Eat.

1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp. melted butter
6 medium potatoes, cubed
1 cup baby carrots, sliced
1 cups water
3 cans Swanson’s chicken broth
dash of garlic powder
dash of pepper
2 cups of milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Sautee onion in butter until tender. Add next 6 ingredients; cover and simmer about 20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and mash vegetables with potato masher. Add milk and cheese; cook, stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Keep temperature low as cheese will scorch.

Sprinkle top with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon when serving, if desired.

Optional: Sometimes I cut 3 additional medium potatoes, steak-fry style, and boil them in chicken broth with a pinch of salt until just-tender. Then I drain them and stir into the soup at the very end, creating a more textured soup. Steamed broccoli florets are also a nice addition.

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 c. baby carrots, finely chopped
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
¼ t. black pepper
2 T. margarine
3 T. flour
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 8-ounce pkg. Velveeta Cheese
1 pkg. Mahatma Wild Rice
1 box. Uncle Ben’s original Wild Rice (not the 5 minute kind)

Cook the 4 chicken breasts with the can of cream of mushroom in a crock pot on Low for 8 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot and chop into small pieces. Set aside. Cook Mahatma rice as directed and set aside, and cook Uncle Bens according to package except only use half of flavoring packet. Set aside.

In a large pot, sauté 1 T. of margarine with chopped carrots and onion on low heat until onions are translucent and carrots are slightly tender. Move carrots and onions to the sides and add 1 T of margarine and 3 T. flour in the center of the pot. Mix flour into margarine, making a rue. Add 1 can of chicken broth very, very slowly…about a half-cup at a time, letting it simmer and thicken in between adding. This is very similar to making gravy. Stir continuously to prevent scorching and keep the texture smooth. Add the can of cream of chicken and the Velveeta, cut up into cubes, and stir until everything is melted together. Slowly add 2 more cans of chicken broth, and let mixture simmer for a few minutes. Drain rice and add to the soup mixture. Also stir in ¼ tsp. of black pepper and the cooked, chopped chicken. Soup will be fairly thick – add 2 cups of water to thin, and stir. Cook on low until heated throughout and serve.

Makes about 8 servings.

Optional additions:
steamed broccoli florets or sautéed portabella mushrooms

1 eye of round roast
5 cans of Swanson’s Beef Broth
1/4 c. Red Wine Vinegar
Steakhouse Seasoning (preferably in a grinder)
2 T butter
5 T flour
dash of black pepper, to taste
seasoned salt, to taste
1 can green beans (”VeggiGreen” at Publix are the prettiest.)
1 can Del Monte Summer Crisp corn
1 can diced potatoes
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can of carrots, sliced or whole baby
1 small can of lima beans
And a handful of frozen okra (optional)

In the morning: Place roast in a crock pot. Pour one can of beef broth + red wine vinegar over roast. Dust the edges of the roast with steakhouse seasoning. Cook for about 10 hours on low.

Melt butter in a large stock pot. Stir flour into butter, and “cook” flour until it starts to lightly brown. (Making a roux.) Slowly add first can of beef broth, a little at a time, constantly stirring with a whisk. This should form a gravy-like liquid. Continue to add 2 additional cans of broth, very slowly, allowing the mixture to boil and thicken between additions. You want this “base” to be as thick as possible. Add seasoned salt and black pepper at this time. Once you have a big pot of gravy, add the entire can of petite diced tomatoes and stir. Drain all of the other vegetables, and add to soup. Remove roast from crock pot, trim all fat, and chop entire roast into bite-sized pieces. (If you slice it against the grain, it will crumble into pieces without you having to do much.) Place beef into soup. Add one more can of beef broth, stir well, and allow to heat throughout. Best served with cornbread, and serves approximately 8.

I love making candy. Here are two of my favorite recipes.

Millionaires
Chocolate Millionaires – makes 75 - 80
1 ½ bags of Kraft caramels - 14 oz bags (21 oz caramels total)
1 can Eagle brand condensed milk
3 cups pecan halves
Use a double boiler to melt caramels and milk. Add nuts. Stir often over boiling water to melt. Drop by teaspoons onto BUTTERED cookie sheets – NEVER onto waxed paper or foil! Try to put two pecan halves in each spoonful. FREEZE. Drop frozen candies into melted chocolate one at a time. Work quickly or the caramel will melt into the chocolate. Let dry on waxed paper – not buttered. Touch up with chocolate it caramel comes through.

One thing to remember about all candy-making is that quality of ingredients is extremely important. Buy name-brand products. Look for the freshest, largest pecans you can find. (We order mammoth pecans from here.) Also, you can use chocolate melts from the store (Wilton)…the “wafer” chocolate pieces are already tempered. However, this year we ordered Guittard Chocolates online, because they carry a chocolate line for dipping that doesn’t contain hydrogenated oils. They’re absolutely delicious!

Also, NEVER sit chocolate on top of actively boiling water. It will ruin. To melt chocolates using a double boiler: Boil water in the bottom pan. Set the pan off on a different unit. Then set the top pan, containing the chocolate, on top of the pan of hot water. Within minutes the chocolate will melt and you can stir it smooth.

the finished product.

cracked open…

center view.

Reese’s Cups
Peanut Butter Cups – makes 80 - 100
¾ cup peanut butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 stick butter
Cream above ingredients. Add 1 lb powdered sugar gradually. It may not take the whole pound. Mixture will be very dry but you need to be able to mold it into the flat circle centers.
Place ½ tsp melted chocolate in paper liners in small muffin pan, then peanut butter shape. Cover with more chocolate. Gently shake the pan and add more chocolate to completely cover the peanut butter filling. Tap pan on counter to remove all air bubbles. Candy is ready when chocolate hardens. Speed up the process in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes.

peanut butter amazingness.