Quick Peppery Cheese Bread

My friend at work shared this recipe with me, so I decided to try it this weekend!   This goes wonderfully with soups, but especially my potato cheese soup.  My friend sent me this recipe from "The Southern Lady Cooks!"  Their website is http://thesouthernladycooks.com/.  Being from the south, this site is right up my ally!  I love southern recipes!  Makes me feel like I'm home :)

You can make this bread gluten free if you use a gluten free flour.  The recipe is so easy my kids loved it!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten free flour if you are gluten free!)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or use your favorite cheese)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine or 8 tablespoons or 1 stick, melted
• 2 eggs

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
• In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs, melted butter and buttermilk together with a whisk.
• Add to flour mixture and mix with a spoon just enough to wet all the ingredients.
• Pour mixture in 9x5 inch loaf pan that has just the bottom sprayed or greased.
• Bake in a pre-heated over at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
• Makes one loaf.  Store in refrigerator.

Potato Cheese Soup

Tis the season for soups!!  I love fall!!  My mom used to make this recipe for me when I was a little girl.  I used to get strep throat a lot as a child and every time I did, she would make me her homemade potato cheese soup.

This is mom's recipe and I have no idea where she got it :)  This is NOT gluten free.  I don't know if you can make this with gluten free flour because you need the gluten to help the soup get thick. So if you are allergic or sensitive to gluten, this recipe is not for you.

However, if you love potato cheese soup this is an excellent one.  I make it for my husband and kiddos and they love it.  I use red potatoes instead of Idaho.  I'll be posting a Quick Peppery Cheese Bread recipe tomorrow that goes really well with this soup, so make sure you look for that one to post!

This is pretty fast to cook and it's super yummy.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

5 Red Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 to 3/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (a block of sharp cheddar is best)

Directions:

• Peel and cut potatoes into cubes.  I half way peel my potatoes.  I like some of the skin on them. Cook the potatoes until they are ready to fall apart. Drain and then put them back in your empty sauce pan.
• When the potatoes are almost done, you can start your white sauce.  In a separate sauce pan, take the butter, flour, salt and milk and mix them up in a saucepan.  Turn the heat up on the stove and stir constantly until it thickens and bubbles.
• Once thick, add the sauce to your other sauce pan of potatoes.  Turn the heat back to medium and add in your shredded cheese.  
• Stir until the cheese melts.

You are ready to serve.  This recipe serves 2 to 3 servings.  Feel free to double for 4-5 people.

Crock-pot Shredded Beef Tacos

It's that time of year when my my husband travels a lot.  It's super hard to get off work, get the kids and cook dinner to eat by 6:00.  Being this is the month to be thankful - I'm so thankful for my crock-pot!

I specifically looked for crockpot recipes this week due to hubby's travels and found 3 that I wanted to try out.  The first one was from Eat.Live.Run (http://www.eatliverun.com/). If you haven't checked out their website, you should.  They have a lot of really good recipes.  So this is what I do...I find a lot of different healthy recipes from all over. I make them and if they pass the test, I post them on my blog to share with others (always giving credit where credit is due).  I tweak some of the recipes a bit if I feel they need it.  Like this one, the recipe called for 1 tsp of salt.  It needed more, so I added another 1/2 tsp and they were perfect.  This one passed the test. This recipe has a tiny little kick to it, so my kids didn't really dig it, but me and hubby chowed! And - it was even better the day after!  I had these for lunch today and after sitting in the seasoning all night...so yummy!

This one is Gluten Free and super easy to prep and make.  If you like crock-pot recipes, you should really try this one.  I ate tacos while my hubby made a burrito.  Super yummy recipe! and simple to put together! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 lb Flank Steak
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Spice Rub

2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Mix together all spices in a small bowl.  Rub the spices all over the flank steak front and back (be generous!)

Place the steak in the crockpot.  Cover the steak with the chopped onion and peppers.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  At the end of the 8 hours, your flank steak should easily tear apart with a fork.

Serve with your favorite toppings.  I chose cilantro, avocado, lettuce and line.  My husband added some cheese and sour cream.  You can make this into burritos, tacos or open faced tacos.  If you are Gluten Free, make sure you use corn tortillas!