Continuation of an Old Tradition...

Remember when I promised that recipe? No? Okay. Good. That means I don't have to give it to you and worry if we'll show up to the same blog party with a crock pot full of the same stuff...

Where was I? Oh yeah, I promised that I'd give you a recipe. I wish I was all cool like The Pioneer Woman and had taken pictures while I was cooking this, but then, my pictures wouldn't have looked as good and I would have felt bad for stealing her 'thing.'

So, As I was talking about earlier, we celebrated this year with a few old traditions. One being opening up new pajamas on Christmas Eve. The other is that in the midst of preparing for the candlelight service at church, preparing for the coming of Santa Claus and wrangling too many children, my mom had a few things on her plate without worrying about some big dinner. So, she always prepared soup. The first few years, it wasn't something we enjoyed so much. (Sorry mom!) But then, we were little, and the soup was clam chowder. After a few years of whining, she switched to potato soup, which was good. But one year, she came up with a recipe that knocked our socks off. It is so good that the last time I made it (before Christmas Eve this year), Not the Momma proceeded to eat the entire crock full. And then he cried when he found out it contained sour cream. Not the Momma + Sour Cream = Not so good. Where was I again? Oh, you want the recipe? Okay. here goes. My comments will be italicized, mm-kay?

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Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4-6 large potatoes

2/3 cup margarine (I use butter)

2/3 cup flour

6 cups milk

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 green onions, chopped

12 slices bacon, diced

1 1/4 c cheddar, shredded

8 0z sour cream

Preparation:

Wash potatoes and prick with a fork. Bake at 400F or until done. Let cool.

Cut potatoes in half, scoop out pulp and set aside.

Melt margarine or butter, because I use butter in pot over low heat. Add flour, stirring constantly with whisk. It's almost a roux, aren't we excited!? Cook 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until thick and bubbly. mmmm thick and bubbly.

Add salt, pepper, chopped green onions (leave a few for garnish), and diced bacon (again, leave some for pretties on top). Right about now you should begin to smell heaven cooking. No? Wait a few minutes. Cook until boiling, then lower heat to a simmer. Add sour cream and cheese. Serve when the sour cream and cheese are well mixed and heated. Garnish with the leftover bacon onions and a little bit of shredded cheese... MMMM yummy.

Shortcuts and Modifications:

I totally use the pre-cooked bacon that comes in a box at the store. It doesn't even have to be refrigerated until it's open. Because I hate cooking bacon. Hate. It. The boxes come with 15 slices, so I just chop it all up and dump it in. And the extra three slices make it taste that much better. Also, in order to be kind to my husband, who (as I previously mentioned) does not get along with sour cream, I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. But the sour cream. It does a taste-bud good.

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I really wish that I had taken pictures now. Oh well, you'll still love me. And if you don't after you try this soup, there's something wrong with you. Even Little Monster tried it -- and he normally only eats olives and bread with butter.

Friday Fun!

Wednesday we had my favorite, most awesomest salmon ever. This salmon totally spoiled me for salmon out in restaurants. Which is a good thing, because we don't eat out very much anymore, and when we do, we can't generally afford places that would serve something like this. The Friday Fun part comes in when you taste it. It's like a party in your mouth. Your assignment: Try it, because the only things you should need to buy are the salmon and the dill. You honestly should have everything else already. Try it and let me know what you think!!

Scrumptious Dilled Salmon

What you Need:

1 Salmon Fillet (or more.. just make more paste!)
Brown Sugar (a few tbsp per fillet)
Balsamic Vinegar

Paste:
2-3 Tbsp olive oil, or maybe a little more?
1 small clove garlic
Dill (you can use fresh -- you'll just need more. I use dried.. OR I leave out the garlic and use the Pampered Chef dill seasoning mix.)

Are you ready for how difficult this is going to be? Are you sure? Okay, I'm kidding. This is probably one of the easiest recipes known to man. You can make this, some corn on the cob, and serve my Cheaper than Rachael Ray Banana Creme Pie for dessert.

Step 1. Rinse fillet and pat dry.

Step 2. Lightly sprinkle fillet with brown sugar. You don't want it totally coated, but you want to see it. It should look something like a "dusting."

Step 3. Lightly sprinkle with Balsamic Vinegar.

Step 4. Mix the paste ingredients into a small bowl.

Step 5. Spread the paste evenly over the entire fillet.

Step 6. Wait about 15 to 30 minutes to let the flavors mingle.

Step 7. Grill over hot coals skin side down until the fish is cooked half way up (about 5 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness). Flip, and grill additional 2-3 minutes, or until done.

Yep. That's it. It's super easy, and super good. I'll admit that I did get some inspiration from a recipe on the internet, but I made this one mine. If you were that inspiration, let me know. I'll link to your original recipe. Play this one by ear. It's hard to screw up. I know, because I can make it! Enjoy!

Banana Creme Pie

Okay, Remember that Banana Creme Pie? Yeah. I so totally cheat, but it doesn't matter. It's good anyway. Want to know how to make it? I'll tell you. Just don't think I'm cheap. Even if I am.

I call it Cheaper than Rachael Ray Banana Creme Pie. (Cheaper than she is, because she cuts corners wherever she can. And I cut the corners off of corners in this recipe.) This recipe is so cheap that I think Little Monster might be able to make it. He helps me with all but the cream part.

Cheaper than Rachael Ray Banana Creme Pie:

You need

1 pre-made graham cracker crust
1 banana
1 package of Instant Banana Creme Pudding (two if using my home-made crust, recipe below)
Milk (enough to follow pie directions on Jello Box)
Cool Whip

Are you ready for this? I'm not sure you can handle it. Wait a minute. Yes. Yes, you can.

1. Open the Pie Crust. Be careful not to cut yourself on either the plastic or the foil.
2. Peel the banana. (Whew! Are you sweating yet? I am!)
3. Cut the banana into bite sized pieces, and put them in the bottom of the crust.
4. Give the rest of the banana bits to your toddler.
5. Mix pudding in a bowl, following the PIE directions on the box.
6. Pour into pie crust on top of bananas.
7. Dump cool whip onto pudding. Or, I use my Pampered Chef, EZ accent decorator and make it look pretty.
8. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

That's a lot of steps. I know, but it's okay. You can do this one. The first time I made this pie, my husband came home, and said "Hey? Where did you buy that pie?" When I told him I made it, he assumed it was because we were going to some pot-luck. When he found out I made it just for him, we ate the whole thing. In one sitting. And then we felt sick. But it was sooo good. The second time I made it, he ate the entire pie almost entirely by himself. And swore he'd love me forever if I did nothing but make him that pie. But that time, I made it with my own crust. I would use two boxes of pudding if you use the crust below, though.

Graham Cracker Crust

A bunch of graham crackers
Some sugar (optional)
1 stick of butter or margarine.

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Melt Butter
3. put graham crackers in Osterizer blender and blend until they are fine crumbs. You need about 1 3/4 cups
4. Put about 1/4 cup sugar in Osterizer (or use about 1/4 cup powdered sugar) and blend with the graham crackers.
5. Mix the cracker/sugar mix and melted butter in a bowl until crumbs are wet, then press into a deep dish pie pan in an even layer.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool.

Make the pie using the directions above.

It is good. And it is easy. Because that's how I do things. If it is too hard, or takes too long, I get bored, and things burn. But give me a recipe that looks professional with cheap ingredients and 10 minutes (or less) of work, and I'm ALL about it!