Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Cheesy Toast Dippers

Wow, I was trying to see on my blog here the last time I posted a savory recipe instead of just desserts and sweets.  It’s been a while.  Welcome back savory.  I guess since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve just been making simple dinners, which means I’ve been using the recipes I’ve already posted about.  Sweets are just what I love and I think I get carried away sometimes.  But I wanted to share this delicious soup recipe because it is to die for.  I had never tasted a Leek before I made this soup, but I’ve seen so many recipes lately I wanted to try it.  In fact I craved it.  So I just went for it.  I threw in a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  It is perfect! I’ll definitely be making this again and soon because it was good.  I was so surprised that my kids, ages 2 and 4, were licking their bowls clean.  (They never do that.)  You have to make the cheesy toast dippers to ‘dip’ into the soup, because it was the perfect touch (in my opinion).  

Have a great week and I’m sure I’ll have something sweet to share very soon!  :)

Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Cheesy Toast Dippers

6 slices bacon, sliced
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
6 or 7 potatoes, cubed
44 ounces chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup fat free half and half (you can use heavy cream if you’re feeling daring)

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, but keep the bacon fat in the pan. Saute the leeks in the bacon fat for about 6-8 minutes or until soft. Add potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and soft. Using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and add back into the remaining soup. Add the half and half (or cream) and mix until smooth. Use the bacon as a crispy topping.

For the cheesy toast dippers:
Slice a baguette into thin pieces and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with shredded cheese(I use cheddar) and sprinkle some dried parsley on top of the cheese. Place on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for just a few minutes or until the cheese is melted. Dip into the hot soup!

Enjoy!

Baked on March 10, 2009 | Recipe Card: bread, main dishes, soup | 5 Bites 

A Little Bit Of Everything Salad

*also seen on Cafe Zupas Blog

*also seen on Cafe Zupas Blog

It’s been a while my friends!  My house has had plague after plague in the last 3 weeks and it seems to still be going strong.  It started with the kids and spread to my husband and I.  I’ve gone from a Cold to Pink eye to a Sinus infection.  It’s been fun let me tell you.  But I couldn’t stay away any longer.  It’s been way too long since I shared a recipe!  So here I am in my PJ’s and kleenex in hand typing away between coughing and sneezes.  

I just had to share this delicious salad with you.  I had it at a church function a few weeks ago and I’ve made it many times since.  I’m not usually a ‘sweet’ salad kind of girl.  I love my ranch dressing, but this salad is amazing.  Did I mention how amazing this salad is? Well, I’m not lying.  And it’s easy too.  I dressed it up a bit adding some shredded rotisserie chicken so I could eat it for lunch and feel full and satisfied. Delicious!  You have to try it, because if you’ve never had it, you have been missing out on something truly special!  Here’s what you need:

fresh spinach leaves
fresh romaine leaves
fresh strawberries, cut up
a granny smith apple, cut up
mandarin oranges
dried cranberries
toasted almonds
a bit of shredded rotisserie chicken
poppyseed dressing (I like Briannas brand)

Just mix it all together and you’ve got one fantastic salad! Hope you guys enjoy it and have a wonderful week!

Baked on February 18, 2009 | Recipe Card: main dishes, salads | 23 Bites 

Daring Bakers Challenge – October


This months challenge was brought to us by Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums.  Rosa decided to give us a nice change of sweet pace and had us all make Pizza!  I was so excited for this challenge.  It was so nice to try something different.  Our challenge was to make pizza like the pros.  Which meant a little tossing action.  I wasn’t so good at that action, but I tried anyway.  We were supposed to catch that in a photo, but since I only had my 3 1/2 year old and my 1 1/2 year old around, I didn’t exactly think I could trust them with my very expensive camera.  Yes, I got my camera back if you were wondering.  That is another story for another time.  Anyways, trust me that I did try it out.  But I think I’m just a rolling pin kind of girl.  It was still a delicious recipe.  

We had to make 2 different kinds of pizza, using sauce and toppings of choice.  I decided on a savory and sweet, of course.  My savory was delish, but let me tell you a little about my sweet.  Oh. My.  Despite the fact that I almost burnt it to smithereens, it was the best tasting sweet piece of heaven I have ever experienced in my life.  Sounds like I’m exaggerating, right? I’m not.  Picture this.  A nice thin sweet dough brushed with melted butter and topped with sauteed apples smothered in cinnamon, brown sugar and butter.  Top that with a brown sugar, cinnamon crumble and top that with a sweet glaze.  I know that words to not give this even remotely justice, but let me tell you that it was absolutely delicious. Mouthwatering delicious.  I will definitely be making this again and again.  My photo’s do not give it justice either, but if you are in the mood for a sweet treat, give this one a try.  You won’t be disappointed.  My savory pizza was topped with a white sauce and than topped with a 6 Italian Cheese blend.  I added tomatoes and Italian sausage to make it over the top tasty.  And it was.  If only I owned a brick oven, that would have made my pizzas perfect.  For the recipe for this challenge, visit here.  Check out the other Daring Bakers here.  Here is my recipe for my Apple Pizza.


