Tortellini Soup

I love soups because it's a one pot meal, you can make them ahead, and leftovers always taste good. This soup is one of my favorites! You can have a fabulous soup on 15 minutes. I actually got the original recipe from a Pampered Chef Cookbook, and have tweaked some flavors to make the recipe taste a little more TDF. This is really good served with french bread, or sourdough bread. I think you could use frozen tortellini as well as dried. I have always used the Barilla brand in the dried pasta section in the super market, it looks like this:
Whatever tortellini you use, just cook it the amount of time in your soup as it says to on the package. If you like a more hearty soup, add more tortellini according to the consistency you are looking for. I have also added grilled chicken to this to make it more filling. ENJOY!

Tortellini Soup

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 c dried cheese tortellini
1 can (14 1/2 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 tsp dried basil, or fresh basil (double the amount)
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, or 10 oz chopped fresh spinach
grated fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

In a 3 quart pot, heat oil over medium high heat, add onion and garlic, cook and stir until tender. Add broth, bring to boil. Add tortellini, cook according to package directions, or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and spinach, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Reese's Chocolate Cookies

Cookies are probably hands down at the top of my list of sweets that I LOVE to eat. But they can't be crispy or cakey, they have to have decadent flavor, and amazing texture for me to indulge in the calories. These cookies have the classic flavor of peanut butter and chocolate, and the texture is soft, and fudgey, and chewy, without being cakey. Make sure when you bake these you do not over cook them. They are best if you let them sit for a little bit and set up. It is hard to tell if you have over baked a chocolate cookie, because you can't see any browning. Oven temps may vary, so for the first batch, set the timer at 8 minutes, and adjust from there, but anything over 10 minutes, regardless of the oven, is over baked in my book. I want to make these right now, but then I will just cancel out my long run I did today...so make some for me!

Reese's Chocolate Cookies

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag of peanut butter chips (sometimes I add a little less)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and butter until fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Add flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda, mix well. Add peanut butter chips, mix. Cook on an ungreased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be soft and gooey, let them sit to set up.

Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Bars

I usually will not do two posts in one day, but I REALLY couldn't wait to post this awesome recipe. I found this recipe here. I was attracted to the recipe because of the shortbread crust, and raspberry combination. I have tried other raspberry bars with a cream cheese layer, and I feel like I'm just eating cheesecake, not a raspberry bar. The cream cheese layer doesn't scream cheesecake, it adds a creamy soft element that is a perfect texture needed in the dessert. This recipe has all the flavors and textures needed to make my dream raspberry bar. I love almond flavored things, and so instead of making a vanilla glaze to go on top, I made an almond flavored glaze, and I think it put it over the top for me. I also changed the recipe by using almonds in the topping rather than pecans. Thus, that is why I changed the recipe name to Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Bars. I had a TDF moment as I sampled my new favorite raspberry bar. Try it...you will LOVE it!

Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Bars

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. flour
1/3 c. quick oats
1/3 c. chopped almonds
1 small jar of raspberry jam
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Glaze:
milk
powdered sugar
almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine butter, sugar, salt and vanilla, mix well. Add flour and mix until incorporated. Reserve 1 c. of this mixture, and set aside. In an ungreased 9x9 pan, pat down the cookie mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan, partially cook crust for 10-15 minutes, remove from the oven, set aside. In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk, whisk together until nice and smooth. Poor this mixture over cookie crust. Mix raspberry jam up in the jar until it becomes syrupy so that it is easier to spread. Spread raspberry jam over cream cheese mixture. Add oats and chopped nuts to the reserved 1 c. cookie mixture until combined. Crumble this over the raspberry jam layer. Cook in the oven for 25- 30 minutes. After the bars have cooled slightly, make the glaze, starting with 1 c of powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp almond extract and some milk to thin it out. Mix until smooth, adjusting the flavors as needed. (Note: The glaze should be pretty almondy to get the right effect.) Drizzle glaze over bars, let cool and cut into squares.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

This is another one of my favorite slow cooker dinners. This recipe is very easy, and not time consuming. I love that you can buy the cheapest meat, and this dish tastes like you have used top sirloin because the meat gets so tender. This recipe has an Asian taste to it because of the soy and ginger. Do not leave out the ginger, it really is what makes this dish. You can get this going in the morning, and have dinner ready for you in the evening. I love that! This also makes great leftovers...

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak
2 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger root or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 c. beef broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c. cold water
2 bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch strips
3 tomatoes, cut into eighths
6 cups cooked, hot rice

Remove fat from beef, and portion beef into 6 pieces. Spray large skillet with cooking spray, over medium high heat. Cook beef in the skillet, about 8 minutes on each side, until browned on each side. In a 3-4 quart slow cooker, place beef, onions, garlic and ginger root. Pour beef broth and soy sauce over the meat. Cover, and cook on low for 7-9 hours or until beef is tender. In a small bowl, mix together water, and cornstarch. Gradually add this to the beef mixture, along with the bell peppers. Increase heat to high, cover and let cook for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Stir in tomatoes, cover and let cook for 3 minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Slow Cooker Cordon Bleu Chicken Rolls

I found this recipe in one of my MANY cookbooks, and gave it a try. I was very excited about the outcome, since I love having dinner ready before the most hectic time period of the day (4-6pm). I especially love chicken cordon blue, it has always been a favorite, but I have always felt like I have to make it on a Sunday when I have LOTS of time to prepare it. But with this recipe, the assembly was quick, the clean up was easy, and the taste was delicious. I served this with rice on the side, and a salad.

Slow Cooker Cordon Bleu Chicken Rolls

6 chicken breasts
6 slices of deli style ham
6 slices of provolone or swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper


Spray 3 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Pound our chicken breasts between plastic wrap until about 1/4 inch thick. Place 1 slice of ham, and one slice of cheese on each flattened chicken breast, roll up, tucking sides in. Place rolls seam sides down in the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, and spoon over chicken. Cover, cook on low setting for 3 1/2 hours to 4 1/2 hours. Remove rolls from cooker to a cutting board. Beat sauce in the cooker with wire wisk until smooth. Spoon 1/3 c. sauce onto each plate. Cut each chicken roll into slice and serve on top of the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.