This Bowl of Soup Will Really  Warm You Up!

I love being able to toss a handful of ingredients in a slow cooker and know that in 5 hours we will have an amazing soup ready to eat. This is the kind of meal I love putting together during the week when it feels like you are running out of time and the last thing you want to do is make a meal and clean up a mess! I mean, sure you will have to deal with the empty cans but I can totally handle that!

Ree Drummond always pulls together the easiest meals that are bursting with flavor! And this is one soup that does not disappoint! Ree knows that having a family dinner together is important and being able to take the frazzled mess out of meal planning is a huge benefit.

I love that this recipe can be made while you are out and about, but in a pinch, you can always make this on the stove top in a Dutch oven and let it simmer for a while. Since this recipe makes 12 servings you can count on having leftovers to take for lunch, or enjoy another meal!

This is what Ree says about her recipe.

“It’s my favorite kind of slow cooker recipe in that it requires no pre-cooking or sauteing or browning. You literally throw everything in, turn it on, then go live your life until it’s done.”

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Quick Tip: Make some cheese quesadillas to serve with this soup.

Image and recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond at The Pioneer Woman

The post One Taste and My Mother-In-Law Asked for the Recipe appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

Better than anything you can get in a can

The other day I made a big Dutch Oven full of chili beans and a batch of cornbread muffins. I was afraid I had made too much since there are only three of us at home now. I figured whatever we didn’t eat for dinner and take for lunch I could always freeze. But, it was such a hit that we ended up eating it until it was gone. I have to say, I did end up putting in an extra can of pinto beans because I love having the two kinds.

When I picked up my son Jack from football practice I had a small mason jar of chili, a cornbread muffin, and a spoon. All he had to do was unscrew the lid for a hot meal that he could just enjoy after a long day.

I know when my teenager tells me that the meal was really good, I hit on a winner and this recipe really hit the spot. For our next Football night I am already planning to make another batch of this hearty classic.

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Quick Tip: Want to swap out ground chicken or turkey for beef? Go right ahead!

Image and recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

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Bring On The Chili Weather!  Pun Intended

What is a busy mom to do when dinner time rolls around and EVERYONE is hungry? Well, try this dish and watch your family eat it up. I love a hearty meal that you can create in a hurry and with simple, yet hardy ingredients. Really, it comes down to just taking a few moments to sauté the onions and fresh garlic before adding in the carrots, browning the beef and adding the pinto beans. Really, this is the perfect comfort dish that reminds me of my husband’s favorite food. Chili beans and cornbread. Seriously, he could eat it every week if I made it for him. The fact that this cornbread is baked right on top means no more dry cornbread for my family!  I love the fact that this is cooked in one dish, which means the clean-up is fairly minimal.  So, whether you are looking to take something to a cabin or just want a hearty Game Day Dinner, this Cornbread Chili Pie is a perfect dish.

And for more of a Southwest flavor go ahead and add in some diced fire roasted hatch chilis and a can of corn.  That really helps to stretch this dish out and if you are lucky, you might even have some for left overs.

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Quick Tip: Want to make this for a crowd? Go ahead and divide into individual ramekins with a dollop of sour cream and sprig of cilantro on top.

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart

Image courtesy of Jonathan Lovekin

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The Taste Of a Classic, Only In A Soup

I love making and eating soups. I think that on a brisk day nothing beats a big bowl with some fresh breadstick to just warm you up from the inside out. We lived in MN for nine years and believe me, there were lots and lots of soup days.

When we moved back to Northern California we lived in the Sierra Mountains. It was a wonderful feeling to have a big pot of soup or stew on the stove when snowflakes started to fall.  The perfect meal after a day of sledding or shoveling the walkway!

Then we made the move to San Diego area. I have to admit I miss the seasons. Not only is it hard to think of fall or winter when you are still wearing flip flops and short sleeves, we don’t eat soup very often. At least not as often as I would like, but thankfully I hear temperatures are going to be dropping soon. We might even have a few mornings where you will be able to see your breath when you walk outside. If there is a dusting of frost, well down in SoCal they refer to that as a weather event.

This is what Jen of Yummy Healthy Easy has to say about her recipe.

“If you’re like me and struggling to find new meals to make during the week, you MUST try this lasagna soup! My boys absolutely loved it and it’s now a new soup on the menu rotation.”

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Quick Tip: You can substitute chicken sausage for ground beef if you prefer. I LOVE a chicken sausage I just tried with basil. Yummo. It would be great in this and good for those watching their calories as well.

