Cream of Potato Soup

In a large stockpot, heat 2 Tblsp. butter and 1 Tblsp. vegetable oil.
Over medium heat, saute:
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
1-1/2 cups diced carrots
Cover and saute until wilted, not browned.
Add 8 slices of fried, drained and chopped bacon.

To the vegetables, add:
10 cups chicken (OR vegetable) stock
Bring to a boil. Lower to med-low and simmer - COVERED - for 1/2 hour. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a couple Tblsp. chopped parsley.

In another pot, place 8 medium peeled & diced potatoes (doesn't matter what kind) and bring to a boil - simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are nearly cooked. Drain & carefully add the potatoes to the stockpot. Simmer for 15 minutes, keeping the heat on medium-low.

Keeping the heat on low, add 2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream), stirring to heat, but NOT boil! Taste - add more S&P if needed.

If you're happy with the thickness of the soup, leave it the way it is. If you like a thicker soup, add (a Tblsp. at a time, whisking constantly to prevent clumping) instant mashed potatoes. It works a LOT better than making a flour/cornstarch thickening paste and tastes much better too! Thicken as little or as much as you like.

Now's the time to add cheese if you like a cheesy potato soup. Grate as little or as much colby/jack cheese as you like, and add to the soup, stirring constantly and keeping the heat LOW to prevent sticking/scorching. Here's a tip: If you really like a smoky/bacon flavor but do not want to ADD bacon (or just don't have any on hand), grate smoked Gouda cheese and add a half cup or so to the soup. It will TASTE as though there's bacon in the soup even if there isn't any! Be creative - use chopped ham or whatever else sounds good to you. Serve in bowls and have shredded cheese on hand to sprinkle on top.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin cookies

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix well:

1 cup softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

Beat for 5 minutes until fluffy.

Continue mixing in:

2 eggs

1 teasp. vanilla extract

In another bowl, mix dry ingredients:

1-1/2 cups flour

3 cups rolled oats

1 teasp. baking powder

1 teasp. baking soda

1 teasp. ground cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients with butter mixture, mixing well. Add 1-1/2 cups raisins. (You can also add dried cranberries, chopped nuts, chocolate chips.....) Blend everything together.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving at least an inch between cookies (around 12 per sheet). Flatten slightly and if you like, sprinkle the tops lightly with sugar (I do that!).

Bake for 13-15 minutes until edges of cookies are golden. Cool completely.

Fudge Truffle Pie

This recipe is INCREDIBLY easy & will satisfy ANYone's craving for chocolate. For the best result, use a GOOD quality chocolate (like Ghirardelli).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees - 325 degrees if you're using a glass pie plate. Spray a pie pan lightly with nonstick spray.

Melt (and cool slightly) a 12 oz. package of semisweet chocolate chips. Instead of smearing up a bowl, I spread the chips out on a large, heavy paper plate and microwave it until it's just barely melted.

In a mixing bowl, combine and mix well, using a wire whisk:
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teasp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream

Stir in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pie dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the OUTER half of the pie is a bit puffy, but center is still slightly soft. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack.

Serve with whipped cream. Garnish with raspberries or other berries, if you like. Keep refrigerated.

(Chopped, toasted nuts can also be added when you add the chocolate to the batter before baking.)

Tortilla Soup

Keep in mind that there isn't a standard recipe for this and amounts are approximate. Add more (or less) vegetables/seasonings, depending on your taste!

In an 8 qt. stockpot, add a couple tsps. olive oil and saute 2 cups sliced celery, 2 cups chopped onion & a few cloves crushed/chopped garlic - until soft & wilted, NOT browned.

To that, add 1- 15 oz. can of chopped tomatoes with juice (or 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes. Add 1-1/2-2 cups sliced carrots. Add 4 qts. chicken stock/broth, home made or canned/boxed. Bring to a boil - add 2 large pcs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Simmer (covered) for 1/2 hour, until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken & dice up meat - return meat to stock. Simmer another 1/2 hour.

Season stock with salt & pepper to taste. Add 1 teasp. ground cumin, 2 teasp. chili powder and 2 tblsp. chopped fresh parsley. You can add some fresh, chopped cilantro now OR before serving, if you'd like - I'm not crazy about fresh cilantro so I don't use it. If you like a super-spicy soup (say THAT 3 times quickly!!), add some hot chili peppers or cayenne - to taste.

Continue to simmer the stock for another 15 minutes. Add 2 cups (canned or fresh/cooked) black beans and 2 cups (canned, frozen or fresh off the cob) corn. Taste and add more salt/pepper, if needed. Simmer for another half hour.

Spoon the soup into bowls - add grated chihuahua cheese (or co-jack) and garnish with tortilla strips.

