La Madeleine Bakery's Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Such a nice cool weekend, we had our first fire last night! The leaves are turning colors now, I love mornings when the fog lays heavy on the lake. If I have to run into town you see a brave boat of late season fishermen on the cove. My Dad fished year round, it never got too cold for him to be on the lake ♥

I'm a happy camper, holing up in my "hollow tree" makes me feel like making a pot of soup! I've seen several versions of this one on Pinterest, it's a copycat of La Madeleine Bakery's Tomato Basil Soup. I actually combined two recipes, this one is delicious with a grilled cheese on sourdough!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

makes 6 servings

2 (14 oz) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1 T dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to your soup pot. Simmer until veges are tender, about an hour. 

Make a roux by melting butter in skillet and adding flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 3-4 minutes, then stir in several ladles of hot soup. Add back to soup pot and bring to boil to thicken soup. Add Parmesan cheese, evaporated milk, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Serve with slices of your favorite hot bread!

Street Tacos

One of my favorite places to eat when we are in Texas is Taco Cabana. Once you get to the Dallas area, or anywhere south of Dallas... they are everywhere. It's a chain like Taco Bell, but the food is far superior. The difference? Well, they have real cooks in real kitchens making real Mexican food--by hand. That means they are chopping the cilantro, roasting the peppers, stirring the beans and making the tortillas everyday.

My love affair with Taco Cabana started on a balmy March day in 1996 when we had just moved to South Texas. It was icy in NW Arkansas when the movers came to pack us up, but a pleasant 80 degrees as we enjoyed our meal that night on the patio. Over the next 5 years we ate at nearly all of the famous Mexican restaurants in the San Antonio area. As memorable as they were, Taco Cabana is etched in my heart as a favorite!

They have street tacos on the menu now, and while we were in Texas I had them 3 times... they are THAT GOOD!  Little corn tortilla treats filled with seasoned chicken, brisket or pork and topped with a variety of fresh sauces, they are the perfect lunch, dinner or snack.  

I bought this great magazine at Sam's Club in Dallas while we were there and spent the trip home planning the recipes I'm going to make. Better Homes and Gardens publication Mexican is the real deal, authentic dishes from the many regions of Mexico. Inside the covers are the treasured recipes that are so hard to duplicate on your own. This weekend we tried the Beer Braised Chicken Verde, I took a shortcut and made the recipe with rotisserie chicken. The filling was delish, very much like the ones at Taco Cabana♥♥♥

Beer Braised Chicken Verde
1 tablespoon canola oil or vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano or dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 12 ounce bottle Mexican beer (such as Modelo Especial or Pacifico)

1 11 - 12 ounce can tomatillos, drained

2 4 - 4 1/2 ounce can diced green chile peppers

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add butter, cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until butter melts.

2. Add beer, tomatillos, and chile peppers. Bring to boiling. Add chicken. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink, stirring every 5 minutes to break up the tomatillos. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken from the cooking liquid to a cutting board. Gently boil the cooking liquid, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, using two forks, pull chicken apart into shreds.

3. Place chicken in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the reduced cooking juices; stir to moisten. Use chicken mixture as filling for quesadillas or tacos; pass the remaining cooking juices.

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Tacos el Pastor

1 medium peeled and cored fresh pineapple

8 dried pasilla and/or guajillo chile peppers

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoonsalt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch slices

16 6 inch corn tortillas

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

Snipped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

Bottled hot pepper sauce

1.Cut pineapple into 1/2-inch-thick slices, reserving juice; cover and refrigerate pineapple and reserved juice separately.

2. Remove stems and seeds from chile peppers. Place peppers in a medium bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. Allow peppers to stand about 30 minutes or until soft; drain, discarding water.

3. In a food processor or blender combine chile peppers, any juice from the pineapple, the orange juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, cumin, and cloves. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth.

4. In a 3-quart baking dish arrange pork slices in a single layer, overlapping slices as necessary. Pour chile pepper mixture over pork slices, spreading evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade. Stack tortillas and wrap in foil.

5. For a charcoal grill, place tortilla packet on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Place pork slices and pineapple slices on the grill rack alongside the foil packet directly over medium coals. Grill pork and pineapple slices for 6 to 7 minutes or until pork slices are slightly pink in the center and juices run clear (160 degrees F), turning once. Grill tortilla packet for 10 minutes, turning once. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Grill tortilla packet, pork slices, and pineapple as directed above.)

