Cheddar Ale Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1/4c Butter
1 small onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
2t Worchestershire sauce
2 (12oz) bottles of dark ale
2t ground mustard
2 cans chicken broth (use veggie stock to make vegetarian)
2 cups half and half
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
5T cornstarch dissolve in 5T of warm water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat, add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until onions turn clear. Add the beer and bring to a boil. Boil for at least 3 minutes to evaporate the alcohol out.

Add the chicken broth and the dry mustard - return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer. Slowly stir in the half and half and the shredded cheese, stir constantly until cheese is melted. Stir in the corn starch mixture and stir constantly until the soup is thick.

Serve garnished with chopped bacon.

Mushrooms Berkeley

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms
2 medium or 1 large bell pepper (red or green or whatever color you like is fine)
1 small onion
Butter or oil for sauteeing (your choice...doesn't really matter)

Sauce ingredients:
2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup brown sugar (a little less is actually fine)
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
Fresh ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Dice onion and green pepper and saute in a deep frying pan. Slice mushrooms (unless they are already quite small) and add to pan, cover briefly if you like to cook faster, but saute until the mushrooms are nearly done. Pour the sauce over the vegetables, stir, and turn to low. Let them simmer until the sauce reduces slightly and you find yourself picking mushrooms out of the pan and eating them when no one is looking. It all gets very dark and evil looking but smells wonderful. Great accompaniment for steak, I have also added cooked chicken and served it over rice. The sauce makes a good marinate for flank steak as well.

Submitted by: Shieldmaiden96

Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla .Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Mexican vanilla extract can be found in Mexican grocery stores. If you can't find it, feel free to substitute regular vanilla extract.

Submitted by: Apocolypse37

Chicken Marsala

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating (and thickening if desired)
• Salt to taste
• Ground black pepper to taste
• Oregano (fresh or dried) to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine (or More)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear. You can add more flour to thicken if desired.

I usually serve this over a bed of Angel Hair pasta.

Also you can really add or subtract what you want (besides the wine) I like mine with Scallions and Sun Dried Tomatoes, Some people use Portobello Mushrooms, or add some chicken broth to enhance the chicken flavor.

Submitted by: Apocolypse37

Stuffed Peppers

INGREDIENTS:
2 large green peppers
1lb lean ground beef (93/7)
1 package of meatloaf seasoning
1 egg
1 cup quick cook rice
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 cans tomato soup
Tomato Paste

INSTRUCTIONS:
Place the raw ground beef in a bowl, break apart, add egg & seasoning packet - mix together. Add rice and bread crumbs and mix in.

Cut the peppers in 1/2 and clean out the seeds. If the stems are still intact cut or remove so the pepper 1/2 will sit up like a cup. Rinse out the peppers and pat dry with a paper towel.

Fill the pepper halves with the meat mixture and then spread a layer of tomato paste over the top of the meat. Put the 4 halves into a large crock pot. In another bowl mix 1-1/2 cans of tomato soup with 2-3 cans of water, mix in about two spoons of tomato paste and wisk together. Pour this over the peppers - it will not completely cover them.

Allow them to cook in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.

When ready to serve scoop out about 1 cup of the sauce from the crock pot and mix with the remaining 1/2 can of soup and wisk together, heat thoroughly to use as a sauce to pour over the meat.

Serve with rice or potatoes and a green vegetable.