TOMATO BASIL BISQUE

Ingredients:
3 T Butter
1 lg. Onion, diced
2 Celery Ribs, finely chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
4 C Chicken or Vegetable Broth
3 14.5 oz Cans Tomatoes--(if using fresh 6-8 large tomatoes)
1 sm. Can Tomato Paste
1 tsp Sugar
1 T Parsley Flakes
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 C Fresh Basil
1/2 C Cream (I use half and half)
Salt/Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery—sauté until onion is translucent, approximately 4 minutes, then add garlic and tomatoes. Add all of your spices (including peppers, see note below) except salt and pepper to the pot. Simmer until tomatoes are heated through - then add the tomato paste & chicken broth and bring to boil. Turn heat to medium - simmer for 10 minutes. In a blender or food processor, carefully remove and puree 1/2 of the soup --return to pot.* Stir in cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with croutons, parmesan, fresh basil & tomatoes if desired.

*Rather than chopping the tomatoes after they have cooked, I puree about 3/4 of the tomatoes in my Ninja from the beginning. Saves the mess of processing or blending after they are hot. I do leave about 1/4 of them cut up because I like a chunkier soup.

Freezing Note: I quadruple this recipe and cook in my big stock pot to process for freezing. I also put a handful of various peppers (jalapenos, cayenne, chiles, etc.) from my garden and a small can of green chiles in my Ninja and chop very fine. This adds extra "bite" to the soup. Quadrupling the recipe makes about 3-1/2 gallons to freeze.

This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, Judy Caldwell. She found it on a news website and it is absolutely delish! It is a great recipe to make a lot of and freeze for yummy winter time soup!

MOM'S HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Ingredients:
2 lg. Onions, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/3 C Vegetable Oil
12 lg. Ripe Tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
2 env. Instant Beef Broth
4 tsp Leaf Basil, crumbled
2 C Water
2 Bay Leaves
1 - 12 oz. Can Tomato Paste

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients. Simmer stirring occasionally for 1 hour or until sauce thickens. Remove bay leaves. Spoon into freezer containers in serving portions. Makes 12 cups.

This was my Mom's recipe. She used to freeze TONS of spaghetti sauce every year with tomatoes out of her garden. She made the best spaghetti! Below is her actual recipe I found in one of her cookbooks. You can tell this was well loved!

ORANGE SAUCE

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)
½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil. Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens.

This recipe came from the blog www.blogchef.net that has some awesome Chinese food recipes! The sauce was from the Orange Chicken recipe but it also good with other kinds of meats, egg rolls, etc.

BEST CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE.....EVER!

There's no reason for me to re-post what Pioneer Woman has already posted in great detail on her blog. So...I'm just going to provide the link for Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake.
(http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_chocol/)

Make and enjoy - I double dog dare you!!!

Recipe by Ree Drummond a/k/a Pioneer Woman a/k/a my hero!

MEXICAN CHICKEN

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes
4 c. cooked chicken
1 pkg. flour tortillas (burrito size)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I used Mexican blend)
sour cream, optional

Directions:
Combine soups and Rotel in large bowl. Add chicken. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, layer the tortillas and chicken mixture, beginning and ending with tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese over the casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with sour cream on top.

Recipe shared by Amy Davis and found in 7th Inning Stretch - Homerun Recipes cookbook our baseball team published this year.