Chicken Capri Soup/German Cheesecake

Well, it is the end of the pay period for our family, and that means making the best of what is left in the fridge. I like to clean out everything before going shopping again, and a good way to use stuff up is to put it in a soup. So, this is a totally made up recipe, by me!

I think this soup is yummy, and so does my oldest daughter. We however both love soups. My husband is not a soup guy, and when he came home to this meal I could sense the barely concealed disappointment. He later told me it just didn't look very appetizing. I thought it did, but what I really liked was the smell. It smells heavenly while it is cooking! I think this soup would be even better with tortilla chips, sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top. We didn't have any of that, so we just had plain bread. I didn't have time to make French bread which might have made it nicer for the hubby. Oh, well. (Don't worry, he later went out and bought ice cream to make milkshakes, so he didn't starve.)

Chicken Capri Soup

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stalk green onion, chopped
• Left over chicken capri (see August 27th for recipe), cut into pieces or shredded, keep the ricotta and tomatoes to add to the soup.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• whatever left over veggies you have in the fridge (I had corn and peas, but you can add squash, broccoli, whatever)
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese (I wanted to throw the container away and that is about how much I scraped out).
• handful of Italian blend shredded cheese (also cleaning out the fridge)

1. In a blender, blend the first five ingredients until all the big pieces are chopped up really good.
2. Put it in a large sauce pan over med-high heat. Add the green onion, chicken pieces and toppings, cheese, and cream cheese and whatever left over veggies from your fridge. Turn down to medium heat while you do step 3.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt butter, mix in flour until smooth and then add the milk. Stir until smooth and thick. Pour into the main soup pan and warm through and serve.

I don't know the nutrition values for this--just more than the original recipe. :)

Here is another recipe that I got several years ago from someone at church. It is a easy to make dessert that is really yummy!

German Cheesecake

• 2 packages crescent rolls
• 2--8oz packages cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Open one crescent roll and pinch the seems to seal together. roll out, or press to fit a 11 x 13 baking dish.
2. With a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Spread over the dough in the pan.
3. Open the last crescent roll, pinch seams to seal, and roll out to cover the top of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 25 minutes. (In the past I have had problems getting the middle to cook before the edges are too brown and hard. The last time I made it, I used a 12 inch square cake pan and used the left overs to make another smaller batch. Using less filling made it easier for the middle to fully cook in the time span.)
5. While it is cooling you can make an optional glaze for it by mixing 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water or milk. Drizzle it over the cheesecake while still warm. cool completely before cutting into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.