Thinking about the Holidays......

This week I am going to give you 2 recipes that are great for the holidays. One is a soup that is quick and good to have on hand in case you have people stopping by, the other is a terrific gift that everyone loves. Both of these recipes came from my mother-in-law who is an excellent cook. She is the person who taught me to cook!
This time of year, I am thinking of week night dinners that are inexpensive and quick. Everyone is busy and broke this time of year - right?! This week I will do a whole chicken, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, and minestrone soup.

Minestrone soup:

Cook 1 pound of ground beef and a medium, chopped, yellow onion. Drain grease. Transfer to a soup pot and stir in 2 14.5 oz cans of Italian tomatoes, 1 can Progresso tomato soup with basil, 4 cups of water, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons dried basil and dried oregano, salt and pepper, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder (if you want). Bring all of this to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After the 30 minutes, stir in 1 can of kidney beans (drained) a big handful of fresh green beans cut into bite sized peices and a couple of carrots and a small zuchinni cut up into bite sized pieces. Simmer for 15 more minutes until veggies are soft. Meanwhile, cook 8 ounces of small, bite sized pasta. After the 15 minutes, add the drained pasta to the soup and yell, "Soup's On!!".

Serve with any kind of bread. Something I have noticed about this soup is that the pasta sucks up all of the liquid when I save it for leftovers. You can add another can of tomato basil soup or some beef broth if this happens to you. OR, some people actually like it in the thick form so see what your family prefers.

Now a recipe that is great for gifts. I buy the plastic treat bags at the dollar store and put 4 or 5 of these in and people LOVE them!!!

Crock Pot Peanut or Almond Clusters

Put into a crock pot in this order:
2 bags 11 oz each white chocolate chips
1 large bar of German Sweet Chocolate broken up into small pieces
1 12 oz bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
24 oz dry roasted UNSALTED peanuts
OR
24 oz of roasted almonds

DO NOT STIR!!!!!!

Put crock pot on low for 90 minutes then stir very well. The white chocolate is the hardest to get to blend in. It takes a while to stir, Put a few large pieces of tin foil or waxed paper on your kitchen counters and drop the mixture by the teaspoon or tablespoonful. You decide how big you want them. Leave them for several hours until they are hard. Store in an airtight container.

I buy the peanuts and German choc bar at Raleys,they usually go on sale this time of year. The Raleys brand of peanuts is cheaper and works great. I buy the almonds raw at Costco and roast them myself. Put what you need on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes at 350. You will start to smell them when they are ready. I shake the cookie sheet to turn the almonds about half way through.

Have fun with these 2 recipes!