Enjoy the weekend - I’ll be baking pumpkin rolls in preparation for the holidays - see Wednesdays paper for the recipe. To catch 11-11 recipes go to http://www.jdnews.com/articles/steak-69737-good-ham.html

evilShenanigans posted this recipe which sounds like the bomb! I HAVE to make it this weekend - here it is for those who may agree it sounds yummalicious.

Tex-Mex Potato Cheese Soup    Serves 8-12

32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds  russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup Ro*Tel tomatoes, drained (or 1 cup diced tomatoes with 2 tablespoons green chilies)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk, 2% or higher
Salt and pepper
6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Sour cream and green onion to garnish

In a medium pot add the chicken stock and diced potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cook for eight to ten minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Turn off the heat but leave the potatoes in the broth to cool slightly.

In a large pot over medium heat cook the chopped bacon until crisp.  Add the onion and Ro*Tel tomatoes and cook until the onions begin to soften and become translucent.  Add the jalapeno, garlic, cumin, and coriander.  Cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the butter and allow it to melt then add the flour.  Cook for three minutes then whisk in the milk slowly.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the milk comes to a simmer and begins to thicken.  Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil, stirring often.

Once thick turn off the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese.

Serve with sour cream and green onions.

I just had to take a photo of my dill bread after it came out of the oven, it was so beautiful - there’s just nothing better than the smell of bread baking either. I’m always so proud when I pull my bread and buns from the oven, for some reason I find it very satisfying.

In case you missed the recipe it was in my column and the link is in my last post, so check it out and give it a try. I got a call from the hubby at work to tell me just how much he enjoyed his ham and cheese sandwich made with it. I love it for toast, but it burns easy so use a low setting on the toaster.

This weeks recipes, “The benfits of pot roast and pumpkin goop” can be accessed through http://www.jdnews.com/articles/pot-69283-roast-meal.html

I still would love to hear from you cooks and bakers out there — it’s kind of lonely doing this without some responses to know if you like it or not — come on, help me out.

Oh, and be sure and submit a recipe to What’s Cooking, our online holiday recipe contest. Submitting a recipe is easy — go to www.jdnews.com and click on What’s Cooking  and follow the directions — the more the merrier!!

Would anyone out there be interested in a fruitcake contest?  One of my coworkers suggested it — and I’d love to know if I have any takers out there???

Here’s a photo of an apple crostata, as promised, in case there is any confusion of how the pie dough is to be folded. Access my column through http://www.jdnews.com/articles/reader-68815-friend-ago.html

After a week gallavanting around with girlfriends, I’m now struggling to get my feet back on the ground and back into reporter groove. The first part of last week was spent with a girlfriend from Pittsburgh who came to our place for a visit. We shopped and shared some great food at The Oceanic at Wrightsville Beach and at The Macaroni Grill at Mayfaire Center.

At home, we had some other great meals. My fingers are finally healing from feasting on crabs - which provided two great meals, one cracking and eating them steamed with a good bottle of wine and the other,  luscious crab cakes with the leftovers. We always manage to eat and drink well when while we’re catching up.

The second half of the week I spent in Charlotte with another girlfriend — we managed to shop and eat our way around town each day too. We agreed we can still shop until we drop, we just drop a  lot sooner these days. We made a mean butternut squash lasagna — we also love to cook together.

So, this week’s food column needs my attention. I have some great ideas, so stay tuned for Wednesday!

Haluski

To view my food column and recipes this week http://www.jdnews.com/articles/span-68507-align-style.html

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Simple Apple Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups peeled and chopped apples

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a pan and bake at 400* in small square 9×9 greased pan a (13×9 pan if doubled) till brown on top.

Great with vanilla ice cream and caramel. 

Source: http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/06/apples-brownies.html

Creamy Matzo-Apple Kugel

Courtesy of The Second AvenueDeli Cookbook by Sharon Lebewohl and Rena Bulkin, Villard, 1999

This sweet and creamy kugel makes an impressive centerpiece for a Passover brunch. You can also serve it for dessert.

Sukkot & Simchat Torah 2009 Oct. 2-11

Serves:

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

4 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/4-inch slices, 1/4-inch thick

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds

10 squares plain unsalted matzo

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Softened butter for greasing pan

Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet and sauté apple slices on high heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned. Remove to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Add 2 teaspoons butter to the skillet, lower heat to medium, and quickly sauté raisins and almonds, stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn them. Add to bowl with apples, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place matzo squares in another large bowl, and run cool water over them to soften. Crumble the matzo, and drain in a colander. Return drained matzo to bowl.

