Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

I found this spectacular recipe the other day, and I just HAD to try it. Most of the soups I make have a decidedly fall or winter seasonal flair...but tomato soup is good in any season. The roasted tomatoes added a delicious rustic flavor, and I thought making the grilled cheese sandwiches that almost ALWAYS go with tomato soup into croutons was genius.

This recipe makes 10 cups, so there is no need to double.


Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Soup:

6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 TBS olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 TBS unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I substituted this with two 14.5-ounce cans of Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes...which are a new product by Hunt's foods that I discovered while shopping for ingredients for this recipe.)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Croutons:

6 slices bread
6 slices American cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
about 1/2 tsp thyme

To Make Soup:

1. Heat oven to 400. On a baking sheet, combine cherry tomatoes, 2 TBS olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer.


Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35-45 minutes.


2. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice (here's where I added those fabulous canned roasted tomatoes...),


the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.


3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting it boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.

4. Ladle into bowls and garnish with grilled cheese croutons.

To Make Croutons:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine butter and thyme. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter mixture.. Place 3 slices of bread in the pan, buttered side down. Top each with 2 slices of cheese, and then with the reamining 3 bread slices, buttered side up. Cook, turning once, until toasted on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

2.Remove the sandwiches from the pan. Let them cool slightly, then cut them into 1-inch squares. makes about 60 croutons.

courtesy Family Fun magazine, who adapted it from "300 Sensational Soups" by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds.

Edible Eagles

Joseph had to make a dessert for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet Dessert Competition. The theme was "Americana", and the dessert had to be totally made by the scout. We searched on-line, and found this super cute recipe on http://www.familyfun.com/. It turned out great...so I thought I'd share.

We tripled this recipe to make enough for the entire Cub Scout Pack and their families.

Edible Eagles

1/4 cup of white chocolate chips

6 large marshmallows

Finely shredded coconut

Chocolate sandwich cookies (the recipe used chocolate-covered Oreos, but we used Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies)

6 Cashews

Decorator gel (the recipe called for black, but I could only find blue and green)

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler until creamy.

2. For each bird, drop a large marshmallow into the melted chocolate, using a spatula to coat it well. (We used a fork pierced in one end of the mallow. It was easier for Joseph to maneuver in the chocolate and roll in coconut {next step}).

(See...Joseph can dip the mallows with the fork while Nicolette looks on. The bowl next to him is filled with shredded coconut for the next step).

3. Remove the marshmallow from the chocolate and roll it in finely shredded coconut, leaving one end uncovered. (This is where the fork came in handy, too. It kept hands clean and one end free from coconut).

4. Immediately set the marshmallow, coconut free end down, atop a cookie.

5. Let the chocolate set a bit, then use a toothpick to make a whole in the side of the marshmallow and insert a cashew for a beak.

6. Finally, add the decorator gel eyes.

And the finished project is.... cute little Bald Eagle cookies!!!

They even won Joseph an award for "Best Use of Theme"...and a new Yo-yo for a prize!!

courtesy http://www.familyfun.com/

Chicken Florentine

Did I ever tell you how I love easy knock-offs? You feel like you're fixing something fancy all while cutting down on your time in the kitchen.

Don't get me wrong - there are times that I love slaving over a supreme culinary work of art. But with my family and the amount of distraction I face, it is usually not possible. So - I opt for the knock-off.

One of my favorite websites is http://www.kraftfoods.com/. It has TONS of knock-offs, and I am always delighted to find something that I can make that requires what I already have stapled in my fridge or pantry. I also love their "Recipe Box", where I can not only copy my favorite recipes from Kraft, but also input any I find in magazines or cookbooks. I have almost completed transferring 3 of my most beloved cookbooks into my personal Recipe Box. I only wish they had a better way of categorizing them so they were easier to pull up, and I don't have to go through thousands of recipes to find the one I want.

Maybe I can invent something some day that does just that...

Until then - a knock-off PERFECT for those Sunday Dinners...

This goes great with a veggie side (we're using the rest of my red potatoes to make crispy wedges drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with thyme and pepper). You don't really need a salad because you have the spinach...but if you can't imagine a dinner without salad, buy some extra spinach and make a traditional spinach salad with crumbled bacon, blue cheese, and hard-boiled egg and balsamic vinaigrette dressing (preferably warm).

Double if you're me.

Chicken Florentine

3 TBS Zesty Italian dressing

4 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves 9essentially one salad bag of spinach)

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves

8 slices thinly shaved deli smoked ham

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1. Heat 1 TBS of the dressing in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach, cook and stir 1 minute until spinach is wilted. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm.

2. Add remaining 2 TBS dressing and the chicken to skillet; turn chicken over to evenly coat both sides with dressing. Cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through.

3. Transfer to a cookie sheet, and top evenly with ham and cheese. Place under broiler to brown. Spoon spinach mixture evenly onto four plates; top each with a chicken breast.

