Cheeseburger Soup

I love this soup. It's perfect for this cooler weather we're finally getting!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 small chopped onion
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3-4 cubed potatoes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups cubed Cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Start off by chopping the onion and celery, and grating the carrots. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot and then add your veggies.

Cook your veggies in the melted butter for a few minutes then add your ground beef and cook until brown.

Stir in basil and parsley and then add the broth and chopped potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are done...about 10-12 minutes or so. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and milk together. Add this mixture to the pot while stirring constantly. This will thicken up the soup a bit. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Add cheese...when melted, throw in the sour cream. Continue simmering on low for a few minutes and then serve up and enjoy!

• On a side note...I actually used leftover queso for the cheese. You know, the velveeta and rotel queso? I had quite a bit of queso leftover from the weekend before and thus the reason for making this soup. The recipe I was semi-following said 2 cups cubed cheddar, so it's up to you. I'll probably use velveeta next time I make this, well, because I just love velveeta.
  
  
  
  

Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies and oreos? What a great combination! I absolutely *love* these cookies.

First, start out by making your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough...

Put about 20 oreos in a food processor until they're all crumbs...

Mix your oreo crumbs with 3oz softened cream cheese...

Make a hole in the center of each cookie dough, and with a spoon make little balls with the oreo mix and place in the dough...

Continue doing this for all your cookies, and then cover the oreo part with the cookie dough...

Bake at 350 for about 13-15 minutes until done.

Check out these beauties!!

Summer Beer

So I've heard of this before and it always intrigued me because it never sounded too appealing, but all I've heard/read are fantastic reviews about how it's the greatest thing ever. So one weekend we had company and I decided what the heck...I'll try it out. Let me tell you...it is delicious. It's super refreshing and hard to stop at one glass...

Here's the ingredients:

• 1 can (12 oz) frozen pink lemonade concentrate
• 12 oz water
• 12 oz vodka
• 1 can or bottle (12 oz) of beer

Empty the pink lemonade concentrate in a pitcher...use the empty can to measure the water and the vodka...pour in your bottle of beer...mix it up...serve over ice, and there you have it. Summer beer. Trust me, it's DELICIOUS. It taste like a great pink lemonade...no taste of alcohol what so ever. And, I would not classify this as a "girly drink." I think the guys may have even liked it better than me. A great refreshing drink for a hot Texas day!

oh and btw...I snagged that picture from a google search for "pink lemonade"....the pitcher I made was gone before I could even snap it's photo :)

Pasta alla Shrimp ... and or chicken

Danny loves seafood. I don't. He loves pasta. Now pasta...I can handle. Sooo, I thought I'd be nice and combine his two favorite things - seafood and pasta.

Here's what I used:

• 1 lb pasta
• shrimp (about 1 lb)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• garlic
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 cup half & half
• fresh basil

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over med-high heat...

When it's all nice and hot, add your shimp and cook for a couple minutes until pink. Throw in some chopped garlic in there as well.

Now, in another skillet melt 1 tbsp of butter and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add about 2 cloves chopped garlic and cook for a few minutes and then pour the 1/2 cup wine and let it cook for about 1 minute.

...notice the chicken in the background...that's for the ones who don't like seafood :)

Add your 1 cup half & half...or cream if you want to go all out...

I went with the half & half.

Stir to combine, and then throw some chopped basil on top...

Pour the sauce over your cooked pasta, add in your chopped chicken...sprinkle on some more chopped basil...

Dish you out a portion if you don't like shrimp...

Then add in the shrimp to the rest of the pasta and serve and enjoy!

Cake Batter Ice Cream

This is my favorite homemade ice cream. If you like cake batter, you'll love this!

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup white cake mix
  

I double the above ingredients if I'm making this for more than just Danny and I. Just a thought.

First, whisk together milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, cream, and cake mix in a saucepan until well blended. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), stirring frequently. I'm not patient enough to use a candy thermometer, so I usually just cook it for several minutes and guesstimate it...

Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator or freezer until liquid is cold.
Now, pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Serve and enjoy!

Sprinkles Vanilla Frosting

Sprinkles cupcakes are absolutely amazing! And guess what?!? They even sell their cupcake mix at a few different stores!

Here's what the mix looks like that you can buy. (or get it from your dear friend for a gift - thanks Kacie!)
So as far as the actual cupcakes go, you simply add a few items to the mix that is included. What I wanted to share today is the icing! This turned out to be a perfect icing to frost cupcakes with. It was quite a bit thicker than the recipe I normally use, and I'll definitely be making this frosting again.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (firm but not cold)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon milk

Beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, and gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Don't overbeat! It should be creamy and dense. You can add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

Spread on the frosting and enjoy!