Omelette Quesadilla and Wrap

Once again life became crazy busy, and I was forced to put my blog posts on hold. Long story short - I carried twins for another couple. At 28 weeks, I was admitted into the hospital for Pre-eclampsia with severe features. My only severe feature was high blood pressure, but it was high enough that I had to remain in the hospital until I delivered. You can read more about it here. On top of that, I was also taking a college English course on-line. Life is now getting back to normal after the twins were born and my English course is winding down.

I'm excited to get back in the kitchen. I have some fun ideas I'd like to start doing. Almost a year ago, I received my grandma's old recipes, like old as in - handwritten on recipe cards. I'd like to dedicate a post each month to making something from her collection of recipes. Also, I am continuing to make a baked good once a month for a year as part of my daughter's mission trip fundraiser. I'm hoping to dedicate a post to this as well.

Today I have two delicious and satisfying breakfast ideas. Yeah... my last post was a breakfast item too. So what? I like breakfast, okay? I made these dishes vegetarian, but feel free to add ham, bacon, or sausage or get wild and add them all! Like I've said before, I like making dishes that allow you to get creative - add or subtract any ingredients you want.

Omelette Quesadilla
1 serving

2 eggs
Olive oil
Handful of veggies - I used onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese
2 Soft tortilla shells (large size)

Add a bit of olive oil to a frying pan. Scramble the eggs either with or without the veggies. I chose to saute mine after the eggs were scrambled. Shake some salt and pepper on the eggs as they scramble. Once the eggs are done and the veggies are softened, transfer them to a bowl. Set bowl aside.

Place one soft shell tortilla in the frying pan. Sprinkle on some cheese. Take the eggs and veggies and scatter them over the shell. Sprinkle on some more cheese and top with another soft shell tortilla. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes or until the bottom shell is a golden brown. It's important that you don't cook it too fast or over a high heat. The cheese won't have time to melt and flipping it will make a mess - trust me on this one. Once cheese it melted and the shell has reached a nice golden brown, flip the quesadilla and cook another few minutes.

Now for the wrap...

Prepare the eggs and veggies the same as above. Place one soft shell tortilla  on a plate. Sprinkle cheese down the middle of the shell - not too close to the edges. Place the eggs and veggies over the cheese and fold the shell. Check out this link to see how to fold the shell. Heat it, seam side down, over a medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes. Flip and heat for another 5-6 minutes.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

I found an alfredo recipe on Pinterest, and I felt it was challenging me to try it. It claimed to be better than Olive Garden's alfredo sauce. I don't think O.G. has the best alfredo sauce, but I don't think it's horrible either. Guess that means I'm neutral, but whoever named this sauce named it "Better Than.." and I agree 100%.

Well, challenge accepted. I give it a pretty good score, too! Creamy and flavorful! Take a look...

Find the original recipe here: Better Than Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce.

Minestrone Soup

We are still knee deep in snow. The frozen tundra... just one of our many nicknames. Soup is good anytime of the year, but it's especially comforting on a cold winter's night. And who's going to complain when you can serve a whole meal in just one bowl, not me.

This minestrone soup is very satisfying and call me crazy, but it's beautiful. The aroma that fills the house is ahhh..mazing! It makes you wish the day away and pray dinnertime will come soon. I prepared this in my crockpot so it cooked all day long, fusing those wonderful flavors together in slow motion. You could also make this soup in a stockpot and it wouldn't take much time at all. Just cook until the veggies are tender.

Minestrone Soup (adapted from Windsor)

1 1/2 frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen green beans
3 large carrots, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans (15.5oz) light red kidney beans
1 can (15.5oz) cannellini (white kidney) beans
1 can (14.5oz) tomatoes w/basil, garlic & oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp parsely
2 tbsp brown sugar
46.5 oz vegetable broth (1 box plus 1 can)

Rinse veggies and chop. Add them to the crockpot.

Rinse beans. Add beans, tomatoes, garlic and onions.

Add vegetable broth, olive oil, minced garlic, brown sugar and seasoning to crockpot and stir everything together.

Cook all day (6-8 hours) on low heat.The slower and longer you cook this, the more flavorful it is. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and eat away. Don't worry too much about overdoing it... this soup quite healthy. Bonus!