- a great substitution for the spinach is asparagus. The chicken looks elegant a decidedly

"spring-y" on top of several trimmed asparagus spears.

courtesy Kraft foods

Hawaiian Haystacks

This isn't so much a recipe, as instructions for assembly.

My mom used to make these on busy nights...well...she didn't actually make them, as they are a "prepare-it-yourself" kind of dinner, but she prepared all the ingredients. I have no idea where she got the recipe, if it was something she found or invented, but it is awesome to use on a night when you're too tired to do anything much.

It's like Taco Night...you cook the meat, and slice the tomatoes and grate the cheese and shred the lettuce...and then you put everything in bowls and let everybody make their own dang taco the way they want it. So if you're like me, and have one kid who will only eat meat and olives in his taco and another who doesn't want the tortilla and wants a taco salad, it's no big deal, as they can assemble their taco as they please.

Hawaiian Haystacks is the same basic principle. You prepare a bunch of ingredients and let everyone make it the way they want. And although traditional Haystacks have a base of Chow Mien Noodles, white rice, and cream of chicken soup, and are then accented with various toppings, even THAT rule is hardly set in stone, as I have some children who just want the base ingredients, and one who will only put Chow Mien noodles and pineapple on their plate.

Anyway...

Here is the basic assembly instructions and list of ingredients for Hawaiian Haystacks. Keep in mind that this is truly a "what-do-I-need-to-use-up-in-my-fridge-or-pantry" kind of recipe...anything goes. This is only a basic list...feel free to embellish or delete any ingredients you wish.

You don't need any sides with this meal...it is totally "all-inclusive".

And remember to double if you're feeding an army, missionaries, or my kids.

Hawaiian Haystacks

1 can Chow Mien noodles

2 cups white rice, cooked

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can condensed milk

1-2 cans canned chicken

2 tomatoes, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup diced celery

1 can olives, halved

1 can pineapple chunks

1. Mix your cream of chicken soup, canned chicken, and condensed milk in a saucepan thoroughly. Heat until warm. Keep warm on stove.

2. Layer Chow Mien noodles, white rice, and cream of chicken mixture on each plate.

3. Top with shredded cheese.

4. Top with any other toppings you like. Besides those listed above, try diced bell peppers, diced cucumbers, shredded carrots, green chilies, etc. Use your imagination. What makes this "Hawaiian" is the pineapple. Although it seems weird to mix all these things together...it is SERIOUSLY yummy. Hence one of my mottoes: "Ugly food tastes best".

courtesy Fraley Family Archives

BBQ Chicken and Fruit Salad

Some day, I might actually put up a recipe that's hard...

Get your carbs by rounding this out with a fancy roll. And double if you're feeding a bigger family.

BBQ Chicken and Fruit Salad

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (we LOVE Cattlemans Gold)

4 canned or fresh pineapple rings (if you're like me, and forgot to get pineapple rings at the store, rest assured that regular pineapple chunks substitute just fine)

1 bag mixed salad greens

2 cups strawberries, cut in half

1/2 cup Catalina dressing, or (my favorite) Creamy Poppyseed dressing

1. Place chicken on rack in a broiler pan.

2. Broil 4-6 inches from heat 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning and brushing frequently with BBQ sauce during last 15 minutes. Add pineapple on top of chicken during last 5 minutes.

3. Cut chicken (and rings, if you have 'em) into strips...or just cut chicken and arrange pineapple chunks as artistically as possible.

4. Arrange greens and strawberries on serving plate. Top with chicken and dressing. Serve with dressing.

courtesy Kraft foods

Raspberry-Glazed Pork Chops

(oh my golly's...do you know what I did? I accidentally erased all the pictures of me making this item off my camera...I can't believe I did that!!!! So now you have this recipe...but no pictures!! I am SO SORRY! Please try it anyway...it is REALLY good!!!)

This is a Sunday dinner...but only because of it's looks. It LOOKS beautiful...and maybe even fancy. But just like books...you never judge a recipe by it's photo. This is SUPER EASY.


I'm obviously NOT making this on a Sunday because my whole menu is all screwed up thanks to the Valentines Day Stomach Flu. I'm still categorizing it under Sunday dinners, though...


because I'm slightly obstinate.


This serves four, which means I double. My pork chops are also from CostCo, which means that they are about 1-1/2 inch thick instead of the required 3/4 inch thickness. You can deal with this in one of two ways...you can slice the pork chops in half to make them thinner (easier if the chops are still SLIGHTLY frozen and you use a VERY sharp knife), which will help them cook faster; OR you can cook them longer at a lower heat. You can add a little broth or water to help stave off dryness.