Spicy pumpkin bread

After trying many recipes and doing a LOT of experimenting, this is the most MOIST and delicious pumpkin bread recipe around! At the end of the recipe, add whatever you like most (chopped walnuts, dried cherries, miniature chocolate chips, chopped dates...) - the trick is to use sour cream and BABY FOOD (or even applesauce) instead of OIL. Oil usually makes the breads greasy-tasting and fat-laden.

Spray loaf pans with nonstick spray. I even line mine with parchment, but it's not necessary.

Prehead the oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if you're using glass pans of dark-colored teflon pans)

Mix ingredients together in a large mixing bowl:

2 cups canned (cooked, packed) pumpkin (NOT pie filling!)

1 cup BABY food (I used a mixture of carrots and banana-applesauce) OR just applesauce

3/4 cup light sour cream  OR vanilla Greek yogurt

2-1/2 cups white sugar

4 lightly beaten eggs

2 teasp. vanilla

Stir in:

3 cups white flour

2 teasp. baking soda

1 teasp. baking powder

2 teasp. ground cinnamon

1-1/2 teasp. ground ginger

1/4 teasp. ground cloves

1/8 teasp. ground/grated nutmeg

Mix WELL - at this point, add whatever you like to the batter. You don't have to add ANYthing if you prefer it plain. I added dried cranberries (Craisins) and chopped walnuts to mine.

Divide the batter equally and spoon into greased pans. You can use standard 8X5 loaf pans or smaller mini-loaf pans. Make sure if you use smaller pans to adjust the baking time and check them after 30-40 or so minutes. The larger loaves take 45 minutes or more.

Bake the loaves - test the center with a toothpick to make sure it's baked thoroughly. Remove from oven and then remove from pans after 15 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. If you can wait that long. :-)

Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is made for a diabetic diet (no crust, no sugar & VERY low carbs!). You can EASILY adapt it and make a regular pumpkin pie by preparing your favorite (unbaked) crust. Make the filling exactly the same but use regular sugar instead of Splenda. Then bake it @400* degrees the first 15 minutes - lower the oven temp to 350* and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes, until the center is cooked.

Spray a 9" pie plate with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350* degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine and mix together well:

1 15 oz. can of solid packed, cooked pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie FILLING)

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 cup Splenda (OR sugar)

1 teasp. ground ginger

2 teasp. ground cinnamon

1/8 teasp. ground cloves

1/8 teasp. ground/grated nutmeg

1 teasp. vanilla extract

1- 12 oz. can evaporated milk

Whisk all the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

* IF YOU USE A GLASS or DARK- COLORED Nonstick PIE PAN, REDUCE THE OVEN TEMPERATURE 20 DEGREES - otherwise it'll overcook and burn!

Cannoli cake

Lemon cake:

Grease 2- 8 or 9" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and lightly grease the bottom- flour the pans, shaking off excess. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In an electric mixing bowl, (medium speed) cream 1 cup (2 sticks) soft butter for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add 2 cups white sugar- beat until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add 4 large eggs, ONE at a time - mixing after each addition until the batter is fully blended - around 5 minutes. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix dry ingredients (separately) in a bowl and then set aside:
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tblsp. baking powder
1 teasp. baking soda

Measure 1-1/4 cups buttermilk and to it, add 1 teasp. vanilla and 1 Tblsp. grated lemon zest/

To the butter/sugar mixture in mixing bowl, ALTERNATELY add the flour mixture and buttermilk- a third at a time - mixing on a low speed until everything is mixed together well and thoroughly incorporated.

Spoon 1/2 the batter into each of the 2 pans. Bake 20 minutes - quickly and carefully rotate the pans so the cakes cook evenly. Bake for another 10 - 15 minutes more (checking after 10 minutes) and testing with a toothpick to make sure cakes are done.

Remove to cooling racks - cook 20 minutes in pans before turning upside down and removing from pans. Cool completely.

When layers are cooled, split each in half. You can put filling between 2 or 3 of the layers, depending on how high you'd like the cake. Or you can leave them intact and just put filling between one layer. Or go ahead and eat it plain. :-)

Cannoli filling:

There are countless variations for cannoli filling; some are cooked, some are uncooked. It's all a matter of personal taste and preference. Add candied fruit, citron, peel, toasted chopped nuts, chopped chocolate ... whatever floats your cannoli boat.

This makes more than enough filling for a 3-4 layer cake:

Mix together:
2 lbs. fresh whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar (or more if you like a sweeter taste)
1 teasp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 teasp. grated lemon (or orange) zest
1/3 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 bar (standard size- 6 oz?) imported chopped milk chocolate (like Lindt or Lindor)
Fold in gently:
1-1/2 cups freshly whipped whipping cream (not canned!)

Divide ricotta filling and spread between layers of cooled cake. Either sift powdered sugar over cake & serve with freshed whipped cream or use your favorite frosting.