Chilled Peach Soup

Before I married Alan, I went on a cruise with my family where there was a different chilled soup served each night with dinner: strawberry soup, peach soup, rhubarb soup, pear soup, etc.  They were served cold and in a soup bowl.

I found this yummy recipe a year ago for chilled peach soup, and I thought I'd share it because it is a nice way to use up some of your fall peaches:

Chilled Peach Soup

3 cups fresh peaches
3 T lemon juice
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sugar

Mix it all in a blender, and then I like to sprinkle some nutmeg on top.  Yummy!  I have also used fat-free half-and-half, or even just milk instead of the half-and-half.  It is still nice and thick because of the yogurt.

Today Alan and I ate some of this soup as a side dish with our waffles.  I felt so fancy.  :)

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

Our vegetable garden consisted of three plants this year: a tomato, a zucchini, and a crookneck squash (sadly, our pumpkin plant died because I think I planted it too early). Our small garden has been very prolific. Jared doesn't like either squash or zucchini, but we make him eat three "Jared-sized" pieces every night with his dinner. He now gobbles them up without complaint.

Last night with our dinner we had zucchini in three forms: cooked zucchini with butter, zucchini bread, and zucchini in our spaghetti sauce. The spaghetti sauce is actually a chicken spaghetti sauce, and was delicious! I thought I'd share the recipe for all of you out there that are trying to use up your zucchini like I am.

Chicken Italian Sauce

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small can mushrooms (yuck, I left those out)
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  
• 1 26-oz jar spaghetti sauce

Put everything in a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Yum! Serve over linguini or spaghetti.

Chocolate-Raspberry Bars

I don't normally post recipes on this blog, but these seriously are delicious!! I just tried them this week, and now I think I will be craving them all the time!

• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 c quick oats
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted (opt)
• 1 1/2 c choc chips
• 1 12-oz jar raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oats, coconut, and pecans; mix well.

Press half of the mixutre firmly onto bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Spoon jam over top; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake 25 to 30 mins or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack.

P.S. My "crumb mixture" wasn't crumbly. I had to moosh the butter in with my hands, and it was kind of tricky to spread in the pan. But it turned out fine! Next time I think I will reduce the amount of butter to make it more crumbly.

Zuppa Toscana

If you are like me, the only soup Olive Garden should serve is Zuppa Toscana (why would you choose minestrone over Zuppa Toscana? Seriously.) My sister-in-law gave me this yummy recipe for it. I made it the other day for some company, and it was pretty dang good, if I do say so myself! (And it lasted us 3 meals!)

1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

Brown sausage and red pepper. Drain fat and set aside. In same pan saute onion, bacon and garlic until onions are soft. Add water and bouillon. Bring to a boil and add potatoes. Cook until soft, around 30 minutes. Add cream, sausage and kale. Cook until heated through and serve.

(Note: I changed the recipe a bit when I actually made it. I used finely-chopped green pepper instead of red pepper, I used minced garlic out of a jar instead of garlic puree, I used 12 cups of water instead of 10, I used half-and-half instead of cream, and I doubled the amount of potatoes. Delicious!)

One Serving of Chocolate Cake ANYTIME

5-MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 coffee mug
4 T. flour (plain not self-rising)
4 T. sugar
2 T. baking cocoa
1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. oil
3 T. chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 min. on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, then tip out onto a plate if desired.

I found this recipe off my friend Michelle's blog. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to soon! It sounds dangerously delicious to me. :)