Beer!

I don't drink beer because I think it's gross, but I do love to cook with it because it makes yummy bread and soup.  I have this app on my iPad called Food Holiday, where it tells you what each day is in the food world.  Today is "National Drink Beer Day."  I came close enough -- I ate beer today.
Not so long ago, I was a consultant for Tastefully Simple.  I recently became inactive due to my inability to retain parties....that's a whole other story for a rainy day.  I had a leftover sample of the potato soup and a brand new box of the multi-grain beer bread.  Sure, I could have made it from scratch, but I had the mix, and it's Sunday, so that's all the excuse to be lazy I need. 
After stocking up on some cream cheese, bacon bits, and potatoes, I decided to add a package of Bear Creek potato soup mix to it all, just to have a big pot's worth. 

 Here's the trick to tasty taters:  After you peel them, soak them in salt water for a while. 

I probably soaked mine for a good 30 minutes.  Then I diced them up and stuck them on the stove top to boil for about 25 minutes.  Nobody wants crunchy potatoes in their potato soup!

Guess what?  I used my bread to time my taters.  When the bread dinged, the taters dinged.  Drain the potatoes and set them aside for now.

**Side note:  I used Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale for this bread.  Ohhhhhh yum.

This is where it gets FUN!!  When you make a creamy soup, you can mix just about anything milk, broth, or water-related you want.  I had some leftover chicken broth (about 2 cups,) some leftover half & half (about 2 cups), and some leftover heavy cream (about 1 cup.)  Both soup mixes together called for 11 cups of water.  ELEVEN CUPS?!  That's waaaaay too watery for me.  To that 5ish cups of stuff, I added about 3-4 cups of water.  I always, always, always cut my liquid in soups by about 2 cups. 
Let the liquid heat up a little bit, then add in the soup mix.  Whisk it in slowly.  Yeah, yeah...one day I'll get around to doing it actually homemade...but not today.  Like I said, it's Sunday.  Let it all simmer for a while until it thickens up, stirring it so it doesn't stick to the bottom, then add the best ingredient of all:  cream cheese!  Swirl it around until it gets all melty and creamy, turn the heat off, then dump in the drained potatoes and the bacon bits.  I use bacon pieces because they're bigger.  And besides, everything's better with bacon. 

 Stir it all together and ladle it out.  I had some leftover Kraft Triple Cheddar shredded cheese, so I tossed some on top along with a piece of the beer bread.

It's creamy, cheesy, potatoey, and has just the right mix of salt and seasoning.  Talk about YUMMO.  Sure, this meal is full of carbs and fatty dairy, and beer -- but oh well.  It's all about moderation, people.  Actually, that kind of goes out the window with this dish, too....it's really tough to have just one bowl.  Just make sure not to try on clothes right after you finish eating.  You'll be really disappointed. 

Kick the Ick

I love fall.  I really do.  If I could find a place in the world that were fall all year-round, I'd go there and never ever come back to this pit of humidity on the Ohio River.  But, the first week that fall is here, I get the crud.  I feel like pure doody -- sore, scratchy throat, coughing, asthma attacks, the sniffles, fever, the whole nine yards.  It's pretty ridiculous.  I've been sick the past 3 days, but I finally woke up without a fever.
My original plan for tonight was to cook some comfort food, because what's better when you're under the weather?  (Haha, I rhymed there.)  But, my idea changed when I had Taco Bell for lunch.  Seriously....I caved.  Sometimes you've just gotta have the grease!  So, I got to thinking....I needed something light and fluffy for dinner...something that when it digests, brushes the cholesterol from my arteries as it travels through my system.
My wonderful hubby suggested a pork dish we had found online the other day, but I wanted to do it my way (of course.)  I present to you Grilled Sweet & Tangy Pork Chops with a Baked Sweet Potato and Steamed Broccoli.  Voila!

The best part of this meal is that there is NO MEASURING!  I really don't measure much anyway, but with this one, you can just throw stuff together.

1.  You need pork chops.  Why grocery stores sell them in quantities of 3, I will never understand.  That is so stupid.  But, it was either this, 2 massive bone-in chops for twice as much money, or a pack of 10 thin chops, which I didn't need.  So, lucky #3 all the way.

2.  You need the Sweet & Tangy.  Yep, you see it right:  Zesty Italian Dressing (I prefer Kraft, but you can use what ever strikes your fancy), and Apricot Preserves.  Yummmmmmmm.

3.  You need to mix this all together.  Use what ever balance of dressing and preserves you like.  Poke your pork with a fork a few times, throw it in the mix, cover it, and pop it in the fridge while your potatoes are baking.

