Tortilla Soup

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
9 cups chicken broth
6 cloves garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 fresh jalapenos
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 onion sliced
2 cups chicken shredded or cubed
1 lime juiced

Boil broth, add garlic, tomatoes, chopped onion, jalapeno, oregano. Simmer 30 minutes. Broil sliced onions until soft and a little brown. Add onions, chicken, and lime juice to soup. Simmer til heated. Can top with tortilla chips, sour cream, jack or cheddar cheese, tomatoes and extra limes. Enjoy

Korries house Dec. 2010

Coconut, Pecan cupcakes

Cupcakes:

White cake mix
1 cup sour cream
½ cup water
½ cup oil
4 eggs
Vanilla instant pudding (large)
2 tsp coconut extract (add more if you want a stronger coconut taste)


Mix all ingredients according to cake mix recipe, then add-
Chopped toasted pecans
Shredded coconut
Try 3/4 cup of each and then add more if you want. I like it pretty chunky.

The batter will be very thick. I put about ¼ c. in the cupcake liner.

Bake 350 degrees for 22-24 min

Approx. 30 cupcakes

Frosting:
1 stick of butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp. coconut extract (add more if you want a stronger taste)

Add-
Chopped toasted pecans
Shredded coconut
 (about 3/4 cup of each again)
** instuctions for toasting pecans**
Toasted Pecans

You can also toast any kind of nut in a hot oven. Pre heat an oven to 350-425 (honestly, it doesn’t matter very much). Place your nuts on a baking sheet and bake away for a few minutes, watching carefully and shaking occasionally. They are done when golden and fragrant - 5-10 minutes. Oven toasted nuts are a bit slower than stove top toasted nuts, but will be more uniformly browned without needing the use of oil.

Eggnog - December at Korrie's house

Homemade Eggnog

Day 1:
6 eggs
1 14-oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 c. milk
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4-6 whole cloves
2 tsp. vanilla (or to taste)

Day 2:
2 c. milk
1 c. half & half

Beat eggs; mix in condensed milk, 2 c. milk, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook this mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat. Stir one minute, then cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day, strain the mixture to remove cloves and any curdled egg bits. Put custard mixture in blender with half & half, and as much milk as you can fit in! Blend until completely homogenized. Pour in a pitcher, and stir in any remaining milk. Serve well-chilled.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup - December at Korrie's

YES, you can use gnocchi you buy at the store. Some are lousy; some are not so bad. It won't be quite as good as homemade, but I freely admit the making the gnocchi is the most time consuming part of the process! If you're going to make gnocchi, make a double batch and freeze half. You'll have enough for another BIG batch of soup. (I freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet *after* they have been cooked. They won't survive uncooked.)

Gnocchi

6 oz. flour
2 eggs
2 lbs russet potatoes
Salt
Garlic salt

Wash potatoes and place in heavily salted water. Cook until potatoes are soft. Drain and then peel. Push potatoes through a fine grater or a ricer.

Combine potatoes, flour and eggs in mixing bowl. Mix well with hands until dough does not stick to hands (add small amounts of flour at a time if needed)

Divide dough into 4 sections. Roll out each section into a long rope. Cut each rope into ½” pieces. Push fork tines on each piece for the classic gnocchi appearance.

Bring water to a boil in a sauce pot. Drop in several gnocchi at a time and cook until they float. Pull out with a slotted spoon and place in a shallow dish. I then salted mine with garlic salt because otherwise they are pretty bland. I refrigerated mine overnight and pulled out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes to 1 hour before adding to crock pot.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Cooked chicken; cut up (I at least one whole chicken--Costco rotisserie chicken is great!)

8-10 cups of chicken stock

2-4 cups heavy whipping cream

2 large stalks celery, chopped small

Garlic (I used most of one whole bulb, minced)

2-3 large carrots shredded

1 small onion diced small

1-2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1-2 T. olive oil

Thyme (I used one whole pkg. of fresh thyme; you could use dry)

Salt and pepper

Garlic salt

Red pepper flakes

1-2 lbs gnocchi (pre-cooked)

Potato pearls to thicken

Sauté the celery, onion, garlic and carrots in the olive oil. Poured the chicken stock into the crock pot and put crock pot on high. Then add the chicken and the sautéed vegetables. Season it with the thyme, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Let this just do its thing for a couple of hours. Now after this has cooked nicely for a couple of hours and before adding the cream and the gnocchi, add the spinach and after it has wilted add the cream and the gnocchi. After adding the cream and gnocchil put the crock pot on low and then leave for a while again. Taste for seasoning and add the red pepper flakes and any other salt, pepper, garlic salt if you like. If not thick enough to your liking, add a few handfuls of potato pearls to thicken.

Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or 325 for dark pans. Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan or bundt pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt and baking soda.

Mix until combined then beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees (325 for dark pans) for 30 to 35 minutes for the 9x13 or 50 – 60 minutes for bundt pan or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, remove from pan and continue to cool. Delicious!

My sister likes to make this for breakfast and eats it hot with a tall glass of milk. :) YUM!