Two Favorites: Creamy Garlic Chicken and Vegetable Soup

I didn't post yesterday because it was Alan's birthday and we were busy all day. So, I thought I would include two recipes today :) These are two of my favorites... I just made the Chicken recipe earlier this week - it is so easy and I love to keep the ingredients on hand so I can cook this on a night when I don't have anything else planned. The soup is my absolute favorite vegetable soup, and the weather outside today is perfect for it!

Creamy Garlic Chicken
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips (I use chicken tenderloin pieces and put them in the pan frozen – couldn’t be easier!)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl combine the soup, sour cream, cream cheese and garlic. Mix well and pour mixture over chicken.
3. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 1 hour.


Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2 lb boneless stew meat
8 cups water
salt and pepper
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 large onion, sliced or chopped, divided
1 soup bone
1 large potato, chopped
1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn
3 sprigs parsley, finely cut
¼ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp thyme
1/3 cup barley
¼ tsp marjoram
½ bay leaf
1 (32 oz) can tomatoes, undrained
2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen mixed vegetables (I buy soup vegetables) or 2 (16 oz) cans mixed vegetables

Directions:
Cut meat into small chunks. Place in large Dutch oven. Add water, salt, pepper, tomato paste, ½ onion, and soup bone. Simmer, covered, for 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Remove bone; skim fat from top. Add barley; simmer for 45 minutes. Add rest of onion, tomatoes, vegetables, parsley, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and bay leaf. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. Seasonings should be omitted or adjusted, according to taste. Makes 8-10 large servings.

My special secret tip: Buy a tea strainer and put whole peppercorns in it. Leave it in the soup for the duration of cooking for extra flavor (I learned this from watching cooking on TV :) ) Also, I add more frozen veggies than it calls for - my version is less soup and more vegetables. Can add celery salt and garlic salt or powder to taste.