolling it out into a fatty snake (think play dough snakes as a kid) and making the French bread shape that way. Much easier, quicker, and no seam or folding under!

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a pretty easy recipe, but it's definitely a very involved one. It's not like other bread recipes where you can go off and leave the dough alone for an hour or two. So, if you're going to make this one, make sure your mentally there. It could be super easy to get distracted and ruin the bread. I definitely think I'll stick to brushing the bread with milk. So much easier. As far as taste goes, I thought this recipe was a pretty close match to store bough French bread. The outside is slightly crispy while the inside is nice and fluffy. I'll definitely be making this over buying every time! In fact, I kind of want to make another batch today and just eat garlic bread because I can!

Source: Thirty Handmade Days, Quick French Bread

Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, undrained

1 can Rotel, undrained (aka: green chilies and tomatoes)

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

1 t. cumin

1 T. chili powder *

1 t. onion powder

1 8-oz pkg. light cream cheese

2 chicken breasts

* I thought the whole T. was a little too much heat for me, so next time I will only use 1/2 T.

Recipe:

1. Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of slow cooker pot. Pour on can of corn, Rotel, and black beans.

2. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together.

3. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low 6-8 hours.

4. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

A bit spicy for my taste with the whole tablespoon of chili powder, but that's easily fixed. We really liked this chili. I don't really have much to say about it other than it was a creamy version of the Chicken Tortilla Soup, which is one of our all time favorite soups. And, I do think this soup would be good topped with some chopped cilantro.

Source: Plain Chicken, Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Bell Pepper Chicken

Ingredients: they're all approximate as I was just throwing things in as I went along

2 chicken breasts, thawed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 t. chicken bouillon

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 shakes of hot sauce

up to 1/4 c. sour cream

1/2 to 1 c. water

1/2 each red, orange, yellow, and green bell peppers, sliced

rice

Recipe: 

1. Mix soup, sour cream, garlic, water, bouillon, hot sauce and garlic together. Add chicken and bring to a boil.

2. Boil for a 5-10 minutes. Simmer chicken until cooked through. The mixture should be somewhat runny, so add more water if needed.

3. With 5-10 minutes left, add pepper slices to chicken mixture until tender.

4. Serve over hot rice.

Rating: 4 of 5

So, for a throw-in dinner, this turned out really well. It reminded me a little bit of jambalaya. It has great flavor, but very little heat. It's great over rice, but I think it'd be good over quinoa, too. I'd definitely make this one again.

Source: my own

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Ingredients:

Yields: 2 quarts or 8 servings

2 14-oz can diced tomatoes, with juice*

1 c. finely diced celery

1 c. finely diced carrots**

1 c. finely diced onions

1 t. dried oregano OR 1 T. fresh oregano***

1 T. dried basil OR 1/4 c. fresh basil****

4 c. chicken broth*****

1/2 bay leaf******

1/2 c. flour

1 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. butter

2 c. half and half, warmed OR milk, warmed

1 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

* I only had Italian diced tomatoes

** We have an allergy to carrots, so I didn't include carrots

*** Because of the Italian tomatoes I didn't add any oregano

**** With the Italian tomatoes I only added 1/2 T. of dried basil

*****I only put in 3 c. of chicken broth

******I 1 small bay leaf instead of a half.

Recipe:

1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

2. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes.

3. Slowly stir in 1 c. hot soup(from the slow cooker). Add another 3 c. and stir until smooth.

4. Add all in skillet back into the slow cooker. Stir and add Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt, and pepper.

5. Add additional basil and oregano if needed. Continue to cook on low for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

***Can also be made on the stove top. See "Source" link for the whole recipe.***

Rating: 3.5 of 5

LaDon actually really liked this one. Surprise! I thought it was good. Best the day-of. Not so good the next day to me, but that could be because I forgot to take out the bay leaf and the soup was being overpowered by bay leaf flavor. Not my favorite. I definitely thought the canned Italian tomatoes were fine. Super good with some buttered bread dipped in.

Source: Today's Mama.com, Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Crockin' Fettucini

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix

2 T. olive oil

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. chicken broth

Fettucini noodles

Recipe:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle Italian dressing over chicken. Drizzle with olive oil.

2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

3. Mix soup, cream cheese, and broth until smooth.

4. Add soup mixture to slow cooker and cook on low for 1 more hour.

5. Serve over hot, cooked noodles.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

I'm relying on LaDon's judgment tonight. I've got a cold and can't taste a thing. But, I do know that Daniel really liked his with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. From what I can tell, it is very similar to zesty chicken, just a lot more runny instead of thick. Although I couldn't taste it, you can't go wrong with a crock pot and small children eating it up!

