Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup

Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup

2 TBS olive oil
1/2 Cup carrots, diced
1/2 Cup celery, diced
1 Cup onion, diced
1 large Poblano pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped (or dried)
1 TBS chicken bouillon granules
2 Quarts chicken broth or stock
3 Cups cooked and diced chicken
1/4 Cup butter (1/2 stick)
3/4 Cup flour
1 Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, Poblano, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and thyme. Sauté for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the chicken broth and cook for 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Add the chicken and cook stirring frequently until bubbly.  In a medium skillet, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring until incorporated and thickened. Ladle 1 cup of the hot soup (just the liquid) into the skillet, whisking constantly, when incorporated add another cup of the hot soup until that is incorporated. Pour this mixture into the stockpot, whisk to blend completely. Add the shredded cheese and the heavy cream, cook until cheese is melted and soup is bubbly.

Cherry Crisp

Finish up your meal with an easy and oh so yummy cherry crisp, you'll love it! This recipe also has the crispy topping on the bottom for double crispylishusness (that's a word...it is)!

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) margarine, cold cut into small pieces
1 can cherry pie filling
Cool whip or ice cream, optional

Combine the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda and salt until completely mixed.
Add the cold cut up margarine and mix with a pastry blender, or two knives, until incorporated.

This is about half of the mixture, just to show what it should look like when mixed:

 

 

Sprinkle half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish pressing into the bottom until covered, reserving the remaining mixture to top.

Spread the can of cherry pie filling to cover the crust.

Cover the cherries with the remaining mixture, bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes.

Out of the oven...

 

Ready for my tummy...

 



 
 



Patty Melts

It doesn't get much better than this...

1 pound turkey bacon
Fry until nice and crisp, remove from skillet and drain on paper towels, set aside until ready to use.

1 medium onion
2 TBS olive oil
Slice the onion into thin slices, sauté (in the skillet used to fry the bacon) with the olive oil for about 7 minutes or until caramelized. Remove from skillet to a bowl and set aside until ready to build the sandwiches.

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 or 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Mix all together and form into oblong or round patties, your choice. Fry in a skillet (same used to sauté onions) until desired doneness, I like mine well done. Makes 8 good sized patties.

16 slices of your favorite bread*
butter or margarine spread
mayonnaise
Provolone cheese, swiss cheese, or any of your favorite cheese slices*
Start assembling your Patty Melts.
Butter one side of the bread (grill side) and spread mayo on the other side (goodie side)
Place one slice of cheese, burger patty, onions, another slice of cheese and top with another slice of bread that has been buttered on the grill side and mayo spread on the inside.
Grill in a pan until cheese is melted and the bread is nicely toasted. Enjoy!

 

Oops, I didn't take a picture of the same sandwich... :)

 

 

This is the first sandwich, sans the onions for my son...

 

 

 

 

 

*I used provolone and swiss cheese slices, wheat and marble rye bread.