Friday Flashback

Creamy Potato, Bacon, Leek Soup

Creamy Potato, Bacon, and Leek Soup

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Times:

Prep

10 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

25 min

Total:

35 min

Ingredients

• 6 slices lean, smoky good quality bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrots chopped
• 1 leeks, trimmed of rough tops and roots, chopped and rinsed
• Salt and pepper
• 3 medium starchy potatoes, such as Idaho, peeled, cut into thick slices (like potato chips)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 3 cups milk
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with milk

Directions

Heat a medium soup pot or deep sided skillet over medium-high heat. To the hot pan add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and the bacon. Cook bacon until brown and crisp. Add the chopped celery. Take peeled carrots and lay flat on cutting board. Hold carrot at root end and use the vegetable peeler to make long, thin strips of the carrot. Chop the thin slices into small carrot bits or carrot chips, 1/2-inch wide. Add the chips to celery and stir. Cut leeks lengthwise and then into 1/2-inch half moons. Place the leeks into a colander and run under rushing cold water, separating the layers to wash away all the trapped grit. When the leeks are separated and clean, shake off water and add to celery and carrots. Stir veggies together, season with salt and pepper. While the leeks cook to wilt, 3 to 4 minutes, slice the potatoes.

Cut each potato across into thirds. Stand each piece of potato upright and thinly slice it. The pieces will look like raw potato chips.

Add stock to vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add potatoes. Cook 8 to10 minutes until potatoes are tender and starting to break up a bit. Add milk and cornstarch and stir. Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.

Yummy Steak Sandwiches

Well, I got so involved in other things on Wednesday that I forgot to add my weekly recipe.

The recipe that I chose is one that my sister RaNae is famous for. It is called Yummy Steak Sandwiches, and let me tell you they are Yummy. So, please enjoy.

YUMMY STEAK SANDWICHES

2 lbs. of steak (eye of round or top round)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 small cans mushroom pieces (do not drain)
2 bouillon cubes (dissolved in 1 cup hot water)
season with parsley and basil
chives (optional)

Slice beef into paper thin stripes (should make 36 to 40 slices, figure on 6 slices per person). Heat butter in a frying pan and put in about 5 slices of meat at a time to brown, cook just a few seconds on each side. Keep meat warm while you cook all slices. (set aside)
After all meat browned add a bit more butter to the pan along with 2 small cans of mushroom pieces and juice, then add 2 bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 cup of hot water.
Season with parsely, basil and chive to taste.
Cook until bubbling, add the meat.
Serve on buns.
(I serve on hoogie style buns)
Serving size 6 sandwiches

Hope you enjoy this

Tuesdays Tip

Wax On...Wax Off!

This is an excellent recipe for getting crayon wax out of clothing.

A friend of mine used it and said it worked very well. So, I thought I would share.

2 full scoops liquid Tide (any kind of Tide)

1 cup Mule 20 Borax Powder (find it in the laundry section of the grocery store)

1 cup liquid Shout

2 full scoops OxyClean powder

1 cup white vinegar

You put all the ingredients into the washing machine, and fill it with hot water. Let the washing cycle go for about 1 minute to mix around the ingredients, then stop the washing cycle, and put clothes in to soak for 2 hours. Then let the wash cycle finish. Start the washing cycle over again, this time with WARM water, add 1 scoop Tide and 1 scoop OxyClean and let clothes do a complete cycle. When that’s done, let it do an extra rinse, and then you can put the clothes in the dryer.

Potato Casserole (Funeral Potatoes)

Okay, so I am a bit late with my post. It was a busy day.

Today's recipe is Potato Casserole made in the microwave. Some people know this recipe as funeral potatoes (not to be disrespectful), but this is a casserole you seem to get a lot of when there is a death. It is good though, so enjoy.

POTATO CASSEROLE
(aka Funeral Potatoes)
(for the microwave)

1 (2 lb. or 1kg) bag frozen hash browns or southern style
1 sq. butter or margarine (equals ½ cup of butter)
1 onion chopped or 1/2 pkg frozen onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom
1 pint of sour cream (equals 16 oz)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
season with salt and pepper

Frozen hash browns (the diced ones) or southern style, 2 pounds. Put paper towel on bottom of microwave oven. Puncture bag. Cook about 20 minutes, then let stand. In 4 quart pyrex bowl, melt square of butter or margarine, fresh onion or 1/2 pkg frozen onion. Cook 3 to 6 minutes. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1 pint sour cream, 2 cups grated cheese, & season with salt & pepper. Mix, heat about 4 minutes (divide into 2 dishes). Stir every 3 minutes. (Chopped bacon or green pepper optional.)






Also, for an added bonus, this recipe is for Keri. It is homemade Barbeque Sauce.

Barbeque Sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 – 8oz. can tomato sauce

4 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp liquid smoke

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp MSG (optional)

½ Tbsp brown sugar

½ to 1 tsp garlic powder

½ Tbsp prepared mustard

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper)

1 tsp horseradish

½ tsp salt

1 cup catsup

Combine all ingredients and lightly simmer. Remove from heat and cool. Refrigerate. Make 1 ½ pints.

Tuesdays Tip

I am going to try and post a helpful hint of some sort every Tuesday.

The first is from an email that was sent to me by my wonderful friend Sharon.

Coffee Filters--WHO KNEW ?????

COFFEE FILTERS Coffee filters ..who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Store for almost nothing. 1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers. 2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling. 3. Protect China . Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish. 4. Filter broken cork from bottle. If you break the cork when opening a pour the contents through a coffee filter. 5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust. 6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter. 7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter. 8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale. 9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods. 10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes. 11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter. 12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters. 13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease. 14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

I have used it for bacon worked well.

Wednesdays Recipe

Since Wednesday is one of the toughest days to think of something to make for dinner, I am going to try and post a favorite recipe Wednesday.

The First Recipe is Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. This recipe came about because my Mom made Chicken Cordon Bleu once and everyone loved it. Unfortunately, There were about 18 in the family at that time and everytime she made it she had to pound out 18 or more chicken breast.

Then, when she was Relief Society President and they were having a dinner, she was asked to make her Chicken Cordon Bleu. Well, Mom just could not see pounding out chicken breasts for 50 plus people. So, she came up with this casserole.

It is one of my families favorites.

I serve it over cheesy mashed potatoes.

I hope you try it and your family enjoys it as much as mine.

Would love feedback on the recipe if you try it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE

4 deboned chicken breasts cut into chunks (about 3 lbs)

sliced ham, cut into chunks

slices of swiss cheese (mozzarella or cheddar may also be used)

2 cans cream of chicken soup 1 cup of milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup crushed saltine crackers (enough to cover top of casserole)

1/2 tsp. garlic salt 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. paprika

Line bottom of 9"x 13" cake pan with chicken chunks, season with pepper, then spread ham over chicken. Lay cheese slices on top of ham and chicken. Mix cream of chicken soup, milk and sour cream in a bowl and pour over chicken, ham, and cheese. Combine crackers, garlic salt, parsley, and paprika and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until chicken is no longer pink. May be served over mashed potatoes or rice or on its own.