Cream of Tomato Soup

2 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 sm. carrod, finely diced
2 Tbs. flour
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 Cups chicken broth
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup light cream
salt and petter

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened (3-5 minutes). Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes, without allowing to color. Add tomatoes with juice, broth, tomato paste, basil, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring frequently, 15 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. In a food processor or blender, puree soup unil smooth. Return to pand and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 3-5 minutes until heated through.

Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

1 6oz. box long-grain and wild rice mix (such as Uncle Ben's)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 8 oz. package mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. dried terragon
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 cups water
2 Tbs. dry sherry
1 15.75 oz. cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 12 oz. can fat-free evaporated milk
3 cups shredded roasted chicken breast

Prepare rice according to package directions; set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through mushrooms), and saute for 6 min. or until tender. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Stir the flour, terragon and thyme into the onion mixture, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups water, sherry, broth and evaporated milk; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until slightly thick. Stir in cooked rice and chicken; cook for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

YUMMY!

Pumpkin Roll

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

Mix all ingredients well. Spray jelly roll pan, place wax paper over pan covering bottom and sides. Spray top of wax paper. Pour mixture over wax paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn over onto a clean dish towel sprinkled with powder sugar. With towel and wax paper roll up. Set until completely cool. Unroll, spread cream cheese mixture. Roll up removing wax paper, sprinkle with powder sugar.

Cream Cheese Mixture (cream together with mixer)

1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 T. butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powder sugar

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is really yummy, we got it from a Mexican Restaurant here in town. I would suggest though to double it if you want any left overs. It made just enough for my family, so next time I will double it.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used meat from a rotisserie chicken)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 cup salsa
Monterrey Jack Cheese
Tortilla chips

In a large pot saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is soft and well cooked. Add chicken and mix well. Add the broth, corn, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Cook on low for 15 min.
Break up a tortilla chips and pour soup over chips, top with cheese and a little sour cream.

Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup

I must admit I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it had great reviews so I decided to try it. It seems that lately Brian and I can't find many meals that we both really like. But this one we both really liked. I was a bit worried about the dill being too overpowering in the recipe for Brian's taste (he doesn't prefer dill) but it wasn't at all overpowering and he went back for a second big bowl. And it was quite easy to make and since there is not meat, it was relatively inexpensive, even for Geneva. Give it a try. Here is the original link to the recipe on allrecipes.com. Check out the reviews for fun twists on the original recipe. They call it a soup but it is really more like a great chowder to me. Yes, I know chowders are a kind of soup but I'm trying to be as specific as possilbe here.

Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup (Chowder)

INGREDIENTS
5 tablespoons butter, divided
2 leeks, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
fresh dill weed, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover, and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.

In a small bowl, mix the half-and-half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken. Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh dill to serve.

Tex Mex Bake

1 bag success white rice
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 lb. ground beef (I use Turkey)
4 cups tortilla chips, crushed
1 can (15oz) seasoned pinto beans or chili beans
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
sour cream. optional

Prepare rice according to package directions, set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine cooked rice, diced tomatoes and green chilies and ground beef, set aside. Cover baking dish bottom with tortilla chips, layer half of the cheese, top with beans and rice mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with green onion and top with sour cream if desired.

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

This is what Derrek wanted me to make this year for his birthday, so I did it. We absolutely loved this dessert and it was so easy to make. We did take a picture and I will attach that later.

1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8oz,) whipped topping, thawed
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-o chocolate flavor instant pudding and pie filling
8 Oreo cookies
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl, stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping with a wire whisk, until it's well blended. Add in the dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. or until well blended. The consistency of fudge topping can vary depending on the brand, if you fudge mixture is too think to spread easily, stir in 1/4 cup milk.
Chop the Oreo's roughly into chunks. They don't all have to be the same size. Stir into the pudding mixture. Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side by side, on a 24x12 inch piece of foil; top with half of pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Top th pudding mixture with the remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. The layers create a neat striped effect when sliced. Frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. Bring up the foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal the packet. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers in freezer.