A few good recipes

Chilly weather makes me want to cook. Here are links to a couple of recipes I've made lately.

First, there's these French Onion Gruyere Cups from Rachael Ray. They are a quick version of French onion soup in cute little individual biscuit cups. They have Gruyere cheese (obvious from the name, huh?), which makes anything taste yummy. I think the little biscuit cups would be a great way to serve other thick soups, too, like chili or broccoli cheese soup.

Last week I tried this Gingerbread Pudding recipe. It makes a delicious gingerbread with caramel sauce. This version of the recipe calls for sorghum syrup, which I didn't have, so I just used molasses. It was perfect for a cold night.

Speaking of perfect recipes for cold nights, here are a couple of incredibly easy soups I've made lately.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Start with some broccoli. I use 3-4 small heads. Put them in a soup pot and cover with water. Add about half a chopped onion. Cook until the broccoli is bright green. Add a can of evaporated milk, a can of cream of mushroom soup, a big block of Velveeta, cubed. Cook until the cheese is melted.

Tomato Soup

Slice up a couple of cloves of garlic. Saute in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot until just starting to turn golden. Remove the garlic and discard. Add a big can of tomato juice to the olive oil. Heat. Add a tablespoon or two of dill (to taste). Just before serving, add heavy cream until the soup is as creamy as you want it. This is great served with TV critters (those dilly ranchy oyster crackers I always make at Christmas).