Baked Potato Soup

I made this yummy soup quite a few years ago and I have NO CLUE why I waited so long to make it again. It tastes so good, like a loaded baked potato. And hubby highly approved, three bowls later (and yes, after three bowls of all that milk, cheese, cream he was having a bit of a belly ache. Moderation, buddy! LOL). We paired this with some really delicious sourdough bread. Perfect!

Note: I didn't have low fat cheese so used full fat version. Also, we only drink 1% milk so we used that instead of 2%.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 1 hour, 28 minutes

Ingredients:

4 baking potatoes (or about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extrasharp Cheddar cheese, divided.
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes with a fork (and I wrapped them in foil); bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. Discard skins.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese, onions and bacon.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size about 1 1/2 cups of soup)

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

I have always been a huge fan of sweet potatoes. So, needless to say, I am IN LOVE with this recipe (adapted from Kraft Foods)! It was utterly fantastic...so creamy and sweet and delicious.

I made a couple of changes to the basic recipe based on other people's reviews of it, so be sure to look at my additions to ingredients, in italics.

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 53 min
Makes: 4 servings (with my changes it can serve up to six)

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes (I used three)
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed (I used a whole block of regular Philadelphia Cream cheese)
2 Tbsp. fat-free milk
3-4 Tbsp. of butter
1 Tbsp. brown sugar (since I wanted it a bit sweeter, I did a total of 3-4 Tbsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (I am a cinnamon lover so I ended up adding about 3 Tbsp.)
1/4 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans (Unfortunately I forgot to buy the pecans so I didn't use them, but next time I will be sure to put them in. But I will actually mix them into mixture as opposed to just putting on top, like recipe calls for.)


Directions:
HEAT oven to 425ºF.

CUT potatoes lengthwise in half; place, cut-sides down, in foil-lined 15x10x1-inch pan. Bake 30 to 35 min. or until tender. (With my oven, it actually took me about 45 minutes to bake potatoes.)

SCOOP out centers of potatoes into bowl, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Add Cream Cheese, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon to potatoes; mash until blended.


FILL shells with potato mixture; top with nuts. Bake 8 min. or until potatoes are heated through and nuts are toasted.

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe is adapted from Kraft Foods and is actually called Layered Pumpkin Loaf. But I don't like the sound of that. Heh heh.

So Pumpkin Bread, it is!

Anyway, my variation to the recipe is that I omitted the cream cheese (but only becuz I was out, not becuz I wouldn't have liked it that way!) and I threw in some yummy chocolate chips. Like I told Big D, everything tastes better with chocolate!

Enjoy.

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 1 hr 25 min
Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 egg whites, divided
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups flour
2-1/2 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

Directions:
HEAT oven to 350ºF.
MIX pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3 egg whites, milk and oil in large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, spice and salt; stir just until moistened. Beat Neufchatel cheese, remaining granulated sugar and remaining egg white with whisk until well blended.

SPOON half of pumpkin batter into greased 9x5-inch nonstick loaf pan; cover with layers of Neufchatel mixture and remaining pumpkin batter.

BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen bread from sides of pan; cool in pan 10 min. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers

I don't really follow a recipe...and I don't make Stuffed Peppers all that often so when I DO, the ingredients vary a bit. But I'll share how I made them the other night, becuz they came out SO yummy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
jar of pasta sauce
4 peppers (I usually use green, but this time opted for red)
1/2-3/4 of another pepper
1/2 an onion
Shredded cheese (I used both mozzarella AND a cheddar mix for some variety)

Directions:
Chop up the onion and 1/2-3/4 of lone pepper and saute in a frying pan. Add ground beef and brown meat. Season as you wish (I pretty much just used salt and pepper). Sprinkle in some of the shredded cheeses and mix until blended and melted in meat mixture, over low heat.

Add about 1/2 the jar of sauce...enough so that the meat is not dry, but not too much so that it is soupy. Cut off the tops of the peppers and clean out the seeds and membranes inside so they are hollowed out. I set up the four peppers, standing, in a small casserole dish so that they would not fall over in the oven. Fill the stuffing into each pepper. Pour a bit of sauce over the top of each pepper and stuffing mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, covered over with tin foil. Remove the foil after 50 minutes, sprinkle cheese over each pepper, and bake for an additional ten minutes or so.

Serve and enjoy!!

P.S. I do not blanch my peppers ahead of time, becuz I like my peppers to have a little bit of crunch to them but if you want them softer, I'd advise boiling the empty peppers for about five minutes before stuffing.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

(this is a Kraft recipe)
Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 35 min.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cooked small chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup salsa, divided
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz pkg) cream cheese, cubed
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup Kraft shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese, divided
8 flour tortillas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min. Add chicken, 1/4 cup of salsa, the cream cheese, cilantro and cumin; mix well. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of teh shredded cheese, mix well.

Spoon about 1/3 of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-side down, in 13x9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking oil; top with remaining 3/4 cup salsa and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings, 2 enchiladas each.

Cheddar Mac & Ham Casserole

Cheddar Mac & Ham Casserole
(Kraft)

Prep Time: 15 min.
Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:
1 package (14 oz) Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 cup frozen peas, thawed, drained
1 cup chopped Oscar Mayer Smoked ham
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Kraft Shredded Mild cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare Mac Dinner as directed on the package. Add peas, ham and milk, mix well. Spoon into 9inch square baking dish; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until heate4d through. Makes 4 servings.

Chili-Corn Bread Pie

This is another Weight Watchers recipe from their "5 Ingredient 15 Minute" Cook Book. Again, once I try it I will post a pic and my opinion! Enjoy!

Points Value per serving: 5
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
1 onion, chopped
1 (15-oz) can low-fat chili beef soup
1 (11-oz) can Mexican-style corn, drained
1 cup (4-oz) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or Cheddar cheese
1 (6-oz) package buttermilk corn bread mix
2/3 cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat overn to 450 degrees.
2. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, and saute until tender.
3. Add soup and corn to skillet, stirring well; spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheese over soup mixture.
4. Combine corn bread mix and water, stirring just until smooth. Pour batter over mixture in baking dish; bake at 450 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden.