Creamy Tuscan Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
2-3 Tlb Olive Oil
2 Lg Onions, diced
5 C Tomatoes, diced & seeded
2 C Chicken Stock
1 1/2 C Whipping Cream
1 C Fresh Pesto*
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot and add onions. Sweat the onions then add the tomatoes and warm to a simmer. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Take off heat and add cream and pesto. Using a hand immersion blender blend until desired consistency. If you do not have a hand immersion blender then you can use your blender in batches.

Fresh Pesto:
3 C loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
2 Tlb Romano Cheese
salt to taste


I got this recipe from my mother-in-law that got it off some morning news show. I wish I could say which one and what day, but I have no clue. Sorry

Fresh Asparagus and Pea Soup

Over Thanksgiving, my awesome sister-in-law, Amber, introduced me to Ina Garten's fresh pea soup recipe. I loved it! In fact, I wanted to make it today. I was so perplexed because I also wanted Emeril Lagasse's asparagus soup recipe. It then hit me...COMBINE and alter the two existing recipes, and change some things. My recipe is AWESOME!. Seriously, you should try this and let me know what you think!

Ingredients and tools:
2 (14 oz) cans/boxes of chicken stock
1 bundle of asparagus
1 (16 oz bag) of frozen petite peas
1 medium red onion, diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
sour cream for garnish/to taste
cilantro for garnish/ to taste

hand-immersion blender is best, but if you don't have one, your food processor, if you don't have one, your blender. The blender will work, but the consistency will be not perfect.
slotted spoon

Directions:
In a medium stock pot, add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Get the asparagus, snap off the tuff ends and discard, cut the asparagus into 1.5 inches long and separate the spears from the stocks. Add the stocks into the boiling chicken stock and reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. While the asparagus and stock is simmering, get the red onion, dice and sweat the onions in a pan with the olive oil. Go back to the stock: take the slotted spoon and retrieve the asparagus stems from the asparagus infused broth. Add the onion to the broth, bring to boil. Then add the asparagus spears and reduce heat to a more gentle boil. 5 minutes from being tender add the frozen peas and increase heat to bring back to boil. The peas should only take 3-5 minutes. Get the cilantro and and sour cream from the fridge. Once the peas are tender and floating, puree until the desired consistency. Put in dish, serve with the garnishes. YUMMY!!!! It seriously is so scrumptious good and super easy to make!!! I love the combination of these flavors! hmmm yum! Next time I make this I may retain the stems and blend them in with the rest so the asparagus flavor would be more pronounced....


Honestly, I did change quite a bit of the recipes; if you are curious of the two original recipes click here for Ina Garten, and here for Emeril Lagasse.

Baked Jalepeno Poppers

Ingredients:

• 12 fresh jalepeno peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds, and membranes removed
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon ground paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 2 cups panko crumbs (or fine dry breadcrumbs)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cumin, garlic, and paprika.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and milk together.
4. In separate shallow dishes, pour the panko in one and the flour in the other and set aside.
5. Fill each pepper up to the top with cheese mixture. (In large jalapeno peppers it could be a tablespoon.)Now you are ready for the breading “assembling line.” Remember to do one at a time and keep one hand as your “wet” hand and one hand as your “dry” hand!
6. First you dredge it in flour
7. Second you submerge it in milk/egg mixture
8. Finally you dredge it in panko, pressing it in to coat it well. (You may need to repeat the process.)
9. Place directly on baking sheet, cut side up, and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is runny. (about 30 minutes)

* I had a ton of jalapeño peppers from my garden and wanted some poppers, but did not want the fat from deep frying them. So I came across some on the web and changed the recipe to this. I made them today for a little potluck and they were devoured! Ohh this was tasty! If you try it, let me know what you think! Next time I think I will add more spice, but I didn't want to be too daring on the first attempt. :)

Bacon & Brussels Sprouts

Poor Brussels sprouts... they get such a bad rap and they are truly tasty! I found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com, feel free to click here to be redirected to the original recipe link. I have altered the recipe ever so slightly so here it is... It seems bacon fat makes many foods edible to many!

1 pound of thick bacon
1 medium onion, thin slice
8 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
2 pounds of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
sea salt or kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large, deep skillet, cook bacon med -high heat until browned. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion and garlic to the pan, reduce heat to moderate heat  until softened (3-4 minutes) Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside. Add the Brussels sprouts in batches and continue to cook until they are golden brown. Add the reserved bacon and veggies back along with the salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook until sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes.

Roasted Asparagus

I found this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine online about 8 years ago--but the recipe said to put them on the grill--which is good too.

1 pound of Asparagus, ends snapped off
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp low-sodium Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Put all the ingredients together in a zip lock bag, seal and marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400* F Place asparagus on baking sheet and discard marinade. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until your preference is achieved.

* You can also broil or grill them for about 10 minutes (5 min on each side)