Silky and Light Potato Soup- La Bonne Femme Recipe Success!

Who doesn't like Potato Soup as the weather gets cold?
It's so deliciously filling!

I love this La Bonne Femme Cookbook, and I have been waiting for the colder months to try some of the heartier recipes. 

This Potato Leek Soup is a definite Win!

Chop 2 leeks and saute in butter.

Meanwhile, peel and chop potatoes. (Actually, I did not peel these Honey Golds. The skin is so thin that I knew it would blend easily in the blender. Russets would definitely need to be peeled.)

Add 6 cups of chicken broth, chopped potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.

Allow the soup to cool slightly and then blend in a blender, working in batches.
P.S.- Hot soup will cause steam to build up as it is blended. This will cause the contents to splatter when you open the top. Take the center piece (in the lid) off and cover with a towel as you blend. This will allow the steam to escape, and allow you to keep your kitchen clean!

Return the silky soup to the pot to reheat and stir in 1 Tbsp of heavy cream.

Voila!
Wonderful Potato Leek Soup on a cold night!

Enjoy this easy weeknight soup with grilled cheese, a simple casserole, or light salad!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Chicken Tetrazzini...The Hubs FAVORITE!

Seriously- His Favorite!

This recipe came out of the Pillsbury Easy Halloween Book. I thought I would try it. I think the Hubs wanted to eat the whole pan in one night...thankfully, we were able to get a few nights out of it!

Ingredients: 1 package spaghetti, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 4 cups chopped cooked chicken, 1 can each of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of celery, 1 (8oz) container of sour cream, 1 (6 oz) jar mushrooms, 1/2 cup shredded Parm, 1 tsp pepper, 2 cups shredded cheddar

Chopped Chicken!

This barely fit into a 13 x 9...2-2 quart casseroles would work, but you can gamble like we did and see if you can get it to fit into 1- 13 x 9.

Cook spaghetti according to instructions, drain and return to pot. Add broth. Mix remaining ingredients (except the 2 cups of cheddar) in a large bowl. Add noodles and broth and mix. Pour into the baking pan and cover with cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

This is so good!!! Very hearty and filling!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Tortilla Soup from Dinner on the Diner

Tortilla Soup!

So the Chattanooga Choo Choo is pretty famous here. 

Years ago, my mom received a copy of a cookbook called Dinner on the Diner from the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It was filled with recipes from around Chattanooga, and many of our family favorites have come from this book.

This is an easy one. It is just Tortilla Soup, but I added chicken!

I bought a rotisserie chicken. We get dinner on the table quicker this way!

Ingredients:

5 slices of bacon, 1 large onion (chopped), 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 (10.5 oz) chicken broth, 1 (16 oz) can tomatoes, 1 (10 oz) can Rotel, 1. 5 cups water, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Cook bacon in pot. Once crisp, remove bacon from pot for topping later! Saute onion in bacon fat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour off grease. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Just before serving, I added the chicken.

Put tortilla chips in your bowl, top with soup and add your favorite toppings (i.e. cheese, sour cream, bacon, black olives...whatever!)

This body warming soup is great for Fall and Winter!!!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Chicken- Pizziola Panini...and Enjoying Gratitude!

 I love this time of year!

Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. I think the idea of dedicating a whole day to reflecting on thanksgiving is an excellent practice!

So to begin, let's start with a dinner idea that will make the kiddos thankful!

Chicken Pizza Flatbread...its a win for everyone!!!

Easy Chicken Pizza Panini

Ingredients: 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 4 boneless chicken cutlets, Cooking spray, 8 tsp sundried tomato spread, 8 slices pepperoni, 4 slices provolone

4 Flatbreads

Season the chicken with Italian seasoning. (I also added a bit of Parmesan.)

I used my table-top grill and cooked the chicken until cooked through.

Spread the sundried tomato spread on the flatbread.

Top with Chicken...

Top with pepperoni...

Top with provolone...

...Fold the flat bread over the meat and cheese.
Spray with cooking spray and grill until heated through and cheese is melted. 

Yummy, cheesy, pizza deliciousness!

The Hubs and I have decided to add something to our current Thanksgiving tradition.

