Taco Soup

This is my twist on the traditional taco soup. It's a fabulous meal because it's so easy. Also note that it utilizes all of your food storage (you can omit the hamburger and add another can of beans-- protein a plenty). My friend adds a packet of dry ranch dressing mix, never tried it but you can't go wrong with ranch dressing.

Taco Soup

1/2-1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 cans kidney beans (or 1 can kidney, 1 can black beans), undrained
2 cans corn undrained
2 cans tomato sauce
1 large can stewed tomatoes (I use tomatoes I bottled a few summers back)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1-2 t. chili powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 lime
1 T brown sugar (to cut acidity)

Brown ground beef, add onions and garlic, then add kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, lime (juiced), brown sugar and chili powder. Stir well. Simmer until heated through. Serve topped with garnishes of your choice. (I like cilantro, guacomole, and fritos. Patrick likes sour cream and cheese.)

Nicole Martin's Dinner Rolls

Marybeth and I are working on perfecting this recipe. Nicole says to touch the dough as little as possible. She rolls them out and cuts them with a circle cutter, be careful not to roll too thin or your rolls will be like frisbies. Also note that they take quite a while to rise.

I used this recipe for cinnamon rolls and it's probably the best one I've tried.

Dinner Rolls (30 – 36 count)

2 c. warm water
½ c. sugar
1 egg
~ ¼ c. dry milk
1 Tbsp yeast
1 cube margarine, melted
1 ½ tsp. salt
~ 6 c. flour


I put all but the flour in a bosch. Add ½ the flour, mix in. Add the rest of the flour. Dough should be sticky but not too soft. (If you’re in a hurry, err on the sticky side.) Knead the dough until it looks elastic.

Let dough rise until double (at least an hour). The more you let the dough rise, the lighter your rolls will be. From that point on, handle the dough carefully. I gently roll the dough on a floured board and use a cup to cut out the rolls. Put the rolls on a large cookie sheet; wait again to rise (at least an hour) until doubled.

Bake at 385˚ for 13 – 15 minutes.

Swedish Creme

(From Nicole Martin)

2 c cream
1 c sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin, (dissolved in
¼ c cold water)
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract
2 c sour cream
1 c fresh or frozen raspberries w/2 tsp sugar



In sauce pan, combine cream and sugar.
Cook and stir constantly over medium-low heat until steam rises. (The recipe also says until candy thermometer reads 160˚, but I don’t worry about that.) DON’T BOIL.
Stir in gelatin until fully dissolved and every calorie and gram of fat have evaporated.
Remove from heat and add extracts.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Whisk in sour cream.
Pour into 8 dessert dishes and chill for at least 1 hour (more) or until set.
Before serving, top with raspberries.
Enjoy!

*At the wedding reception, this was also served with chocolate shavings sprinkled on top w/ the raspberries.