6. Coarsely chop pork and pineapple and combine in a large bowl. Fill warm tortillas with pork and pineapple mixture. Sprinkle each taco with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and, if desired, hot pepper sauce.
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Roasted Tomato Salsa ~Yes, this IS that great restaurant salsa recipe!

2 1/2 pounds roma tomatoes (about 15)

3 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 medium head garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium white onions, finely chopped

2/3cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, snipped (1/4 cup)

4 teaspoons cider vinegar

Tortilla chips

1. Core the tomatoes. Place in one side of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Halve the jalapeno peppers. Remove stems and seeds. Place, cut side down, in the other side of baking pan with tomatoes. Peel away outer skin from garlic. Cut off the pointed top portion with a knife, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Add to pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and pepper skins are charred. Cool.

2. Remove tomato skins. Press to remove garlic paste from individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic, jalapeno peppers, and salt in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend with a few pulses until finely chopped. Add half of the tomatoes; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add remaining tomatoes to food processor bowl or blender container; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Stir into tomato mixture in bowl.

3. Stir onions, cilantro, and vinegar into tomato mixture until combined. Cover and chill several hours to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 4 cups.

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Fried Bologna Sandwich

Every week I have to figure it out, what's for dinner? One day folds into a week, then a month, then summer is gone, fall is here, winter is upon us and springtime arrives. I try to mix it up, we've been having a lot of THIS lately. When we get tired of THAT then we try a little SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I really never know what I'm in the mood for until I wake up and say THIS SOUNDS GOOD!

Are you like that too? There's just some things that sound good in the SUMMER when it's too hot to cook. By the time Fall rolls around I'm thinking of FAMILY FAVORITES. Winter is for COMFORT FOODS, stick to my ribs meals. When I can't face another bowl of stew, then SPRING finally arrives with lighter MEALS. When life seems flavorless, look for something you haven't had in awhile. All of a sudden it tastes good again, but it's not the food. It's you that changes!

I'd love to have you join us on Facebook's Granny Mountain Group... it's a great way to pass along recipes, tips and ideas that we're all finding at Pinterest or even better... potlucks and family recipe boxes! 

Springfield Style Cashew Chicken

I was pinning away the other night on Pinterest, when I came across one of my recipes posted back in 2011 for "Springfield Style" Cashew Chicken. When I grew up in Missouri in the 1960's, there just weren't a lot of Asian restaurants. I can remember the first time I went, my future sister-in-law Terry asked if I'd like to go to lunch. I think I was 14 and other than La Choy in a can, I'd never had Chinese. The restaurant was decorated with black lacquered chairs and tables, white paper screens and lanterns, and a waitstaff that gave 5 star service... it left an impression! When our orders of Cashew chicken arrived at the table, they smelled delicious. Crispy fried chicken pieces smothered in a rich brown sauce and topped with salty cashews, alongside a snowy bowl of purest white steamed rice. From that moment I have loved Asian cuisine!

Leong's closed their doors in 2000, but lucky for you their recipe lives on in many restaurants across the state. When you think of regions of Chinese food, Sichuan, Cantonese or Hunan come to mind... but don't forget to add Springfield Style to the list!

Just click on the title to print the recipe!

"SPRINGFIELD STYLE" CASHEW CHICKEN

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (per person)
2 eggs per pound of chicken
1/4 cup milk per egg
flour
salt and pepper
peanut oil for frying

Sauce
2 chicken bouillon cubes per cup of water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
chopped green onions
cashew halves
hot rice for serving

Heat water to boiling and dissolve bouillon cubes. Stir 1/4 cup of broth into cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. Stir cornstarch slurry into broth with sugar and oyster sauce. Set aside and let sauce thicken as chicken cooks.

Heat oil to 350-400° in deep pan or fryer. Cut chicken into small pieces, dredge and let stand in flour for 15 minutes. Mix together egg, milk, and salt & pepper. Remove chicken from flour and let stand in egg mixture for 10 minutes. Roll chicken pieces in flour and deep-fry, in batches if need be, until golden. Drain well on paper towels and keep warm in covered pan in 200° oven.

Serve chicken over hot rice, topped with sauce, cashews, and chopped green onions. Pass soy sauce at table.

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

I have a case of the cozies since the weather has turned off chilly, all I want to do is huddle by the fire and bake. Sunday was one of those days. We watched an old movie in the afternoon and then a few episodes of American Pickers. It didn't matter that we'd seen them before, we like that show. I resisted the urge to make anything sweet until sometime after supper... that's when I remembered a recipe that I'd posted on Pinterest for Pumpkin Spice Donuts. 