Apple Pie Pizza

pizza crust

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 apples, chopped

2 tablespoons butter 

1. In a skillet, saute apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and butter until soft, about 10 minutes.  Brush some melted butter over the crust.  Pour apples evenly over the pizza crust.  In a small bowl add ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon melted butter and mix until all is combined.  Crumble over the pizza.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes or until crust is lightly golden.  In a small bowl add confectioners sugar and a dash of milk.  Stir until smooth.  Drizzle over the pizza.

Baked on October 29, 2008 | Recipe Card: Pizza, daring bakers challenge, desserts, main dishes | 18 Bites 

Ranch Chicken Crescent Pizza


It’s Thursday. I’ve never been more ready for the end of Friday. Having a sick husband, a bored 3 year old, an 18 month with double ear infections and a sensitive black lab wanting a walk very badly, I am so ready for this week to be over. I feel like I’ve been through a tornado. My house is a mess and I haven’t had a spare second to clean it. I’m one of those people who must have the toys picked up around the house as soon as the kids hit their pillows. I must have the dishes done before I head off to bed. The bed must be made before I actually crawl into it. I have to be organized for the next day before I can close my eyes. It’s not obsessive compulsive or anything, it’s just my thing. All of those things have been thrown out the window when the house was shut down for temporary malfunction. So I’m ready to start a new week, one with smiling children and a happy hubby. I know I have to wait a few more days, but I’m sitting here more ready than ever!

I made this dish before the shinanigins started. It was delicious. I’ve been seeing all of these recipes lately using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, and so I thought I’d give a little pizza a try. You know, mix it up a little bit. Get a little crazy. So I got my little tube of rolls and start un-peeling them and piecing them together to make one solid pizza dough. And than I get on my computer this morning to read my ‘daily reads’. Deborah from Taste and Tell says that there are some new Pillsbury Crescent sheets that have just come out, so I would definitely use those for this particular dish. The whole thing is so simple. But just one tip – After you have the dough all nicely fitted in the cookie sheet, bake it in the oven before you add all of your toppings. It will come out nice and crisp instead of nice and soggy. Take my word for it. The taste is sensational. Hope you like it! Happy Thursday!

Ranch Chicken Crescent Pizza

1 roll Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or a Sheet
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I use leftovers from a Rotisserie Chicken)
enough ranch dressing to coat the chicken to your liking
2 cups mozzerella cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
italian herbs
dried parsley

1. Spray a small cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Spread the dough evenly across the pan and up the sides. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes or until dough is just barely cooked through.
2. In a small bowl, mix the chicken with the ranch dressing and the garlic powder until evenly coated. Evenly distribute the chicken over the crust.
3. Sprinkle cheese over the chicken. Top with a sprinkle of Italian herbs and dried parsley.
4. Place back in the oven for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

Baked on September 24, 2008 | Recipe Card: Pizza, chicken, main dishes | 20 Bites 

BBQ Chicken, Awards and My Mother

My brain is a complete blank right now.  I can’t seem to form coherent sentences, but I will keep trying for the sake of this post!  I made these Barbecue Chicken Wingettes the other night and we were definitely licking our fingers clean.  Very delicious.  And whenever you can get all messy and use your hands is always a fun change.  My daughter loved smearing the sauce all over her hands and licking it right off.  I think she ate more sauce than actual chicken.  The recipe called for “drumettes“, but I could only find chicken labeled as “wingettes“.  If you ask me it looks exactly the same, but I may be wrong.  Nevertheless, this dish was a hit and I will definitely be making it again!  I got the recipe here.  Thank you Martha Stewart!

Brown Sugar Barbeque Chicken Drumettes
adapted from Martha Stewart (I scaled it down)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
course salt and black pepper
2 pounds chicken drumettes, patted dry
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, sugar, worcestershire, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.  Set aside 1/2 cup for tossing raw chicken; use rest for baked chicken.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Place drumettes on baking sheets and toss with 1/2 cup sauce.
4. Bake chicken until opaque throughout, 20-25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.  Toss baked drumettes with a little more sauce and serve the remaining sauce on the side.
And now, a big thank you to Holly over at Phemomenom for giving me the Yummy Blog Award!  You definitely made my day and I would love to pass it on to a few of my favorite food blogs!
First is Prudy from Prudence Pennywise.  As she states on her blog..scandalously good food on a budget.  My kind of girl.  I’m always looking to cook on a budget.  I’ve not mastered this art yet, but I love her tips and especially her recipes.  
Second Joy from Joy the Baker.  Joy cooks from the heart, and I love her writing as much as her recipes.  When I read her blog, I get a smile on my face and I usually end up laughing.  Her recipes are amazing, and I don’t think there is one recipe that I’m not dying to try!
And lastly, Dawn from Vanilla Sugar.  I’m new to Dawn’s blog, but I have enjoyed it so much since discovering it.  Her recipes are right up my alley and I love reading her food reviews.  
Thanks again Holly, and make sure you check out these blogs, if you haven’t already, you won’t be disappointed!
And one more final note, my dear sweet Mother recently started a French Linen business called My French Table.  She has some amazing French Imported tablecloths, aprons, kitchen hand towels and napkins.  They are really beautiful!  Make sure you check it out!  That is my sweet daughter with her Grandma, (My Mom), getting ready to bake away!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Baked on July 25, 2008 | Recipe Card: blogging award, chicken, main dishes | 10 Bites 

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