Lunch ideas

I need your suggestions for a relatively simply lunch to serve for a small group of guests... like 3-4 people. So far I've come up with soup and salad, or chicken salad croissants, but I'm not in love with either of those, so any suggestions would be great. Of course if you have specific recipes, even better!

Tomato and Wild Rice Soup

I cannot get enough of this soup in the fall!! It's really pretty simple to make, super hearty and tastes SO good --and an added bonus is that it has a great fall color! It would be great for hosting because it makes quite a bit.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped to the size you prefer
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2-3 stalks celery, chopped (with at least some of the leafy tops because it adds really yummy flavor)
• 32 ounces diced tomatoes (cans are in all different sizes, but you should have at least 32 ounces, sometimes I like to add more).*
• 2.5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup wild rice combo (wild, whole grain, brown and white rice) --the one I buy at Alberstons is pictured below,
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil or about a teaspoon dry basil
• 1/2 can of corn
• 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (not 1 full breast, just 1 half breast)
• 2 cups 1% milk (the original recipe calls for whole milk, so if you have that use it, I'm sure it would be yummy, but 1% works just fine!)

*When my mom makes this soup she pulses the diced tomatoes in a blender to make a thick paste, I prefer the "chunkiness" of the tomatoes so usually only pulse about 1/2 of them, or none if I'm too lazy to get out the blender... anyway you go, it's still really good!

1. Saute the butter, oil, carrots, onion, celery in soup pan for 10 minutes2. Add next 5 ingredients (tomatoes, chicken broth, rice, basil, salt and pepper)
3. Simmer 1 hour4. Then add the 1/2 can of corn, cooked shredded chicken and 2 cups of milk
5. bring back to simmer for about 10 minutes

6. Serve!
Enjoy!!

Pork Chop Bake

This is a really yummy, super simple, pork chop recipe. The best part is that I usually have everything I need without having to make a trip to the store.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 pork chops (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons Ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Season the chops with salt and pepper and brown them in olive oil

Combine the soup, 3/4 of onion slices, ketchup, Worcester sauce and stir

Place chops in a baking dish, pour the mixture over the top and place remaining onion slices

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Pepper Steak

We tried this for the first time on Sunday and it was delicious. The sauce was a little strong at first and was even more delicious as leftovers! YUM!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef round steak
2 T. Olive Oil
1 cup soy sauce
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4-5 tomatoes cute into eighths (or 1 can tomatoes-16oz-with liquid, cut up)
2 large green peppers, cut into strips
1/2 cup cold water
1 T. cornstarch
Cooked noodles or rice

Cut beef into chunky strips, brown in oil in a skillet. Transfer to a crockpot. Combine the next seven ingredients; pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender. Add tomatoes and green peppers; cook on low for 1 hour longer. Combine the cold water and cornstarch to make a paste; stir into the liquid in the crockpot and cook on high until thickened (thickening takes longer than you think-allow time for this). Serve over noodles or rice.

We had it with brown rice and corn on the cob (mostly because in the summer everything goes with corn on the cob, right?) Enjoy!

Happy Hump Day Apple Quessadilla

When I first found this recipe I thought it sounded really wierd, but we decided to give them a try and they were a big hit! Wish I had a pciture 'cause they're pretty too :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium tart apples, sliced
1 cup diced, cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I like a little extra)
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (again, a little extra cheese never hurts)
1/2 cup fresh, canned or frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup shredded lettuce
3/4 cup salsa
Sour cream

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Place about 3/4 cup on half of each tortilla. Fold tortilla in half over filling and secure with toothpicks. Place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Carefully turn quesadillas over; bake 5-8 minutes longer or until golden. Discard toothpicks. Cut each quesadilla into three wedges; serve with lettuce, salsa and sour cream.

I'm Amy and I'm homeless too :) I've been married to Todd for 4 years.. we met at USU and we had our first baby, Easton, in January. We sold our first house 2 months ago and will be moving to Boise, ID after Todd finishes grad school at the U... THIS WEEK! In the meantime, I'm sharing a kitchen (and rest if the house) with my parents. I enjoy cooking, but also have a really hard time thinking about what to make. My hubby loves food, but is, umm, kitchen illeterate -- so he's a great can opener and moral support. I *really* look forward to having our own kitchen again soon. I'll be stockpiling all your great tips and recipes for when we have a home of our own again!