Sunday Cooking

I had three things I wanted to make on Sunday: Pumpkin Bars, Tortellini Soup, and a chicken pot pie.

First up, the Pumpkin Bars.

Ingredients

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

And for the Tortellini Soup:

1	to 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1	medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
1	medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)
1	small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1	clove garlic, finely chopped
6	cups water
1	vegetable bouillon cube
2 1/2	cups dried cheese-filled tortellini (10 oz)
1	tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4	teaspoon pepper
	Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

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1.	In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender.
2.	Stir in water and bouillon cube. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; stir in tortellini. Cover; simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tortellini are tender.
3.	Stir in parsley, nutmeg and pepper. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese if desired.

Both items were sooooo delish. As for the pot pie, I don't have a recipe for that. Just mix frozen veggie mix with cream of chicken soup and cut up, cooked chicken. I also added in white beans for more protein. YUM!