Served great with a wild greens salad and a balsamic or raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Creamy Poppyseed is also really good...just don't look at the fat content. The recipe calls for grated orange peel...rather than waste the orange for a little peel, I'd peel it and serve a few wedges as garnish around the salads edge. Super creamy mashed potatoes (use Yukon Golds for best results) or crispy red potato wedges drizzled in olive oil with some thyme and rosemary will round it all out.


Raspberry-Glazed Pork Chops


1 tsp. butter
4 boneless pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick
1/2 cups seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup raspberry or balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp grated orange peel
1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme


1. Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chops, cook 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides.


2. Mix remaining ingredients, spoon evenly over chops in skillet.


3. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until sauce is reduced to glaze consistency and chops are cooked through, turning chops occasionally.


(You can serve these as whole chops, or slice and arrange in fan shapes with extra sauce drizzled over the top. With kids - we do the "fans", and the adults get whole chops and a steak knife)


courtesy Kraft foods

California Stir-Fry and Chocolate Molten Cake

Oh-me, Oh-my...what a Valentines Day.

For those of you clicking over from my main blog (http://www.thejohnsonsjungle.blogspot.com/), you've already heard the story of the Valentines Day Stomach Flu. It's not pretty or pleasant, and if you missed it, I don't encourage you to go check it out. The rest of my blog...yes. But if you wish to skip the sordid stomach flu tale, I completely understand.

The REAL downer of missing the Day of Love, though, wasn't that we were sick...it's that the aforementioned sickness meant that I couldn't cook a nice Valentines Day dinner for my family. So, on Valentines Day - we had Saltine crackers and Gatorade. And I don't need to put a recipe up for that.

Today is a glorious Tuesday...and we are flu-free. So I am making our yummy V-Day dinner TONIGHT.

I am sorry you missed this on the 14th...not that the dinner itself is terribly note-worthy...but the DESSERT is...yummy, sinfully delicious Chocolate Molten Cake. I have two recipes...one straight from my husbands award-winning restaurant, The Grand Lux Cafe, and another that I personally prefer because I am a BIG fan of DARK CHOCOLATE. However, as I was about to put The Grand Lux recipe on my blog...my husband informed me that to post recipes from his restaurant would expose carefully guarded TRADE SECRETS...and he could lose his job.

Whoops.

Not really the right economic climate to take that kind of risk.

So, if I promised you the Grand Lux recipe...sorry. You'll have to come over, and we'll turn off all the lights and cover all the windows and doors, and invent a super-secret encrypted code to communicate with (complete with hand-signs and facial expressions), and I'll share the recipe after swearing you to secrecy by some ancient and binding sacrificial rite. Okay?

Until then, you'll have to make MY version of Chocolate Molten Cake...but I promise you won't mind.

Not.

One.

Bit.

(just a moment...I need to find a napkin to wipe my chin...my mouth is watering. After a weekend of the BRAT diet, I can hardly wait to eat REAL FOOD.)

But first...we need dinner...

This is great served with rice (duh) and chow mien noodles.

California Stir-Fry

2 TBS Catalina dressing

2 TBS soy sauce, divided

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin slices

1/2 cup Catalina dressing

1 tsp minced fresh ginger root

1 clove minced garlic

1 cup broccoli florets

1 small carrot, cut into thin slices

1/2 cup each: medium red and yellow pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cup snow peas

1 cup bean sprouts

(OR...you can do what I do, and just use an awesome frozen oriental veggie mix...like the one from CostCo)

1. Heat 2 TBS dressing and 1 of the TBS soy sauce in large nonstick skillet or wok on medium heat. Add chicken; stir-fry 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except the bean sprouts to skillet; mix well. Stir-fry 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. (If using a frozen veggie mix - you can proceed in two ways...thaw veggies and cook only a couple minutes to heat through, or stir-fry from a frozen state. There is really no set time...just watch carefully...or you will end up with veggies that are soggy.)

3. Stir in chicken and bean sprouts; stir-fry until heated through.

4. Serve over rice.

Ahhh...and now, dessert...

Dark Molten Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. (6 squares) Bakers Bittersweet Chocolate

10 TBS butter

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup flour

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease 6 6-oz. custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet. (My mini souffle cups are still packed in my garage...so I use a giant muffin pan that makes six giant muffins. It works great!!)

2. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler until butter and chocolate is completely melted (or microwave in a microwaveable bowl on 50% power 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Then stir with a wire whisk until chocolate is melted, too). Add sugar and flour, mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended. Divide batter evenly into custard cups (or muffin tins!!).

3. Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until cakes are firm around the edges, but still soft in the centers. Let stand 1 minute. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Sprinkle lightly with additional powdered sugar and garnish with raspberries, strawberries, candied lemon or orange peel, or mint leaves (or a combination of all the above!!) Tonight, I'm using a triple berry dessert sauce from Smuckers to drizzle around the edges.

Cut in half and serve warm...

recipes courtesy Kraft foods and myself, respectively