Recipe and Image courtesy of Jen and Yummy Healthy Easy

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If You Love Tomato Soup, You Are Going To Flip Out When You Taste This

I never knew how much I loved tomato soup until several years ago. My mom used to use the canned soup in recipes but she never made it to serve as a soup. I hadn’t really tried it until I was an adult. I just remember the first time I tried it at my favorite restaurant. It was the Soup of The Day so I figured it couldn’t hurt. But, after only one spoonful I knew I loved it. Seriously! On a chilly day there is nothing like that creamy soup that just warms you up from the inside out. I love adding in a few spoonfuls of my favorite salsa to heat things up a bit more and a small dollop of sour cream on the top to stir in.

I guess I had never thought to make this from scratch, which is hilarious since I make everything from scratch, including marshmallows!  Ree Drummond takes this recipe up a notch by making adorable croutons to float on top. They remind me of a smaller version of what I make for French Onion Soup.  Ree goes the extra mile in so many of the things she does. I hope one day I will have the opportunity to visit her Mercantile Store, because if it is anything like she is I am sure it is down home, practical and very personable.

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Quick Tip: If you are having a huge crop of tomatoes and are not sure what to do with them, consider lightly rubbing with oil, cutting them in half and placing them cut upside side down on a baking tray to place under broiler until blistered. It is a great roasted tomato taste.

Recipe and Image courtesy of Ree Drummond and Food Network

The post This Easy TO Create Recipe Takes Just Like The Soup At My Favorite Restaurant appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

This Might Just Be The Best New Recipe You Try All Fall

Let’s just be totally honest here. I love American food just as much as anyone else such as hamburgers and French fries, Mac and Cheese, where the cheese just connects your fork to the plate it is so stringy and gooey, and pizza. So when I saw a recipe where all these flavors were mixed together in one skillet I was a bit skeptical. I mean is this like a “Clean out the fridge and see if anyone notices.”  Kind of a recipe?  The answer to that is NO! This literally where you cook everything using only one pan, wave your magic wooden spoon, and smell the magic happen!

I should have known this would be amazing when I saw it had bacon in it. Now the biggest hurdle is to see if my family loves it.

The apples and Brussel sprouts are perfect cooked this way, which is a huge deal for me. I am not the biggest Brussel sprout fan, but my family just could not get enough of this once I put it one the table. In fact, they already asked me to put it on the menu again and want me to make a double batch so we have enough for lunch left-overs.
This is what Erin of Well Plated has to say about this healthy dish.

“With sweet potatoes, apples, Brussels sprouts and bacon, this healthy Paleo chicken skillet is packed with flavor and delivers every food group in one pan!”

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Quick Tip: This meal stays good for three days in fridge but when reheating you may want to add a bit more chicken broth to keep from drying out.

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You Don’t Have To Be Amish To Eat This Country Casserole

My mom used to make us Hamburger Helper once in a while. It was usually when we had driven up to where my parents were building a cabin. My mom didn’t have her stove or over yet, so being able to brown up hamburger and onion, then dump ingredients out of a box, add water, and cook it in an electric skillet was an great option.

After a while all the meals tasted the same. To be honest as a kid I would have rather had a grilled cheese sandwich. We had a big light where the dining room was going to be. It attracted moths. Remember we were building a cabin so this was in the beginning stages and it was kind of like camping at that point.  The last night we were getting ready to eat the “fresh from the box” dinner and I looked at my fork. My noodle moved. Then I noticed it wasn’t a noodle but a cream covered moth that had flown into the pan unnoticed and must have tried to do a few butterfly strokes to swim out of the sauce.

From that night on I skipped the main course. I think the moth just pushed me over the edge. When I tasted this dish I realized this was the taste Hamburger Helper had tried to copy. This dish is so amazingly good that you won’t mind eating it several nights in a row!

This is what Linda says about her recipe.

“It’s quite a large dish, but so tasty, all of us had second helpings.”

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Quick Tip: you can use sausage instead of ground beef or a blend.

Recipe and image courtesy of Linda at With a Blast

The post One Taste And You Won’t Be Able To Get It Out Of Your Mind appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

I Just Saw This Recipe In A Food Magazine And Thought I Would Try It Myself!

Want to know a little secret of a super busy mom. True confession time. When I am really not sure what I am fixing for dinner and need to stall a bit while I come up with something. I do this..really! So far it has worked pretty darned well so I am hoping that no one in my family ends up reading this.

I cut up an onion and mince a clove or two of garlic. Put some butter in a small pan and saute them over low heat.

As soon as my family walks in the house they  pause for a huge inhale and say, “Something sure smells great in here!”

“Oh,” I reply, “I am just getting dinner ready!”

Bur the reality is that there have been quite a few times I had absolutely no idea what I was going top make.

This recipe really saves the day. Most of the ingredients I keep in the fridge and in the pantry and guess what? It really does start out with sauteed onion and garlic.

