I Just Love "Almost-Homemade" Recipes!

I have to admit, I love recipes that are "almost-homemade". You can take a convenient, simple main ingredient, add more stuff to it, and it's so much yummier! I've got several cookbooks that are along those lines, and a cupboard full of cream soups to go with those recipes. 

Tonight I was looking through the GBP cookbook "Comfort Foods". It's a favorite this time of year especially. I ran across a Tomato Soup recipe. We love tomato soup, but I confess...I usually just add milk to the canned tomato soup.  Yum.... well...a little less than yum, but we eat it in a pinch. 

This recipe is called "Almost-Homemade Tomato Soup". Very fitting! Had it all ready in no time, and even Emily at her bowl clean, and she's picky about her tomato soup, since she's the one in the house that thinks the old way (soup and milk) is the best.

Almost-Homemade Tomato Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp. margarine

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. paprika

1-1/4 cup milk

2 (10-3/4 oz. each) tomato soup

2 (16 oz. each) cans whole tomatoes

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in margarine for about 2 minutes. Stir in cream cheese, basil and paprika. Cook until creamy; gradually whisk in milk and soup. Stir in tomatoes. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until heated through. Serves 4.

Hope everyone has been having a good year so far. We're not too far into the new year, but I'm already getting the hang of getting the right year on our checks. That's a huge accomplishment!

As far as other stuff going on here at our farm, it's busy as usual! We've had some snow the past few days, and today's "flurries" were actually pretty good snow showers that left us with a few inches of snow. The cows are happy to be in the barn, where it stays almost 60 degrees all the time. Makes for comfortable milking for us too. 

Our vet was in on Tuesday for our regular "herd check".  We check cows for pregnancy (palpation), and the last of our heifer calves were calfhood vaccinated.  It has to be done by a certain age. Out of 26 cows, all were confirmed bred except for 5. It's good to know, and the vet is usually able to tell when she will be due, based on the date(s) we have recorded in her file of where she would have been bred. Typically with our milk cows they are bred by AI, or artificially insemenated. We occasionally have a bull, but at 2 yrs. of age they get mean. 

Work has been going very well for me. Although it is still a challenge some days to get into the swing of working away from home.  At least I'm not feeling lost and confused at work. I've got the hang of it.  I'm now in the process of learning how to do pizza's and subs. Which makes me very hungry! So hungry in fact, on Tuesday night I brought home a pizza and cheesy bread to munch on while we watched the Sugar Bowl.

Emily has gone to the barn with daddy...so I think this is a wonderful time to get a few things done around the house. But, playing around on the computer is a lot more fun! :) 

Have a great weekend!