cooking the recipe: December 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Crock Pot Cheese and Broccoli Soup

This is a tasty bowl of yum.way better than any soup from a can, and all most as easy to make as a canned soup, by using your crock pot. This recipe will make 4 good size servings, which makes the recipe fairly economic. I would how ever recommend serving the soup with ether bread, crackers or even a sandwich cause this soup I would say is more of a appetizer than meal. You'll most likely need to add extra salt as well as pepper to bring out the flavor. The ideal size of the crock pot for this recipe would be 3-quart. A word about the size of your slow cookers, try to use the size specified by the recipe to ensure proper levels of food, thorough cooking, and safe temperatures. I f you use a different-sized cooker than specified, make sure it's still between half and two-thirds full for food safety. however the cooking time may vary accordingly, larger cooker will take less time, and Smaller cooker will take longer. If your not using a plastic liner, be sure to spray the inside of your cooker with no-stick cooking spray for an easier clean up.

1 lb. frozen broccoli,thawed ( used birds eye streamfresh, which I got from target for a dollar)

116-oz pkg. pasteurized prepared cheese product cubed ( I used Veleeta)

1 10 3/4-oz can cream of celery soup

1 14 1/2 -oz can of chicken or vegetable broth ( I used chicken)

Dash of pepper

Dash of salt

Garnish: with shredded cheese

1. Combine all ingredients except garnish in slow cooker.

2. cover and cook on low 5-6 hours. Garnish if desired

Birds Eye Steamfresh Selects Frozen Broccoli Cuts 12 oz from Target $1.00

Veleeta Cheese I got for $2.50

Can of Cream of celery 59 cents on sale Target

Chicken broth Target $1.99

I spent a total of $ 6.08 on just the soup, is it worth it?

Monday, December 16, 2013

Simple Recipe For Mulled Wine

Brings back the memory of Christmas past, Warm, spicy and sweet, flavors of this easy to make mulled wine.

The nights are drawing in. The air is getting crisp. Winter will soon be upon us, and as the cold weather begins, many of us start to think of delicious spicy mulled wine.

My Childhood memory of mulled wine is attending the Christmas service at church. The church had no electricity, so the service was lit by candles held by the congregation, who were swaddled up in scarves and hats. Young men who maybe never attended church from one year’s end to the next turned up with their girlfriends, old couples struggled out of their snowbound houses to make the service, the place was packed to the aisles.

The ancient church was filled with the smell of fresh cut pine branches, which were the only decorations against the whitewashed walls. And added to that smell, as the service progressed, was the mesmerizing perfume of the mulled wine being warmed up at the rear of the church by the Womens' Auxiliary.

At the end of the service, the congregation gathered behind the age-worn pews to drink cups of mulled wine, the heady, sugary, spicy drink , which says "Christmas". And, of course, this was accompanied by mince pies - that traditional confection of buttery short crust pastry filled with a delectable mixture of dried fruits,nuts and spices. A gathering doesn’t get better than this!

Here is that you'll need for 2 servings :

2 cups Ocean Spray cran-raspberry juice
1 cup red wine
1 orange spice tea bag
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

Place the cinnamon sticks, tea bag, brown sugar and cran-raspberry juice in a glass Pyrex measuring cup; heat in microwave for 2-3 minute or until hot. Remove from microwave and add the wine let stand for about a minute to steep. Pour into 2 cups Then just enjoy the warm, spicy sweetness, cheers!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Cuban Style Pepper Crusted Grilled Pork Chops

Hey there! are you ready for something a little different? why not try something a little spicy and full of favor, like this Cuban style grilled pork chop dinner for 2. This was made last night for dinner and It was a such a tasty dish.. I am not really a fan of spicy hot foods. Being a country girl I usually like my pork chops pan fried with gravy. I have never like food so hot and spicy that it burns my mouth the whole time I am trying to eat it, never could understand what people liked about hot and spicy food. Dated a man once who poured hot sauce over everything I cooked for him. It's so frustrating to prepare a dish with delicate flavors such as lets say eggs Benedict, just to have someone pour hot sauce over the whole meal..This man liked he's food so hot & spicy he would be sweating over the whole meal. ( wonder why that relationship didn't work out)

but this dish has just enough fire to make the dish interesting and not painfully spicy hot..

You'll need:

4 boneless pork loin or rib cut chops. about 1 inch thick trimmed of fat. 2 tablespoons grated lime peel,and juices from 1 small lime. 1 tablespoon cumin seed 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. remove excess fat from pork. In small bowl mix remaining ingredients, rub mixture evenly on both sides of pork. 2. Place pork on grill over medium heat. cover grill; cook 8-10 minutes, turning frequently until pork is no longer pink.meat thermometer inserted in reads 145 f

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