Soup and Seminoles

Ahhh, fall.  Crisp, cool, sweaters, pumpkins, leaves, football, and -- my favorite -- soup. 

SNAP INTO REALITY

Oh, yeah ... I live in Florida now!  So, we still get football, and they set out pumpkins to help us trot around, pretending we live in a fall wonderland. 

But, like I said, we still got football, people!!  And I'll be danged if anyone is going to tell me I can't make soup just because its 80 degrees outside.  So, I'll be spending the next couple of months cranking down the A/C and melting fall Scentsy bricks.  I'll also be making soup.  Like I did tonight!

I don't know how many of you watch college football, or follow the ACC, but the Florida State Seminoles are doing very well this season!  And tonight at 8pm is a really big game against the Clemson Tigers.  So, in honor of this major athletic event (whatever, I would make this on an uneventful Tuesday it tastes so good), I made my potato soup!

 

 

This recipe is easy.  Like, crazy easy.  You couldn't screw it up if you tried. Note: Don't try. Just to be safe.  What it is not, however, is diet food.  Or gluten, dairy, or any-of-that-other-bad-stuff free.  But it is good.  And as long as you don't eat it every day, you'll be alright.

 

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients:

 

- 1 bag frozen southern style hashbrowns, 32 oz. (Note: I've used shredded before, and it works - I just prefer the texture of southern style.  Up to you, though!)

- 1 can cream of chicken soup

- 2 cans chicken broth (you can add more or less, depending on your desired thickness)

- one small white or yellow onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- salt & pepper

- 8 oz. block of cream cheese, room temp and cubed

- shredded cheese

- sliced green onion

- bacon

 

In your Crock Pot, combine hashbrowns, chicken soup, chicken broth, onion, garlic, salt & pepper.  Cook on low about 6 hours.  About 30 - 45min before serving, stir in cream cheese.  Once the cream cheese is melted, the soup is ready!  Garnish each bowl with shredded cheese, green onion, bacon, and whatever else your little heart desires!  Daniel made some easy garlic toast by slicing some Italian style bread and broiling it with butter and garlic salt.  Yum! 

 

Hope you enjoy it, whatever the weather. :)

 



I'm Back! And come bearing calories...

Hello, my faithful followers (however few)!  I must, first off, apologize for my absence these last weeks.  Christmas came, and then the New Year brought with it some really fun stuff like illness, the beginning of a new chaotic semester, the start of  a new job - all things gauranteed to let your hobby food blog fall by the wayside. 
No worries, however -- I'm back!  And I happily share my first recipe of 2012 with you.  You've seen it on Pinterest, you've heard of its amazingness, you might have even pinned it with the intention of someday making this behemoth of a casserole.  But I done went and did the damn thing.  And let me tell you, it was no disappointment. 
Yes, kids ... we're talking about Pizza Casserole.  Chock full of noodles, meat, tomato sauce, and a enough cheese to cover your dairy intake for the next few days, it is an absolutely delicious, indulgent, and gigantic dish.

The original recipe that caused a Pinterest uproar can be found on the Blog For Mamas.  This is a slight adaption from that recipe, only in that I added stuff that the Hubby and I enjoy on our pizzas (mainly veggies).  That is what makes this recipe so great - its ability to be messed with and tweaked to please your particular palate (gosh, I love alliteration).

*Note: This recipe makes enough to feed a small army.  Seeing as how there are only two big people and one munchkin in our family, we had leftovers for days.  In the future, I plan on cutting this recipe waaay back.  But, for the first go 'round (and because I'm a fatty), I decided to just make the whole thing.

Start out with the following:

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb italian sausage

Saute all this yummy stuff up in some EVOO with plenty of salt & pepper.

Once its all browned and delicious, set it on a plate lined with some paper towels to drain all the grease out.

This is the rest of the stuff you'll need:

One bag No Yolks extra-wide egg noodles (cooked)

About half a package of pepperonis

One big jar of your favorite pasta sauce (or, even better, homemade)

Lots of cheese.  I used whatever I had on hand - the sliced provolone really added a kick you can't get with just plain ol'e shredded mozzerella

Line a large Pyrex (or other) casserole with about 1/3 of your sauce.

Next, layer on half the cooked egg noodles.  This is kinda like layering a lasagne, but don't freak out if you accidentally layer out of order.  Its all going to meld together anyway.

Next comes about half your meat mixture, then another 1/3  of the sauce.

Next comes a bunch of cheese, the other half of the noodles and meat.

Finish it off with the rest of the sauce, then some more cheese (I warned you of the dairy decadence) and a lovely pepperoni grid.  You can add way more pepperoni, if you'd like.  I also gave the very top a healthy dose of parmesan..  What the heck, right?

Cover the whole thing with foil and bake at 350 for 30 min.  Take the foil off and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Ain't she purdy?  And oh, man, does she taste good!  We ate on this for days, with the hubby giving it a chubby "two thumbs up".  Again, I will never make this much of it, unless of course my parents and siblings are coming over.  In that case, I may triple the recipe.

I actually made this recipe over the Holidays, and have since then decided to cook dishes that lean a little more on the lighter side.  I can't wait to share some of them with you -- keep checking back for more!