Mom's Broccoli Cheese Soup

I adore this recipe for broccoli cheese soup. It hits the spot on a cold winter evening, and is so yummy I could drink it out of a coffee mug. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, minced
½ cup chopped celery
1 cup broccoli florets
2 T margarine
1/3 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups milk
3 cups chicken broth
1 lb. Old English cheese

In a large saucepan on medium high heat, sauté onion, carrot, celery and broccoli until tender. Add the flour, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth. Add the milk slowly, until mixture is thick. Add chicken broth and cheese; stir until fully blended. Allow the soup to heat until cheese is melted.

Serve hot with bread of crackers; enjoy!

Easy Homemade Pizza

My husband has the best recipe for pizza dough, and since he introduced me to it I don't even really care for delivery-style pizza.

Not only is this recipe healthier, it makes for a fun family cooking event. We have a great time experimenting with toppings. Our favorite so far? Sausage, corn, rotel tomatoes and cheddar cheese. We call it our queso pizza.

Knead the dough by hand or use a stand mixer with a kneading attachment. Either way is easy.

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
2 T sugar
2 cups bread flour
2-3 T olive oil
Italian seasoning

Combine yeast, water and sugar in a bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour, olive oil and seasoning. Mix well. Run a stream of warm water over the bowl, while mixing. Stir until maleable. Use your judgement to add a little flour and/or olive oil until you're able to handle the dough. Either knead on low for 10 minutes in a stand mixer or knead by hand 8-10 minutes.

Spray a baking sheet with Pam; let the dough rise on the baking sheet for at least 1 hour, and up to 5 hours. Preheat the oven to 500. Spread the dough out and bake 2 minutes. Remove dough from oven and top with tomato sauce or olive oil. Layer toppings, then cheese. Bake 8-10 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Bread

In the mood for a yummy bread to warm your home this cold winter day?

Try this Cranberry Orange Mini Loaf recipe. I made it in the form of muffins, for breakfast. But they'd make a great gift if you divide the recipe into individual loaf pans.

Happy Baking!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T fresh squeezed orange juice
2 T grated lemon peel
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, orange juice and lemon peel. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk.

Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Pour into four greased 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.