Recipes that will warm you up

What a cold weekend! Time to stay indoors, snuggle up in front of a fire with a good book and a mug of something warm. Maybe you will enjoy one of the following. Take care and remember…

I’ll be seeing you around after the thaw…Agnes

Special Tomato Soup

1 can Campbell’s tomato soup

1 soup can water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon hot sauce (more or less to your taste)

½ tablespoon butter

Heat all together, over low heat. Stir with a whisk to mix well.

Cream of Jalapeno Soup

1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter

5 fresh jalapenos, stemmed and de-seeded. Mince pepper and set aside.

¾ cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 avocado, peeled and diced

2 cups tomatoes (that have been peeled and de-seeded and chopped)

1 bunch of cilantro, stemmed and chopped

8 cups of heavy cream

Salt and fresh black pepper to taste. In a heavy sauce pot, heat butter and add peppers, onions and garlic. Sauté, stirring often until vegetables are soft (not brown). Remove pan from heat and stir in avocado, tomatoes and cream. Lower temperature and return pan to heat. Watch and stir so the cream does not separate. Bring soup to a simmer and let cook (at a very low simmer) for 35 to 40 minutes to reduce by 1/3. Make sure that you stir. Adjust salt and pepper and stir in part of the cilantro. Serve hot and garnish with the rest of the cilantro.

Dill Pickle Soup, Sarah Nussbaum

6 cups chicken stock

4 large dill pickles, shredded

1/2 cup pickle juice from pickle jar

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced potatoes

2 tablespoons instant dissolve flour

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, softened

In a large saucepan or pot, combine stock, pickles, juice and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook over low heat until potatoes are tender (10 minutes or so). Add flour, milk and butter; return soup to a boil and remove from heat. Return pot to the stove and heat through without boiling. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh dill, sour cream and/or real bacon bits or crumbled bacon.

Hot Chocolate Mix

16 cups non-fat powdered milk

1 pound powdered sugar

2 pounds Nestlé’s Quik

1 pound powdered coffee creamer

Mix all ingredients together. To a cup of very hot water, add ¼ to 1/3 cup of mix.

Russian Tea Mix

2 cups instant orange drink mix (Tang)

¾ to 1 cup plain instant tea

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon each of cloves and allspice

1 package lemonade mix (3 ounce size)

1 cup (more or less) fine granulated sugar

Put all ingredients in a large sifter or colander and sift to remove any lumps and mix well. Put in an air tight container. (I use a large mouth canning jar.) To use: put 2 heaping teaspoons in a cup of hot water. Stir, taste and add more if desired.

Recipe for Thought and Laughter:

Paraprosdokians: A favorite of Winston Churchill. The first time I heard about paraprosdokians, I liked them. Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous.

1. Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you …but it’s still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up — we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, “In case of emergency, notify…,” I answered “a doctor.”

11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

13. I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.

14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

15. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

16. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.

17. I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Sadly, this is true!!! Spread the laughter, share the cheer, let’s be happy, while we’re here!

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