Olive Garden Soup

I love this soup. My mom made it for me and I have loved it since. Since my hubby is not a fan of soup so I have claimed Halloween as soup day. I figure it should be a good day to have something warm to eat before you go out for a night of fun. This has become a tradition that stuck. In fact while my hubby had his 2nd bowl (hates soup, hmmm) he said it taste like Halloween to me. This made me smile on the inside:)

1 lb Hamburger
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1 green pepper
1 stalk of celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can great northern white beans
1 can tomato soup

soup with water

Brown the hamburger with the onion and garlic. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil an then simmer for 1 hour. Enjoy.

French Dip Sandwiches

My hubby and I have set a tradition that Christmas Eve is for our little family only. We love this night. We spend time with just our kids before the rush of Christmas morning and all that we have to do. One thing we do is have a fun dinner. One year we tried French Dip Sandwiches and they were a HIT! Not only did they make the house smell yummy but it was so easy to do. And like my sister would say "They taste like Christmas." With a bit of Rosemary it taste just like Christmas. Mmmmm

3-4 lb round roast
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 beef bullion cube
1 bay leaf
3-4 Whole Peppercorn
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
Combine ingredients in a crock pot. Cover meat almost all the way with water. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

We like to do red onions cut in slices in the crock pot about 30 minutes before serving. We put them on Hoggies and layer it with pepper jack cheese, meat, purple onion. Enjoy!