“Over-eating, merry greeting...

...from relatives you don’t know!” Mistletoe and Holly written by Bing Crosby and performed by Frank Sinatra.

I adore autumn food. All those delicious apple creations, and cheeses, and thick soups and warm, nutty-brown breads. Mmmh! We had an absolutely decadent soup for dinner a few nights ago. It is highly unhealthy but also ridiculously good - the recipe I use is at the bottom. The original recipe was given to me by my sweet younger sister-in-law, who got it from a friend - apparently it was one of Ryan's favorite childhood recipes.

Ryan, Mom, and Daddy gathered around the
 tureen of delicious cheesy-seafood goodness. :P

Have we discussed how I feel about cheese? I love cheese. I could basically eat cheese constantly, at every meal (and I basically do). Ever since my sister gave me the Magic Cheese-Grater of Awesome, I add either asiago, parmesan, or some other hard cheese to almost every dish. Understandably, then, you can see why grilled cheese sandwiches are one of my favorites!

From http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

This picture has been making the rounds, and I thought I’d share it with you all. It looks so delicious!

Also a delicious comfort food that I’m looking forward to trying is this Bacon Cheddar Bubble Bread. Um, yum?!? 

Decadent Louisiana Cheese Soup

This recipe is very, very forgiving, so feel free to substitute anything to taste...and realize that the point is to have a mess of delicious, cheesy goodness. 

1 can of cream of broccoli soup

1 can of cream of potato soup

1 can of cream of shrimp or chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

1 can of cream of onion soup

2 4-oz cans of carnation milk

8 oz. Velveeta (I used fiesta cheese to add a little kick, you can also use a jalapeño roll or another cheese)

4-8 oz. Cheese (this can be cheese whiz, some kind of real cheese, or more velveeta)

1/2 chopped onion, sauteed in butter

Other veggies to taste (if you want to substitute actual celery, potatoes, broccoli, etc, instead of the canned cream-of products you can then add some heavy cream til it has a not-casserole thickness) 

Cooked, peeled, deveined, tail-off shrimp 

Meat to taste (we did butter-sauteed scallops and imitation crab) 

1/2 stick butter (optional)

Milk to thin (optional)

Saute all raw items in butter, then heat all ingredients through, melting cheese, and let simmer for 20 minutes or put in crock pot on low for several hours. Serves 8 comfortably. 

I also recommend serving with a brown bread for dipping, though a hard sourdough would also be delicious. 

Much love!