Cheeseburger Soup

Everybody in my family loves a hot, hearty soup to warm them up on a cold winter day. Whodathunk it would be 75 degrees on December 27th? No worries, with the A/C on it was nice and chilly inside and the soup went down just fine.

This has all the yummy flavors of a cheeseburger, with a few veggies thrown in for good measure.  I served it with some fresh baked rolls and everybody went back for seconds.  Next time I'll serve it with pickle spears on the side!

Cheeseburger Soup

Prep time: 10 min  Cook time: 30 min
Serves 8

1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
4 Tbs butter, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup flour
8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream

In a 3-qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same saucepan, saute the onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, tomatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from the heat; blend in sour cream.

432 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Gingerbread Caramel Bars

I really love how different seasons have their own special flavors, like pumpkin in the fall and peppermint and gingerbread for Christmas. It makes them more special when you wait all year for them! I love gingerbread anything and I collect gingerbread recipes all year, so when Christmas rolls around it's always a struggle to decide which one I'm going to make.

This recipe is very similar to a chocolate chip caramel bar I made a few weeks ago that was DIVINE, so I was pretty sure this was going to be awesome, too.  It was chewy, gooey, caramel-y, and had a delicious gingerbread flavor. Everybody who tried it loved it!  Next time I might pretty up the squares with a little swirl of decorative frosting, but it definitely doesn't require any extra sugar.  It is tooth-rotting sweet but oh so good!

Gingerbread Caramel Bars
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 30 min
Serves 25

1 (15.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
(or just add more molasses to light brown sugar)
1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp ginger
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5.5 oz caramels (about 20 caramels)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Combine cake mix, egg, molasses, butter, sugar, flour and spices and mix until smooth. Batter will be thick and sticky.

Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper, extending the paper up the sides of the pan.
Add half of the gingerbread batter to the pan and spread evenly. Batter will be sticky, so it might help to drop spoonfuls into the pan, then spread.

Melt caramels in a microwaveable bowl until mostly smooth, with a few chunks left.  Add melted caramel to sweetened condensed milk and combine.  Pour caramel mixture over the gingerbread dough in the pan.

Drop spoonfuls of remaining dough over the caramel layer, spreading a bit to mostly cover the caramel layer.

Bake at 350 for 30-33 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan, then cut into squares.

199 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Funfetti Gooey Butter Cookies

I love to bake cookies for the holidays--lots and lots and lots of cookies! I like to eat them, of course, but I also like to give them to my friends and coworkers and even the mailman and UPS guy. But this year I didn't plan on baking anything because I was going out of town for Christmas.  I gave my manicurist some candy that someone else had given me, hoping she would just assume I had made it myself (of course she had to ask!) and I felt so bad when I had to tell her I didn't.  And then I started watching Christmas movies where everyone was eating Christmas cookies and the cravings kicked in.  When I found out my old bosses would be joining us for our company Christmas party and I hadn't bought a gift for them, I knew a batch of cookies had to be made.

I wanted something simple yet festive (and I didn't want to have to go to the store for ingredients), plus my new boss loves Funfetti, so when I saw this recipe I thought it was perfect.  I didn't actually have a Funfetti cake mix in the pantry, but I did have a plain white cake mix and a big bottle of Christmas sprinkles, so I improvised and made my own Funfetti by adding about half a cup of sprinkles to the plain mix.  I didn't measure, I just kept dumping them in till it looked right.  They turned out super cute and festive and really yummy! The texture was perfect - thick and soft on the inside with a slight crispiness on the outside.  I will definitely be making these again, I'll just switch up the sprinkles for different occasions!

Funfetti Gooey Butter Cookies

Prep time: 15 min(+1hr chilling) Bake time: 10 min
Serves 50

8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg

1 (15.25 oz) box Funfetti cake mix
¼ cup sprinkles (if desired)
¼ cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  Add in egg and continue mixing, scraping sides as necessary.  Add in the cake mix and beat until combined.  Stir in extra sprinkles, if desired.

Chill dough for about an hour.  Preheat oven to 350°.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet 2" apart and bake for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

73 calories per cookie.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

Anyone who knows me knows I have a terrible sweet tooth.  That, combined with my love of baking and my genetic predisposition towards chubbiness means I am in a constant battle against those malevolent little creatures who sew your clothes tighter at night - calories.  I have lost, and gained back, the same 30 pounds four times in the last 15 years, and since I am currently on the wrong side of that cycle, I'm trying very hard to resist making all the delectable dessert recipes I've been accumulating on Pinterest for the last several years.  All that self control came to a screeching halt a few days ago, though, when someone posted one of those video recipes on Facebook and I was subjected to a vision of molten caramel flowing over chocolate chip cookie dough while I was innocently browsing my newsfeed looking at cat pictures.  My resistance instantly crumbled and I soon found myself in the kitchen making these bars.  OMG, they were SO worth it!  I didn't look at the calorie count on these until just now (it's even worse than I imagined) because I agree with the adage that if you know how many calories are in your dessert you're eating it wrong.  These are definitely not diet-friendly in any way, but they were so amazing I don't regret making them one bit.  I did, however, send 3/4 of them with my husband and daughter to share with their classmates and coworkers, and although I wish I still had some left, it's probably for the best that I don't because I would be eating every last one of them myself!

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

Prep time: 10 min Bake time: 30 min
serves 24

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I normally prefer milk chocolate, but these bars are so rich that I think semi-sweet or a combination is best)

5 oz evaporated milk
1 bag (14 oz) caramels
1/2 c. peanut butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread half of cookie dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven.

While the cookie dough is baking, melt caramels and evaporated milk in a double boiler. Add peanut butter after caramels are melted. Melt thoroughly. Spread over baked cookie dough base.
With the remaining cookie dough, drop by spoonfuls on top of the caramel mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

340 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

French Onion Cheese Toast

I've had this recipe saved for more than a year but I never got around to making it because the prep time is so long! If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm into instant gratification. I don't want to slave over the stove for hours. Very few foods are worth all that! But my husband LOVES sautéed onions and I love cheesy bread, so I finally decided to break down and make this.

I AM SO GLAD!!!! This was so freakin' delicious. The onions were AMAZING. I lost count of the number of times my husband said something along the lines of "this is so good." And making it really wasn't that bad--most of the prep time was hands-off.  You could probably even make the onions ahead of time and then bake this when you're ready. This would be great as a party appetizer, but we had it as a side dish with steak and it was perfect. I couldn't find Gruyere or Fontina cheese at Wally World today, so I just used some mozzarella and parmesan, but the fancy cheese might've been better. Hard to imagine it could get much better, though!

French Onion Cheese Toast

Prep time: 90 min Bake time:15 min
Serves 16

3 Tbs butter
3 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 loaf french bread, sliced 1 inch thick
2 cups Gruyère or Fontina cheese, shredded

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium low, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Add sugar, kosher salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes or until onions are caramelized.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place bread slices on a baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese then spoon caramelized onion on top.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted and bread turns golden brown.

Garnish with extra thyme leaves if desired.  Serve immediately.

100 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!