Creamy Country Veggie Chowder

I had this for Dinner tonight and wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see it and try it! It is so incredibly good. I even added mushrooms with the onions and celery tonight. It was great!

This is a delicious, hearty and healthy soup. It contains six different veggies and bacon.

Creamy Country Veggie Chowder

6 slices Bacon
1 medium onion chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 quart half and half
5 medium potatoes diced
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup
2 Tablespoons Parsley
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Carrots sliced
1 cup Green Beans
1 can Cream Style Corn

In a large soup pot, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel but leave the drippings. Add the Onion and Celery and saute until tender. Mix in the Flour. Immediately add the Half and Half, mixing as you do. Add the Potatoes, Cream of Celery Soup, Parsley, Seasoned Salt, Pepper and Worcestershire Sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes stirring often. Add carrots and Green Beans, return to a simmer and simmer another 10 to 15 minutes until all the veggies are tender. Break the bacon into small pieces. Add the bacon and Creamed Corn and simmer another 5 minutes or until warmed through. Serve with warm, dense rolls for dipping.

Quick and Easy Crockpot Stew

Quick and Easy Crockpot Stew

2 lbs stewing beef
5 medium potatoes
1 lb. carrots
3 celery stalks
1 medium onion
1 pkg Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 Package Brown Gravy Mix

Peel and chop potato's and carrots into bite size chunks, chop onion and celery into bite size pieces. Add all ingredients to Crockpot and add water to cover. Cover and cook for 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Easy and Yummy Salad

I love this salad and it is so easy and makes a great presentation.

Strawberry and Peach Salad

1 Bag of Baby Spinach Leaves
2 large, firm peaches (I love using White Peaches)
1 lb. Strawberries sliced
1 cup Strawberry Vinegarette Dressing (Raspberry Vinegarette can be used if you cannot find Strawberry or you can make your own. Recipe for that coming soon.)

Layer spinach, sliced peaches and strawberries topping with strawberries and peaches for presentation. Pour dressing over, just before serving.

Yummy Dessert Pizza Recipe

My kids love this easy to make, yummy recipe.

1 pkg. Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
1 12oz tub Cool Whip
Your Favorite Sliced Fruit

Spread cookie dough onto cookie sheet and cook according to package directions. Allow to cool. Once cool, spread with Cool Whip and top with fruit slices. Cut into Pizza Slices. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Quick Garlic-Parmesan Breadsticks

I just tried a recipe that I found well worth sharing from Razzle Dazzle Recipes called
Stir and Bake Italian Garlic Breadsticks

1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (110 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water (110 degrees)
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten

Soften yeast in 1/2 cup water and sugar until yeast starts to foam; if it does not foam, it is inactive and should be discarded. To the bowl, add the 1 cup water, 3 cups flour, 1 tbl. sugar and salt. Beat for about 3 minutes until dough is very smooth (this takes the place of kneading). Now slowly beat in the remaining 1 cup of flour until blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and shape into a smooth ball.

Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece of dough between your palms to form a 1/4" thick rope, and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush top with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse grind garlic powder, and/or grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 400ºF oven for about 15-18 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Makes 24 bread sticks.

It worked really well, my only change would be to use "garlic salt" instead of "garlic powder" but then I am a salt freak! But I hope you try it and enjoy!

Freezing Strawberries

If you have ever wondered just how many Strawberries are in four flats, let me be the first to tell you there are alot! I know this from experience. I have just finished coring and slicing four full flats of Strawberries. Okay, maybe not four full flats, I am sure my children ate at least one quarter of a flat. However, it was alot of strawberries. But the point of this is to give you some insight on freezing strawberries.

The first thing I do is rinse them off very well and drain them. Then I pour them out of their container on to a flour sack kitchen rag. Either with a knife or a corer, I take off the stems and leaves and then slice them. A good quality egg slicer works amazingly well for slicing strawberries. Then I lay them out, in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place it, uncovered, in the freezer for at least one hour. After an hour I will remove the cookie sheet from the freezer and scrape the strawberries off the cookie sheet with a spatula or turner and into a plastic freezer bag. This prevents the strawberries from freezing together and becoming inseparable. Then I will return the strawberries, in their bag, to the freezer. There they will keep for up to a year.

Frozen Strawberries are great in smoothies, milkshakes or any frozen beverage. Thawed they will make yummy strawberry puree or strawberry syrup and are great in pancakes, muffins and bread. However, once frozen, strawberries cannot be thawed and expected to retain their shape or consistency and once thawed cannot be re-frozen.