We tried this soup out the other day and WOW was it tasty. Granted my proportions were a touch skewed since I had more then a pound of broccoli and put in WAAAYYY more cheese (I wanna say 16-20 ounces total between the cheddar, horseradish, and swiss. I feel justified though because we were using up stuff that would have gone bad.) Using fresh garlic, broccoli, and grating the cheese by hand really helped. Also use sharp cheddar not mild. Also bacon, the bacon is definitely mandatory.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Serves 6
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, cut into medium dice
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 lb broccoli chopped
1 quart chicken broth (4 cups)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
salt to taste
8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
4 ounces pepper jack or horseradish flavored cheese
Crumbled bacon
Directions
Cook Bacon.
Melt butter over medium heat in a stockpot. Cook onion in butter until softened. Add garlic and pepper; cook for 1 minute then stir in broccoli, and stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile whisk flour into milk until dissolved. Stir into soup stirring frequently until thickened. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese until melted and heated through.
Season with salt to taste and sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Kielbasa with Brussels sprouts
Sean and I tried this simple but very flavorful recipe recently and it has opened up a whole new world of Brussel Sprouts for us. :)
Kielbasa with Brussels sprouts
Serves: 4/Cal: 441
2 Tbs water
1 (16 ounce) package kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red onion, chopped
14 ounces baby Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Spicy brown mustard
Egg noodles
Directions
Heat the water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion. Cook and stir until onion is translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Continue to add water as necessary until kielbasa has added enough grease. Add the Brussels sprouts, and cook 10 minutes more. Cook egg noodles according to instructions. Season with salt and pepper and mustard to taste. Serve over egg noodles.
Kielbasa with Brussels sprouts
Serves: 4/Cal: 441
2 Tbs water
1 (16 ounce) package kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red onion, chopped
14 ounces baby Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Spicy brown mustard
Egg noodles
Directions
Heat the water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion. Cook and stir until onion is translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Continue to add water as necessary until kielbasa has added enough grease. Add the Brussels sprouts, and cook 10 minutes more. Cook egg noodles according to instructions. Season with salt and pepper and mustard to taste. Serve over egg noodles.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Corn Bread Review
We normally just use a box of Jiffy and make muffins. One box does not a corn bread make, however.
So, I tried this recipe this morning to bring to a plot meeting.
We had white corn meal in the house rather than the yellow, and I used 1/3 C brown sugar + 1/3 C white sugar (because it sounded like a good suggestion in the comments). Otherwise, I followed the recipe.
It was quite enjoyable if a little too crumbly (even for corn bread). I'm going to try an extra egg for some additional binding power, but otherwise the flavor was nice.
So, I tried this recipe this morning to bring to a plot meeting.
We had white corn meal in the house rather than the yellow, and I used 1/3 C brown sugar + 1/3 C white sugar (because it sounded like a good suggestion in the comments). Otherwise, I followed the recipe.
It was quite enjoyable if a little too crumbly (even for corn bread). I'm going to try an extra egg for some additional binding power, but otherwise the flavor was nice.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Cold Spinach & Artichoke Dip
I'm trying this one for the first time today. I have a hot one I use autumn through spring, but wanted one that was more friendly to summer gatherings. I love to use fresh ingredients if I can get them, but sometimes it's just easier to use canned/frozen. ***
Ingredients:
1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach - thawed & drained
1 14-16 oz can of artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
3 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonaise *
1 cup of grated parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese. **
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced & slightly crushed
Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for the flavors to blend.
Serve cold with tortilla chips or a hard/dense bread like a rye (especially pumpernickel) or French baguette.
* You can use all sour cream if desired, but I've found that for most cold dips that call for mayo, it adds a nice tang. It did for this one.
** I use half parmesan & half romano for my hot dip, so I did the same today.
*** Except for the cheese. If you've never heard my cheese rant, here it is: bite the bullet and buy the real thing in the cheese case by the deli counter. You will eat less of it because it has more flavor and will wind up stretching it further than a can of Kraft any day. Buy yourself a $3 rotary grater, and you're golden! DO EET!
