French Onion Soup

 My husband requested French Onion Soup for Halloween dinner so I looked for a recipe online with good ratings and I found this one from All Recipes. It was pretty good and easy, which I love!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed beef broth
• 1 French baguette
• 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

Directions

1. Melt butter or margarine in a 4 quart saucepan. Stir in sugar. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
2. Stir in flour until well blended with the onions and pan juices. Add water, wine, and beef broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Cut four 1 inch thick slices of bread from the loaf. Toast the bread slices at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) just until browned, about 10 minutes. Reserve the remaining bread to serve with the soup.
4. Ladle soup into four 12 ounce, oven-safe bowls. Place 1 slice toasted bread on top of the soup in each bowl. Fold Swiss cheese slices, and fit onto toasted bread slices. Place soup bowls on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
5. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Give these cookies a try, you won't be disappointed! They are so fluffy and full of flavor. The perfect fall dessert. I found this recipe on All Recipes Website.

 

Ingredients

    * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1/2 cup butter, softened
    * 1 1/2 cups white sugar
    * 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
    * 1 egg
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze Topping:   
    * 2 cups confectioners' sugar
    * 3 tablespoons milk
    * 1 tablespoon melted butter
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
   2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
   3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
   4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

 

Mac and Cheese

 

Yummy! This is most delicious mac and cheese ever. It is the Barefoot Contessa recipe and it is amazing! Give it a try, it won't disappoint.  

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html 

Ingredients

nocoupons

• Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
• 1 quart milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.
Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

I'm Back....Hopefully!!

So here's the deal....I'm pregnant and haven't been feeling so hot lately. To get into the kitchen and actually cook has been nearly impossible. Nothing sounds good to me, I get ideas, start to get the ingredients out, and my stomach decides it all sounds horrible and I should stick to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Don't get me wrong, I am more than thrilled to feel not so great for our little bundle, but it is frustrating when you love cooking so much and simply can't do it anymore due to lack of energy and the fact that everything sounds terrible. I decided that tonight I was going to make dinner again and took an hour long nap to prep for it. :) I was craving a turkey burger and found this recipe online, it was the first website that popped up so I figured I'd give it a try. I also made baked potatoes and asparagus. I highly suggest you give this recipe a try.

Greek Burgers

Greek Burgers Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/3  pounds  ground turkey breast
• 1  (4-oz.) package crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped red onion
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1  teaspoon  lemon zest
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  grated English cucumber
• 1  (6-oz.) container fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh mint
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 4  French hamburger buns, split and toasted
• Toppings: lettuce leaves, tomato slices, thinly sliced cucumber
• Garnish: pepperoncini salad peppers

Preparation

1. Stir together first 6 ingredients. Shape mixture into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) patties.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat grill pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Stir together cucumber, yogurt, mint, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Serve burgers on buns with cucumber sauce and desired toppings. Garnish, if desired.

Acorn Squash

The one thing I love about fall is it is squash time! Our good friend Nikki brought over some squash from her grandparent's farm. Yum! I decided to make myself some acorn squash for a snack yesterday. It was so easy! You can make it in the oven or in the microwave, I chose to use the microwave because I didn't want to wait. 

Acorn Squash in the Microwave

1 acorn squash

1 T. butter

1 T. brown sugar

*Pierce the squash with a knife several times. Cook in the microwave for 5-8 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes after cooking. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, place butter and brown sugar in the middle. Eat and enjoy! YUM!