Dutch Farmer's Cheese Soup

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, diced
• 1 1/2-pound cauliflower, trimmed, cut into florets
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth

• 6 1-inch-thick French bread slices
• 12 ounces Gouda cheese, wax removed, cheese sliced

Preparation

Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and onion; sauté until onion is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until vegetables are tender, adding more broth if soup is too thick, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Preheat broiler. Transfer soup to large broilerproof bowl or individual broilerproof soup bowls. Arrange bread slices atop soup. Place cheese slices over, covering bread completely. Broil 6 inches from heat source until cheese melts and is golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yummy Carmel Corn

This make a yummy crunchy- sticky treat!  Great to bag up and share for holidays.

6 Quarts popped popcorn (2 bags microwave natural)
1 Cup mixed nuts
2 Cups brown sugar
1/2 Cup lt. karo syrup
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 250'
Pop popcorn and remove old maids.  Spread out on cookie sheets or roasting pan.
Add nuts

Melt butter, add brown sugar, salt and karo syrup. Stirring constantly over med-high heat bring to boil.
let boil 5 minutes without stirring
Remove from heat and add soda and vanilla.
pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.  Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes!
YUMMY!

Chicken Ranch Quesadillas

from stolenmomentscooking.com

Chicken Ranch Quesadillas

• 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. bacon, diced
• 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 – 3 c. shredded cheese
• Ranch dressing
• 8 tortillas
• Butter or margarine, for cooking

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet until desired crispness. Remove to drain with a slotted spoon. Pour out all but 1 T. of the grease. Add the sliced green peppers and onions to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, until crisp-tender.

2. Add a handful of cheese to the tops to 4 tortillas. Top each with chicken and bacon, then lightly drizzle some ranch dressing over that.

3. Top each tortilla with the cooked peppers and onions. Then add the remaining cheese on top of each pile.

4. Top each tortilla with the remaining four tortillas. Melt a little butter or margarine in a large skillet and cook the tortilla stacks one at a time over medium heat, about 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cheese is melted. Add more butter or margarine to the skillet as needed.

5. Cut each quesadilla into wedges and serve with extra ranch for dipping, if desired.

A few notes about this recipe:

• The veggies are completely optional. In fact, I only added them to the quesadillas that my husband and I ate. Also, we both agreed that a few thin slices of tomato would have been a nice addition inside the quesadilla, if you like tomatoes.
• Lightly frying in a skillet is the only way that I’ve ever made quesadillas. But I am in love with the idea of grilling them and Erin has a great recipe featuring grilled quesadillas over at $5 Dinners. That method would definitely work with this recipe too.
• Leftovers reheat beautifully when warmed in a dry skillet for a few minutes. They taste almost as good as fresh!

Stop by Designs by Gollum for more Foodie Friday.