Ingredients:
1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach - thawed & drained
1 14-16 oz can of artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
3 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonaise *
1 cup of grated parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese. **
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced & slightly crushed
Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for the flavors to blend.
Serve cold with tortilla chips or a hard/dense bread like a rye (especially pumpernickel) or French baguette.
* You can use all sour cream if desired, but I've found that for most cold dips that call for mayo, it adds a nice tang. It did for this one.
** I use half parmesan & half romano for my hot dip, so I did the same today.
*** Except for the cheese. If you've never heard my cheese rant, here it is: bite the bullet and buy the real thing in the cheese case by the deli counter. You will eat less of it because it has more flavor and will wind up stretching it further than a can of Kraft any day. Buy yourself a $3 rotary grater, and you're golden! DO EET!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Espresso Kahlua Brownies
I just put a batch of these in the oven, so I figured I'd share the recipe. I found it while browsing on Epicurious quite a while ago, and it's become my go-to brownie recipe. I know I've made these for the ToV setup crew at least once or twice! And I think I brought them for the Prophecy event that had a bake sale. If you don't like Kahlua or don't like coffee with your chocolate, you probably won't like these, but otherwise, they're generally a hit.
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
25 espresso coffee beans (I don't usually bother with these)
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
In a small heavy saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Cool chocolate mixture to lukewarm.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, espresso powder, and Kahlua until mixture is thickened and pale. Beat in chocolate mixture. Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and beat into batter just until blended well.
Spread batter evenly in pan and arrange coffee beans in 5 rows of 5 beans each. Bake brownies in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies in pan on a rack before cutting into 25 squares.
Some notes: I often multiply the recipe by 1 1/2 to fill a regular 9x13 pan. Tonight I had no unsweetened chocolate, so I substituted 3 tablespoons of cocoa + 1 tablespoon of shortening for each ounce of chocolate; instead of melting the butter and chocolate, I just softened the butter and creamed it and the shortening in with the eggs, sugar, etc. and added the cocoa with the flour.
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
25 espresso coffee beans (I don't usually bother with these)
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
In a small heavy saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Cool chocolate mixture to lukewarm.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, espresso powder, and Kahlua until mixture is thickened and pale. Beat in chocolate mixture. Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and beat into batter just until blended well.
Spread batter evenly in pan and arrange coffee beans in 5 rows of 5 beans each. Bake brownies in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies in pan on a rack before cutting into 25 squares.
Some notes: I often multiply the recipe by 1 1/2 to fill a regular 9x13 pan. Tonight I had no unsweetened chocolate, so I substituted 3 tablespoons of cocoa + 1 tablespoon of shortening for each ounce of chocolate; instead of melting the butter and chocolate, I just softened the butter and creamed it and the shortening in with the eggs, sugar, etc. and added the cocoa with the flour.
Sweet and Spicy Kielbasa
This one has rapidly turned into a favorite! Simple, fast, and fantastic over rice! You can also throw in some maraschino cherries though we normally don't bother.
Sweet and Spicy Kielbasa
Serves: 12/Cal: 362
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (16 ounce) packages kielbasa sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (16 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
1/4 cup grape jelly
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 dashes cayenne pepper hot sauce
Directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage in the hot oil until browned; add the barbecue sauce, grape jelly, pineapple, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper and stir; simmer 20 minutes
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Easy Mexican Rice
Makes 2.5-3 cups (depending upon additional veggies). Serves ~4 people.
This is an easy side for fajita/taco/burrito night. I have a recipe for lemon cilantro chicken that I haven't used in years, but it would probably go well, too.
I was looking for a simple Spanish/Mexican Rice recipe with less sodium than the boxed mixes. I stumbled upon something similar on Allrecipes.com and have tailored it to my tastes. I use brown rice and will throw in whatever vegetables happen to be in the house and seem to go well with the flavors.
