Cheesy Leek and Ground Beef Soup with Soft Bread Bowls

I had this soup in Germany on my mission many times. (Knorr actually makes a soup seasoning packet for it.) It was always a favorite and got me HOOKED on leeks!!! It is simple and straight forward to make. You can also add potatoes to it if you like but I like it how it is . . . keeping leeks as the star ingredient. My husband about melted over these bread bowls too . . . they are soft, easy to make and delish!
Cheesy Leek and Beef Soup
Recipe by: Emily
3 Leeks, chopped and cleaned very well
1 1/2 lb Ground Beef
1 - 1 1/2 cups Processed English Cheddar Cheese or cream cheese, or Velveeta etc.
4 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Half and Half
1/3 cup Flour
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Salt

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat, add the leeks and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute the leeks until soft, add the ground beef to the leeks and brown. Once the beef is cooked through add 2 tablespoons of butter to the beef and sprinkle the flour over the beef and stir to coat. Add the garlic powder, black pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the cheese and allow to melt and mix in with the stock. Simmer for a few minutes until the soup thickens. Turn off the heat and add the half and half. Check for seasoning and serve. Enjoy!

Soft Bread Bowls
Recipe by: Emily
3- 3 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Warm Water
1/2 cup Warm Milk
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 packet Yeast

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Combine yeast mixture, milk, slat, sugar, egg, and oil in a mixing bowl and combine. Add 3 cups of flour to the mixture and mix with a bread hook until smooth. Add more flour if needed to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.
2. Oil a medium bowl and place dough in it to rise, flipping once in the oil to coat all sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces and form into balls, tuck the dough underneath to create a smooth ball.
4. Place dough balls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover loosely with plastice wrap. Allow to rise again for 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size again.
5. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Cool and slice of the top and hollow out interior and fill with soup. Serve and enjoy!

Carmelized Onion and Sun Dried Tomato Foccacia Bread

Occasionally my handsome hubby and I find ourselves chilling together, flipping thru channels on the tube and come across shows that we honestly never would have thought that we would watch when we were younger. Documentaries, This Old House, the Antiques roadshow, travel shows etc. Basically the things that are on all day Saturday that your dad would be watching when you wanted to watch cartoons as a kid!!!
Anywho I find myself yelling "stop!" . . . "Go back to that they were cooking something," which just thrills my hubby to death because the cooking shows that I find are the ones that I thought were so boring as a kid but now have me rummaging in my pantry and flouring up my kitchen. Which is how this recipe came about. I saw Foccacia bread being made on TV and came up with my own recipe. I am now HOOKED on Foccacia bread and will make it every chance I get. It is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. I seriously wanted to cry when my husband cut himself a second piece at lunch today! (the ultimate compliment!!!) It was soooo good! I just can't help but toss in sun dried tomatoes and caramelized onions into just about everything! I love them! They certainly kicked Foccacia bread up a huge notch for me! A new fave was made!
Caramelized Onion and Sun dried Tomato Foccacia Bread
Recipe by: Emily

4-4 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Warm Water
1 tsp Dry Yeast
2 tsp Salt
1 cup Warm Water
1 medium Onion, sliced very thin and caramelized
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, in oil, chopped
1/2 tsp dried Basil
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1.Mix together 1 tsp yeast, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm place over night. (This allows a "sponge" starter to form as a base for the dough.)
2. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water to the "sponge". Then mix in 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of basil, and 4 cups of flour. Add 2/3's of the caramelized onion and 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes to the soft dough and knead on a floured surface adding more flour as needed until a firm dough forms. (Kneading takes about 8-10 minutes)
3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl turning dough over once to cover the entire surface lightly with oil. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour, or until double in size.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured sheet pan or a baking stone and stretch into an 11 or 12 inch circle. Brush the top with olive oil and then sprinkle remaining onions over the top. "Dimple" the dough with your fingers and then sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon of coarse salt over the top.
5. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until browned. Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool. Slice into wedges and enjoy!

To caramelize the onion, I slice it very thin and cook it for about 45 minutes to an hour over medium low heat with a little bit of sugar in a frying pan until very soft and caramelized. You may need to add a little bit of water throughout the cooking process to keep the onions from drying out.

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Roll Wreath

Mensch! Another Christmas has come and gone . . . too soon! I was a major slacker about blogging during this month . . . but I did make a ton of goodies and we had some great food . . . which is piling up in my fridge waiting for creative uses!
For breakfast Christmas morning we ate a Christmas wreath! (How festive are we!) I made it the day before actually and just iced it before we tore into it. I filled it with my favorite things in cinnamon rolls . . . chocolate chips, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon! My mom always made cinnamon rolls with chocolate chips and that is just the way I like them! (I am NOT a raisin fan . . .)
It was great to wake up, open presents, eat breakfast, and hit the hay again for a little more snoozing. This Christmas just flew by! Which means school will be starting again in a little over a week! I need a little more breather time I think . . . or at least some serious fun for New Years to prep. for the coming semester! We'll see if I can get anything else whipped up in my kitchen before spring semester begins!

Dough Recipe
Recipe by: Mama P1/2 cup Warm Water
1.5 Tbsp Yeast
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Oil (I like to use butter instead)
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tsp Salt
6-8 cups Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix milk, sugar and salt in a sauce pan and scald. After the milk mixture is cool add the eggs, oil an d yeast mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Roll out the dough into a rectangle until dough is about 1/3 an inch thick. Spread dough with melted butter, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon, sugar (white or brown), chocolate chips, and pecans. Roll into a log and transfer to a large sheet pan or pizza pan. Shape dough into a circle and crimp connecting ends together. Slice a little more than half way through the dough to form a circle of connected cinnamon rolls that you can fan out and over lap into a wreath shape. Raise until double and then bake in a preheated 375degree oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.

You can use any filling that you want, another filling that I love is raspberry cheesecake!

For the icing I just mixed 1/3 cup softened butter, about 1 1/2 cups powder sugar and a couple of tablespoons of milk until I got the consistency that I desired and drizzled it over the top. You can also add green food coloring if you want to.

Chewy Breadsticks

My mom used to make these for our family when I was a little kid, now that I have a family I like to make them for dinner now and then, especially when I make pasta! They are sooooo easy to make and mensch are they Yum-E! I think that making anything homemade adds more love to a meal, especially pasta which takes all of 20 minutes to have on the table! (The only problem is keeping everyone from eating them all before dinner!)

Chewy Breadsticks

Recipe from: Mama P

1 package dry yeast (1tbsp)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon honey

4 -4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

Melted butter

Garlic Powder

Soften yeast in warm water and stir in honey and salt. Gradually mix in 3 cups of flour. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Half or quarter the dough and cut into equal size pieces. Roll each piece to the length of breadstick that you want. (Thinner breadsticks become crispier and thicker become softer) Place breadstick one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise for at least 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder and dried parsley if desired. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 miuntes or until breadsticks are lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve.

Cooking tip: sadly I discovered as a teen the affects that hot water has on yeast in dough . . . it doesn't rise! Make sure the water temperature is not too warm or you will have heavy dough on your hands! (trial and error can be the best educator!)