Tomato Soup, Tried and True

I took a regular old can of Campbell's Tomato Soup, but instead of heating up the soup mixed with a can a milk, I mixed it with half a can of milk, and half a can of sour cream.
I also cut up a tomato and added basil and red pepper flakes.
Delightful!

The Most Delicious Grilled Cheese Sandwich I've Ever Eaten

Two slices of sourdough bread, outer sides buttered

Hunks of pepper-jack cheese

Goat cheese spread on that

Red onion

Thick cuts of beefsteak tomato

Grill on low heat until the cheese starts to melt, and the bread is dark brown

Steamed Artichokes

Not as hard as you think, just as delicious as you remember!
Simply cut off the stem and the top by about an inch, and then place top down on a rack in a large boiling pot of water (I don't have a rack, so I just put a glass bowl in there, and put the artichoke in that) and cover it.  I also squeeze half a lemon on the 'choke, and put the lemon in the bowl as well.  You steam for about 30 minutes, and then pull out, squeeze the rest of the lemon on it, and enjoy with butter.

I had mine with fried polenta, sliced beefsteak tomatoes pan fried, with onions, garlic, and mushrooms adorning the top.  Served with a drizzle of balsamic.

Dinner and Dessert with Seven Ingredients

Plain baguette
Goat Cheese
Basil
Tomato
Avocado
+
Plain baguette
Goat Cheese
Jalapeño Jelly
Pear

The cost was $15 (the jelly was a spendy $5) and it fed two people satisfactorily.

Fresh Cream Cheese Strawberry Pie

Oregon is a magical place, a place where you can travel a mere 40 minutes away from the city, and pick your own, fresh strawberries:

We got a three pounds of berries, of which we mashed into a pulp, mixed with sugar and cornstarch and stirred on the stove until thick:

A pie crust was baking away in the oven, and it was easy to make! Shortening quickly whipped until creamy with hot water and milk, and then mixed with four until it formed into a dough, I rolled it out between two sheets of wax paper, gently laid it in my pie glass, poked a billion holes in it, and popped it into the oven until light brown and crisp, round 15 minutes on 400:

After the crust had cooled, a cream cheese/lemon juice and rind/powdered sugar mixture was spread into the bottom.  And then a fresh, uncooked layer of strawberries followed:

After that the stovetop strawberries were dolloped on top, and it was all chilled until ready to serve:

Delicious!

A Harrison Through and Through

Take a look at our Aralyn:

Broccoli Bisque

This idea for a recipe started with my roommates who created a Vegan version, and ended with pure imagination.
Calls for:
broccoli
cashews
garlic  
these items are steamed together until soft (put it as much as you want of each (or however much your biggest pot will hold), have fun with it-that's what we did!)
placed in a blender (even better if yours is immersion!)
and blended with heavy whipping cream (obviously the NON-Vegan version-for Vegan version, simply use water-of course this makes it a broccoli soup, and not a bisque).
lightly salt and peppered, served with fresh french bread for best results.