The theme for tonight's dinner seems to be Crappy School Cafeteria, and we're having one of those thrown together chicken "pies" with a biscuit top. May or may not be any good. But what I wanted to post was this staple of my kitchen, the Cream Soup Substitute Mix. This replaces condensed cream soups like mushroom, celery, and chicken. It's cheaper than generic canned and it's easily divided so that you can make half a can of soup when you only need half for a recipe.

Cream Soup Mix
Makes about 11 "cans"

2 c. dry milk (or 2 envelopes)
1 ¼ c. cornstarch
¼ c. chicken bouillon powder
2 t. dried onion flakes
½ t. pepper
1 t. thyme

Mix and store in airtight container. Combine 1/3 c. mix with 1 ¼ c. water. Microwave in 30 second intervals, whisking between, until proper consistency.

Adapted from the Great American Home Baking Cookie Collection. And honestly, if I could find it, I would link you.

Caramel Apple Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen
These are delicious. The combination of the caramel and the taste and smell of the apple pie spices fools you into thinking these cookies taste like apples.

1 c. butter
½ c. packed brown sugar
½ c. sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ t. vanilla
2 t. cinnamon
¼ t. cloves
Pinch nutmeg
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
3 c. flour
Red and green food color pastes
Apple-shaped cookie cutter
2-3 dozen wooden craft sticks
1 14oz. pkg. caramels
3 T. water
½ c. chopped cashews
Waxed paper

Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.

Remove 1/3 c. dough to color green. Color the rest red. Divide red dough in half, over all, chill for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out red dough to ¼” thickness and cut out apple shapes. Transfer to cookie sheets. Carefully slide a craft stick under the stem end of each cookie. Shape marble-sized balls of green dough into teardrops and press onto each apple.

Bake for 10 minutes, until crisp but not browned. Transfer to wire rack or towel to cool completely.

Unwrap caramels and place in bowl with water. (14oz. was way too much caramel for mine.) Microwave on high in one minute intervals, stirring between, until melted. (Maybe 3 minutes total.)

Lay out waxed paper. Dip the end of each cookie into melted caramel, then in cashews, and lay on waxed paper. Let cookies set at least an hour.

The cookies, at least the caramel part, should be wrapped individually in waxed paper, and should be handled before it has set.

I usually buy a lot of ground beef when it's on sale, brown it and freeze it. I do some with taco seasoning too so it's handy for quick tacos, taco salad, nachos, or other recipes. Though I generally do 2-3 lbs at a time, this recipe is for 1lb and is about 1 packet's worth.

Taco Seasoning

2T. flour
¾ t. salt
¼ t. dried onion
¼ t. paprika
1 ½ t. chili powder
Dash garlic powder
Dash onion powder
¼ c. water

Combine dry ingredients while meat is browning. Drain fat, stir in seasonings and water, and simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Ok, not the stuff you get in Okinawa, but that's what I'm calling it. This was a really simple dish I put together from stuff lying around. It's just at the border of too spicy for me, so of course not spicy enough for most. It could be made hotter by substituting a can of Rotel for the diced tomatoes, and/or using a hot salsa instead of mild. Les actually said he really liked this one, so it's a keeper. Easy fix, easy clean-up. Because it's brown rice, it does take about an hour. White would probably take closer to half an hour.

Taco Rice and Cheese

Water
2 scoops brown rice
1 lb ground beef, browned with taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 c. frozen corn
¼ c. salsa
1 ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

Fill rice cooker to the 2 line for brown rice. Add all other ingredients except cheese and set to cook. When finished cooking, stir in cheese until melted.