Pumpkin. Spice. Donuts. 

Those three words are dangerous all by themselves, but put them together and I have a "situation." It took 5 minutes to find the pin, roughly 10 minutes to make them and 12 to bake. They were delicious and tasted very much like that famous place with the sign that says "HOT DONUTS"... you know the one. Keep this recipe handy for the next time you are jonesing for KK, it'll save you a drive across town!

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
1 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
Coating:
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
In a separate bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk.  Mix well. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined.  Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full with your cookie scoop. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick. Mine were perfect in 12 minutes.
Melt butter in a small bowl.  In a different small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.  After donuts are done and have cooled enough to handle, dip them in the butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. 

*I had the cinnamon and nutmeg, but didn't have the allspice and cloves so I just added a rounded half teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice. Worked great since I'd already started the recipe and couldn't turn back at this point!

Corn Dog Heaven

You thought I was going to say Corn Dog 7, didn't you? If you had one of those in your town growing up, you no doubt loved them! Ours was in the mall and the delicious smell of those corn dogs would drive you crazy, you had to have one! They are also one of the Top 10 Fair Foods that people sample each Fall. You're either a cotton candy girl or a corn dog girl, or you may be like me and have both! Everyone knows that Al Gore invented the Internet, but did you know that my Dad invented corn dogs? Well... he introduced them anyway to Harrison, Arkansas at his Dairy Hi Top in the early 1950's!  I love being related to someone famous! This is a great recipe from Saveur magazine June/July 2012 issue and will make you feel like a kid again...

Corn Dogs
1 cup flour
⅔ cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup milk
¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Canola oil, for frying
8 6″ hot dogs
Prepared yellow mustard, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and soda, dry mustard, cayenne, and salt. Add milk, buttermilk, and egg, and whisk until smooth; set batter aside. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ into an 8-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Skewer 1 hot dog with a wooden skewer, and dip into batter; fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, transfer corn dog to paper towels to drain; repeat with remaining hot dogs and batter. While hot, brush corn dogs with mustard, if you like. Makes 8.

Tacos el Pastor

Tacos el Pastor

1 medium peeled and cored fresh pineapple

8 dried pasilla and/or guajillo chile peppers

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoonsalt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch slices

16 6 inch corn tortillas

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

Snipped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

Bottled hot pepper sauce

1.Cut pineapple into 1/2-inch-thick slices, reserving juice; cover and refrigerate pineapple and reserved juice separately.

2. Remove stems and seeds from chile peppers. Place peppers in a medium bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. Allow peppers to stand about 30 minutes or until soft; drain, discarding water.

3. In a food processor or blender combine chile peppers, any juice from the pineapple, the orange juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, cumin, and cloves. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth.

4. In a 3-quart baking dish arrange pork slices in a single layer, overlapping slices as necessary. Pour chile pepper mixture over pork slices, spreading evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade. Stack tortillas and wrap in foil.

5. For a charcoal grill, place tortilla packet on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Place pork slices and pineapple slices on the grill rack alongside the foil packet directly over medium coals. Grill pork and pineapple slices for 6 to 7 minutes or until pork slices are slightly pink in the center and juices run clear (160 degrees F), turning once. Grill tortilla packet for 10 minutes, turning once. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Grill tortilla packet, pork slices, and pineapple as directed above.)

6. Coarsely chop pork and pineapple and combine in a large bowl. Fill warm tortillas with pork and pineapple mixture. Sprinkle each taco with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and, if desired, hot pepper sauce.
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Roasted Tomato Salsa

Roasted Tomato Salsa ~Yes, this IS that great restaurant salsa recipe! 

2 1/2 pounds roma tomatoes (about 15)

3 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 medium head garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium white onions, finely chopped

2/3cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, snipped (1/4 cup)

4 teaspoons cider vinegar

Tortilla chips

1. Core the tomatoes. Place in one side of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Halve the jalapeno peppers. Remove stems and seeds. Place, cut side down, in the other side of baking pan with tomatoes. Peel away outer skin from garlic. Cut off the pointed top portion with a knife, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Add to pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and pepper skins are charred. Cool.

2. Remove tomato skins. Press to remove garlic paste from individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic, jalapeno peppers, and salt in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend with a few pulses until finely chopped. Add half of the tomatoes; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add remaining tomatoes to food processor bowl or blender container; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Stir into tomato mixture in bowl.