Bare bones:
~ 1/2 tsp oil (I use EVOO, but whatever floats your boat or is on hand will work. With any OO, watch out for too much heat because it has a lower burn point.)
1 cup par-cooked brown rice (AKA Uncle Ben's ***)
1 cup salsa of choice (I use whatever brand of chunky is on hand)
1 cup chicken broth * (I use low sodium fat free)
Additional items to flavor:
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion, bell pepper, summer squash, mushrooms, etc.
1-2 cloves of minced garlic
In a large covered skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
If using additional veggies (except garlic), saute 2-3 minutes until translucent. If using, add the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Move veggies to a bowl and set aside.
Add up to another 1/2 tsp oil to the pan if necessary. Add the rice and saute until translucent - probably ~3-4 minutes, but watch it. Translucent to burned can be a matter of 30-45 seconds if unstirred.
Stir in all ingredients and cover. Raise heat, bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat, and let sit for another 5 minutes. Fluff the rice and pour into a serving dish. Garnish with cilantro and lemon if desired. Enjoy!
* To make this vegan, simply substitute carrot juice, vegetable broth, or water for the chicken broth.
*** If you use a different brown rice, be sure to follow the instructions for cooking time. Most uncooked brown rice takes 45-60 minutes to cook. Uncle Ben's is par cooked to bring that down to 20 minutes. White rice works just fine, too.
This is an easy side for fajita/taco/burrito night. I have a recipe for lemon cilantro chicken that I haven't used in years, but it would probably go well, too.
I was looking for a simple Spanish/Mexican Rice recipe with less sodium than the boxed mixes. I stumbled upon something similar on Allrecipes.com and have tailored it to my tastes. I use brown rice and will throw in whatever vegetables happen to be in the house and seem to go well with the flavors.
Bare bones:
~ 1/2 tsp oil (I use EVOO, but whatever floats your boat or is on hand will work. With any OO, watch out for too much heat because it has a lower burn point.)
1 cup par-cooked brown rice (AKA Uncle Ben's ***)
1 cup salsa of choice (I use whatever brand of chunky is on hand)
1 cup chicken broth * (I use low sodium fat free)
Additional items to flavor:
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion, bell pepper, summer squash, mushrooms, etc.
1-2 cloves of minced garlic
In a large covered skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
If using additional veggies (except garlic), saute 2-3 minutes until translucent. If using, add the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Move veggies to a bowl and set aside.
Add up to another 1/2 tsp oil to the pan if necessary. Add the rice and saute until translucent - probably ~3-4 minutes, but watch it. Translucent to burned can be a matter of 30-45 seconds if unstirred.
Stir in all ingredients and cover. Raise heat, bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat, and let sit for another 5 minutes. Fluff the rice and pour into a serving dish. Garnish with cilantro and lemon if desired. Enjoy!
* To make this vegan, simply substitute carrot juice, vegetable broth, or water for the chicken broth.
*** If you use a different brown rice, be sure to follow the instructions for cooking time. Most uncooked brown rice takes 45-60 minutes to cook. Uncle Ben's is par cooked to bring that down to 20 minutes. White rice works just fine, too.
Key Lime Ice Cream
Thanks for inviting me in!
A few years ago, my father gave me a Crate & Barrel gift card for my birthday. One of the first things I got with it was an ice cream maker, and I've been enjoying it ever since.
This recipe from Cooking Light is one of my favorites. It's surprisingly creamy for a comparatively low-fat recipe; the condensed milk makes a big difference. I love citrus flavors in general, and this ice cream is wonderful on a hot evening. It does freeze pretty hard; I recommend microwaving for 10-20 seconds before trying to scoop it.
Key Lime Ice Cream
Ingredients:
A few years ago, my father gave me a Crate & Barrel gift card for my birthday. One of the first things I got with it was an ice cream maker, and I've been enjoying it ever since.
This recipe from Cooking Light is one of my favorites. It's surprisingly creamy for a comparatively low-fat recipe; the condensed milk makes a big difference. I love citrus flavors in general, and this ice cream is wonderful on a hot evening. It does freeze pretty hard; I recommend microwaving for 10-20 seconds before trying to scoop it.
