Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This makes plenty for seconds or to put in the freezer for a night you dont want to cook.  I like to put this in a freezer bag because you can boil the bag of soup when you take it out of the freezer.  Great for new moms who need ready made meals or those meal prepping

1/2 stick of butter

1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic

2 large carrots chopped tiny (i use my electric chopper and pulse it a few times)

Onions powder, garlic powder and chives or parsley to taste
2 boxes chicken broth
1.5 Cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 lg brick Velveeta - cubed
8  to 10 gold potatoes peeled and cubed
6 strips of bacon (or I cheat and buy the REAL bacon, bacon pieces)

pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Add onion, garlic, and carrots to the melted butter and cook until onions are translucent. Add pepper, parsley, onion powder and garlic powder. Do not add salt, the broth, cheese and bacon will salt it, you can taste it at the end to add more if needed. Add chicken broth, and potatoes and bring to a boil. If the broth doesnt cover the potatoes add water. Boil until potatoes are fork tender but not over soft.  Add a cup and a half of heavy cream and velveeta cubes and move the pan off the heat.  Stir until the cheese is incorporated into the soup.  If its too thin add more cheese or if you have instant potatoes you can add a little at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Add bacon and green onions at the end and save a bit to garnish the top.

YumTum Cheese Biscuits

These biscuits lit up my tongue when I ate them a short time out of the oven but the next day I had one at room temp and it was still delish.

2pkg Martha White Sweet Cornbread Mix
1 1/2 C Shredded Mexican Cheese
2 Tbs minced green onion
2 Tbs. mild green chillies
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk.

Grease muffin pan. Mix all ingredients together and cook on 450 for 8-10 mins. until golden. These biscuits got 10 out of 5 DELISH points from Les...Happy baking

Marinade for asian style chicken/beef

It's so hard for me to give measurements, I cook to taste but here is a good recipe to spice up the meat for my quesadillas or fajitas. It's a hit in my house and I'm sure it will be in yours.

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1Tbs crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cloves minced garlic

2 Tbsp ginger paste

mix ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until honey is worked through the marinade. Cool and then marinate meat for at least a half hour. When cooking meat, pour marinade in the pan with the meat. It will render and soak into the meat for a very flavorful start to any Asian dish.

Fajita Quesadillas

This recipe is an original from my house so I thought it fitting that it would be the first recipe posted. It is gobbled up so fast, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself!

8 burrito size tortillas (the thicker the better)
4 boneless skinless marinated chicken breasts cubed cooked and then shredded (recipe follows)

Sautéed peppers and onions
1 container of onion and chive cream cheese
1 bag of Mexican style shredded cheese
1 stick of butter

****chop chicken into small thin strips/pieces. In a large bowl add equal parts honey and orange juice, 1/4 C soy sauce and crushed red pepper, onion ppwder, garlic powder, oregano, chipotle pepper powder and cilantro to taste. Place raw chicken in the bowl and cover for 30 minutes to overnight. In a skillet add olive oil and strin the marinade out of the chicken then add to the skillet on medium high heat. Cook uncovered until chicken is cooked through and golden.  

Place pat of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Spread cream cheese over half of a tortilla and place cheese side UP in the skillet. Sprinkle shredded chicken over cream cheese. Top chicken with peppers and onions and shredded cheese and fold over the "bald" side of the tortilla and let sizzle a bit. Flip over to cook other side and let cheese melt. Place on a paper towel and cut with a pizza cutter into four even triangles. Serve with salsa and sour cream!