Soups on!

So, since I hear from the weather man that there really might be a chance of Texas actually having a fall season, I have been so excited and wrapped up in getting "fall ready". What exactly does that mean, well it means getting all your favorite soup and chili recipes out, getting the fall decorations down, dusting off the ol' comfy blanket that has laid on the back of your couch for the summer and much, much more! So in my excitement of getting "fall ready" I found some new warm soups and dessert recipes that I thought I would share with my fellow bloggers and blog readers. Most of these recipes have come from magazines and I haven't tried them yet. However, I did make chicken tortilla soup last night and it was so yummy! So, get ready....

Chunky Fall Chili (kind of fun to say)

1lb. lean ground beef or turkey

2 garlic cloves, crushed(optional)

1 sm onion, coarsely chopped

1 each red and green bell peppers, coarsely chopped

1 cup of butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 pkg (10oz) frozen corn

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 can (15oz) of chili beans

1 can (14oz) beef broth

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Brown the ground meat in small stockpot,stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the garlic, onion, bell peppers and squash and mix well. Stir in corn , tomatoes, beans, broth, chili powder and cumin. Simmer for 30 mins. on med heat. (serves 8)

Chicken Tortilla Soup(I found this on another blog, altered it and made it last night) SUPER GOOD!!!

1lb chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, chopped

2 cans beef broth

1 lg onion, chopped

1 lg bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 sm can of corn, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes plus juice

1 can of rotel

1 sm can of tomato sauce

1 or 2 shakes of chili powder(more if you like it spicy)

5 or 6 shakes of cumin

chopped cilantro(more or less depends on you)

Tortilla chips

Monterrey Jack Cheese

Cook your chicken and cut it up. In a stock pot, place chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery in to the pot with about 2 tbsp of olive oil(I actually bought pico already made and used that instead of chopping everything up) Saute veggie mixture about 7-8 mins. To pot with veggies add: the beef broth, chicken broth, can of corn, can of rotel, can of tomato sauce, can of dice tomatoes and the chicken. Stir. You can play around and see if you want more broth or just add water. Bring to a boil. Add in the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper( I did a few shakes of each). Chop up your cilantro(i used 2 tbsp) and throw it in the pot. Once it is heated through, it is pretty much ready to eat, but she said to let it summer for about 30-45 mins. I let mine simmer for about 30 mins. I then topped it with tortilla chips and cheese and had sour cream and sliced avocado to add. It was really good! Very quick and easy! Very flavorful and Joshua and Dan enjoyed it!

Now for a little fall desserts:

Chocolate-peanut butter cookie bars

2 boxes of chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) JELL-O Choc. instant pudding

1/2 cup (1stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup cold milk

6 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chopped and divided( I used Nestle's semi-sweet choc chips)

1 cup peanuts

1 cup creamy peanut butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 in dish with foil; spray with cooking spray. Mix first 4 ingredients until blended. (Mixture will be thick) Press half the cake mix mixture into prepared pan. Bake 10 min. Sprinkle half each of the chocolate and nuts over crust; top with peanut butter. Cover with layers of remaining cake mix mixture, chocolate and nuts. Press gently with spatula. bake 15 min. Cool 1 hr. Refrigerate 4 hrs before cutting into bars.

I have made this and you definitely need 2 boxes of cake mix. I used only 1 and it wasn't enough to layer. Dan said that they taste like Reeses peanut butter cups. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake

25 ginger snaps, finely crushed(about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg. (8oz)cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

dash ground cloves

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove 11/2 cups batter. Stir remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. repeat layers; swirl with knife. Bake 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hrs.

All these recipes can be altered to our liking. That is what I usually do when I find a new recipe. I just add my own flare and ideas to it. I hope everyone enjoys these great finds and has a wonderful FALL SEASON!