Cheeseburger Soup

*Recipe from my friend, Lisa*

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed potatoes (or frozen hash browns)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cubed Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream

1. In a large pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine over medium heat: cook and stir vegetables and beef , until beef is brown.
2. Stir in basil and parsley. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Melt the remainder of butter and stir in flour. Add the milk, stirring until smooth.
4. Gradually add milk mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, add sour cream and heat through. Do not boil.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

*Nestle website, through one of my FAVORITE websites, ourbestbites.com

1 unbaked pie crust, homemade or store bought

2 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup REAL butter, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Vanilla ice cream

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) Beat eggs on high in mixing bowl until foamy.

3) Beat in flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar and mix well.

4) Beat in butter.

5) Stir in morsels and nuts (I just mixed it in my Kitchen Aid for about 20 seconds until it was well blended).

6) Stir into pie shell.

7) Bake for 55-60 minutes, until knife inserted between the edge and center of the pie comes out clean.

8) Leave in pie plate, and cool. Just like chocolate chip cookies, this pie needs to set up before serving or else it will fall apart.

9) Serve with a generous scoop of ice cream!

**I liked this pie better second day after having been refrigerated**

Homemade Bagels

1 batch "Perfect Bread" (follow ingredients and directions)

optional: sesame seeds, dried minced onion, poppy seeds, sea salt, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and sugar, 

1) Punch dough down after it has risen and doubled in size.

2) Pull off pieces that are about the size of a lemon, and roll it into a ball (you can do bigger or smaller bagels).

3) Push a hole through the middle of the dough ball with your thumb and middle finger. Place shaped dough on parchment paper or foil.

4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all the dough has been shaped into bagels.

5) Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Drop 4 "bagels" into the water at a time for 1 minute. When they float to the top of the water, which will happen fairly quickly, flip the bagel.

6) Remove each bagel with a slotted spoon, and place on a lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

7) At this point, while the bagels are still a little bit wet, sprinkle any of the optional seeds/toppings on each bagel.

8) Bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove immediately and cool.

Perfect Rolls

1 batch "Perfect Bread"

1/2 cup butter, melted

1) After the dough has risen for 1 hour, punch it down and let it rest in the bowl for about 5 minutes.

2) Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

3) Form the dough into a long "snake" like shape. Squeeze pieces of dough off and roll each piece into a ball (I usually make mine the size of a baseball). Place on cookie sheet, about an inch apart.

4) Brush melted butter over the top and sides of each roll.

5) Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls start to brown.

6) As soon as you remove the rolls from the oven, brush each one with the remaining melted butter. Move onto a cooling rack.

7) Serve warm!!

Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting

**Adapted from a recipe on Allrecipes**

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 7 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Mix all ingredients well, then pour over warm cinnamon rolls. IF there are any left (they're extremely addicting), store in the fridge.

Scrumptious Cinnamon Rolls

1 batch of Perfect Bread

1/4 cup butter, softened

1-2 TBSP ground cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1) After the dough has risen for an hour in the warm oven, and you have removed it, punched it down, and let it rest for 5 minutes, place dough on a lightly floured surface.

1.5) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Roll dough out into a rectangular shape, until dough is about 1/2 inch thick.

3) Spread butter all over the dough, careful not to go to the very edges.

4) Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over butter, spreading evenly over the dough.

5) Roll the dough longways, and then pinch the seam to keep the roll closed.

6) Slice the dough into 1 inch rounds, and place each round on a sprayed cookie sheet or 9x13 inch pan. Spread them out a little bit, to give them room to rise and expand.

7) Let the rolls rise on the counter for 15ish minutes.

8) Bake the rolls for 22-25 minutes, and immediately top with "Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting"

9) Allow rolls to suit for 10 minutes before serving.

Perfect Bread

3 cups flour

1 TBSP yeast

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 cup warm water

1) Add yeast, sugar and water in mixing bowl and give it a little mix. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast is bubbly. Add flour, oil & salt to mixing bowl.

2) Pre-heat oven to LOWEST setting (my oven's lowest is 170 degrees). After it is pre-heated, turn the oven off.

3) Using the dough hook attachment, mix dough on low speed for 7 minutes.

4) Spray a large metal or glass bowl with cooking spray, and place dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel, and place in warm oven to rise for 30-45 minutes. The dough will double in size. After you remove the dough from the oven, punch it down and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

5) Shape the dough however you want; braid, peasant bread, baguette loaf...whatever floats your boat for the day.

6) Place shaped bread on sprayed cookie sheet or in a sprayed loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

7) After the bread is done, immediately place on a cooling rack.

**I have also added Italian herbs, cheeses, and minced garlic in with the ingredients before mixing, and it is awesome! Be creative!!**

Pork Fried Rice

1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 cup frozen peas
1 small can mushrooms, sliced
3 eggs
2 cups warm rice
Soy sauce
Canned pork/leftover pork (optional)

1) Cook rice in rice maker or pot.

2) Cut frozen carrots and broccoli into smaller pieces.

3) Warm ¼ cup of olive oil in a wok or large frying pan. Pour in veggies, and let them sauté until soft.

4) After veggies are soft, push veggies to the outer parts of the wok/pan, and crack the eggs into the middle of the pan. Scramble eggs with whisk or wooden spoon.

5) Add warm rice and canned pork and mix everything together. Add in soy sauce to taste, usually about 1/8-1/4 cup.

Salsa Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 can of corn
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa

1) Put all ingredients in crock pot on low.

2) After 3 hours, shred chicken, and put it back into the crock. Let it cook on low for 1 more hour.

3) Serve with a little cheddar cheese, dollop of sour cream, guacamole, olives, tomatoes...whatever your pleasure! Dipping tortilla chips isn't a MUST, but who wouldn't want chips for dipping?!

Chicken Rollups (Chicken Pillows)

2 packages crescent rolls
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 package cream cheese, softened
Chives (fresh or dried)
Butter, melted
Breadcrumbs

1 can chicken gravy or packet of chicken gravy mix

1) Mix shredded chicken and cream cheese.

2) Wrap in crescent rolls (I use one roll to make a small roll-up for my kids, or two rolls to make a larger roll-up for an adult).

3) Dip rolls in melted butter then cover with breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 for 15-20 until browned. I usually serve this with gravy over the top and mashed potatoes (from potato flakes or pearls) on the side.