Cream of Spinach Soup

With as many homemade soups as I make, I'm surprised I've not posted more of them on this board. This one is for Jen... Three Shades of Blue.

Cream of Spinach Soup

10 oz. frozen spinach
1 lg. onion
3 T butter
5-6 c chicken broth
1 c cream
1/4 t lemon juice
2 oz. velveeta cheese, cubed
3 oz. smoked cheddar or Gouda
tabasco sauce

Cook the spinach in the microwave or a pan with water - remove when done. Cook onion in butter on the stove. Add broth, lemon juice and tabasco to taste (just a dash). Add spinach and then add the cream. Heat through. When hot add cheese until it melts and then serve. Be sure NOT TO BOIL after the cream is added.

(note: Before you add the cream you can run this through your food processor if you want it to be smoother and not have bits of spinach in it. Do it in 2 or 3 batches and then continue with the recipe).

Blackened Catfish

I usually open the cupboard and just start grabbing spices and herbs to put on the fish before either grilling, broiling or pan blackening it. Our family loves catfish... I hope yours will too!


2 T paprika
2 t salt
2 t lemon pepper
1 t onion powder
dash thyme, crumbled between your fingers
dash of dried basil
dash of garlic salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 t ground red pepper


Dredge olive oiled catfish fillets into a mixture of the above spices. Either grill them, broil them under your stove broiler, or blacken them in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat for about 2-4 minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over each.

Homemade Coffee Cake (very similar to Entenmann's)

I'm sitting here wondering what I could possibly say to force people to make this coffee cake... and I realized that other than telling you just how delicious this coffee cake is, there is nothing. Either you make it or you don't.




Entenmann's Style Coffee Cake Loaf

3 3/4 c flour
1 3/4 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt

Mix in a large mixing bowl and then remove 2 cups of the dry mix to reserve for later.

Now to the rest of the flour in the mixing bowl add;

1 stick butter (not margarine)
2 eggs
2/3 milk


The batter will be thick, spread this into a greased and floured pan (I use a little of the reserved flour topping mix to flour the pan). Now, you are wondering what size aren't you? Any size you want. If you use a 9X13 pan, you will have a thin cake, a 14 inch square would be nice, a 9X9" square will be a thick cake. I personally like to use a bread loaf pan. I like mine as a 'pound cake'. Spread the batter into your pan.

Now, to the reserved flour mixture add;

1 stick butter
1/4 c brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
dash of salt

Mix this together with your finger tips until it forms pea sized crumbles. Cover the entire cake with this topping. If you chose to use a loaf pan you will only use half the topping. Freeze the rest in a baggy to use on muffins at a later date!

Bake at 350 degrees - a 9X13" pan approximately 30 minutes or a loaf pan it will have to bake at least 60 minutes. I bake mine about 1 hour and 15 minutes until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.


You might be interested in these loaf pans available through Amazon;

 Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Loaf Pan, 1.5 Pound
Farberware Bakeware 9 x 5-Inch Nonstick Loaf Pan, Gray
Wilton Recipe Right Medium Loaf Pan
 

Super Plate, err Super Glass? Oh! Super Bowl! That's it!

NACHO DIP

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1/2 pkg. taco mix
4 oz. cream cheese
1 c cheddar
4 oz. Velveeta
1 jar salsa
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 can rinsed and drained black beans

Cook in a small crock pot and serve with tortillas - the scoopable kind are perfect






HOT WINGS

2 lbs. chicken wings and drummies
1 - 8 oz. bottle italian dressing
3/4 c hot pepper sauce (Franks, Louisiana or as hot as you like!)
2 T butter, melted


Mix the dressing and hot sauce together and marinate the wings overnight, saving out 1/2 cup of the sauce beforehand for basting later. Grill or broil the wings covered about 15-20 minutes. Add the melted butter to the reserved sauce and baste the wings, grilling another 10 minutes until done. Baste them alot for the best flavor.

*Note* To make it easier for me tomorrow I'm actually cooking all my wings and drummies today in the crockpot. After a 6-8 hour cook time I'll pop them into the fridge and finish them off under the broiler tomorrow. Quick and easy!




Here is a Bleu Cheese Dressing to dip your wings in... (already posted previously but I want to keep a copy with the wings to make it easy for you!)

BLEU CHEESE DIP

1/2 c mayonnaise
1 c sour cream
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T rice wine vinegar (or regular if you please)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c bleu cheese crumbled

salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Mix and chill.




Are you serving a homemade onion blossom, or onion rings or onion petals? Dip them in this.... no, really. Make it and serve it... do not pass go do not collect $100.

Onion Blossom Sauce

1/2 c mayonnaise
2 t ketchup
2 T kraft horseradish sauce
heavy dash of paprika, salt, dried oregano, black pepper and cayenne pepper


Combine all this and chill at least 2 hours.

Mexican Chili

Originally a lot of similar recipes are called "White Chili" which irked me because they seemed like a mexican stew to me. So I named 'mine' a Mexican Chili. Call it whatever you want, just make it!

10 oz. white northern beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
2 t cumin
heavy dash of oregano
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped green bell pepper
2 T fresh minced garlic
3-4 cups chicken broth
2 c diced cooked chicken
salt to taste

Combine everything in a crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours in an older crockpot or 6 in a newer (newer crocks are much much hotter!). Serve with a sprinkling of cheese, some cilantro, crushed tortilla chips and sour cream and salsa.