Cheeseburger Soup

My friend, Kristal, raved about this cheeseburger soup recipe the other day. Since we're in the bitter cold winter season I figured I needed to give it a go. Here in the Midwest, life has been colder than necessary. I can handle snow, I'll even go so far to say I love snow, but when we have days and days in a row of below zero temps (that's below zero in Fahrenheit, people. Just for fun, if it's -2F that would be almost -19C).... let's be honest, Mother Nature, that's taking it a bit too far. This is the kind of weather that chills you to the bone and the only way to really thaw out or warm up is live in a Snuggie.

Needless to say, soup is excellent on a cold winter's day. A few weeks ago, my husband made an awesome Baked Potato soup and we ate it out of bread bowls. Talk about yum! I think I'll ask him to make it again and we'll do a post about it. Sometimes that man can really surprise me with his culinary skills.

This recipe for Cheeseburger Soup is great. It's hearty but yet light enough you don't feel like a cement statue after you've gobbled it down. Another great thing about soup is that you can add or take away any ingredients you want. Making adjustments is very easy and also suggested, make it to your family's likeness.

1 lbs ground beef, turkey or chicken
3/4 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
3/4 cup celery (we opted out)
6 small-medium unpeeled potatoes, diced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
5-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
8 oz shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
1 1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup green onions, chopped
Sour cream, optional

In a stockpot, add ground meat, onions and carrots. Cook together until veggies are tender. Stir in basil and parsley. Add potatoes and broth, bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are tender. Mix the melted butter and flour in a separate bowl. It's a goopy glob but don't panic. Add this glob to the soup and stir well until soup begins to thicken. It doesn't thicken too much. If you are looking for a thick soup, reduce the broth from 5-6 cups down to 3 cups. After the flour has been stirred in, add cheese, milk and salt and pepper. If you haven't already, reduce heat to low so the milk doesn't curdle. Allow the cheese to melt and it's ready!

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle with green onions and add slice of french bread.

Windchillin' Cheesy Veggie Soup

Mel and I live in the frozen tundra of the Midwest.  It's cold.  It's colder than freezing actually.  Last week we had a spell of below zero temps with windchills so far in the negatives that you wouldn't think humans could survive here.  But we do.  What hits the spot on impossibly freezing days like we've had?  Hot comfort foods...and this Cheesy Veggie Soup is one of my family's favorites.  It tastes even better as leftovers but usually there isn't any left to make it to that point.  Recipe adapted from Jean Hall.

Cheesy Veggie Soup

1/2 to 1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

3-4 potatoes, cubed

2 3/4 c. water

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

dash of pepper

2 t chicken soup base

1 T cornstarch

1/4 c. cold water

1 can cream of chicken soup

4 c.  frozen vegetables of your choosing, thawed (can use fresh but will want to boil them separately 5-7 min to soften)

8 oz. Velveeta, cubed (haven't found a good substitute yet)

Cook onion and celery in a large saucepan with a dallop of olive oil until the onion is tender.  Add the potatoes, 2 3/4 c. water, chicken soup base, garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir cornstarch into 1/4 c. cold water until smooth.  Slowly add to soup. Boil for a few minutes until thickened.  Add condensed soup.  Reduce heat and add veggies.  Cook until veggies are softened to you liking.  Stir in cheese until melted. 

Stay bundled up & warm, Caramel Delights!  And if you live in a warm, sunny place - just keep that to yourself.  :) 

Easy Cheesy Quesadilla

This recipe is NOT going to blow your mind. It's so simple and easy you could prepare it while wearing a blindfold. I don't recommend that though.

Why post something so simple? As a mom, I am always looking for cheap and easy meals and snacks. This post may be an "Oh yeah, I forgot about those." moment for some readers (really, I'm happy to help make your life a tad easier). This recipe meets my cheap and easy requirements. Make them as a snack or as main entree item.

I made the kid-friendly version for this post:

What you need:

2 flour tortillas
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
1/2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)
Frying pan

Preparations:

Turn stovetop to medium high.

Add olive oil to frying pan (oil is optional because it cooks fine without, but the oil gives it more of a fried taste and better crunch).

Put 1st tortilla into frying pan, immediately add cheese, top with 2nd tortilla.

Wait a couple of minutes and flip (or until cheese is partly melted so it doesn't come flying out during the flipping process).

Wait another couple of minutes and it's done.

Cut into 4 pieces with pizza cutter and top with sour cream and salsa.

Seriously... it's like 5 minutes worth of prep and cook time and kids love them!

Other versions:

Ham and Cheese
Chicken, cheese & veggies
Pizza  (sauce, meat, cheese, veggies)