Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

This quickly became a family favorite after a sweet friend had me over for lunch and served this soup.  It's quick and easy.  This is a recipe that can be put together in an afternoon and still be full of flavor by dinner time.  (I don't have the link to the site I got this recipe from as I wrote it down on a note card, so I can't give credit but I will put this disclaimer that this is not my original recipe.)

Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground Italian sausage (we like to use hot)

24 ounces of spaghetti or marinara sauce

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

8 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

16 ounces frozen cheese tortellini

2 ounces fresh spinach leaves

Instructions:

1.  Brown and crumble sausage until cooked through.  Drain fat.  Place cooked sausage in slow cooker.

2.  Add spaghetti/marinara sauce, broth, cream cheese and mushrooms in the slow cooker.  You can just drop the whole block of cream cheese in, no need to worry about stirring or cutting it up.

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours

4.  20 minutes before serving turn heat to HIGH if not already done so and stir in frozen tortellini and spinach.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until tortellini is tender and hot.

5.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

 

Pear Jam

Pear Jam

Ingredients:

4 cups pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 box or 6 tablespoons fruit pectin, (I use powered pectin)
4-5 cups of granulated sugar*
1/2 teaspoon butter

Steps

1. Prepare water bath canner, sterilize jars, lids and rings.

2.  Using a heavy 6-8 quart sauce pan add pears, lemon juice and pectin.  Add butter to reduce foaming.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Add sugar.  *if your pears are very ripe, you may need less sugar.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim any foam off.

3.  Pour into prepared jars, ensuring the rims are clean and place lids.  Process for 10 minutes and let rest.

Banana Bread

 

 Banana bread is glorious.  Whenever bananas get a little too ripe, we throw them in the freezer.  I love that I have a freezer full so that when I need to whip something up (like at 5 a.m. this morning as a thank you for someone), I can pull some out and create these beautiful loaves.  I don't often make regular size loaves of any sweet bread.  I typically use my mini loaf pans or my square brownie pan to make smaller versions that I can give out or freeze for my boys.  

This recipe is my favorite for just regular banana bread, I have a different one for one with chocolate chips.  I don't enjoy nuts in my sweet breads but you could add any type of nut if that's what you like.

I think the key for this recipe is super ripe bananas and actually whisking the wet ingredients together to get a good mixture of all the sweetness from the sugar and bananas.  Oh..yeah...its not the healthiest of recipes with 1.5 cups of sugar!

I typically double this recipe.
 
 Banana Bread

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large), if it's a little more or less it's fine...I tend to use a little more
• ¾ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat loaf pans with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pans and smooth top.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

If you want to just bake one big loaf (9x5x3), spray pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.

I can get 8 mini loaves with this recipe.

Fair warning, this bread is delicious and addicting!!!

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

 

 

My kids really enjoy mac and cheese  Me...not so much.   I have tried a few different recipes but my boys were never really impressed by all the fancy cheeses I used to upgrade a childhood favorite.  Yesterday after my husband and middle son were stuck in traffic for hours because of bad weather and accidents, I wanted to have something for them that was comforting and warm.  Alton Brown has rarely let me down and he didn't yesterday.  This was surprisingly easy and delicious.  Even I ate some and that is saying a lot!  Of course, like most of my recipes, I had to double this.  It was very cheesy and delicious.

 

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

 

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded  (It's always best to shred your own cheese as it melts much better than the already shredded cheese in the bag)

n a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Zucchini Bread

This is my favorite Zucchini recipe.  I make lots of mini loaves and freeze them for my kids.  It's not the healthiest recipe but it's sure yummy!


Zucchini Bread

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups of grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans or coat with cooking spray. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix thoroughly. Beat together, oil, eggs,white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add flour mixture to the creamy mixture and mix well. Gently add the zucchini and walnuts until well combined. Pour into greased bread pans and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife is inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes moving to a rack. Enjoy.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I found a good deal on Strawberries at our commissary last week and then ended up getting a container of strawberries in our weekly produce box which meant I was being overrun by strawberries.  My boys eat a lot but we  had a lot of fruits and vegetables in our house and I did not want these wonderful treats to go to waste.  I decided to make some freezer jam.  It's so simple and you end up with a delightful, fresh tasting treat.  I had enough strawberries to make this recipe twice.

My boys think the jam is a bit sweet (they said it tastes like strawberry soda).  I guess it would be sweet given it has 4 cups of sugar!  This jam takes about 30 minutes to make and then you let it sit for 24 hours.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

 

4 cups strawberries, washed and cut in half

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 

 

• Mash strawberries with potato masher or in food processor until slightly chunky (not pureed) to make 2 cups crushed strawberries. Mix strawberries and sugar in large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix water and pectin in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour hot pectin mixture over strawberry mixture; stir constantly 3 minutes.
• Immediately spoon mixture into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe rims of containers; seal. Let stand at room temperature about 24 hours or until set.
• Store in freezer up to 6 months or in refrigerator up to 3 weeks. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

 

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

I will have to make this again soon and add a picture but today one of my friends was asking about what to feed 10 teenage boys and after a bit of discussion this popped into my mind and I figured I'd share the recipe here.

I got this recipe from one of the ladies I went to church with in Texas and now it's one of our go to casseroles when I need to take a breakfast dish to an event.  I love that you can prep it ahead of time and bake the morning of.

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg tater tots or frozen hashbrowns.
8 eggs
1 (15 oz) can evaporated milk
1 small package sausage/ham/bacon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper

Brown sausage (or any other meat you are using), drain and remove grease.  Butter or spray a 9x13 casserole dish.  Set aside.  Place tator tots in large skillet with about 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Heat the tots all the way through and break the apart with a spatula.  (You don't have to heat them up but I like the consistency better when I do).  Distribute the evenly on the bottom of your casserole dish.  Sprinkle meat with onions and peppers  over potatoes.  In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk until blended.  Add the milk, salt, pepper and dry mustard; beat well.  Pour over potatoes.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until eggs are set.  Leave uncovered for last 10-15 minutes of baking.

*You can add whatever you want, mushrooms would add a nice taste.  Serve with salsa or ketchup.