Reece's Soup

I was doing taxes today. This means that I sat in front of my computer shouting questions at my husband who was digging in the fridge and freezer because he was bored and thought supper should be getting made. He found the Schwans Philly Steak that was leftover from the last Philly Steak Pizza I made, the final bag of our frozen sweet corn and then he saw the hamburger I had thawed out on the counter. He decided that a hot dish needed to be made.

He started digging around in the vegetable drawers asking me about everything living there. (I nixed the radishes, LOL!) Finally, he decided on using mushrooms (which he professes will kill him, as you may remember,) red pepper, onion, carrots & potato. I talked him into using celery and then he chased me out o the kitchen while he happily chopped his veggies to death with my Pampered Chef food chopper. See, all those veggies would kill him if he could see them when he was eating, so they gotta be killed dead before cooking...

After chopping for ages at a volume I thought was sure to wake to offspring who were taking their naps he got his stuff together and I had to come tell him how much seasoning to add and which ones out of the 598 different bottles I have in my cupboard... So. Here's his goulash that turned into soup because he decided it needed the whole qt of beef broth so he wouldn't have to put any leftover away. ;)

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
7 oz. Philly steak
2 lg. carrots
4 lg. potatoes
2 c. frozen corn
4 oz. baby Bella mushrooms
1/2 med. red pepper
1 1/2 stalks celery
1 lg. onion
1 lg. clove garlic
3 T. butter
3 t. salt (+/-)
Pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
1 qt. beef broth

Chop the carrots, red pepper, celery, onion, garlic & mushrooms to death and then sauté in butter until tender. (I actually pressed the garlic for him;)) Transfer to a big bowl, add the corn. Melt a little bit more butter & fry the Philly steak according to pkg. directions. Sprinkle with some salt & pepper while frying. Transfer to bowl with veggies that will kill you. Peel & dice the potatoes. Shove into famous bowl. Brown hamburger. Add to same bowl. Pour in the beef broth. Add salt & seasonings to taste. Transfer to a Dutch oven and bake at 375 degrees for an hour or so, until the potatoes are tender. Taste test it after a half hour/45 minutes an adjust seasoning if needed. (Serve with free biscuits you got because you're a reefer driver and sometimes you get stuck with 31 CASES {120 per case I think it is} of biscuits to get rid of...)

Italian Sausage Zucchini Soup

Yeah... It's that time of year again... The time when everybody and their dog has zucchini coming out of their ears. It's also the only time of year when people in small towns lock their doors. *snicker*

So anyway, I have been scouring my Taste of Home app for zucchini recipes so we can have something other than the ever popular Zucchini Bread. *snort* So I came across this one recipe, scanned the ingredients and my mind started running off with ideas. Here's what fell in my soup pot tonight. Enjoy!

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 medium or 2 small(ish) zucchinis, sliced
2 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt. diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. pepper

Brown the sausage, add to a large stockpot with all the other stuff. Being to a boil, turn the heat down and summer until the veggies are all soft. YUMMY!!

Spicy Grilled BBQ Chicken

I got this recipe from my Taste of Home app on my phone... I really shouldn't have a Taste of Home app on my phone. Now I can look up recipes without even going to my cookbook bookcase! And if you know anything about me, you know I spend much too much time reading cookbooks as it is!!

Whatever the sorry excuse is, this is an awesome recipe!! I'll take a picture sometime and post it if you really want one. ;) The sauce for this is actually for 2 while chickens, but we don't eat THAT much chicken!! I still make the full batch of sauce though, so next time I make chicken I have it on hand! :D

1 boiler/fryer chicken (3 1/2-4 lbs.), cut up

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. + 2 t. chili powder
2 T. + 2 t. prepared brown or horseradish mustard
1 t. salt
1/4-1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes ( used 1/4 and it's plenty warm for us!)

Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken, covered, over medium heat for 40 minutes (or until almost done) turning several times. Pour some sauce into a smallish bowl and baste the chicken. Grill 5-10 minutes longer until juices run clear.

Serve with additional sauce if you like and put the rest in a jar for the next time you make something and need awesome sauce.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

 I have a problem with the internet. It has websites on it. The websites have recipes on them. I have a printer. I like food. Do you see the problem?? Good. I'm glad you commiserate with me about how expensive ink is! I found this particular recipe on Taste of Home's awful page. I can't say that I built it, or even remotely imagined it. Only that it tastes extremely good, and I can give you the link for the recipe. I might get arrested for plagiarizing or something otherwise. Haha!

 Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Enjoy!! :D

Valtrompia Bread

 I found the pans at a thrift store, forgot what they were called, lost the recipes and instructions that came with them, found the instructions, still couldn't remember the WEIRD name they were called, googled and finally came up with the right thing. VALTROMPIA bread pans. SERIOUSLY? Alrighty.

 I hereby christen thee; MEHITABELL VALTROMPIA! Known to common folk as That-Fancy-Bread-That-Is-Sliced-Real-Thin-And-Used-For-Parties (otherwise known as Hors D'oeuvres). NEVER MIND. We'll call it Mabel bread and get it over with. Shall we?

1 C. + 2 T. warm water
2 1/4 tsp. yeast (or 1 pkg.)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 C. flour
Herbs: I used Basil, Thyme, Rosemary & Dill (Just a few sprinkles of each)

 Mix the water, yeast & sugar. Let set for about a minute. Add the salt & flour; mix well. Knead for 10 minutes. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour. Divide in half. Roll each half into a smooth roll about 7 inches long... (or skinny enough to slide into the pan without scraping off all the shortening on the sides! ) Place into a WELL GREASED Valtrompia pan. Make sure you grease the tar out of the pans or your bread will live in them indefinitely. And grease the lids too. ;D Bake upright at 400 degrees for 60 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool the rest of the way. I found that an electric bread knife works best for cutting this! Just refrain from making Valtrompia shavings..... like I did on some of the slices.

Ranch Spread/Dip

 I went to the Amish Store with my mother in law approximately 47 days ago, and they had ranch dressing mix there. I bought it thinking Hidden Valley. It doesn't taste like Hidden Valley, but it tastes great as a spread or a dip! I would guess if you use Hidden Valley mix you should use less than I poured in my concoction. HA! And no, sorry, I don't have a picture for you. If I feel real loving I might take one at a later date before we completely devour the stuff.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 C. mayo
4 T. ranch mix -start with 2 if you're using Hidden Valley brand-
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

 Mix everything together until smooth and then taste and add stuff to suit your fancy. Or don't add anything further and keep it plain.

Those Fancy Cucumber Sandwiches

I found these Valtrompia bread tubes at the thrift store one day. Four of them for $4! It kinda made me grin real wide since the single pans next to my rubber-banded clump were marked somewhere between $2 and $3 each! By the way, can someone PLEASE tell me WHY someone named this poor innocent pretty little bread something like Valtrompia?! I mean really. It's like naming your poor helpless baby Mahitabell or something equally ridiculous. You can be like me and make your own bread or you can be lazy like me and buy that already thinly sliced party bread. Either way, these things are good.

Thinly sliced party bread
Ranch spread
Sliced cucumbers

 The picture is kinda self explanatory... take a piece if bread. Smear on a glob of ranch spread. Top with a cucumber and give a little sprinkle of dill weed. Then realize you took the picture before sprinkling the dill weed. Shrug and carry on. Either way they taste good!