Souper Easy Spicy-ish Tomato Soup

I really just love this soup.  I’m not really sure where I got the original recipe, but it was a few years ago, and I feel like I’ve made enough changes to it that I can consider this my own.

It’s just the perfect soup.  It’s easy.  It’s delicious.  You can add whatever veggies you want, and you can make it as spicy (or not spicy) as you want.  It’s great paired with a grilled cheese or salad, but it’s also hearty enough on its own.  Trust me when I say that it’s perfect.

Start by peeling and chopping about three carrots.  I usually use baby carrots so I don’t have to peel them, but I had big carrots, so that’s what I used.  I guess that you could even use those shredded carrots that come in a bag if you’re feeling extra lazy.

Also, if you don’t like carrots, leave them out.  If you only like them a little bit, just add a few.  If you really love carrots, add some extra.  This part is totally up to you. 

Put some olive oil in a big pot and get it really hot.  Then put the carrots in the hot oil.  You want the carrots to start getting soft, which takes a while, and which leaves you plenty of time to…

slice up some onion!  If you really like onion, slice up a whole one (like I did).  If you don’t, then put less or leave it out.  Again, it’s up to you. 

Put the onions and some minced garlic in the pot.  I chopped up some marinated artichoke hearts, and added them too, because I bought a HUGE jar of them at Costco, and I needed to use them.  Leave them out if you don’t like them or don’t have them.  Add some other veggie if you want. 

Once all of the veggies are cooked, add a jar of marinara sauce (you know, the kind you use to make spaghetti).

Then, add a box of chicken stock.

Drain and rinse a can of cannelloni beans, and add them to the pot.  Oh yeah, white kidney beans are the same as cannelloni beans.  At least I think that they are.

Toss in a handful of some kind of teeny tiny pasta, and let it cook for at least 5 minutes or so. 

Once it has cooked, add some red pepper flakes.  Add as much as you want.  I just added enough to make it spicyish, as I’m a total wimp, but the Hubster added extra to the bowl that he and the Bunny shared. 

I didn’t get a picture of the soup in a pretty bowl or anything, because, well, I was extra sleepy, and had to hurry to get ready for work, but this soup is just too good not to share, even if I don’t have a fancy picture of it.

Oreo Treats (or whatever you want to call them)

I’ve made another great find on Pinteret.  They’re Oreo Rice Crispy Treats. Or Oreo Crispy Treats. Or just Oreo Treats.  Anyway, whatever you call them, they are just like Rice Crispy Treats, but made with crushed up Oreos instead of Rice Crispy cereal.  They are just as good, and just as easy to make, but just something a little different.  All that you need to make these is a pack of Oreos, 5 cups of mini marshmallows, and half a stick of butter.  Oh yeah, some Pam (or other nonstick spray) would be a good idea, too!

Start by melting half a stick (4 tablespoons) of butter in a large pot.  I guess that you could use some kind of fake butter if you have to, but why would you want to? 

Then, put the Oreos in a zippy-top bag (yes, I just used "zippy-top"), and zip the top. 

Apparently, some stores (like the Dollar General, where we got these Oreos) carry some products in weird sized packages.  Who knew?  Anyway, if you just get a regular sized package of Oreos from a regular grocery store, you will probably have to use a bigger zippy-top bag. 

 Then, use a rolling pin, and really beat the heck out of the Oreos.  You could also use a food processor, but that wouldn't have been as much fun.

 Once the butter is melted, add the 5 cups of mini marshmallows.

 Stir them all around, and let them melt completely.

I don't have any pictures of the next part, because it had to happen pretty quickly, I only have two hands, and I had a toddler wrapped around my legs, but pour the crushed up Oreos in the pot, and stir it all up.

Then pour it all in a well greased pan.  I used a round pan because 1. it was the first pan I grabbed, 2. it doesn't take up too much space in my dish washer, and 3. my Oreo mixture was lacking some volume (due to the weird sized package of cookies), and I didn't want my treats to be too thin.  That being said, use whatever kind of pan you want. 

I also want to add that I wish that I had crushed up my Oreos a little bit more.  They still tasted great, but I'm sure that it would have improved the texture.

Slice them up, and enjoy!

Never Eat Flavorless Pinto Beans Again!

beans beans

the magical fruit

the more you eat ‘em

the more you toot

As a child, I was always afraid to eat beans, as I feared their magical powers, and was afraid that they would give me the uncontrollable need to toot in public.  As an adult, I realize that they’re really not all that bad, and in fact, I have grown to love beans.  Any kind of beans.  Red beans. White beans. Black beans. Navy beans (which aren’t actually blue). Garbonzo beans. Pretty much any bean you can name, I love.  However, the Hubster isn’t quite a cultured in the world of beans as I.  Don’t get me wrong, he loves beans, too, but for the Hubster, they must be pintos.  The Bunny eats literally anything that we put in front of him, so these beans are a winner with the whole fam.

I will add that flavorless beans are incredibly disappointing, so I have vowed to myself (and now to you) to always cook flavorful beans!

First, wash your beans in water, and pick through them, making sure that there aren't any rocks or anything else weird.  

Then put the beans in a big pot (or a Crock Pot), and cover with water. You can add more water later, so don't worry too much about an actual amount right now.

Also, I know that a lot of people feel the need to soak their beans before cooking.  If you have the time, great, but there is no "need" to soak them.

