Tomato Basil Soup

Another favorite soup of mine is tomato basil soup. I have tasted SO many different variations of this soup and I've finally come up with my favorite concoction. I love mine with carrots, balsamic vinegar and heavy cream. If you don't like vinegar you can leave it out of course. Not all recipes use these ingredients. Also my soup is not super smooth, it has some texture to it. Which I like because it makes scooping your bread or grilled cheese extra good. Alright are you ready? 

Ingredients:

2 can of 28oz peeled Roma tomatoes 

6 T olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar (optional) 

1 T sugar

1 onion

3-4 large carrots shredded 

2 teaspoon minced garlic 

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fresh diced basil to taste

Preheat oven to 375

In a baking dish place tomatoes with juice, balsamic vinegar, 2 T olive oil and sugar. Stir, bake for 30 minutes till caramelized. 

In a large stock pot sauté diced onion and garlic in remaining 4 T olive oil. About 10 minutes. Add carrots for about 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool. 

Optional: blend onion mix in food processor or leave for bigger chunks. 

Remove tomatoes from oven and blend in blender with juices till puréed.

Add broth and stir. Bring to boil. 

Lastly add cream and basil. 

Serve sprinkled with S & P

Caramel Corn

Homemade caramel corn tastes so much better than store bought. This October I wanted to make a batch to share with my friends. It is a perfect Halloween treat! 

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 bags of popped popcorn (unbuttered is best) 

Preheat oven at 250

Line 2 baking dishes with parchment paper then fill with the popcorn

In a sauce pan melt butter and mix brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and add baking soda. It will get fluffy and lighter in color.

Add vanilla

Pour over popcorn and stir. It's fine if not all is covered in caramel at this point. 

Bake for 1 hour, but every 15 minutes remove from over and mix. Each time u remove and mix more and more caramel will cover the popcorn.

When finished, pour out onto counter covered with parchment paper, spread and let cool before packaging. 

Now enjoy because its the bomb!!!

NOTE: you can drizzle with chocolate once on counter top too. Or add peanuts. Experiment to make your perfect treat.  

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

I usually like to use the "lite" version of Alfredo that comes in the jar. But sometimes you wanna splurge and eat the homemade good stuff. It's very easy too! 

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pint heavy cream 

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste 

Dash of chili powder (optional)

Dash of crushed red pepper flakes (optional) 

In sauce pan, melt butter and sauté garlic for about 2 minutes

Add cream and cream cheese, bring to a simmer for about 6 minutes 

Add Parmesan cheese

Remove from heat and sprinkle with seasonings

This sauce goes well with any pasta dish. Chicken or shrimp. 

I ate it with shells and steamed broccoli tonight. It's was delicious!!! 

Baked Chimichangas

Yummmmm I love these!! Chimichangas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes. But it's deep fried and soooo not good for you! This recipe is baked, but still crispy. You can make it even less calories by the choice of tortillas and cheese you buy. So read your labels. 

1/2 lb ground turkey

1/2-3/4 diced yellow onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoon diced green chilies 

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 cheddar cheese

4-5 tortillas

1 tablespoon melted butter

Sour cream (optional) 

Preheat oven to 400

Cook turkey, onion, garlic and seasoning on the stove top for about 6 minutes

Add green chilies and tomato sauce, bring to a boil and cook about 4 more minutes

Add cheese to mix now or sprinkle it on top after chimichangas come out of the oven

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, scoop meat mixture into tortillas and roll up

Spread with butter and bake for 20 minutes

Serve with a scoop of sour cream 

NOTE: I used the soft and thick Mission Homestyle flour tortillas. Thinner tortillas will break and crack easier when you are rolling them up. 

Caprese Pizza

So I'm finally feeling well enough to get my butt back in the kitchen. I'm starting off with something that is easier than dirt! Obviously I would love to post about homemade pizza dough and pizza sauce, but that will have to come some other day. This is made out of the Pilsbury wheat artisan pizza dough. You can put any toppings you want on this pizza dough; peppers, olives, pineapples. Whatever you like. I went with a basic caprese style. 

Pilsbury pizza dough

1/2 cup pizza sauce

Sliced basil 

Mozzarella 

2 sliced Roma tomatoes 

1 cup balsamic vinegar. 

Preheat over to 400.

Bake pizza dough for 8 minutes.

Place toppings on pizza.

Bake additional 6-7 minutes. 

Drizzle with balsamic reduction. 

To make a balsamic reduction, boil 1 cup balsamic vinegar on medium-high, stirring constantly until thickens into a syrup. Takes about 15-20 minutes. It will thicken even more after you remove it from the heat.