Source: Crockingirls.com, Crockin' Fettucini

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. chicken broth

1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. butter

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp *

1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese *

2 1/2 to 3 c. chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli **

* When I went to put the cheese in the soup, I realized that I only had a half cup of cheddar left! So, I improvised! I threw in the 1/2 c. of cheddar and then made the other 1 1/2 c. of cheese parts of Provolone (not Swiss, never Swiss!), Parmesan, and mozzarella.

** Totally forgot to chop my broccoli, but it turned out fine.

Recipe:

1. Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft.

2. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes.

3. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour, salt, and pepper. Cook together, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then whisk in warmed milk.

4. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Add warmed chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended.

5. Add cheeses and stir until completely melted.

6. Stir in steamed broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

7. Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls.

Rating: 4 of 5

Since I changed the quota of cheeses, I'm not sure what this is supposed to taste like. But, since this was sooo good with my mix-ups, I can only imagine the real thing is delicious too! That being said, I do love a good broccoli and cheese soup. Anyways, this soup is thick and creamy. But, not so thick that it's like eating mashed potatoes. The base is so good in this soup, that if you don't like broccoli, then I'm thinkin' you could switch it out for your favorite vegetable or any combination of vegetables.

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ravioli Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 c. water

2 28-oz can crushed tomatoes *

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. minced parsley, fresh **

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 t. dried basil

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. onion salt ***

1/2 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. dried thyme

1 9-oz pkg refrigerated cheese ravioli ****

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

additional minced fresh parsley, optional

* I only had diced tomatoes on hand

** I only had dried on hand

*** I didn't have any onion salt, so I used onion powder

****We only had the frozen kind, so I just cooked it before hand according to the directions

Recipe:

1. In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, parsley, garlic, and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package directions; drain. Add to soup and heat through. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

This is NOT a soup. The recipe might claim to be a soup, but in reality, it turns out to be a thick and delicious meat sauce. The next time I make this I'll definitely be serving it as the sauce and put it with spaghetti noodles. I'll also cut back on the oregano and thyme. I thought those tastes were a bit too overpowering.

Source: TasteofHome.com, Ravioli Soup

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. flour

4 1/2 c. milk

1 14-oz can chicken broth *

4 medium baking potatoes, baked

2 c. grated cheese, divided

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

1 1/2 c. sour cream, divided

1/2 c. chopped green onions, divided

8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided

*I actually just added 1 cup water and a few scoops of chicken bullion instead.

Recipe:

1. Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.

2. Add flour to pan. Slowly add milk a little at a time while whisking constantly to eliminate lumps.

3. Whisk until smooth and then add chicken broth. Bring soup just to a simmer and heat until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

4. Once soup is thickened, turn heat down to medium-low.

5. Cut potatoes in half length-wise and use a spoon to scoop out potato flesh into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to smash potatoes, breaking up large clumps.

6. Add 1 1/2 c. grated cheese and salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted.

7. Remove pan from heat and stir in 3/4 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. green onions, and 4 strips of crumbled bacon.

8. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with the remaining sour cream, onions, cheese, and bacon.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

We liked this soup much better than the other Baked Potato Soup. Today's soup is pretty darn thick so make sure you have an appetite. Otherwise, you'll only be eating a few bites and calling it quits. Also, it makes a huge pot! Definitely not a one-meal kind of recipe for a family of four. More like a family of 8. Anyways, creamy, love the bacon on top, the green onions are a nice subtle taste, and the potato clumps are just right. I'd make this recipe again.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Baked Potato Soup

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 unbaked pie crusts

1 lb. leftover roasted chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 12-16 oz. bag of mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

1 T. butter

5 medium-small red potatoes, diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 t. Kosher salt, or to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. When ready, add potatoes to water and boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat about 1 T. butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it's translucent and fragrant. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.

4. Place one pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate, transfer the filling to the pie plate, and then top with the other pie crust. Crimp the edges and then cut a few vent holes on top. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Rating: 3 of 5

Easy recipe, unless you aren't that experienced in pie crusts. You might get a bit flustered, but it's not as hard as it might seem. The chicken mixture could not be any easier. Especially if you pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco to use. I really liked the potatoes in this pie, but I thought the actual filling was way to thick when cooked. So, I would probably either add another half can of cream of chicken or add a half cup milk or something to make it a little more runny. Tasted fine enough, but it wasn't a super good pot pie.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Chicken Pot Pie

Roast Beef and Gravy

Ingredients:

1 3-lb boneless beef chuck roast

2 10.75-oz cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted *

1/3 c. sherry, wine, or beef broth **

1 envelope onion soup mix

* I don't like cream of mushroom so I used cream of chicken.