Key Lime Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup bottled Key lime juice (you can use 3/4 cup regular lime juice if you can't find Key lime, but the Key lime is better!)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.
2/3 cup bottled Key lime juice (you can use 3/4 cup regular lime juice if you can't find Key lime, but the Key lime is better!)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.
Shrimp Pad Thai
This is one of the first recipes I made when I first started teaching myself how to cook and remains as one of my favorites. It is a touch pricier on the grocery bill due to the shrimp, and the large amount of components, but is a pleaser every time. It easily feeds four (or two with lots of leftovers!) and could feed five or six with smaller portion sizes (everyone will likely still feel plenty full).
Shrimp Pad Thai
Prep Time: 15 minutes/Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3-4
8-10 oz. Pad Thai rice noodles (thin, flat linguini-like noodles)
2 eggs
2 cups bean sprouts
3-4 "heads" of baby bok choy chopped into bite-size pieces
2 spring onions, sliced
1/4 cup roughly chopped peanuts
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb cooked, deveined shrimp with tails off
oil for stir-frying (e.g. canola, almond, peanut, walnut, etc...)
PAD THAI SAUCE:
1/2 Tbsp. tamarind paste
3 Tbsp. water
2½ Tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 tsp. chili sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Directions:
Soak the noodles in hot water (but not boiling) for 10-15 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles are ready to stir-fry when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit "crunchy". The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried, so don't over-soften them now, or you will end up with soggy Pad Thai.
While the noodles are soaking, prepare the sauce. Place all sauce ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a soft boil. Stir well until the sugar and tamarind paste have dissolved and the sauce thickens (2-3 minutes). Take off the heat and taste-test. This sauce should have a balance of spicy, sweet, and sour, but definitely veering more toward sweet and spicy. If too sour, add a little more sugar. Reserve.
Beat the eggs. Heat a small skillet, add some oil, and quickly scramble the eggs. Reserve.
Place your wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 Tbsp. oil plus the garlic and baby bok choy. Stir-fry until the bok choy has turned bright green and the garlic is fragrant (1-2 minutes).
Add 1 Tbsp. more oil to the wok. Now add the drained noodles. Drizzle 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles and then stir-fry everything together for 1 minute.
Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky.
Depending on how many noodles you're using, you may need to add all the remaining sauce, or just a little more to achieve the flavor you desire. If you're not sure, taste-test as you go, adding more sauce as required.
Add the bean sprouts, egg, and shrimp. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1 more minute.
Taste-test to make sure the noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still slightly chewy.
Remove from heat. Taste-test for salt, adding another sprinkling of vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce if not salty enough. If you happen to over-salt your noodles, you can fix the problem with 1-2 Tbsp. lime juice.
To serve, scoop noodles onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with spring onion, coriander, and ground nuts. Serve immediately with more Thai chili sauce on the side (for those who like it extra spicy). Enjoy!
In the Beginning...
Before we get onto storing the recipes, I figured a brief intro is in order.
A little over a year ago I became intrigued at the idea of learning how to cook. Up until that point I had relied solely upon the tender mercy of my mother and then my boyfriend in college. Food and the process of cooking it into anything other then substenance was a bit of a mystery to me and frankly I couldn't see why people wasted time on lengthy preparations and fancy meals. Now by the time my interest was piqued, from having seen Ratatouille, Iron Chef, and Top Chef. These shows made me think about how lovely the food looked and how delicious it seemed. I started noticing how things tasted more and determined that I wanted to try my hand at making dinner for a change. After browsing the web, I found a lovely site called Allrecipes and began trying out some of their recipes that had good reviews.
Fast forward to the present and my love of cooking hasn't diminished. I love trying new recipes and ideas, eating, talking about food with friends, and I'm hoping to create a place where both can happen with ease. Hopefully this will be helpful, not just to us, but to any readers who stumble upon this blog as well!
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