Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Serves: 8

6 larges potatoes, peeled and cut

1/2 cup diced leeks

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 quart half and half

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pepper

Fried and crisp bacon, diced

In a large pot, combine potatoes, leeks, garlic, salt and water. Bring to a boil; lower to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender. Do Not drain. In another pan, melt butter; then add flour. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes; slowly add the half & half. Continue cooking and stir constantly until thickened. Add sour cream and pepper. Pour white sauce into the pot with the cooked potatoes and water.

*My two daughter's who gave me the Making Memories-Dairy Keen Cookbook for Christmas bought it for this recipe. So with all my daughter's home this weekend I made this recipe for them. I thought it was delicious. One said it wasn't as good as Chili's and another said it wasn't as good as Bennigan's. So if you want really terrific potato soup, you know where to get it. If you want to make some at home I would highly recommend this recipe. Candleman and I loved it.

Cream Potatoes and Peas

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

Serves: 8

2 pounds small, red potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups half and half

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup frozen peas

Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook potatoes in small amount of water until tender. Drain. In another saucepan, melt butter; add flour. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Stirring constantly, slowly add milk and cream. Cook until thickened. Add seasoning, potatoes and peas.

*Note - I didn't peel the potatoes because I like the flavor of the peels. My mother used to make these every summer with new potatoes freshly dug out of the ground and fresh peas, so this recipe is not new to me. I saw it in my Making Memories Dairy Keen cookbook and decided to fix them for dinner. They were delicious but not quite as good as Mom's. This recipe was from a friend of the Dairy Keen owner's.

Dairy Keen's Fried Chicken

Dairy Keen's* Fried Chicken

Serves: 6

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 pint buttermilk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon tabasco sauce

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and trim chicken. In a large zip-lock bag, add buttermilk, salt and tabasco sauce. Add Chicken. "Mush" bag so that all the chicken has some buttermilk on it. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 6 hours. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper paprika, seasoning salt, garlic powder and baking powder. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, one piece at a time; place in flour mixture. Coat both sides of chicken. In a large, very heavy pan, bring oil to 350 degrees. Drop chicken gently into oil. Do not crowd chicken in pan. Fry until browned; then bake 15 minutes longer in oven.

*Dairy Keen is a local "burger joint" that has a model train that travels overhead through hand painted murals of the beautiful Heber Valley. Kids love it! A few years ago they rebuilt the whole structure to look like a train depot. It's very charming, plus the food is good. I especially love their fresh raspberry shakes - they are to die for.

*My personal note about the chicken. This is the recipe served at Dairy Keen. I didn't get a picture because the original recipe said to put the chicken in a bag with the flour. I did that and it mushed together and didn't stick very well to the chicken. The chicken was so delicious that I am going try again, but this time I'm going to put the flour in a pan and dip each piece individually. The chicken was very moist and had a nice flavor.

Gingered Squash Saute

Gingered Squash Saute
from Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Annual Recipes 2003

Serves: 9

1 pound yellow summer squash, sliced

1/2 pound small zucchini, sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium green pepper, julienned

4 teaspoons butter

3 mediums tomatoes, quartered

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

In a skillet saute squash, zucchini, onion and green pepper in butter for 1 min. Cover and cook over medium heat for until tender. Add tomatoes, salt and ginger. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes.

*Note - My family loves squash. This was a particularly delicious way to satisfy our squash craving. I was hesitant about the onion and the tomatoes, but shouldn't have been. The onion added wonderful flavor and the store-bought tomatoes tasted fresh. Did that few minutes of cooking make them zing like a home-grown wonder? I did leave out the green pepper, only because the part of one I had in the fridge was no longer useable.

Apple-Onion Pot Roast and Garlic Potato Wedges

Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2003 Cookbook
This cookbook has several pages featuring 27 different meal plans. I used one of those for the dinner pictured below. I thought these potatoes were the perfect coupling for the roast. Another thing I like about this cookbook is that most of the recipes have pictures to go with.
Apple and Onion Beef Pot Roast

Serves: 8

1 boneless beef sirloin tip steak (2 - 3 pounds)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large, tart apple

1 large onion

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

1/8 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce

In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, brown roast on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt slow cooker. Add water to the skillet, stirring to loosen any browned bits; pour over roast. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Top with apple and onion. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until meat is tender.

Remove roast and onion; let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Transfer liquid from slow cooker into a saucepan, discarding apple. Bring liquid to a boil; cook until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in browning sauce. Stir into cooking liquid. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over beef and onion.

*Note - Candleman said this was the best pot roast he has ever tasted. Served it to my mother and brother and sister-in-law and they all raved about it, too. Since this recipe doesn't make enough gravy for potatoes, the Garlic Potato Wedges were a perfect side dish.

Garlic Potato Wedges

Serves: 8

4 pounds small red potatoes, cut into wedges

1/3 cup olive oil

16 peeled garlic clove

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

or 2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

4 teaspoons dijon style mustard

3 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup chopped green onions

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, rosemary and salt. Pour into 15-in x 10-in x1-in baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 25-30* min or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper and remaining oil until smooth. Pour over the potatoes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with onions.

*Note - I cooked the potatoes for 35 - 40 min. These potatoes are a nice change from boiled, baked or mashed. I will be making these again; along with the roast.

Double-Chocolate Cream Roll

from Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2003 Cookbook.
Serves: 12

1 1/2 teaspoons shortening

5 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons powdered sugar, divided

3 tablespoons baking cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups cold, milk

2 3-ounce packages instant white chocolate pudding mix

4 ounces cream cheese, softened*

3 tablespoons carmel ice cream topping, divided

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, divided

1 tablespoon hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

Coat 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; line with parchment paper. Grease the paper with shortening; set aside.

CAKE - In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Add vanilla. In another bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, cocoa and salt; gradually add to egg yolks. In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Spread into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until cake springs back when light touched. Immediately invert the cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with remaining powdered sugar. Gently but quickly peel off parchment paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on wire rack.

FILLING - In a mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Set aside 1 cuup. Unroll cake; spread remaining filling evenly over cake. Drizzle with caramel topping; sprinkle with 6 tablespoons walnuts. Roll up starting with long side. Spread reserved filling over cake roll. Drizzle with hot fudge sauce and caramel topping. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Cover and chill for 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

* Notes: The original recipe didn't call for cream cheese, but I 'knew' it would only improve the final product.
I made this dessert for my mother's birthday cake. It received untold compliments both on looks and taste. I am making it again this weekend for my daughter's visit.

*I made this recipe again a week later. It was quicker and easier on the 2nd trial. Everyone loved it so it will definitely go in my family favorite recipes. This is a great when you want something light, yet chocolatey.

Welcome to My Food Blog

I started this blog so I could post pictures and recipes for the Soup's On: A Culinary Reading Challenge. The object is to choose 6 cookbooks to read/browse; making several recipes from each and reporting on what we liked and didn't like. You can find the six cookbooks I chose for this challenge and the reasons for choosing them on my book blog, A Reader's Journal.

I will probably expand this blog to include other recipes when the challenge is over.