Soup of the Day

Well it's a bit chilly after sitting at the soccer field to watch my son's soccer game. So I decided to make soup to warm my toes. The other day my sister in-law made Chicken Tortilla Soup from a recipe she found on AllRecipes.com. It was good!! I decided to make it today. Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Tortilla-Soup-V/Detail.aspx.
I tweaked the recipe a little bit though. I doubled the recipe, and mixed 1/4 cup flour, cumin and chili powder in a bowl. I cut up the chicken into little chunks and coated it with the flour and then browned it in the pan with the olive oil and onion. Then added the rest of the ingredients. This made the soup a bit thicker and the chicken more tasty and tender!!! I hope you like it!!!

Now that germ weather is upon us.... I have a little tip I would like to share. I couldn't believe it really worked. My daughter had an awful chest cold last year when I received this e-mail. It said before bed rub Vick's Vapor rub on your feet then put socks on. I tried it....she did not cough all night and it seemed to break up the cough. Well my mom and her friend planned a trip to Italy and her friend called to tell her she couldn't go.... She had an awful chest cold. I told her about the Vick's. She tried it and it worked for her too!!!! She is in Italy now...........
Worth a shot.

Well I have been in the mood for fall aroma's in my kitchen... today I tried a recipe from the October issue of Bon Apetit magazine.Pineapple Upside down pumpkin gingerbread. Can I just say YUMMY!!!! I did it a little different. I don't like to hoard it all for myself. I am a pretty good sharer ( I get that from my kids). I have a mini loaf pan that makes 10 loafs, so I did it in that instead of a cake pan. The recipe is as follow:

Topping

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2/3c packed golden brown sugar

1/2 Stick unsalted butter

2 tablespoons frozen pineapple juice ( I used it from canned pineapple)

1 tsp mild molasses

1 ripe pineapple ( I used canned)

Cake

2c flour

2tsp baking soda

2tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2tsp salt 1/2 stick unsalted butter (room temp)

1c sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 c molasses

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2c boiling water

Whipped cream

Topping/Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x9x2 inch metal baking pan with non-stick spray. Combine sugar, butter, pineapple juice and molasses in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisk until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth; boil 1 minute. Pour evenly into pan.

Cut off one 1/3 thick round from pineapple; cut out core. Place round end in syrup in pan. Stand on end. Cut lengthwise into 1/3 inch thick slices. Using 3 round cutters of different sizes, cut out rounds from pineapple slices, avoiding core. Arrange rounds close together in single layer in free form design in syrup.

Cake/Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in molasses, then pumpkin. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in 1/2c boiling water. Pour batter evenly in pan.

Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 50 mins. Cool cake in pan 45 mins. Place platter over pan and invert. Let stand 5 mins. Gently lift off pan. Serve cake warm or at room temp. with whipped cream.