3. Stir onions, cilantro, and vinegar into tomato mixture until combined. Cover and chill several hours to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 4 cups.

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Copeland's Artichoke and Spinach Dip with Bowtie Chips

Copeland's of New Orleans Spinach Artichoke Dip
from recipesecrets.net
1 x 16 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
10 oz fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp fresh
lemon juice
¼ tspn Tabasco sauce, or to taste

In a food processor or blender, chop artichoke hearts; set aside. Wash spinach well; blanch in boiling water. Drain well and squeeze dry. Add to food processor or blender with remaining ingredients and process until just blended. Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.   

Copeland's of New Orleans Bowtie Chips Appetizer
from recipesecrets.net
8 oz bowtie pasta
2 eggs
2 to 3 tbsp milk
seasoned bread crumbs
oil (for frying)

Boil bowtie pasta in boiling salted water for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; drain and let cool.
Mix eggs and milk and dip each piece of pasta into mixture, then roll in the bread crumbs.
Fry pasta in oil until deep golden brown. Serve with spinach and artichoke dip.

Landry's Oyster Bar Trash

LANDRY'S OYSTER BAR TRASH
Source: NBC5, Dallas/Fort Worth, Taste Of Dallas

8 Shrimp (26/30), peeled and de-veined, tail off, portioned in bag
2 tsp. Blackening Spice 2007
2 oz (w.) Jumbo lump crab meat
2 oz (v.) Margarine, clarified
4 oz. (w) Steamed white rice
2 oz (v) Lemon Butter
1 ea. Caramelized Lemon Half

Take portioned shrimp bag and add 2 tsp. Blackening Spice and shake approximately 10 to 15 times, moving shrimp around until coated. CRITICAL POINT: Do not do this in advance.

Place shrimp on clean dry 400-degree flat top in a circular area, but careful not to stack. Ladle 1 oz. of clarified margarine over shrimp and cook for 1 minute and flip.

Tower crabmeat centered on top of shrimp. Pour 1 oz. clarified margarine on top of crabmeat and allow to drain over shrimp.

Cook for 30 seconds and then, using 2 spatulas, carefully fold shrimp and crabmeat from the outside in 4 turns.

To Plate
Using 2 spatulas, lift shrimp and crab mixture onto front section of plate from 3:00 to 9:00.
Place the scoop of rice at 12:00.
Place a ramekin with 1 1/2 oz. lemon butter at 10:00 and a caramelized lemon half at 2:00.
Drizzle remaining lemon butter over shrimp and crabmeat.

P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps

P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

from Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes

~PRINT RECIPE~

3 tablespoons oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water chestnut

2/3 cup mushroom

3 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 -5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon hot mustard 

2 teaspoons water

1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste 

Stir Fry Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.

Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. When chicken is cool, mince it to the same size as mushrooms and water chestnuts.

With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups". Top with Special Sauce.

Casarita's Chicken Tortilla Soup

I went through my recipe stash today looking for one I'd clipped from the San Antonio paper, Casarita's in San Antonio and it's quick to fix, start to finish in about 20 minutes... less if you have leftover rotisserie chicken.

Casarita's Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 (10-ounce) fresh chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2/3 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 1/2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 gallon water

2 ounces chicken base concentrate (not the powder)
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 small fresh tomato
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Garnishes Per Serving:
2 ounces sour cream
fried corn tortilla strips
1 slice avocado
grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot heat the oil, add the onion and chicken and saute for several minutes until the onions are transparent and the chicken is lightly browned. Add the cumin and the black and white pepper, mix then stir in the tomato sauce. Add the water and the chicken base concentrate and stir to dissolve the base. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for approximately 20 minutes. Add the sliced squash, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes and simmer briefly, just until the veges are tender.

To serve, pour into heated bowls, top with chopped cilantro, tortilla strips, avocado and cheddar cheese.
Makes 12-15 servings

Starving, Can't Wait/Casarita's Tortilla Soup

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1 cup rotisserie chicken breast, shredded
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons tomato sauce, I like El Pato Mexican tomato sauce- a little spicy
1 26 ounce carton Swanson Chicken Stock
1/4 cup yellow squash, sliced
1/4 cup zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 small fresh tomato
2 sprigs cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Garnishes Per Serving:
2 ounces sour cream, this seems generous to me- I'd use less
fried corn tortilla strips
1 slice avocado
grated cheddar cheese, I'd use Monterey jack

In a medium pot heat the oil, add the onion and saute for several minutes until the onions are transparent, add the shredded cooked chicken. Add the cumin and the black and white pepper, mix then stir in the tomato sauce. Add the broth, the sliced squash, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes and simmer gently until veges are tender, approximately 10 minutes.

