Cream of Chicken Soup

Considering this past week has been cold and rainy, soup seems like the perfect meal. My husband has soup almost everyday at work, but it's usually out of a can. He's great about not spending money (I need some help with that) and always eats leftovers for lunch or a can of soup from the market. His favorite soup is cream of chicken and I found a recipe that I tweaked (like most of my recipes) and made some this weekend with enough leftovers for him to enjoy this week at work. I also packaged some soup up for my mom and her friend. I know you can't see any chicken in this picture but trust me, it's in there.

French Onion Soup

My husband is not only the most talented graphic designer but he's also a fantastic chef! I may be a stay-at-home mom that cooks dinner regularly but on the weekends he makes dinners that are simple yet incredibly tasty, and that have made me consider going back to work full time and letting him stay home to cook dinner every night. This past weekend was so cold and rainy out that we were craving some warm comfort food. I wanted french onion soup and he created a delicious meal from one of his favorite cookbooks. This is by far the best french onion soup I've ever tasted and luckily, thanks to my husband, I have tasted a lot of really good food in the past fifteen years. The cooking process for this soup is long but it's well worth the time:

The Counter Burger

Santana Row has a Counter Burger joint that I had never heard of before but once I tried it, I was hooked! I introduced it to my mom and her friend and they loved it too! Since this week is a mid winter break at my girls' school, my mom treated us to lunch and I got to try out their fried pickle chips. I prefer fried zucchini but they were pretty good too. They have great burgers, made any way you like, you get to choose from many different toppings. In addition to the fried pickles, we also enjoyed the 50/50 fries (regular and sweet potato) and I ordered a turkey burger with cheddar cheese and grilled onions. SO GOOD:

Panzanella

I was watching a food show where they used leftover bread to make a Panzanella salad. I didn't have all the other ingredients needed but I did have a left over baguette. I felt guilty for tossing all my baguettes in the past and never using them in this salad. I went to the market and bought all the ingredients needed and attempted to make it for dinner last night. I think it turned out great!

Orange Cupcakes/Lobster Rolls

My grandparents have an orange tree in their backyard that produces the sweetest oranges, year after year. I only get a box of them once a year and was inspired to create a cupcake using the zest and juice of their oranges. I used my basic white cake recipe and added some orange zest to the cake with a buttercream frosting that also used the zest along with the juice of two oranges. This is my new favorite cupcake! I made some special today to share with Sam Chowder House's Mobile truck. I try to make a point of meeting up with their truck whenever it's near me and I think they know I'm a loyal stalker (err follower) because my lobster roll keeps getting bigger and bigger each time. Look at the amount of lobster they gave me today!

Look at the size of this lobster meat that was overflowing out of my sandwich:

Here are the cupcakes I gave them today:

Here are the ones we kept for ourselves lol:

La Paloma Mexican Restaurant

I remember going there years ago with my parents and husband but we haven't had a chance to return because every time we try we can't find parking. We did go this past weekend and got lucky enough to find a place to park and a table. I was craving a taco so I had a shredded chicken taco with rice and beans on the side ....and yes, that is a margarita in the background:

Valentine's Breakfast

I wanted to make something special for my girls this morning (and my hubby) so I used my heart shaped tool to create a fried egg ....they loved it:

Happy Valentine's Day MOM

I surprised my mom today and took her to meet up with Sams Chowder House Mobile truck at lunch. She never had a lobster roll and they have the best one and cheap too:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies

I decided to treat the staff and school where I work and my girls go to school to a lovely Valentine's Day treat. I made chocolate dipped strawberries and sugar cookies with raspberry jam in the center and a drizzle of melted white chocolate on top:

PS: I used my new retrocam app off my iphone for these pictures

Grapevine Wine Bar in Willow Glen

My new favorite place to enjoy some wine and cheese pairings in Willow Glen. On a sunny day, it's nice to sit outside and enjoy their delicious expertise, knowing how to pair the perfect wine and cheese:

Twist Bistro Cafe

Campbell has a french bistro called Twist and it's my favorite place to go for dinner and on my date afternoon with my hubby for lunch. I always get this delicious sandwich on a french baguette with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic:

Panera Bread

My favorite bakery just opened a shop near my house....This is not a good thing lol

Here is my favorite turkey sandwich on a french baguette:

Salmon Dinner

I created a salmon dish that I top with ranch dressing and dill then bake in the oven. My husband perfected my recipe by placing the salmon on the BBQ. It comes out so tasty! I prefer to make homemade buttermilk ranch dressing because I can never find a bottle of ranch that tastes as good as homemade.

Orange Cupcakes

My grandpa has this amazing orange tree that produces the sweetest oranges every year. I look forward to these oranges so much that I rarely buy oranges in markets because they never compare to how sweet and juicy these oranges are year after year. I decided to create a cupcake using the zest of two oranges and the juice went into the frosting instead of using milk. All I can say is that not only are these my new favorite cupcake but I wish I could get these oranges all year long so I could satisfy this craving I will get month after month for more of these delicious cupcakes!

Snack Time

This is the easiest snack to make and I'll even share the recipe:

Genoa Salami
Sour Cream
Basil

Put foil on a cookie sheet and place the slices of salami in rows. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Once they are crispy around the edges, take them out of the oven, place them on a napkin to soak up some of the grease and spoon sour cream on each slice. Top them all with shredded basil and devour!

Cauliflower Au Gratin

I don't really like cauliflower but my husband bought some at the market and I decided to find a recipe that with a creamy, cheesy sauce to make it taste like something I would want to eat. I tweaked a recipe online and it turned out delicious.