Copycats

Panera's (Bread Co) Cream Cheese Potato Soup

When I found this recipe last week on recipezaar.com, it was listed as the most popular recipe on the site. The reviews said it was outstanding, so I had to try it. Scott and I both agreed that this soup is outstanding, but it tastes absolutely nothing like Bread Co's soup. However, it is still one of the best potato soups I have ever had. My only complaint about it was it was too spicy for me. Next time I will probably leave out the red pepper. I served it with sourdough bread bowls from Companion bread (sold at Dierbergs), but I didn't really care for those. Next time I will swing by Bread Co and buy a couple of their bread bowls.



4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes (I used 4 large baked potatoes)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks (I used 12oz of light cream cheese)

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.

Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.

Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. (I smashed the majority of them)

Reduce to low heat.

Add cream cheese.

Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.


Imo's Pizza

I could honestly eat pizza every day for every meal, if only my metabolism would allow me to! Imo's is by far my favorite, but I always thought it tasted better when you ate at Imo's and got it fresh out of the oven. So, when my parents told me about Roma pizza crusts I was excited to try them. In my opinion, the pizza turned out better than an Imo's pizza. I haven't ordered an actual Imo's pizza since I started making these.



All you need is a Roma pizza crust, Imo's cheese, Imo's pizza sauce and your favorite pizza toppings. You can find all of these at Schnucks or Dierbergs, but Shop N Save only carries the cheese. At Dierbergs the pizza crusts are in the frozen pizza section and at Schnucks they are in the deli section or an aisle end cap (usually the first aisle). I think Schnucks keeps the sauce in the deli section too. I think my parents brush their crusts with a little olive oil and put them in the oven for a few minutes to make it extra crispy. When it is warm outside, they like to make their pizzas on the BBQ pit.



The next two recipes I have not made in a while, but they taste so much like the original that I had to share them with you. :)


Sonic Cherry Limeade

1 can cold Sprite
3 lime wedges (1/8 of a lime)
1/4 cup cherry juice (Libby's Juicy Juice is best)

Fill a 16oz glass 2/3 full of ice. Pour Sprite over ice. Add the juice of the limes and then drop them into the glass. Add the cherry juice and stir. Makes one 16oz drink.


Wendy's Frosty

1/2 cup of milk
4 tsp Nesquik chocolate drink mix
2 cups vanilla ice cream

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on medium speed, stopping to stir several times with a long spoon, if necessary to help the ingredients blend well. Makes one serving.

Game Night

I hosted a game night for my friends at my house over the weekend and needed to feed 13 adults and 6 kids. I figured the easiest way to feed this many people was to make a big pot of chili and potato soup (the kiddos got chicken nuggets and french fries). Both recipes are very easy and everyone enjoyed them. I will have to take their word on the chili since I don't eat it. ;)


Chili

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, one of my favorite recipe sites!

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced (I usually throw in a little extra)
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
4 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes (I use crushed tomatoes)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans with liquid (I actually used 3 cans kidney beans and 3 cans chili beans, you can also use black beans if you desire)

Combine ground beef, onion and garlic in large stockpot. Cook and stir over medium heat until beef is brown. Drain.

Stir in chili powder, salt, oregano, tomatoes and tomato sauce; break up tomatoes while stirring. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for 1 hour.

Stir in beans. Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes; stir occasionally.

Smashed Potato Soup (aka No Chunk Potato Soup)

This recipe came from the Pampered Chef "It's Good for You" cookbook

1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1 package (1 pound, 4 oz) refrigerated mashed potatoes
1 can (14.5 oz) 99% fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 garlic clove, pressed (I use 3 or 4)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (optional, I don't use it)

Optional toppings: sliced green onion, reduced fat cheddar cheese, crumbled turkey bacon

Coarsely chop carrot & celery using food chopper. Place mashed potatoes in medium saucepan. Gradually add broth and milk, whisking until mixture is smooth. Stir in carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and parsley. Ladle soup into bowls; top with desired toppings.

Yield: 4 servings

I think the soup is a little bland, so I add extra garlic and onion powder while it is cooking and some cheddar cheese at the end. For those of you with a pantry full of Tastefully Simple products I like to use Garlic, Garlic and Onion, Onion. When I made the soup for game night I didn't have enough sour cream, but did have ranch dip on hand, so I used part sour cream and part ranch dip. I also think this is a recipe that tastes better the next day after it sits in the fridge for a while.

Last but not least....

No meal is ever complete without dessert! I got the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan for Christmas, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. The instructions on the box said it takes more than one cake mix if you are using the box mix. I ended up with the giant cupcake and 48 mini cupcakes and still had batter left over. Next time I think I will stick with one box of mix.

Right after I took these pictures I dropped 6 mini cupcakes, 3 landed right on top of the giant cupcake and 3 on the floor. Oh well....I don't think anyone noticed ;)