Lasagna Soup

Listen. I am one of those people who sometimes will get in a routine cooking rut. I ran across this recipe, and thought it looked good visually. This soup WAS/IS sooo good. My 12 year old was iffy about it. Being a boy. Let me say. After he was done eating. I caught him eating out of my pot. Must have been really good. This soup literally is lasagna in a bowl. I kid you not. The gooey ricotta at the bottom, mixed with the mozzarella on top….My next go round will probably include carrots, or a spicy chicken sausage.  My husband toasted some French bread with olive oil on the Foreman grill, so we had bread and unsalted crackers as a side option. If you try this…when you do. Please let me know.

Lasagna Soup

2 teaspoon olive oil
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock (I used a little more)
1/2 box rotini pasta (I added a little more)

garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste…plus little extras that I have
3 cups of fresh spinach

Cheesy yum:
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add meat, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Then drain. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, pepper, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.
Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, and grated parmesan.
To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in a soup bowl, ladle the hot soup over the cheese and top it all off with mozzarella cheese.

---

Here is the original….and what drew me in.

images: K&K Kitchen/Recipe

High Fives & Hugs,

Tam

Strawberry Romanoff

Do you have any strawberries leftover from yesterday? Anyone that eats at La Madeline is aware of the wonderful 

STRAWBERRY ROMANOFF. So yummy, sweet, and hit with a twang of brandy. I loved it so

much I decided to take photos. If only my strawberries looked healthier. Oh Well.

Please roll with me (SMILE).

This mint is the only thing I can grow. But it makes me so happy that it does. I love to pick it, and smell it, and just think of the old days of sipping Ice Tea on the front porch with my Grandmother as she picked her own mint. Good times.

ITS GOOD. Make some and let me know what you think.

RECIPE

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon brandy or 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 cups fresh strawberries

1. Mix sour cream, brown sugar and Brandy in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whip cream until starts to thicken and add sugar--whip until thick.
3. Fold cream into sour cream mixture and blend well.
4. Serve with fresh strawberries.

TAMS EDIT: I tried this once with vanilla, and the second time with brandy (that I had borrow from a neighbor). I found that even with the brandy I wanted the taste of vanilla and added a tablespoon.

 

High Fives & Hugs,

Tamara Styles

I know I am begging. But why not. I want to make the list.

PLEASE HELP ME BY VOTING ONCE PER DAY. I THANK YOU FOR IT.

VOTE HERE.

another post coming up.

BOWL FOLLOW-UP

This is just one of the pictures I had in my mind when I saw these bowls. Mr. Styles is a workout lover, and watcher of foods he eats. His salad was good.

Pasta next.

See. Plenty of Room. Buy one.

High Fives and Hugs,

Tamara Styles

Skype and Pie

I had the best time Friday night on Skype with my long time blog friend Kay* of Apartment #412. It was great finally putting a moving face, and voice with the photos. She had a chance to “meet” my  kids, and I had a chance to meet her family to. We both learned so much, and the conversation was stimulating which I loved. Modern day technology allowing me in Texas to talk, and see a friend in Canada for FREE is just great. So some how we got on the topic of food. We talked about Southern food, and Canadian food. There was a big moment when I asked her had she had Chess Pie before. We then ended up running around showing foods from our pantry's on the web cam, and laughing at what we didn’t have. At any rate she said she was going to try and make the pie, and then I received an email about the butter. I then thought it would be great to put together a post that would give details on this fabulous pie, just in time for the holidays for everyone. I usually make about 8 of these pies, and people walk away with whole pies as they give their goodbye hugs. So please try it, you will love it. PROMISE. Tamara Styles GUARANTEED.

 

---

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick of melted butter

2 tablespoon flour

1 frozen pie shell

Directions

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Add all ingredients to bowl. Mix well with mixer under smooth, and silky. Pour most of mixture into pie crust. I usually don’t fill it until its in the oven. I place it in the oven, and then take a measuring cup and pour the rest of the mixture into the crust to prevent me from spilling it. Otherwise your hands would be shaky, and you will waste some of the mixture as its in the pie shell if you do it all before it hits the oven. Let it cook a minimum of 50 mins. I usually gage based on the photo above of the “split”. When I first started making this pie, I was not letting it cook long enough and it would be runny. Don’t let the “burnt” look discourage, or fool you into thinking it’s overdone.

HAVE YOU MADE THIS PIE BEFORE? OR DO YOU LIKE CHESS PIE? I am really curious if its just a Southern dessert, or do people like these pies all over.

 

Enjoy!

TamStyles

Get yo man chicken

I cooked this Sunday night for the third time ever, and talk about good. I mean..the chicken just falls apart from being so tender. You can taste the herbs (rosemary, and thyme) which I love. I like to taste my food. Nothing bland walks away from my stove. The recipe is from the Nelly's of The Food Network. Gina jokes that this meal is what “Got her man”, so she recommends other women to cook it for a man to “GET YO MAN”…Funny..but oh so good goot. I placed the rice on the plate first, then added the chicken on top, followed by some of the sauce. Steamed broccoli or cabbage goes great with this. If you try it let me know what you think.

Get Yo Man Chicken

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 chicken thighs or breast ( I used breasts), skinless
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper
• Hot rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan.

Add onion to the pan and sauté until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the dried herbs and lemon pepper. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan.Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes.

Remove chicken from liquid and serve on hot buttered rice. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

XOXOX,

TamStyles

Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I received a few emails on these good looking cookies that my lover whipped up a few weeks back. Hope you love them as much as we do.

Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (1 1/2 c.)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 ounces dried cranberries (1 1/3 c.)
• 5 ounces chopped pecans (about 1 c.)

Directions

1. Oven to 350 degrees F.

2. (if baking right away).

3. Line sheet pans with parchment.

4. Mix the dry ingredients together, then stir in the oats.

5. Set aside.

6. Beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.

7. Add the eggs, then scrape down the bowl; add the honey and vanilla and beat until blended.

8. Add the flour mixture in two additions, beating each until well combined.

9. Stir in the cranberries and pecans.

10. At this point, you can either bake, or freeze.

11. To freeze, just scrape the dough onto plastic wrap, roll into a log, wrap tightly, and freeze until ready to bake.

12. Then just take them out of the freezer, let sit for about 15 minutes, then slice into 3/16" thick slices and bake as directed.

13. To bake immediately: drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on parchment lined sheet pans.

14. Bake until the centers of the cookies are soft and no longer look wet; about 9-11 minutes.

15. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

Mr. Styles can cook

Mr. Styles put it down in the kitchen the last few days. Oatmeal cranberry, white choc, walnut cookies, and a spinach salad all his own (pickles?). I was offered a salad, but passed for salsa and chips..Yall will get that joke on the way home. But there is nothing like a man that can cook, and looks damn good doing it while wearing his wifes J Crew bling.

xoxo

Tamstyles