Creamy Tomato and Garlic Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

I came across this recipe on pintrest which took me to Cheap Recipe Blog. Haley, the creator, has an amazing site and my stomach started to growl as soon as I started browsing. Please take my advice and check out her recipes because, my gosh, they ALL look amazing (I should note that I make no profit on this blog and Haley did not ask me to say any of this. It is my sincerest opinion). Tomato soup and grilled cheese is total comfort food where I am from, and seriously I don’t think there could be a better pair. This soup is not your ordinary Campbell’s condensed tomato soup. Now that I know how easy this is to make I’ll  never go back.

Serves: 8+     Calories: 141/serving of soup + 173 if you use half of a grilled cheese for croutons     Time: Approximately 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole plum tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (this is essential don’t skip it!)
• 1 can chicken broth
• 3/4 cup half-and-half or whole milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, basil and garlic powder, to taste
• If doing the grilled cheese croutons you’ll need bread, butter and shredded cheese of your choice to do so

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, sauté onions in olive oil until the begin to become translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
2. Crush the whole tomatoes and add them (with the left over juice) to the pan, after the tomato mixture warms, add baking soda and stir well. It will froth but do not worry that just means it is doing it’s job. 
3. Add chicken broth, half-and-half, and sugar, and mix well.
4. Add spices and simmer for 15 minutes. 
5. While soup is settling cook up a grilled cheese and slice into bite sized squares. Use half of the grilled cheese croutons per bowl of soup.
6. Dish and enjoy!

*Original recipe found at http://www.cheaprecipeblog.com

*Photo is an original belonging to me

 

One Pan Chicken and Veggie Bake

I love “one pan” recipes. I’m a messy cook so dirtying only a single pan is a huge deal for me. This dish is simple and packs a lot of flavor. I added a few things to the original recipe I found on pintrest so if you are interested in seeing the original you can find that at High Heels and Grills There were a ton of comments on the original recipe that were about “busts” because they didn’t use fresh green beans. The “busts” tried to substitute with canned beans. Please try to stick to the fresh veggies as best as you can because, seriously, this is an incredibly delicious dish 🙂

Serves: 5          Calories: 375/serving          Time: 15 prep time – 1 hour cook time

Ingredients:

• 12 oz fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
• 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
• 1 lb baby red potatoes, quartered
• 1 zesty Italian salad dressing seasoning packet
• 1/2 cup of butter, split into about 12 small pads
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, to sprinkle on chicken

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Prep green beans, chicken and potatoes, and toss each with a small sprinkling of Italian seasoning (don’t use all of it just a little bit)
3. Lay the prepped green beans, chicken and potatoes in a 9×13 baking dish with chicken in the middle (as pictured above)
4. Place the butter pads all over the dish and sprinkle the rest of the Italian seasoning packet over the dish as well.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Bake for 1 hour, then remove and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted/bubbly.
7. Serve and enjoy!

*Original recipe belongs to http://www.highheelsandgrills.com

*Photo is an original belonging to me 

Mini Cheesecake Bites

Perry occasionally invites his band mates and their wives over for dinner. Since they put up with him and his crazy antics during the 80s I feel like I really owe them 🙂 Because of my deep appreciation for them all I try to make dinner really special. We don’t usually make sweets unless we have guests because frankly I’m terrible at baking. These mini cheesecakes were good because they required minimal work on my part and were delicious.

Serves: 48 minis     Calories: 95 per mini      Time: Approximately 45 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) package of vanilla wafers
• 2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (21oz) can of cherry pie filling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Line mini muffin tins with mini paper liners. If you do not have a mini muffin tin just set the paper liners on a baking sheet. Put a vanilla wafer at the bottom of each liner.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.*It helps to soften the cream cheese for a few seconds in the microwave.
4. Fill each mini paper with mixture almost to the top. If not using a mini muffin tin do this very carefully.
5. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.
6. Top with a few cherries and filling.
7. Enjoy!

*Original recipe belongs to http://www.allrecipes.com

*Photo is an original belonging to me