To serve, pour into heated bowls, top with chopped cilantro, tortilla strips, avocado and cheddar cheese. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings

PRINT RECIPES

I'm on a binge again, this time it's Chicken Tortilla Soup. It started Black Friday when we stopped in for a quick lunch at On the Border. We'd spent the morning shopping for bargains, hard work and I had worked up quite an appetite. I was chilled to the bone and it took me all of two seconds to decide a hot bowl of soup was just what I wanted. It was so good that when I was shopping the next day with Daughter #1, I ordered it again!

Ever since we lived in south Texas, I've been on the lookout for the recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup like they serve at Huisache Grill in New Braunfels, Texas. It had a smokiness to the broth, definitely ancho chilies and "built" just so... broth, veges and/or rice, crispy corn tortilla strips, monterey jack cheese and chunked avocado to garnish. Lovers of tortilla soup know what I'm talking about, it's not just chicken soup with Rotel added.

I went through my recipe stash today looking for one I'd clipped from the San Antonio paper. Not from Huisache Grill, their recipe is most likely in the back of a bank vault. This one is from Casarita's in San Antonio and is quick to fix, start to finish in about 20 minutes... less if you have leftover rotisserie chicken.

Casarita's Tortilla Soup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 (10-ounce) fresh chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2/3 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 1/2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 gallon water
2 ounces chicken base concentrate (not the powder)
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 small fresh tomato
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Garnishes Per Serving:
2 ounces sour cream
fried corn tortilla strips
1 slice avocado
grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot heat the oil, add the onion and chicken and saute for several minutes until the onions are transparent and the chicken is lightly browned. Add the cumin and the black and white pepper, mix then stir in the tomato sauce. Add the water and the chicken base concentrate and stir to dissolve the base. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for approximately 20 minutes. Add the sliced squash, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes and simmer briefly, just until the veges are tender.

To serve, pour into heated bowls, top with chopped cilantro, tortilla strips, avocado and cheddar cheese.
Makes 12-15 servings

OK, that's a big pot of soup, so for all of you out there that are wanting to try this but not eat it for a month, here's a few revisions to make a much smaller amount using my BFF Rotisserie Chicken and Swanson's new Chicken Stock.

It's not the same thing as broth, this is the simmered down, Grandma version that makes things "taste" homemade... don't tell anyone this secret!

Starving, Can't Wait/Casarita's Tortilla Soup

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1 cup rotisserie chicken breast, shredded
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons tomato sauce, I like El Pato Mexican tomato sauce- a little spicy
1 26 ounce carton Swanson Chicken Stock
1/4 cup yellow squash, sliced
1/4 cup zucchini, sliced
1/4 cup carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 small fresh tomato
2 sprigs cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Garnishes Per Serving:
2 ounces sour cream, this seems generous to me- I'd use less
fried corn tortilla strips
1 slice avocado
grated cheddar cheese, I'd use monterey jack

In a medium pot heat the oil, add the onion and saute for several minutes until the onions are transparent, add the shredded cooked chicken. Add the cumin and the black and white pepper, mix then stir in the tomato sauce. Add the broth, the sliced squash, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes and simmer gently until veges are tender, approximately 10 minutes.

To serve, pour into heated bowls, top with chopped cilantro, tortilla strips, avocado and cheddar cheese.
Makes 2 large or 4 small servings

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Pizza Delivery

There's no pizza delivery here on Granny Mountain, it's the price we pay for living in the boondocks! If you want hot, cheesy slices you have to take the drive into town, order your pizza and wait a good 30 minutes or more. We haven't done that in a long time, but when we lived in town pizza delivery was a weekly event. It coincided when the "cook" was gone all day!

Once a week I get Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes in my email. Longtime fan of his cookbooks, he studies restaurant recipes and comes up with knock-offs that are pretty darn close to the real thing. This week's recipe was for Domino's Cheese Pizza. The crust is the main attraction for any pizza, but a close second is that distinctive sauce. I used bread flour for the recipe, did the 48 hour rise and baked it on a perforated pan (I got mine at Walmart years ago). Delicious!!!

Here's Todd's instructions...