Normally, we leisurely get up, make some cinnamon rolls and coffee and watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

It's a great tradition, but we decided to do something different this year.

The Grateful Gobbler is a 5 k walk on Thanksgiving morning. This year, proceeds go to build and equip a shelter for homeless families in our community.

Did you know that when a young boy turns 10 he is no longer able to stay with his mother at night if they are in a shelter?

This new shelter will enable families to stay together!

I'm so grateful! The Hubs is grateful! So, why not walk with our community to share our gratitude with each other...and out of tremendous gratitude...let's GIVE! Let's help make this shelter a reality!!!

Does your community have a gratitude tradition? Find out! Join the fun!

If you are in "ChattaVegas" here are the details on this awesome event: https://www.gratefulgobblerwalk.org/

Enjoying Gratitude is a Great Way to Live La Bonne Vie Y'all!!!

Taco Soup & Sunken Mexican Muffins

I love hearty soups as the weather gets cold.

This recipe is super easy...and quick!

Taco Soup- a wonderful way to warm up on a cold night!

Ingredients: 2 lbs ground turkey, 1 onion (chopped), 1 15 oz can tomatoes, 1 15 oz can corn, 1 16 oz can pinto beans, 1 can water, 1 can Rotel, 1 pk dry ranch dressing mix, 1 pk Taco seasoning mix

Brown turkey and onions in a large pot.

Add caned contents without draining. Add dry mixes. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes (stir often).

These are our favorite toppers! We love Franks Red Hot so much, that if I make this soup again, I will add it to the recipe! 

YUM!

Well, now we need a muffin!
Ingredients: 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 8 oz creamed corn, 1 cup mexican cheese, 4 oz can chopped green chiles (drained)

Mix all of the ingredients, pour mixture into greased muffin tin, bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

They are so moist...and because of the moisture in the chiles...they sink. 

Fall is here friends!

Put on a big pot of Taco Soup and bake a dozen muffins and celebrate!!!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Bone-Warming Chili, Mummy Halloweenies, Spider's Blood Sparklers & Peanut Butter Candy Krispies!

Peanut Butter Candy Krispies, Boo Plates and a 3 D Black Cat Standing guard over our treats!!!

I just love Halloween! 

There are so many festive foods, drinks, costumes! It is such fun!

The creepy paper platter came from Hobby Lobby.
The colors of Reeses Pieces already look like Halloween!

I took plastic spider  rings and hung them on the sides of orange, green and red glasses.

You know we have to have a signature cocktail here...

Spiders Blood Sparklers: 2 Cups Pomegranate juice and a bottle of Prosecco. Garnish with
spider rings and fresh pomegranate seeds!

To add some drama...I added a bit of dry ice.
Dry ice is poison if ingested, so we just used a bit for effect. We drank a bit from this pitcher,
but the dry ice causes bubbling, so it was leaving our drink flat.
We had a back up pitcher for fresh, bubbly drinks!

Buzzzy...working on Mummy Halloweenies!

I rolled out crescent rolls and cut them into strips.
I wrapped them around 16 all beef hot dogs.
I placed them on parchment and baked them.

375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden!

I added mustard eyes and served with a Dijon Oregano mustard!
Dijon Oregano Mustard: 1/2 cup creamy Dijon & 1 Tbsp dried oregano. Stir & serve!

We also had our Bone-Warming Chili...but I think I will blog that recipe later. 

We were visited by cowboys, Darth Vader, several Screams & even the Phantom of the Opera!

Watching parents and kids enjoy this time together is the most magical part of the evening.

I hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

I feel like this October has been one of the happiest and most festive we have had in quite a while.

I'm looking forward to moving into this season of Thankfulness. 

I hop you are too!

We had several opportunities to carve pumpkins this October, so I'll leave you with a our pumpkin carving pictures...La Bonne Vie Y'all!!!

Pumpkin Carving with Family and Friends!

We are a creative bunch!

We love cats!!!

On Halloween night we filled this Jack's head with green and purple glow sticks and some dry ice...
fog was flowing out of its face.
Can you see the outline of Remy in his cat tower looking at our Jack o Lantern?

The Hubs is excellent at carving!

The Cheshire Cat!!!

Happy Halloween!