Black Bean Soup

It's gotten pretty chilly here as of late, so yesterday I decided to try my hand at some black bean soup to warm us up! Super easy and very tasty, if I do say so myself...

Black Bean Soup:

• 1 "big" can of black beans, or 2 normal size ones (about 30 oz of beans)
• 1 jar of salsa
• some diced onion (about 1/4 cup)
• some diced bell pepper (a little less than half of a pepper)
• cumin
• 1/2 - 1 cup broth

Start by sauteing your pepper and onion with a little bit of oil in the bottom of your soup pan. Give them about 2-3 minutes to sofen up. Then add 1/2 cup of broth (if you want to thin it out a little, you can always add more broth later).

Puree about 2/3 of your beans in a blender or food processor until the desired consistency (I like mine a little on the chunky side). Add the pureed beans and the whole black beans to the broth mixture. Dump in about 1 jar of salsa (more or less to taste), and give the soup a couple hearty shakes of cumin.

Simmer until ready to serve! Very easy, and very yummy!

It is that time...

Yes, for another post. Bust also for chilly fall evenings with hot cocoa with cool whip and sprinkles. :o) Next time you make hot cocoa, put a splash of your favorite coffee creamer in it. Hazelnut - so good!
French Vanilla - smooth and mellow
Peppermint Mocha - oh my yummy!

Fall most certainly is here.
And with fall weather comes yummy soup recipes.
I didn't take a picture of it, nor was it a formal recipe, but I made a really yummy tomato-potato-barley soup the other day.

I browned some potato cubes in the bottom of my soup pan with a little olive oil. To that I added some onions to carmelize and just a little bit of minced garlic. Then I dumped in some fresh chopped tomatoes (2 I think - in big chunks) and a can of diced tomatoes, some chopped celery, chopped carrots, 1 can of broth, 1 cup of water, a can of corn and about 1/3 cup of barley. Added in some salt and pepper and let it simmer for an hour or so. De-licious! And very customizable.

I most certainly do have a picture of this little yummy though:















When I was in Florida a few weeks ago for the beautiful wedding of one of my very closest friends, my mom had an amazingly scrumptious oatmeal bar on the counter to snack on at home. She was kind enough to share the recipe, and you won't believe how easy, or delicious, this is:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups of oats
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup of your favorite jelly (we used peach, mom used raspberry)
• 2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the first 3 ingredients together until they resemble coarse crumbs.
Press 1/2 of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 13x9 pan.
Mix your jelly with the 2 Tbsp of water and spread over the crumbs in the pan.
Sprinkle the remaining mixture on top and bake 15 minutes or so, until lightly golden.
Cool, cut, and enjoy!

I owe you...

Big time!

My faithful blog checkers, I am attempting to start this post (I know it probably won't even get finished today) in order to share with you some great recipes I have made as of late. With school back in session, my time is not my own it seems!

But I will try and make it up to you now with some fabulous soup and cheesecake recipes. :o)

First up, Cream Cheese Chicken Soup















We had a bit of chilly weather here, and I was inspired to make this soup. Had I been planning ahead, I probably would have made bread bowls for it, but I wasn't and so I didn't, and it was still delicious.

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cooked and cubed
• 3 cups broth
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 4 carrots, chopped bite size
• 3-4 potatoes, peeled and chopped bite size
• 1 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp cream cheese
• 1 8oz. block of cream cheese, softened (and yes, I used 1/3 reduced fat and it tasted fine)

Saute onions in butter in the bottom of your soup pot until the onions are clear.
Add in chicken broth, carrots, and potatoes (broth should cover the veggies). Bring the broth to a boil and then simmer about 15 minutes - until the veggies are soft.

Once veggies are cooked, combine the milk and flour together and add that mixture to the soup pot. Chunk the cream cheese in a little at a time, stirring until the cheese melts completely into the soup. Add your chicken and heat through.
Serve and enjoy!

Okay, I don't have a picture for the cheesecake (I baked it late at night and took it the next morning to lunch after church), but I do have a picture of dinner the other night:




















Chicken bar-b-que pizza. I never thought I'd like it, but John LOVES bar-b-que pizza, so I made it. SO good! Just top your regular pizza with some bar-b-que, and eat. Yummy yummy!


But I do have the Brownie Cheesecake recipe for you (sans photo)

• 1 batch (a 9x9 or 8x8 pan will do) of your favorite brownie recipe, cut into small cubes (like 1 inch x 1 inch, or a little smaller)
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 8oz. packages of cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla or so

And if you want the chocolate glaze (and I think you do...)

• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2-3 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt your 5 Tbsp of butter and mix in your cookie crumbs and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan (you can double the amounts and make a 10 inch crust if you'd like).
Then, using a mixer, beat together your cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and combined. Stir in brownie chunks (if you use a 13 x 9 recipe, you'll have extra). Pour over crust and bake for 45 minutes.
Once completely cool, make the glaze.
Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan and then pour in the sugar, vanilla, and chips. Stir constantly until chips are melted. Spread over cheesecake and refridgerate until serving.
This cheesecake is absolutely heavenly!
Well, 2 days later and I am finally getting this posted. Enjoy the recipes, and this picture of the blueberry and raspberry jam I made the other night. Scrumptious!