Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• ½ pound ground beef (use 1 pound)
• ¾ cup chopped onion
• ¾ cup shredded carrots
• ¾ cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups of Velveeta processed cheese cubed (I used 16 ounce)
• 1½ cups milk
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in 3 quart saucepan. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan add 1 T butter and add onion, shredded carrots, parsley flakes, basil and celery. Saute until tender.
3. Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. In small skillet melt remaining butter (3 T) and add the flour. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
5. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake 

Ingredients:

1 chocolate boxed cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups (large handful) chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the pudding with the milk according to package directions. Add the cake mix and stir well to combine (batter will be thick).
Smooth batter into a greased 8-inch pan. Scatter chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges pull away from sides.

Lemon Lush

Lemon Lush

1 stick butter - melted
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup pecans - chopped (reserve 3/4 cup for topping)
1 16 oz. container Cool Whip
8 oz. cream cheese - softened
1 cup sugar
2 boxes Lemon Instant Pudding - regular size (made to directions and refrigerated)

Directions:

Making 4 layers in a 9 x 13 glass dish

1st layer - butter, flour and 3/4 cup pecans mixed together and pressed into the bottom of glass dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 15 min until light brown. COOL completely.

2nd layer - cream cheese, sugar and 1 cup Cool Whip. Blend until creamy and spread over 1st layer.

3rd layer - Lemon pudding (made to box directions) spread evenly over 2nd layer.

4th layer - extra Cool Whip spread evenly over 3rd layer and topped with remaining pecans.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookies
Pinch kosher salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted

Filling

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice



Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 11 x 7 inch pan.
Stir together crushed cookies, salt and melted butter. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Beat cream cheese for 2-3 minutes until softened and fluffy. Add in sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in eggs and extracts on low speed until incorporated, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Pour batter into pan. Use an offset spatula to spread evenly.

In a small bowl, stir preserves and lemon juice together until preserves have loosened. Place into a piping bag or freezer zip top bag. Snip corner pipe lines onto batter. Use a knife or offset spatula to swirl preserves lightly.

Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes, or until set. The bars will still jiggle a bit when pan is shaken, but should not be wet.
Cool on a wire cooling rack until cooled, then cover and transfer to refrigerator for at least one hour before cutting and serving.

homemade Mounds Bars and Almond Joy Bars

Mounds Bars and Almond Joy Bars

5 oz can sweetened condensed milk 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
2 cups powdered sugar 
14 oz package premium shredded flaked coconut
24 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips.

In a mixing bowl, blend the condensed milk and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar to the mixture a little bit at a time, stirring until smooth. Stir in the coconut; the mixture should be firm. Pat the mixture firmly into a greased 9X13X2 inch pan. Chill in the refrigerator until firm.

In a double boiler over hot water (not boiling), melt the chocolate, stirring often. (You may also use a microwave oven: place the chips in a bowl and heat for one minute on high, stir, then heat for 1 more minute).

Remove the coconut mixture from the refrigerator and cut into 1X2 inch bars. Set each coconut bar onto a fork and dip into the chocolate. Tap fork against the side of the pan or bowl to remove excess chocolate. Air dry at room temperature on waxed paper. This could take several hours, but chocolate sets best at cool room temperature (below 70 degrees). You may speed up the process by placing the bars in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Variation:

Almond Joy

Add 1 cup dry roasted almonds to the list of ingredients. Substitute milk chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate. Place two almonds atop each bar before dipping in chocolate. Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Holiday Rum Balls

Holiday Rum Balls

2-1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (about 75 wafers)
1 cup ground pecans
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking cocoa
1/4 cup rum
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water
Additional confectioners' sugar and/or crushed vanilla wafers

In a large bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, pecans, confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Combine the rum, honey and water; stir into crumb mixture. Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in additional confectioners' sugar and/or wafer crumbs. Store in an airtight container. Makes 3-1/2 dozen.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium bowl combine flour, soda and salt. Mix well, set aside.

In a large bowl with a mixer blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix to until it forms a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until fully combined. Add the flour mixture, macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips, and blend on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Move immediately to cooling rack.