A cozy night at home

I do apologize from my lack of posting this week. I have both been busy and under the weather. I've been spending a lot of time working on costumes for Bye Bye Birdie at our local High School. And while it is fun, it is terribly time consuming. I truly hope the kids will appreciate the madness I am enduring to give them their attire. :-) I also hope I still have friends when I am done with this- because I have very little time for anything other than the costumes and my kids.

Anyway, I fear I have not gotten back ot the leeks. Maybe over the weekend I will feel more inspired, but I seem to have this cold that just won't go away, and inspiration is running a little low in the kitchen. Tonight I did make a very comforting Cheeseburger Soup as shared by Sweetnicks. It was pretty darn good. The kids didn't eat much- but Andy and I enjoyed it. I will post the recipe at the end of my post for anyone interested. I made it as is, except that I used a full pound of ground beef- having a half a pound leftover sitting around seemed silly, so I used it all.

Now, I want to ask my online fellow-food lovers for some assistance. Next Friday I am hosting Pampered Chef party. I am doing a theme party of chocolate! Because PC parties aren't normally my favorite thing to go to- I find the recipes are not for me and rely heavily on processed food. (Cool Whip, pre-made dough, cake mix, etc) I am trying more and more to stay away from those foods if possible. But I figure a chocolate party will be safe, and I booked it to get my friend a booking bonus from her party. Anyway, I am ISO easy chocolate recipes. Right now I have a cake and a fondue from the PC rep, and I am going to make fudge as well, but any other sugegstions, recipes would be more than welcome. Let me know if you have a suggestion.

Anyway, it's been a fairly slow week, but a good week, and I have a feeling it is only going to end up being a really awesome couple of weeks here. There are very, very exciting changes occurring among the lives of family and friends alike, and I'm looking forward to sharing in those experiences. I will not expound more at this time, as it is not for me to share yet, but very soon, there will be some exciting news on my blog. Have a good weekend!

* Exported from MasterCook *
Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 lb browned ground beef
4 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup shredded carrots
8 oz Velveeta
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream

Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 T butter for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and hamburger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt about 3 T butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.