** Seeing as I don't drink alcohol, I usually don't cook with it either. I used beef broth.

Recipe:

1. Cut roast in half; place in a slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat in tender.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

I actually really liked this recipe. Talk about easy. You get the main dish plus gravy at once. Love it! Definitely will be making this again. I liked the flavoring of this recipe too. It wasn't so powerful that I couldn't taste the meat, but not so weak that I felt like it wasn't doing anything. Did that makes sense? I dunno. I liked it!

Source: AllRecipes, iPhone app

5 Can Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 pkgs. taco seasoning

1 large can tomato juice

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can kidney/red beans, drained

1 can garbanzo/navy beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

Recipe:

1. Brown ground beef with 1 chopped onion. Drain. Put in crock pot and add the remaining ingredients. *

2. Allow soup to simmer for several hours then serve with grated cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. Feel free to substitute the vegetables with ones you like best.

* Instead of browning the beef before hand, I just threw it in the crock pot and mushed it with a spoon after a few minutes. Worked for me, but if you're going to be gone all day I would brown it before hand.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

We really liked this soup. And talk about easy! I love crock pot meals. If you liked the Chicken Tortilla Soup, then you'll probably like this. It tastes very similar to the Chicken soup, but with beef! We also added sour cream to the garnish list. Cilantro also would have tasted good, but the cilantro in the garden has gone to seed.

Source: Jamie's Cookbook, Recipe by Mickey Pulsipher

Sausage and Broccoli Skillet

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground pork sausage

1 medium onion, chopped *

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 10.75-oz can condensed cream of broccoli soup **

1/2 c. milk

1 16-oz. package frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

4 1/2 c. fusili pasta, cooked and drained ***

red pepper flakes, as needed

*I, of course, just replaced it with dried chopped onion.

** I could only find Broccoli and Cheese, so I used that. Also, I recommend 2 cans of soup. The end result is really chunky and not so saucy.

*** When I went to the store, I had no idea what fusili pasta was. Turns out, it's just corkscrew type pasta. I used angel hair. I don't like corkscrew type pasta anyway.

Recipe:

1. Cook the sausage in a sauce-pot over medium-high heat until the sausage is well browned. Stir frequently to break up the meat.

2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook until tender. Pour off fat.

3. Stir the soup, milk, broccoli and 1/4 c. of the cheese into the sauce-pot. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender, stirring occasionally.

4. Put the pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour the sausage mixture over the pasta. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Serve with red pepper, if desired.

Rating: 3 of 5

This was pretty good. I think next time I will cut the meat and broccoli in half. It was just a little to thick. This was a pretty good dish.

Source: Food on the Table

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 c. onion, chopped

1 t. garlic, minced

3 c. chicken broth

1 14.5-oz can Mexican diced tomatoes*

1/2 t. chili powder

1/4 t. ground cumin

**1 can of corn, drained**

1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

2 T. cornstarch (don't have cornstarch on hand? Not a problem! Just use flour and double the amount!)

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. Mexican cheese blend, shredded

1 T. fresh cilantro, minced

Tortilla chips

* I couldn't find Mexican diced tomatoes, so I just bought "diced tomatoes with green chilies"

** I added the can of corn to the recipe. I love corn and thought it would make a nice addition....and it did!

Recipe:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients; bring to a boil. Add chicken.

2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Combine cornstarch and water and stir until smooth.

3. Stir cornstarch/water mixture into soup. Let soup simmer for 15 additional minutes.

4. Serve soup topped with cheese, cilantro and with tortilla chips.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

For soup, we thought this was great. Neither of us are huge soup lovers. But, this recipe is quick and easy. The cilantro makes all the difference though! That being said, we do LOVE cilantro. We wanted to have a dollop of sour cream with it as garnishing, but Ally would have eaten nothing else. We will definitely be having this recipe again.

Source: Food on the Table

Hawaiian Haystacks

Ingredients:

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth *

3 c. cooked, cubed chicken

steamed rice

* I just made 1 c. of chicken broth with a bouillon cube.

Toppings:

Chow mein noodles

pineapple chunks or tidbits

cheese

oranges

green onions, diced

peanuts

green pepper, diced

Recipe:

1. Mix soups together and simmer.

2. Add chicken and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Ladle chicken sauce over rice and add toppings.

Rating: 4 of 5

Either this was really good or we just haven't had haystacks in years! We added some extras to the toppings, like cilantro (WAY good) and red peppers. Super good and felt really good to eat after an intense workout. You know how after working out you don't want any thing heavy? Well, this is dense, but not heavy.