"To create a dough that is most like the stuff you get at Domino’s you should let it rise for 48 hours in your refrigerator. If you don’t want to wait that long, at least let the dough rise overnight. If you can’t find high-gluten flour, use 25 ounces of bread flour. And if you want the absolute best clone bake the pizza on a 14-inch perforated pan or pizza screen. This recipe makes two plain cheese pizzas, but feel free to add the toppings of your choice before baking."





Domino's Cheese Pizza
Dough
16 ounces bottled water (room temperature)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon yeast (not rapid-rise yeast)
13 ounces bread flour
12 ounces high-gluten flour (such as Bouncer)
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cornmeal for tossing dough
Sauce
½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 ½ cups Hunt’s or Contadina tomato puree
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
6 cups shredded mozzarella-provolone cheese blend (see Tidbits)
Garlic Oil Spread (for crust)
½ cup (1 stick) margarine
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon dried parsley (crushed)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water.
2. Combine flours and salt in a mixer using a paddle.
3. When yeast solution begins to foam, pour into flour along with oil. Use a dough hook to mix until all ingredients come together. Knead with dough hook for 5 minutes. Place dough in a plastic bag and then into your refrigerator for two days.
4. Make the sauce by pureeing the crushed tomatoes in a blender until smooth, then combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, when mixture begins to bubble reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool, then chill in a covered container until you make your pizza.
5. When you are ready to make pizza, preheat a convection oven to 450 degrees (or conventional oven to 475 degrees).
6. Divide the dough in half. Form half of the dough into a dough ball on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle cornmeal on a clean flat surface and begin to stretch out the dough using your hands until you have stretched it enough to fit on a 14-inch pizza screen. Lay the dough onto the screen, and stretch it to form a perfect circle to the edge of the screen.
7. Spoon a thin layer of sauce over the pizza dough leaving about a 1-inch margin at the edge.
8. Sprinkle about 3 cups of the shredded cheese blend over the sauce. Don’t worry if some falls onto the edge of the dough.
9. Bake pizza for 8 to 9 minutes or until cheese and crust begins to brown.
10. While the pizza bakes, make the garlic oil spread by melting margarine in microwave oven or in a small saucepan over low heat. Use a mortar and pestle (or your fingers and a small bowl) to crush the dried parsley into smaller bits. Remove melted margarine from the heat and add Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic and salt.
11. When pizza is done, remove it from the oven and brush crust with garlic oil spread. Use a pizza wheel to cut pizza into 8 slices. Repeat process for 2nd large pizza.
Makes 2 large pizzas.

Tidbits~You can find a shredded blend of mozzarella-provolone cheese in your grocery store. If not, combine 3 parts mozzarella to 1 part provolone cheese."
Recipe from Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes
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Cartoon's Oyster Bar and Grill~Seafood Chowder

If you ever find yourself in Springfield Missouri, you might want to visit

Cartoon's Oyster Bar and Grill. 

Trip Advisor gave it Thumbs Up! on their Oyster Poorboys so that got our attention. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but more times than not that is where you find the really great places!

Typical bar and grill when you enter, we were surprised to find a live band playing to a whole roomful of cold, wet bikers who were raising money for the March of Dimes. Bikers are like that, and a little cold rain isn't going to keep them from riding for a good cause! 

Cartoon's is one of those places that people love to gather, they provide all the creature comforts like a fire to warm you on cold days and even a pool out back to enjoy the hot summer days.... really!!!

I ordered the Oyster Poorboy and a bowl of their homemade Seafood Chowder. Like always, I dive in and then remember to take the picture after I've devoured half my meal! The chowder was so good, and really very different from any I'd ever had. In place of the potatoes that are normally a given in chowder, it had chunks of very tender broccoli and cauliflower. Lighter than a chowder, but rich and satisfying... I could have eaten two bowls easy! The poorboy was super too, big fat oysters lightly breaded and fried on a fresh french baguette. Good thing it was half portion or I'd have had to go lay down somewhere! I came home and looked at Taste of Home and found this one.

Close, dangerously close to their recipe...

Seafood Chowder 6 bacon strips, cut into 1-inch pieces 2/3 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 cup cut up broccoli 1 cup cut up cauliflower 2 cups water 1/2 cup chopped carrots 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/2 pound crabmeat 1/2 pound shrimp, cut in chunks 1 cup half-and-half cream In a 3-qt. saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Saute onion and celery in reserved drippings until tender. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, water, carrots, parsley and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add crab, shrimp and bacon; simmer for 5 minutes. Add cream and heat through. Yield: 4-6 servings.