Then add a ham bone.  I go to Honey Baked Ham to get my ham bones, because they still have a lot of ham on them.  I mean, there is seriously a lot of ham.  There is enough ham that if we just wanted ham for supper, our little family could just go buy one of these ham bones, and be perfectly fine with it.  Plus, they are cheap.  If you don't want the bone in your beans, just get some kind of salty pork to put in there, but you take the bone out before you eat it, so you really shouldn't worry too much about the bone.  If you're vegetarian, just leave it out, but if you aren't, I wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, if you cook it long enough, the meat will all fall off of the bone, so your beans will just be flecked with ham... yum!

Slice up (or chop up) a large onion.

Throw the onions in the pot.  This is usually the point where I throw in some diced bell pepper, too, but when I went to grab my bell pepper to chop it, it was a slimy and fuzzy and gross.  Yuck!  Apparently it was in our produce pile for too long.

Anyway, you know when you go to Costco, and you see those huge jars of minced garlic, and you wonder who on earth uses that much garlic?  Well, I do!  Throw a bunch of that in the pot, too.

Cover, and let it cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours.  Then, after the beans have cooked, you can add some salt.  Instead of salt, I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, but if you don't like it (or don't have any), salt and pepper will be just fine.

.

I ate mine with caramelized onion balsamic spread (because I just got it, and wanted something to eat it on) and green onions (because I had some left over from something else) on top, but they are good without either of these things.  The next time I had a bowl, I made cornbread to go with it, which was also great.  Either way, they are delicious, inexpensive, and easy to make.



Pinto Beans:

1 lb dried pinto beans

water to cover

1 ham bone

1 large onion, sliced

1 bell pepper, diced

4 tbsp minced garlic

salt and pepper (or Creole seasoning) to taste

Put beans in a colander and rinse under running water.  Remove any rocks, deformed beans, etc. Put beans in a pot, and cover with water.  Add ham bone, onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pot.  Cover, and cook for 6-8 hours, checking occasionally, and adding more water if needed. Once beans are finished cooking, salt and pepper (or add Creole seasoning) to taste.

Pasta with Marinara and Chicken Thighs

 Look what I got for my birthday!! ^^ A beautiful Dutch oven! Of course I've been using it like someone was about to come take it away, and I just love it. This is a super easy (you use a jar of marinara sauce), not-so-fancy recipe, that was just really yummy. 

 Start by thinly slicing an onion. 

 Put some olive oil in the Dutch oven, and get it hot.

 Salt and pepper one side of boneless skinless chicken thighs.  Until a few months ago, I really didn't like dark meat chicken (or so I thought), but I have recently discovered that I really like these "thigh filets" as they are called. 

 Put the seasoned side down in the hot oil, and salt and pepper the other side of the chicken. 

 When the first side is brown and crispy, flip it over and do he other side.  You aren't cooking the chicken through at this point. You're just cooking the outsides.

 Remove the chicken from the pan.

Throw the onions and some minced garlic in the Dutch oven, and let them cook for a while.  Let them get brown and soft (and maybe transparent if you have the time).

Put the chicken back in on top of the onions. 

Pour in a jar of marinara sauce.  I know that I could make my own marinara, and that it's not really that hard, but the stuff in the jar is pretty dang yummy, and just too easy, so I went with that.

 Cover, and put in a preheated 300 degree oven for an hour or two, 

Serve over some pasta.  Any kind of pasta.  It's so good!

If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can put the chicken, onions, and garlic in a pan to cook on top of the stove, and then in something different to cook in the oven.  However, I would really suggest investing in a Dutch oven.  I know that I've been cooking many years without one, but since getting mine, I have no idea how I did it!

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins



It should go without saying that these muffins aren’t going to taste like pumpkin muffins that you really truly make from scratch, but you know what… they were still good enough for me to eat about a dozen of them the night I made them.  Honestly, I was surprised by how tasty they were, and they’re so easy to make, that there’s not harm in giving it a try (unless you eat 12 of them like I did).  I know that some people make them without the chocolate chips, but I really really really think that it needs the chocolate chips.  Not just because I love chocolate chips, but also because it helps with the texture quite a bit, but I’ll let you make that call. 

Start with a box of moist yellow cake mix and a 15 ounce can of pumpkin. 

 Mix it up.  It is going to be a very sticky, thick batter, but don't worry.  It will all be okay.

 Throw in some chocolate chips, and mix them in.  I used a little less than half of a bag, and I felt like it needed a few more, but I really love chocolate.

 If you have awesome pumpkin liners, put them in the muffin pan.  If you don't, just spray it well with some non-stick spray.  These don't really rise like other muffins, so I really could have put more in each one, but I didn't think of that at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, of course.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. That's seriously all that you have to do.  Just be careful that you don't hurt yourself inhaling them!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie



Original Oyster House is a restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama that makes a seriously awesome peanut butter chocolate chip pie.  For years, I have been saying that I wish I had the recipe, so the other day, I decided to Google “Original Oyster House peanut butter pie recipe,” and guess what… The Original Oyster House website actually has the recipe on it.  Man, was I excited (and a little disapointed that I waited so long for that Google search)!!

Start with 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1 cup of peanut butter.

Add in 8 ounces of powdered sugar.  The recipe calls for a tablespoon of Kahlua, but I don't keep Kahlua around, and I wasn't going to buy it just to put a tablespoon of it in a pie, so I just used 1 tablespoon of water to help break down the powdered sugar.

Cream it all together. 

Add 16 ounces of Cool Whip, and mix that in.

Then fold in 3/4 of a cup of mini chocolate chips. This is when my camera died, but I'm sure you can figure out the next step on your own.  Just pour it all in a chocolate or Oreo pie crust.  That's really all there is to it, and it's seriously sooo sooo yummy!!

Also, I had to borrow the first picture from Original Oyster House's website, as my camera died, and we ate the pie before I could take a picture.  I hope they don't mind.