Tortellini Chicken Noodle Soup

I've seen this soup all over Pinterest and I can tell you why - it's great! The tortellini ends up tasting a lot like dumplings. Everyone in my family had seconds and raved about how yummy it was. I got the recipe from Cooking Classy and modified it slightly, but I think there are a lot of different blogs with similar recipes. I served it with the Perfect Dinner Rolls recipe I posted last week and it was a great dinner.

Tortellini Chicken Noodle Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots, about 5 medium carrots
1 cup chopped celery, about 3 stalks
1 cup chopped onion
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2, 1 quart boxes chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
19 oz frozen cheese tortellini
3 cups cooked and chopped chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons Ultra Gel (or you can use cornstarch mixed with a little water), optional

In a large soup pot melt the butter. Saute carrots, celery, and onion in the melted butter until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add chicken stock, Italian seasoning, parsley, bouillon, tortellini, and chopped chicken. Bring to a boil and  cook until tortellini is cooked through. Add Ultra Gel or cornstarch just to thicken up the broth a little bit (totally optional). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Perfect Dinner Rolls

This is another fantastic recipe from Your Homebased Mom. They really are the perfect white dinner roll. I have another dinner roll recipe that I really love - it's half wheat flour half white flour - but I know this will be my go-to for white dinner rolls. The dough is very easy to work. These tasted amazing with butter and jam.

Perfect Dinner Rolls

1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
2 cups warm milk
3 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
1 tablespoon salt
6-7 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
melted butter

1. In a heavy duty stand mixer combine water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
2. Add milk, butter, remaining sugar, and salt.
3. Add in 5 cups of flour and mix until dough forms. Continue adding flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides of the mixer. Knead on high speed for 3 minutes. Dough should be slightly tacky.
4. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double in size (30 minutes or so depending on room temperature).
5. Press dough down and roll into a 8 x 12 rectangle. Cut the dough into 4 strips the long way and then each strip into 6 pieces for a total of 24 pieces.
6. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place on a greased or silpat lined baking sheet.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise a room temperature for 20-25 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Brush the baked rolls with melted butter if desired.

Navajo Tacos with Quick Fry Bread

Have you ever had a Navajo taco?? They are truly delicious! I have another recipe for Navajo tacos on this blog, but it uses yeast risen bread dough and this recipe is the quick bread version which uses baking powder. Both are extremely tasty. Fried bread and taco fillings. How can you go wrong really? I probably only make this about once a year, because it involves deep frying and I just don't do that all the time, but whenever I do make these my kids are so happy. And any leftover fry bread can be slathered with butter and honey, which is also amazingly delicious!

Navajo Tacos with Quick Fry Bread

Fry Bread:
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk
vegetable or peanut oil for deep frying

Toppings:
1-2 lbs seasoned taco meat
large can refried beans
1 small can El Pato tomato sauce
shredded cheese
guacamole
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
chopped green onion or red onion
sour cream

Directions for Fry Bread:
In a stand mixer  (or by hand) combine flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Knead until dough comes together. You may need to add a little more flour so the dough isn't too sticky. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth add flour as needed. Cover with a towel and let rest for 5 minutes.

Pour enough oil into a heavy deep skillet so that the oil is 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 375 degrees.

Divide the dough into 12- 20 pieces depending on how big you want your fry bread (I ended up making about 18). Roll out dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness ovals.

Fry the bread, about 2-3 at a time, until golden, then flip until the other side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Top fry bread with refried beans (how to prepare them below), then taco meat and any other toppings. Eat right away. We like to have the leftover fry bread for dessert with butter and honey - yum!

Directions for Refried Beans:
In a saucepan combine refried beans from the can with about 1/2 a can of the El Pato. Stir and heat until it loosens. You might add a little more El Pato until you get the desired consistency. Add a handful of shredded cheese (maybe 1/2 - 1 cup) and heat through until the cheese melts. Serve this spread on the fry bread before topping with other toppings.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Here's another lovely soup recipe. We really love soup around here and usually have it once a week with homemade rolls or bread. It is definitely one of my kids' favorite dinners. This soup was ranked right up there with chicken noodle and corn chowder so it was a hit. It tastes so much like chicken pot pie filling in soup form. I served it with some wheat rolls and it was seriously delicious.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 stalks celery
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cans or about 7 cups chicken broth, divided
3-4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 large potato, peeled & small dice
1 can corn, drained
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen green beans
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
pepper to taste

In a large soup pot melt 3 tablespoons butter. Saute onions, celery, and carrots until cooked, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add 2 cans chicken broth, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium and cover and boil 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In another saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter, add flour and cook, whisking for a minute. Add heavy cream and 1 can chicken broth and whisk and cook until smooth and thickened. Just before it begins to boil add to the soup pot and stir. Thin the soup to desired consistency with the last can of chicken broth. Season with salt, chicken bouillon, onion powder, Mrs. Dash, and pepper to taste.

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket

This is a great way to cook brisket! It turns out so tender and flavorful! This recipe is from Your Home Based Mom and it is just awesome. I think it will go into regular rotation for our Sunday dinners. I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans and it was great!

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Brisket

3-4 lb beef brisket
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Place brisket in crockpot. Mix together remaining ingredients, except for cornstarch, and pour over brisket. Cover and cook on low for 9 hours or 5-6 hours on high.

Remove brisket and slice the meat across the grain. Place on a platter and cover with foil.

Strain the juices from the crockpot into a saucepan. Mix together cornstarch and enough water to just mix it together and make it pourable; add to the juices and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and served thickened sauce over the sliced brisket.