Super Bowl XLIV is less than a month away! Now is the perfect time to plan your Super Bowl Party!  How about a Souper Bowl Party!  Invite your guests to each bring a pot of their favorite soup or chili or make several pots yourself.  It’s a great way to stretch a budget and have more than enough food for all your guests!  Add some wonderful crusty French bread and some cornbread and a variety of toppings to make the finishing touches!  Order partyware for your favorite team and make a yummy cake featuring one of our NFL Cake toppers for the final touchdown!

Here’s a few recipes to get your tastebuds flowing and inspire your planning!

• Hearty Hambone Soup
• The Best Broccoli Soup
• Perfect Potato Soup

Perfect Potato Soup

• 12 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled 
• 2/3 cup margarine
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups milk
• 4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, mixing constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions.  Let simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

The Best Broccoli Soup

• 1 lb broccoli
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken stock (or canned broth)
• 1/8 tsp. dried basil
• 1/8 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup milk
• 1-2 TBS lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp salt

Cut up broccoli florets and place into a large pot of lightly-salted boiling water. Cook until very tender, about 7 minutes.  Drain and let cool slightly.

In a heavy soup pot, combine the oil and onion.  Saute over moderate heat until softened.  Add the flour and stir to blend. Pour in 2 cups of the chicken stock.  Stir in the basil, oregano, tarragon and thyme.  Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over moderate heat.  Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.  Add broccoli, milk and remaining chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, stirring.  Reduce heat and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice and salt.  Enjoy!

Hearty Hambone Soup

• 1 leftover hambone (great use for that leftover Christmas ham)
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 1-2 potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 1-2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 pkg frozen baby lima beans
• 1 pkg frozen whole kernel corn or canned corn (drained)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Place your hambone in a large crockpot and fill with water covering about 3/4 of the hambone.  Let cook overnight.  The next morning, remove hambone to a plate and let cool.

While your hambone is cooling, chop your onion, celery, potatoes, and carrots.  I like to mince my onion and celery as my guys don’t like to bite into those, but to each their own.  Add to your hambone stock along with your frozen and canned veggies and some  salt and pepper to taste. 

Now that your hambone has cooled, remove meat and add pack to your broth and discard the bone.

Cover and let simmer for approximately 6 hours.  Enjoy!

January 1, 2010! A new year, a new decade, a time of new possibilities and new beginnings!  How exciting!

How are you spending your first day of 2010? I’m relaxing with my 5 guys, thinking of all the exciting plans for the new year…activities with my boys, new products for Treasured Birthdays, ideas to share with all my mom friends and enjoy each moment of life!

Our first new step of 2010 is to introduce this blog to our Treasured Birthdays family.  We want to share our adventures with all of your…whether it be how we spend our day preparing orders or picking new products to offer or taking my boys to the park, we want to share it! We hope you will enjoy this blog and also come here to share your own moments and stories and memories and especially the Treasured Birthdays that you have created! We can’t wait to hear from you!