Italian Bread Bowls

Is there anything better than creamy soup in a bread bowl on a cold fall evening?? I don't think so! This is a great and really simple bread bowl recipe. We had Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup last night and these bread bowls were a total hit. Don't skip the egg wash part. It makes the sides of the bread bowls stable enough to hold the soup in as you eat.

Italian Bread Bowls

6 1/2 cups flour (a little more or less)
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast (SAF)
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

In the bowl of an electric mixer (I have a Bosch) combine 5 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Mix just to combine. Add hot water and oil and mix well. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft but not sticky dough (for me it was all the remaining flour). Knead with dough hook at high speed for 6 minutes.

Turn out dough and form into a smooth ball with oiled hands. Place in a large well oiled bowl, turning to make sure dough is oiled on top. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Punch down dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball. Place dough balls on 2 greased baking sheets that have been sprinkled with cornmeal (4 dough portions per baking sheet). Cover baking sheets with damp kitchen towels and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. In a small bowl beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water. Lightly brush this mixture on the risen dough rounds. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush again with egg mixture and bake 10 minutes more or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Halloween Graveyard Cupcakes

I took these to a fun Halloween lunch that I went to with my little 4 year old. She loved helping me decorate these cookies - especially putting the little chow mein noodle skeleton fingers in. I love Halloween so much!! Spooky yummy fun!

Halloween Graveyard Cupcakes

1 box cake mix, prepared as cupcakes as directed on box (or your favorite from scratch recipe)
1 tub white frosting (or your favorite homemade)
24 Milano cookies
1 cup chocolate chips
1 row of Oreo cookies from a package
1 row of Golden Oreo cookies from a package
pumpkin shaped candies (they are the ones that taste like candy corn)
1 bag chow mein noodles

Prepare 24 cupcakes with a box of cake mix or you can make them from scratch if you prefer. Allow cupcakes to completely cool before decorating.

Melt chocolate chips in 30 second intervals in the microwave. When melted pour into a freezer bag and snip the very tip off of one of the bottom corners. Use bag like a piping bag and pipe RIP onto each Milano cookie. Place finished cookies on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer until chocolate writing has hardened.

Blend Oreo and Golden Oreo cookies in a blender. Place Oreo crumbs into a bowl. Frost cupcakes generously with white frosting. Dip the frosted cupcakes into the Oreo crumbs to make the "dirt" of the graveyard. Place a Milano cookie in the middle of each cupcake and press a candy pumpkin into the frosting. Take 5 chow mein noodles and press into the cupcake to make skeleton fingers coming out of the dirt. Do the same on the other side. You can leave the "fingers" off if you want a tamer graveyard.:)

Chicken Enchilada Soup (Freezer Meal and Crockpot Meal)

I made 6 batches of this soup recipe for my freezer meal swap this month. I really like this soup - kind of like taco soup, but more enchilada-y. As far as freezer meals go this one is very easy to put together. My kids love all the toppings that you can put on it; guac, sour cream, cheese, chips, etc.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3-4 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
10 oz can red enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped green chiles
14 oz can chicken broth
14.5 oz can corn, undrained
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed bay leaves

Possible toppings: shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole, sliced olives, etc.

Freezer Meal Assembly:
Place chicken into a quart size freezer bag and freeze. In a bowl combine: chopped onion, crushed tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chiles, chicken broth, corn, cumin, chili powder, dried cilantro, salt, pepper, and crushed bay leaves. Pour into a gallon size freezer bag and seal. Double bag in another freezer bag and freeze flat.

Heating Instructions:
Crockpot: Thaw chicken and soup bags. Pour both into crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with toppings of choice.

Stove Top: Thaw chicken and soup bags. Pour into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with toppings of choice.

Baked Acorn Squash

This recipe come from Paula Deen so of course it was buttery and delicious. I think I might add a pinch of cinnamon next time too. It's a great fall side dish.

Baked Acorn Squash

1 large acorn squash, cut in half
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Scoop the seeds and stringy pulp out of the squash cavities and discard. In a small bowl combine butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Rub the squash cavities and cut sides of the squash with the butter mixture and place them on a baking sheet, cut side up. Bake for 1 hour until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Serve 1 half per person. Or pour melted butter/sugar mixture out of the middles into a serving dish, and cut squash halves into fourths and serve with melted butter/sugar mixture spooned over.

Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

My daughter had a very fun field trip to a local farm where you get to pick your own veggies. Oh she loved it! It was so neat to go with her and see how she loved digging and picking those vegetables. We decided to make beef stew with all the different veggies she picked and she loved the whole process of washing them, putting them in the crockpot, and eating them up at the end. I love this recipe. It is easy and tasty and perfect for a fall evening.

Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

2 - 2 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
6 - 7 red potatoes, cut into chunks
4-5 carrots, cut in thick slices
3 stalks celery, cut in thick slices
1 onion, chopped big
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 packet onion soup mix
2 tablespoons Ultra Gel or quick cooking tapioca, optional
1 cup frozen peas, optional

In a large skillet brown meat in a little hot oil. Place meat and chopped vegetables (except frozen peas) into crockpot. In a bowl combine soups and onion soup mix and pour over meat and vegetables; stir it well to distribute soup mixture evenly. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. During last hour or so of cooking you can mix in Ultra Gel if you have that or tapioca to thicken the sauce up a little, but you can definitely skip this for a saucier stew. Also at this point you can add frozen peas and continue cooking until time is up.

Meatballs and Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

This recipe is from the current edition of Betty Crocker Casseroles magazine. My family really liked this one and I love how easy casseroles are for busy days. I made this casserole earlier in the day and put it in the fridge until that evening when I was ready to bake it. I did adapt the recipe slightly from the original - I made the white sauce myself rather than using a package of white sauce mix (honestly I've never even seen white sauce mixes in the store and white sauce is so easy to make). It was a great twist on macaroni and cheese and because I usually have these ingredients on hand I have a feeling I'll be making this again soon.

Meatballs and Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

16 frozen Italian meatballs, thawed and cut in half (or you could use smoked or Italian sausage cut into slices)
3 cups rotini pasta
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons Italian style bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
2 green onions chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 8" square pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Add milk slowly, whisking, and heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheeses and stir until melted. Stir in pasta and meatballs. Spoon into baking dish.

In a bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, green onions and melted butter. Spread this mixture evenly over the pasta. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden.

Slow Cooked Sunday Roast

This is the best go-to roast recipe! I got it from my friend Jessica's family recipe book that she was so kind to send to me. Thank you thank you Jessica!! This recipe has changed how I think about slow cooking Sunday roasts. I used to be a crockpot roast gal, but this roast came out so moist and tender. So I say slow cooking in the oven is the way to go! This would be perfect to make during afternoon church. I served it with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. So lovely and Sundayish.

Slow Cooked Sunday Roast

beef roast - pot roast, rump roast, etc.
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
onions, cut into wedges or chunks
carrots - cut big carrots into chunks or use baby carrots

Place vegetables in the bottom of a covered baking dish or dutch oven. Place roast on top of vegetables. Combine cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix and pour over roast. Cook covered in oven at 325 for 3-4 hours.

*You could also place quartered red potatoes in with the roast if you'd like an all in one kind of meal.