4.  You need to bake your sweet potatoes.
     Wash 'em!  You don't want gritty, dirty taters.
     Stab 'em!  Poke some holes so the juice can escape a little bit.
     Oil 'em up!  Like a Greco-Roman wrestler.
     Foil 'em up!  Wrap those yams like a baby in a foil blanket.  I jab a few holes after the foil is on, too.  Just for kicks.
     Cook 'em up!  425-degrees for a solid hour.  Trust me.

5.  When you have about 15 minutes left on your sweet potatoes, start grillin' up your pork.  I have a trusty stove-top griddle that I got on clearance at Target a few months ago (score!)  I cooked my pork about 5 minutes on each side...and then I get the incessant need to flip and baste until I like the color on the outside.  You'll know when you see it.

6.  While your pork is resting, steam yo broccoli!   Throw it in a bowl with a dash of salt and a teaspoon of butter, and yummo! (My pork rested on this Diane von Fancyberg plate I got at a thrift store for $3.)

7.  Plate it up!  Add a dollop of butter, and a dash of cinnamon and sugar onto your sweet potato.

                                                                      PICK IT UP!

Survival Soup

It's been a busy weekend.  Saturday morning, I babysat my youngest niece.  I don't have kids, so it's always interesting to see what happens...Saturday night, I took my mom to see Bruno Mars at the Kentucky International Convention Center.  Sunday, I went to watch my oldest niece play softball, all the while, my sister and I were attacked by bees.  Don't worry; we got 'em.  Sunday night, my mom went with my brother, his wife, my middle niece, my oldest niece, and some in-laws to Disney on Ice. I watched the season finale of Naked and Afraid last night, so it made me chuckle when I thought of today's food theme as "Survival."  I've collected some odds & ends in the fridge and pantry over the past couple of weeks, and I drove myself crazy trying to decide what on earth to cook for dinner tonight. 
Of course, I took to the interwebs....you don't think I actually dusted off my cookbooks, did you? HA!  Maybe one day, but not this day...
I perused my Pinterest page and stumbled on this yummy-looking recipe that I think I've seen a hundred times, but never actually pinned -- you know, because I thought I had already pinned it.  Don't act like you don't know........
It's from the blog Six Sisters' Stuff, and it's called Tomato Tortellini Soup.  As luck would have it, I had everything but FOUR ingredients.  That makes for some easy shopping after work.  I love it when I have all this crap in my house, and I find a way to cook it to use it all up.  This is my Survival Soup night.

Here's the scoop:

Tomato Tortellini Soup
Ingredients:
1 (9 oz) package frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini -- I used Bertolli 3-Cheese Tortellini
2 cans (10.75 oz each) condensed tomato soup -- I used Campbell's
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes -- Let me just say this: the ONLY place I could find these was in the authentic Italian section at Kroger.  The 6 oz jar cost me $5.79, but you can't put a price on authenticity!  I'm not a huge sun-dried tomato fan, but they add great flavor.
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese -- Aaaannnnd, I forgot I threw mine out because it had expired. Luckily, I had some leftover shredded Italian blend, which is fine.  It actually gives you more flavor.  Are you noticing the theme of survival here?  I've already had to improv!
Directions:
Cook tortellini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini and carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.
Makes about 8 servings.
 Pictures?  Okay!

Extra bit of yummy:  I made some bread.  Who has soup without crackers or bread?  I picked up a loaf of Tuscan ready-to-bake bread. Crispy crust and soft, chewy innards.  I made my own garlic butter using Butter (hello, Captain Obvious,) Garlic Salt, Sugar (yes, sugar,) and some of the same dried basil I used in the soup.  But, any Italian seasoning would do...or whatever green stuff in a jar you have.
More pictures? Got it!

It's EASY-PEASY. If you can't boil pasta and throw it in some tomato soup, what can ya do?!
Some notes:  You could easily swap some of this stuff out for what you already have.  If you have grated Parm, then use it instead of buying shredded...shredded parm is like 4-bucks a pop, for much less than what comes in a jar of grated, so don't make a special trip for it. That's silly. You can also use whichever brand of soup you have or prefer.  I would not recommend using Progresso, because it will be reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaallllllllly liquidy.  Unless you're just a stickler, then just cut back on the milk and stock.

So you want to know how it tastes?  It was creamy, and tomatoey (but not too tomatoey), and the tortellini added just the right texture to bulk it up.  The broth was fab by itself.  I'll be taking some leftovers to work tomorrow.  Fellow Paychex peeps, get ready to sniff and swoon!

Last, but not least, it got Mom's approval. 2 thumbs up! Uhhh, pardon the wreath in the background.  That's an unfinished housewarming gift.  Ooops.