French Onion Soup

Fall weather makes me want soup. We had this soup for lunch today and we really liked it. We didn't use a baguette though, we used portuguese rolls from the Fresh market. Yum.

• 4 onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions in the butter or margarine for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender (I would suggest a little longer so the onions start to dissolve...our's were a little crunchy still). Stir in the flour, ground black pepper and the sugar to form a pasty mixture.
2. Now add the beef broth, water, parsley and thyme and simmer for 10 minutes, Then add the wine and simmer for 10 more minutes.
3. Preheat oven to broil.
4. Fill individual oven safe bowls 3/4 full with the soup. Place a slice of bread on top of the soup and cover with the cheese. Place bowls in the oven.
5. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly

Pumpkin-Spice Doughnuts

A friend of mine got me a subscription to Cuisine at Home and I saw this recipe in it. Since fall is my favorite season and there are no signs of it here, I like trying things like this that helps put me in the fall mode. These were so tasty! A little time consuming but so worth it. Plus if you're going to eat doughnuts, why not make them a little healthy.

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup canned pumpkin (I put the whole can in)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 T butter, melted

4 t. baking powder

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

3 cups all-purpose flour

vegetable oil

Whisk egg and yolk together in large bowl until frothy. Add pumpkin, sugar, buttermilk, brown sugar and butter; whisk until combined. Stir in baking powder, pie spice, salt and soda. Fold flour in gradually until sticky dough forms. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in pan over medium heat. Pat out dough on floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out doughnuts, dipped in flour. Fry doughnuts and holes in oil until browned, about 3 minutes, turning once. Drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Finish with sugar or glaze (I did the glaze on the doughnuts and the cinnamon sugar on the holes).

Apple Cider Glaze

1/4 cup apple cider (or juice)

pinch of salt

3 cups powdered sugar

Heat juice and salt in small saucepan over low until hot. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Dip one side of cooled doughnut in glaze and let stand about 5 minutes on wire rack.

Cinnamon Sugar

1 cup sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

Toss doughnuts in bag with cinnamon sugar to coat (when they are still hot).

Shanna's Greek Chicken Pita

This is actually a recipe from Shanna. A long time ago we all came up with about 5 recipes to share with each other. Actually, I think it was to make a recipe book for Tabitha before she moved away. Anyways, I was looking through some of those recipes and found this one. Shanna, hope you don't mind if I share it. They were really good, tasted healthy, and we had enough for leftovers - all of these things are essential in our house these days!

1 rotisserie chicken
bell peppers (I used orange, green, red...but yellow would be great too)
shredded lettuce
feta cheese
chopped tomato
Greek salad dressing
cucumber
pita (I used white b/c of a picky husband - but they do have a wheat variety)

Just pick all the chicken off the bone add salad dressing and heat. I also heated up the pita pockets. Then fill with whatever toppings! I even made a couple for lunch the next day - they were really good cold too!

Chicken Enchiladas

This is one of those great recipes with few ingredients but lots of flavor (and very easy to make). Even my boys gobbled these down. (the picture is from the recipe card because they were eaten up before I could get a picture of mine)

1 jar or can of enchilada sauce

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided (I used cheddar and mozzarella because that's what I had and it still tasted great)

1/3 cup sliced ripe olives

1 1/3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, divided

1/4 cup chopped green pepper (I left it out because of a picky husband)

2 T chopped green onion (I used dried onion and still really yummy)

8-10 flour tortillas (6 inch) - I used whole wheat tortillas

2 cups shredded lettuce

In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup sauce, chicken, 1 cup of cheese, olives, 1/3 cup of tomatoes, green pepper and onion. Place a rounded 1/4 cupful of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in greased 13x9 baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top with lettuce and remaining tomatoes.