Broccoli Cheese Soup

image via

I'm starting to give up on getting decent photos of my food now that winter is here and it's dark by the time dinner is ready. So, I'm pulling photos from the interwebs and linking back their original site.

I love broccoli cheese soup. But I've had a hard time finding a recipe I really love. My favorite broccoli cheese soup is at Sweet Tomatoes - it has a slight kick to it. Last time I had it I looked very closely and noticed tiny red-orange specks floating around and realized the secret ingredient: cayenne pepper. I've included it as an optional ingredient and highly recommend adding at least a dash.

This recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman. Ree tends to think like Paula Deen, meaning "the more butter the better." I lightened this up a bit so that it doesn't cause a coronary.

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
2-3 cups broccoli florets
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or just a dash), optional
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack)

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add the onions. Cook onions until translucent (about 3-4 minutes), then whisk in flour. Stir to combine and cook for a minute or so and then slowly whisk in the milk and half-and-half. Add garlic powder, cayenne, nutmeg, and broccoli florets. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until broccoli is soft. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pulse soup until smooth. Return to pot and keep warm. Add cheese and stir until melted. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve in a bread bowl or with sliced french bread.

Cranberry Apple Butter

I have never been a fan of apple butter. (I think it's because I've only tried store-bought apple butter and let's be honest - homemade anything is usually better than store-bought.) My brother- and sister-in-law took my daughter and I to The Flying Biscuit Cafe in Sandy Springs, GA, this summer. They serve all of their biscuits with homemade cranberry apple butter. I liked it and thought, "Oh, okay. Apple butter ain't bad."

Fast forward a week and I couldn't get that stuff out of my mind. I was craving it like chocolate and wondering if they sold it by the jar. Lucky for me, an internet search turned up the very recipe that they use in the cafe (thank you, PBS!). I bookmarked it for future use when cranberries came in season again. And here we are!

This year I hope to use my brain and freeze a couple of bags of cranberries so I have them available at other times of the year. Wish me luck.

CRANBERRY APPLE BUTTER
from The Flying Biscuit Cafe

2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups cranberries
10 Granny Smith apples (about 3 lbs.), peeled, cored, and sliced

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, orange juice, and spices. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add cranberries and simmer until berries begin to pop. Reduce heat to low and stir in apples. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples are soft; about 45 min - 1 hr. Remove cinnamon stick and either blend mixture with an immersion blender or puree in blender or food processor until smooth.

Let cool and refrigerate. Will keep in fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Or fill clean, hot jars with apple butter to within 1/2-inch of rim, wipe rims clean, and screw on hot lids. Immerse in boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes. Cool for 24 hours. If any lids "pop," refrigerate jars and use within 2-3 weeks. Properly sealed jars will keep at room temp for 18 months - 2 years.

Vegetable Beef Soup

If someone out there in blogland would like to donate a DSLR camera to me, I wouldn't mind in the slightest.
It would make my food actually look something you want to eat!

This is a great way to use up a small, boneless roast. Since the beef is slow-cooked you can use a tougher cut like chuck. I make it the way my grandmother made it; with barley.

Quick pearled barley is used as a "thickener" - essentially it's a healthy filler and sucks up some of the extra broth. I've usually found it by the dried beans and rice:

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

1 1/2 - 2 lb. chuck roast
1 can beef broth
8 cups water
4 tsp. beef bouillon or base
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 med. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup quick barley
1 can tomato soup
salt & pepper to taste

Pat roast dry with paper towel(s). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray bottom of large pot with cooking spray; heat over med-high heat. Brown roast on all sides; add beef broth, water, and bouillon or base and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.

Add onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes; return to a simmer. Cover and cook for another hour.

Remove roast from pot and shred into bite-size pieces. Return to pot with tomato soup and barley. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

New York Chicken

Sorry for the lame photo. I took it just before my hubby started eating. My father-in-law loves this chicken. It turns out moist and tender and the sauce is great over white rice or egg noodles.

NEW YORK CHICKEN
adapted from Allrecipes.com

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; trimmed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened and cubed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and brown both sides; remove to 9x13 baking dish. Reduce heat to med-low and add garlic and rosemary. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Whisk in cream of mushroom soup until combined; cook until hot. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese until smooth; pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until chicken in no longer pink.

Monster Bark

Here's a Halloween treat for grown-ups and kiddos alike. It's a sweet and salty snack and very colorful. It calls for candy corn, but gosh darn it I hate that stuff. I just couldn't bring myself to use it. And I didn't have quite enough Reeses Pieces and I regret not adding peanuts (totally forgot about them). So the bark in the photo is not truly indicative of what this stuff can be.

I went all over kingdom come trying to find those crazy Halloween Oreos. Finally found a package at the 3rd store I tried. I normally don't go for weird-colored Oreos, but they sure make this bark look more festive.

I do wish I'd made the bark a little thinner - it was really hard to break apart. That is why I've given a range for the amount of Almond Bark needed. You can do it to taste. Most packages I've found are 24 oz. But they come in bricks that you can cut apart. I wouldn't use less than 1 1/2 packages.

MONSTER BARK
adapted from Halloween Candy Bark on Tasty Kitchen

32 - 48 oz. vanilla Almond Bark
2 cups pretzel sticks
15 Halloween Oreos, broken into pieces
1 cup Reeses Pieces
1 cup peanuts
1 cup candy corn
Halloween-themed or chocolate sprinkles, optional

Line a jelly-roll pan with waxed paper. Spread pretzels and Oreo pieces evenly in pan. Melt Almond Bark according to package directions and slowly drizzle over pretzels/Oreos; pound flat. Sprinkle with Reese Pieces, peanuts, candy corn, and sprinkles. Refrigerate until solid, about 30 - 45 minutes. Break into pieces.

Cheese and Vegetable Soup

I got this recipe from a friend. I'd had it at her house and really loved the flavor. I think it would be good with broccoli and cauliflower, too.

CHEESE AND VEGETABLE SOUP

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
3 tsp. chicken bouillon granules, cubes, or base
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups frozen corn
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large pot, bring the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, water, bouillon, and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and add frozen corn.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for two minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and, stirring constantly, bring to a slight boil (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese until completely melted. Add cheese mixture to vegetable pot and stir to combine.

Sweet and Moist Cornbread

This is a very sweet cornbread and it's fluffy like a cake, not dense. It should be called Death by Cornbread for how much butter is in it. I grew up on this stuff. I think my mom got the recipe off a box of Bisquick in the 80's or 90's.

SWEET AND MOIST CORNBREAD

2 cups Bisquick
1 cup sugar
2 heaping Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup milk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. In a large bowl, beat the eggs then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Stir in dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.