I love potato soup, but sometimes I don’t want to do the white sauce, etc., and then I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com that I tweaked to make it even quicker and better (if I don’t say so myself). Plus, it’s extremely pantry-friendly — and perfect for cool weather!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! This serves 6 but you can easily half it to 3 people.

Quick Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbl. butter or margarine
2 stalks of celery diced
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups cubed potatoes (about 4 medium)
2 cups water or chicken broth/stock
2 (10.75 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and sautee until onion is translucent (about 7-10 minutes).
2. Add cubed potatoes. Cover with 2 cups of water or broth until just covered. Pack down (and it will look packed). Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and re-packing after stirring.
3. Meanwhile, mix cream of chicken soup with milk in a medium mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, and mix.
4. Add soup mixture when potatoes are done (do not drain), and stir until warmed through.
5. Serve. Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or cheddar cheese, if desired.

Notes:

Hope you enjoy the soup — it was delicious tonight!

How about a quick, great freebie?

Get one free Glad Forceflex kitchen trash bag by clicking this link and filling out the simple form.

I love sample offers from Walmart, because they always come.

Another post later today, but wanted to post this one as soon as I came across it.

Phew! Got all the outside decorating done for the holidays (lights, etc.), pulled out all the decor for the inside, and did the big clean downstairs before putting everything out (the tree goes up next weekend, thank goodness). I am so glad I stockpiled a dinner from 4+ weeks ago, as I recommended in this post. It’s still not too late to use the same holiday planning strategy, and this is a prime example when you will be happy you did.

Today brought to mind six tips for your holiday decorating — hope they help:

Pick and choose – I have a lot of Christmas decorations, but each year I decide on a theme — this year’s is an “Old-fashioned Christmas,” so out came the Santas, the garlands, and the red and green decor items. Other years (click the links to see), it was “an elegant Christmas” with a lot of silver or even a “retro Christmas” with what I called a Nancy Sinatra Go-Go Tree. But rather than put everything out, I pick and choose. Pick a theme and color choice. You don’t want it to look as if Santa threw up in your home.

More than anything, Happy Holidays and may I be the first to say, “Merry Christmas.”

I’ve already done some online shopping — so much easier than hitting the stores (and many are offering free shipping!).

At any rate, I found this great site in which you get an automatic $5 to sign up, and then have access to thousands of online codes and discount specials. Many offer a percentage back to you on any purchases, or you can net the codes you need to get free shipping, etc.

The stores featured all all the big ones — Target, Kmart, Nordies, Walmart, Amazon, etc! You might as well make some money on your Christmas shopping this year.

Just click this link for Ebates, sign up, and you automatically have $5 added to your account. I already have $10 in cashback just for shopping (and yours truly nets a bonus after you sign up!) So save yourself — and make some money — with your shopping, and automatically send a “thank you” to Prohomemaker.

Happy bargain-hunting!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did! I helped my friend Jayne in LA with our dinner of 4 people. It went off without a hitch — Roast Turkey Breast in a honey-mustard-rosemary glaze, Cornbread Dressing with fresh sage, Mashed Potatoes with cream cheese and green onions, Cranberry Sauce accented with fresh orange zest, biscuits, Turkey Gravy with fresh rosemary, and a delicious broccoli salad

But last night, as I was recovering from the carb overload, I thought, “What dinner can I make now to leave Jayne with when I come back home?” and I came up with a great standby that works perfectly with all the leftovers from Thanksgiving — just sub diced turkey for the chicken, and you are ready to cook!

So, as I recover from the fun, please allow me to re-post what I left in the fridge to thank Jayne for a wonderful two days. Hope it comes in handy! More to come after a good night’s rest.

This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers — it calls on so many that you may have on hand. It’s also pantry and freezer friendly. It’s perfect comfort food, without the time commitment. It’s even faster if you pre-cooked and pre-diced your chicken breasts with this tip. You’ll also find three other great tips at the end of the recipe. Lots of tips here! The recipe is called Chicken and Biscuits, but I think it’s akin to Chicken and Dumplings without the pain factor. Serves 4 big servings, or 6 with a big salad.

Hope you enjoy it, too.

Chicken (or Turkey!) and Biscuits

Basic Ingredients
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 cup sour cream (divided)
2 cups diced, cooked turkey or chicken
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (see note)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Bisquick (see note)
3 Tbs. milk

Directions
Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.
Mix soup and 1/2 cup sour cream in mixing bowl. Add cheese, chicken and vegetables. Mix well.
Put Bisquick in medium bowl. Add remaining 1/4 cup sour cream and milk. Stir till stiff dough forms. Add teaspoon of milk if too stiff.
Grease 8-inch square baking dish. Place chicken mixture in, and pat down. Drop biscuit mixture with tablespoon and knife into 6 biscuits.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, and serve.

Notes:

You can print the recipe by clicking on the title.

I’m off to Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving with my pal Jayne (and help her cook Wednesday night), so wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday! I’ll be back Friday evening with a new post!

Just wanted to jog your memory on three tasks that are very easy to overlook in these hectic times before the doorbell rings, with guests on the other side.

Before anything else, remember, your mood will set the mood for the day, so welcome your guests with a broad smile, a hug, a kiss or a handshake to make them feel welcome. What’s most important is the smile.

Now, for the tasks, which you can do days in advance:

Clear the refrigerator – You need room for the preparation and the prepared dishes, so clear that fridge now. Toss the science experiments, consolidate items, just make room. This will keep you from screaming as you try to shove a 14-pound turkey into 6 inches of space.

Hope these tips help, and remember to enjoy yourself, too!

Been awhile since I found a good enough sample to request, and this one qualifies.

Click this link for three free samples of Celtic Sea Salt from France.

Sea salt is akin to Kosher salt, in that it’s preferred by cooks. I would use it more as a gourmet seasoning to some of your favorite dishes — and it’s free!

Easy form to complete, too, and is supposed to arrive in 7-10 days. You’ll get a catalog, too. Just in time for the holidays.

“How to set a table” — sounds pretty simple, huh?

But it’s a lost art. I think a lot of people may believe it’s pretentious to put much thought into it; however, it sets the stage for your meal — and helps your guests know what to use and when.

I am not going into “tablescaping,” and such, but just the basic details of what goes where. You’ll see it’s easier than you think (and thank goodness we are not in Victorian times, in which they had separate utensils for the fish course, etc., or even such things as oyster plates). We’re just addressing a standard dinner with salad, dinner, water and wine, and all the standard utensils.

So let’s start, it’s 5 easy steps!

1. Put down tablecloth or set placemats or put chargers at the center of each placesetting.
2. Place plate at the center of each placesetting, about 1 inch from the edge of the table. Ensure any plate pattern is centered toward each guest.
3. Place all flatware about 1 inch from plate, 1 inch from edge of table, and about 1/2 inch apart. Additional info on placement is noted below, but here are the basics: knife goes to the right of the plate with blade facing plate, a soup spoon should also be to the right. Forks go to the left in order of usage (see below).
4. Place water goblet at the tip of the knife, and the wine glass to its right and down 1 inch so the rims clear each other.
5. Place folded napkin (see note below) to the left of the first piece of flatware to the left. The fold should face away from the plate.

That’s it! For the visual folks, a photo is provided above for a basic dinner in which no soup or wine is being served.