Now, if only dealing with the huge mounds of laundry was this easy to solve. Oh, well at least dinner will be awesome.

This is what Stacy of Six Dollar Family has to say about this main dish casserole.

“Does anyone else remember the days of tuna noodle casserole being served for dinner? It was that famous blue box, a can of peas and a can of tuna. I don’t know about you, but these days, my tastes are a bit more complicated.”

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Quick tip: Not a huge tuna lover? Go ahead and swap out for 3 cups of cubed or shredded chicken.

Recipe and image courtesy of Stacy at Six Dollar Family

The post Fishing For Compliments? Make This For Dinner And See What Happens! appeared first on Urban Retro Recipes.

]]> http://urbanretrorecipes.com/fishing-compliments-make-dinner-see-happens/feed/ 0 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/want-surprise-family-new-way-fix-rice-make-dinner/ http://urbanretrorecipes.com/want-surprise-family-new-way-fix-rice-make-dinner/#respond Tue, 05 Sep 2017 13:57:39 +0000 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/?p=1966 A Side Dish To Tasty You Might Skip Everything Else! What can I say, I love to make sure I use everything I cook up. I think of it as repurposing! This reminds me of how my grandma used every scrap of fabric for her elaborate crazy quilts. Using everything she had instead of just […]

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A Side Dish To Tasty You Might Skip Everything Else!

What can I say, I love to make sure I use everything I cook up. I think of it as repurposing! This reminds me of how my grandma used every scrap of fabric for her elaborate crazy quilts. Using everything she had instead of just tossing it aside.

If I make spaghetti one night I will sometimes turn the left-overs into minestrone soup. A chicken dinner might end up as a chicken pot pie. This recipe is full of flavor and a great mix of vegetables so I am already hoping there will be some left over for breakfast burritos. I know, that is kind of a shocker but hear me out on this one.

I love adding rice into eggs when I know my guys are going to need something to fuel them up and fill them up. The fact that this one pot Puerto Rican dish already has great ingredients included makes this a perfect fit. Just scramble up some eggs, add a scoop of this in and toss some cheese on top, then scoop it into a tortilla and you are ready to head out and face the day. See how great it is to already have a plan for left-overs?

This is so good you might want to even make a little extra!  Give yourself a pat on the back for not only making something amazing but embracing the art of resourcefulness!

Livin’ for left-overs!

This is what Meggan of Culinarey Hill has to say about her recipe.

“Other tasty ingredients include Italian sausage, pepperoncinis (and juice!), Mexicorn, and fresh cilantro. All very good stuff. If you are worried about spiciness, add a scoop of sour cream to your plate.”

 

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Quick Tip: Can’t find the seasoning? Try making this with hot and spicy Italian sausage instead.

Recipe and image courtesy of Meggan at Culinary Hill.

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]]> http://urbanretrorecipes.com/want-surprise-family-new-way-fix-rice-make-dinner/feed/ 0 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/best-kept-secret-busy-moms/ http://urbanretrorecipes.com/best-kept-secret-busy-moms/#respond Mon, 04 Sep 2017 19:06:07 +0000 http://urbanretrorecipes.com/?p=1941 Worried about what to fix for dinner? Problem Solved. One Pan meals are becoming a standard at our house. I always remember my mom making several dishes to put on the table. Anything cooked in a pan was put in a serving dish before being set on the table. It was just the way things […]

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Worried about what to fix for dinner? Problem Solved.

One Pan meals are becoming a standard at our house. I always remember my mom making several dishes to put on the table. Anything cooked in a pan was put in a serving dish before being set on the table. It was just the way things were. We didn’t use cloth napkins but my mom did teach me how to set a nice table, complete with a center piece.

It was nice to sit down as a family, but afterwards there was always the task of dish duty. I was usually the one who was in charge of hand washing.

In fact all these years later I feel like I am still in charge of hand washing the pots and pans so whenever I come across a meal I can make in just one pot, or skillet I am totally on it.

Dinner doesn’t have to be a big production, but having dinner together should definitely be a priority. Meals that are a snap to fix, are a lifesaver. Make this for your family and I think they will agree that this is one of their favorites.

This is what Christina of Eat Well 101 has to say about this incredible recipe.

One pan chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce makes for a nourishing dish perfect for a weeknight. Chicken thighs and potatoes are pan-seared, then finished in a delicious creamy sauce that perfectly combines all the flavors of garlic, tomato, spinach, spices and cheese. It’s truly an entire meal in a single skillet!

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Quick Tip: For a leaner version of this dish make it with boneless skinless thighs or chicken breast.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Christina at Eat Well 101. 

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