Combine eggs with matzo and stir well. In another bowl, mix sour cream and cream cheese thoroughly. Then add it to the matzo mixture, along with sugar, cinnamon, salt, and fruit-nut mixture. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Grease a 10-inch square Pyrex baking pan (or similar) with butter (use quite a bit), pour mixture into pan, and bake for 50 minutes or until top is a light golden brown. Let cool on counter. Loosen sides with a knife, place a large platter over the baking pan, and carefully turn the kugel out onto the platter. If any pieces stick in the pan, just put them in place. When cooled, sprinkle top with confectioners’ sugar (best done through a sieve or sifter). You can serve this kugel warm (not hot) or at room temperature, but we like it best chilled in the refrigerator with the confectioners’ sugar added just prior to serving.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place matzo squares in another large bowl, and run cool water over them to soften. Crumble the matzo, and drain in a colander. Return drained matzo to bowl.

Combine eggs with matzo and stir well. In another bowl, mix sour cream and cream cheese thoroughly. Then add it to the matzo mixture, along with sugar, cinnamon, salt, and fruit-nut mixture. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Grease a 10-inch square Pyrex baking pan (or similar) with butter (use quite a bit), pour mixture into pan, and bake for 50 minutes or until top is a light golden brown. Let cool on counter. Loosen sides with a knife, place a large platter over the baking pan, and carefully turn the kugel out onto the platter. If any pieces stick in the pan, just put them in place. When cooled, sprinkle top with confectioners’ sugar (best done through a sieve or sifter). You can serve this kugel warm (not hot) or at room temperature, but we like it best chilled in the refrigerator with the confectioners’ sugar added just prior to serving.

Threw this recipe in because it’s an easy and great recipe for those on the go — yes noodles again, I get out of noodle-mode next week!

pound

Beef Crockpot Stew (French Style)

2 pounds beef, cubed into large cubes

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 can French onion soup

1 – 8 ounce package wide egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

Mix together beef cubes with both cans of soup in a Crockpot, start on high ½ hour, turn to low and cook 6-8 hours or until beef is tender. Serve over noodles.

Serves 4

Food Lion – London Broil, $3.99 per pound, boneless chuck roast $2.49 per pound

Piggly Wiggly - Sirloin tip roast, $2.69 per

It’s the weekend and often snack time in my house. I just bought a new jar of Orville’s popcorn last week and I think this recipe sounds good — think I’ll give it a try Sunday. Have a great weekend and enjoy whatever you’re doing.

Rosemary Parmigiano-Reggiano Popcorn

Makes 8 1 cup servings

2 quarts popped popcorn, place in a large serving bowl.

Melt together 1 Tablespoon butter, 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 teaspoons finely crushed rosemary, fresh or jarred. Stir and pour over popcorn while tossing to distribute.

Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or sea salt)1/8 teaspoon white pepper and 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Regianno or Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve.

Can anybody out there explain why husbands balk at foods and dishes that make the cooks life easier? Mine hates pre-washed packages of lettuce — the cleaned and packaged green beans from Sams and Cotsco — cleaned baby carrots … he calls one pot easy-breezy meals “glop” — and I can’t even print what he says about rice and couscous!

I have this recipe for mashed potatoes I use so I can make them ahead of time and reheat them in the microwave or the oven — I absolutely think it’s the best, they’re rich like twice baked potatoes. This morning he said “they were awful,” give me a break!

The healthier the food, the less he likes it — fish, ground chicken and turkey all fall in this category along with the above-mentioned vegetables.
He just finished reading online about the top 10 worst foods — chicken, ground beef, eggs, cantelope … I’ve been hearing about all of them for the last couple days and not enjoying it much. Of course the foods on the list he loves — eggs for one — he’ll not stop eating, but he’ll let the information reinforce not eating the foods he wasn’t wild about in the first place. He just seems to get pickier on a daily basis and I’m not loving it AT ALL!

Just finished this weeks food column - the picture above is a hint for one of the recipes to come.

 I would love to hear from anyone who has tried any of the recipes posted, I want to know what you think so far.

Anita, from our office, made the coffee cake over the weekend, except she couldn’t find the butterscotch pudding — so she substituted vanilla non- instant pudding and said it worked fine. Her family loved it.

I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

This is a bonus recipe I have made often, for guests and coworkers - my husband’s coworkers are addicted to it - It comes from Paula Deen, but I  adapted it a little to suit me and make it taste more like a cross between a coffee cake and a cinnamon roll.

Ultimate Coffee Cake

16-18 frozen Parker House Rolls - found in the frozen food section of the grocery store

1 - 3 ounce package REGULAR butterscotch pudding mix - I found it at Walmart

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 stick butter melted

Before going to bed, place frozen rolls in a well greased angel food cake pan. Sprinkle dry pudding mix over and under rolls, then do the same with the sugar-cinnamon mix and pecans. Pour the melted butter over all. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it sit on the counter overnight while you snooze - 8 to 10 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you put the coffee or kettle on.

Uncover and bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool 5 minutes then turn the pan onto a serving platter.  I hate to be cliche but YUM!

Have a great weekend! Look for some great recipes in my column in the newspaper Wednesday.