Cheesy Chicken Soup

2-3 Carrots, diced
2-3 Stalks Celery, diced
1 Onion, Diced
2 cups cooked Chicken, cubed
10 chicken bullion cubes
1 15 oz bottle of cheese whiz
3 cubes butter
1 1/2 c flour

Boil Veggies, drain and retain water. Add enough water to make 3 qts, add bullion cubes. When they are dissolved, add cheese whiz and blend. Melt butter and stir in flour in separate pan. Slowly add butter and flour mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add chicken and veggies.

Beef Stew

Ok, I borrowed this recipe from Jamie that I work with. I tweaked it a little, but for the most part, I used this method.

• 5 to 7 lb chuck roast, I used about 3 lbs of stew meat that I purchased
• 6 to 8 oz of corn, I used a frozen bag
• 6 to 8 oz of peas, I used a frozen bag
• 12 to 16 oz of carrots, baby carrots work, but I like to cut mine up, it's good for the soul to chop
• 6 to 8 oz of fresh cut green beans, drained
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic flavor. (My family doesn't really eat tomatoes, so I omitted these and just added the spices to the stew.)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4-6 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 beef stew seasoning packet, I took Jamie's advice and used McCormick's brand seasoning.
• 2 to 3 beef bullion cubes
• Garlic Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 4-6 cups of water

I did this the easy way, I put the meat, the water, the bullion cubes, basil, oregano and garlic powder, carrots, onion and corn in the crock pot and set it to low for about 6 hours. I'm kind of picky about the consistency of my potatoes, so I boiled the potatoes for about 7 minutes and added them about 2 hours before dinner with the peas and beans. That way when it was ready, the potatoes were perfect and not over cooked. I also added one cup of cold water mixed with some flour when I added the potatoes to thicken up the soup. Thanks to my mom for that idea. (This required that I remove about a cup of soup from the crock pot.)

It was excellent stew for a cold day and it made a ton, so there will be lots of leftovers. You will need a large crock-pot to fit everything in, or you will need to reduce the water and meat portions. You can never have too many veggies!

Easy Minestrone

I made this for a work lunch we had...it's tasty!

1 pound Sausage
1 pint green beans
1 can kidney beans ( I double these because I omit the garbanzo beans)
1 can garbanzo beans (I omit these because I don't care for them)
carrots, celery and onion, diced as many as you feel necessary, I add lots.
1 tablespoon parsley
1 can tomato paste
1 quart tomatoes
1 quart water
1 can beef consume
2-3 cups noodles (I used th garden colored rotoni)
1/2 teaspon basil
1 clove garlic


Brown meant, saute' vegetables. Add water, spices and beans. Simmer.
Add tomatoes and consume.

Boil noodles seperate and add about 5-10 minutes before serving.