Easy Tomato Basil Soup

From the blog Picky Palate:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage
10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (stacked, rolled and thinly sliced)
1 26 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade sauce 

1 Cup water

1 1/2 Cups half and half
Pinch of salt and pepper

Place olive oil into a medium sized dutch oven over medium heat. Cook sausage until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil leaves, pasta sauce, water, half and half, salt and pepper. Cook until warm then reduce heat to low. Simmer until ready to serve. It’s that easy!

4 servings

Cheesy Zucchini Soup

This is apparently a famous ward soup recipe, and it is totally one of my favorites! I'm so excited that it's going to be soup season again soon!

Sautee until tender:
2 medium zucchini chopped (one yellow, one green makes it looks prettier)
1 medium onion
2 T parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/3 c. butter

Stir in:
1/3 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or 3 cups chicken broth instead of water)
1 tsp lemon juice

Bring to a boil for 2 minutes.

Add:
1 can tomatoes
1 can evaporated milk
1 pkg. corn or 1 can drained

Reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes.

Add:
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Enjoy!!

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

I got this recipe from this blog. It has a ton of great crock pot recipes. This is what I'm making for dinner tonight. I hope it's good!

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 ounces sliced ham
4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 ounce) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted
Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom.
Layer chicken breasts over the sauce.
Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese.
Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers.
Sprinkle the stuffing on top, an ddrizzle butter over stuffing.
Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on High.