Creamy Potato Soup and Philly Cheese Steaks!

I borrowed and LOVE these recipes from my friend Kami Shaw. You can find her here at Everyday Heaven.

Creamy Chicken Potato Soup

lb chicken (breasts or combination)

1 onion, diced

6 slices of bacon

2 handfuls baby carrots (about 2 cups sliced small)

4-5 potatoes, diced small

1 c milk

1/4 c flour

8 oz package cream cheese

1. Put chicken in pot and cover with water; boil until cooked. Take chicken out of water but keep the broth. When chicken is cool, shred. ( just add the onion to the water too and cook them at the same time)

2. Fry bacon in the pot you will be using for the soup. Fry bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and saute' onions in bacon drippings. (I have never added the bacon but really anything with bacon is delicious..) Add carrots and potatoes. Add 3-4 cups of broth or enough to cover vegetables. Add bouillon cubes or soup base for flavor (I add 4 bouillon cubes). Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender.

3. Mix flour with milk and add to soup. Add chicken and cream cheese into the soup mixture. Slightly soften cream cheese in microwave, then add to soup in little pieces.Simmer until melted and well combined. Add in crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper.

Philly Cheesesteaks

1 lb. steak frozen slightly (you really can use any cut; since you're going to cut it up and season it heavily, there's really no need to splurge on a filletmignon.)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
White cheese (mozzarella or Swiss or provolone)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Hot sauce -I didn't have hot sauce, and still super yummy!
4-6 Hoagie rolls

Slice bell peppers and onions . Set aside. Slice frozen meat . Set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and stir-fry. Season heavily with salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper. When meat is about half-cooked, add peppers and onions. Stir occasionally, cooking until most of the liquid is evaporated and meat is cooked through. Season with hot sauce to taste. It's up to you, I didn't use any and I thought they were great. Slice buns and spoon steak mixture inside. Top with cheese and place under broiler (I used my toaster oven) for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasty. Enjoy

Vegetarian Calzone

So I am going to call this one my own since it varies so much from the original recipe.

It's delicious trust me.

Dough

1 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cups flour

1 tsp Kosher salt

Filling

tbls olive oil

8 ounces mushroom chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 cups packed baby spinach

about 5 tbls Parmesan cheese

8 ounces of Cream cheese

Dough

Mix yeast and water. Whisk in Olive Oil. Mix flour and salt and slowly incorporate water mixture. You can do this in your mixer with a dough hook or mix it by hand. Place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a damp clothe and set in a warm place for an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 400*

Filling

Heat oil over med. Toss in the mushrooms. Cook about two or three min., add garlic and oregano. Cook another minute or two and then add your spinach. Cook long enough to wilt the spinach about a min. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out the dough. You can make one big calzone or I made three medium sized guys. Roll it out into a rectangle and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on one side of your rectangle leaving about an inch around the edge. Spread out about 1-2 ounces of the cream cheese (4 when only making one big guy) add some filling, layer with about 1-2 ounces more of the cream cheese (again 4 for a big one) sprinkle with Parmesan and fold over and curl up your edges. Place on a baking sheet I put mine on a slipat so it wouldn't stick you could also spray your pan or rub Olive oil on it. Brush the calzone with olive oil and place in your oven for about 18 min until lightly browned. Brush with more olive oil I sprinkled mine with a little Kosher salt and let cool a bit before serving they are hot but delicious!