Easy snowman cupcakes

Here is a fun Christmas/Holiday activity to do with the kids. These cupcake don’t even take an hour and it gives the kids a chance to participate and help.

All you needs is

·         Cake mix (oil, water and eggs according to box)

·         White sugar and White frosting  

·         Orange sprinkles for nose or chips such as butterscotch or peanut butter

·         Chocolate chips for eyes and mouth

Enjoy the time with your family it goes by so fast.

Broccoli cheddar soup

So as I said in my last post I will be adding another soup recipe. So here you go my favorite soup from Panera is the cheddar and broccoli soup. So after playing around here is my version. Beware my version has a lot more broccoli and bigger chunks J

Ingredients

·         ½ cup melted butter

·         Medium chopped onion

·         1/4 cup of flour

·         2 cups of half and half cream

·         2 cups of chicken stock

·         1 cup of fresh broccoli

·         1 cup of julienned carrots

·         ¼ tsp o9f nutmeg

·         8 ounces of grated sharp cheddar

·         Salt and pepper to taste

                               

Directions

 

1.       Sauté onion in 1tbsp of melted butter in small saucepan.

2.       In large saucepan whisk together ½ cup of butter and flour over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.

3.       Slowly whisk in the half and half and chicken stock.

4.       Let soup simmer for about 20 minutes.

5.       Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Let them simmer on medium low for about 25 minutes until the broccoli and carrots are tender.

6.       Add nutmeg and cheddar cheese. Let the cheese melt. And salt and pepper to taste

7.       enjoy

Pasta e Faggioli

So the weather is changing on us, it went from jacket weather to coat weather in one week. So I thought I make one of my favorite soups and ill post another one after this.

Pasta e Faggioli

Ingredients

1lb ground beef

2tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 diced carrots

3 stalks of diced celery

1tbsp minced garlic

24oz can of tomato sauce

1 carton of chicken broth

½ cup of water

1 can diced petite tomatoes

2tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp dried basil

1tsp dried oregano

3/4tsp dried thyme

1/2tsp marjoram

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of ditalini pasta

1 can of dark kidney beans

1 can of great northern beans

Grated parmesan for topping  

Directions

1.       Heat 1tbsp of oil in large skillet over medium heat, crumble ground beef and add a pinch of seasoning salt. Cook until done and drain fat.

2.       In same skillet add remaining oil with onion, carrots and celery over medium-high heat until tender, after about 5 minutes add garlic and sauté one minute longer.

3.       In large sauce pan on low heat add veggie mix, tomato sauce, chicken broth, water, canned tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram and cooked beef.

4.       Salt and pepper to taste and stir mixture together.  

5.       Cover with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft which takes about 20 minutes.

6.       Meanwhile prepare ditalini pasta, according to package, cooking al la dente.

7.       Add cooked drained noodles, kidney and northern beans to soup mixture.

8.       Thin with water if needed, cook for 2 minutes longer.

9.       Serve soup with grated parmesan on top.

10.   enjoy