Source: Somewhere off the web. I don't have it written down because I looked it up on the ipad.

Zesty Chicken

Ingredients:

6 skinless boneless chicken breasts *

2 packages zesty Italian seasoning **

2 cups water ***

2 cans cream of chicken soup

8 oz. cream cheese

1/8 tsp. parsley

*I usually only use 3-4

**when making a double batch I use 3 packages instead of 4

***I usually cut the water in half to make the sauce thicker

Recipe:

1. In crock pot mix together Italian Seasoning, water, cream of chicken soup, and parsley. Add chicken to mixture.

2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours *

3. 1 hour before serving cut cream cheese into cubes, add to crock pot. You may need to use a fork to break up the cubes of cream cheese.Serve on pasta or rice. **

*I usually cook it on high for 3-4 hours – perfect for cooking while at church!

**I favor wide egg noodles.

Rating: 5 of 5

We LOVE this recipe. It's not new for us, but I still had to share it. It's so easy that LaDon made it when I was on partial bedrest when pregnant with Daniel. We got this recipe from Kristen (who is the Queen of the tastiest and easiest recipes around). Anyways, the seasoning is perfect, it limits the chicken mess you have to deal with, and Ally loves it! Super tasty.

Source: Kristen Lanshe

Baked Potato Soup

Pretty lazy job this week. No picture. Just a link to the recipe this week.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-potato-soup-i/Detail.aspx

Rating: 3.5 of 5

We liked this recipe. LaDon doesn't like soup but said this was good. It's really, really thick...more like mashed potatoes with baked potato garnishings than soup. Put together pretty quick. Perfect for a bag of potatoes about to go bad, right?

Creamy Enchiladas Verde

Ingredients:

1 can (10.5 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Creamy Chicken Verde Soup *

1/2 t. garlic powder **

1 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken ***

2/3 c. shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese ****

8 corn tortillas (6-inch), warmed *****

1/4 c. milk

* I couldn't find this soup at the store, so I just used a can of Cream of Chicken soup and added a few spoonfuls of salsa. Wasn't green, but it worked.

** The only garlic powder I had was garlic powder with parsley.

*** I, of course, shredded it because that's my favorite way to eat chicken.

**** We never measure out the cheese. I put it on until it looks like it would satisfy.

***** I used flour(LaDon doesn't like corn), only 4 of them, and the big ones.

Oh and we garnished it with sour cream and tomatoes.

Recipe:

1. Stir 1/2 can of the soup, garlic powder, chicken, and 1/3 c. of the cheese in a medium bowl.

2. Spoon about 1/3 c. of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam-side down in a 12x8x2-inch shallow baking dish.

3. Stir the remaining soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Top with the remaining cheese.

4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbly.

Rating: 3.75 of 5

We liked this recipe even though in all honesty.....what I made wasn't the recipe at all. I should probably change the name to something like Creamy Chicken Salsa Enchiladas. It turned out well, we felt full, it was flavorful enough for us and went great with chocolate milk! I'll make this again, and possibly with the actually ingredients it calls for!

Source: Campbell's Cooking Companion, pg. 105

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

(It may not looked completely cooked, but it is!)

Ingredients: *

1 can (1o.75 oz) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Potato Soup

3/4 c. milk

1/8 t. ground black pepper

1 c. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

2 cans (4.5 oz each) Swanson Premium Chunk Chicken Breast, drained**

1 c. all-purpose baking mix***

1 egg

*I doubled the entire filling part of the recipe. Glad I did too.

**I used canned chicken as well as frozen chicken shredded.

***Opps! Used flour instead of baking mix. Don't do that!

Recipe:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Stir the soup, 1/4 c. milk, black pepper, vegetables and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.

3. Stir together the baking mix, egg, and the remaining milk with a fork in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed. Spoon over the chicken mixture.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and topping is golden.

Rating: 2 of 5

Not my favorite, but I did mess up the topping since I used all purpose baking flour and not mix (easy to misread that when skimming). It's a little bit of a bland dish. I think it would be better with some other spice or maybe cream of chicken soup instead. I think a non-sweet pie crust recipe wouldn't be too bad as the topping either. The good thing is that the sister missionaries are my guinea pigs and ate it....and liked it enough to have more than one helping.

Source: Campbell's Cooking Companion pg. 197