Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower Soup

I got this recipe from Ree, aka, the Pioneer Woman. I've tweaked a couple things for the next time I make it. It was really delicious!

1 stick Butter, Divided (you could probably reduce this by a 2-4 tablespoons.

½ whole Onion, Finely Diced

2 whole Carrots Finely Diced

1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced

1 whole Cauliflower Head (roughly Chopped)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley (chopped)

2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock

6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

2 cups Whole Milk - I used reduced fat milk, and it tasted fine!

1 cup Half-and-half

2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste

1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature - I omitted this, don't know what I missed!

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt half of the butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock Pot Lasagna

adapted from Tasty Kitchen

The beauty of this recipe is that you get 2nd day lasagna taste (you know, when all the flavors get better acquainted with each other) the 1st day you make it.  It's not going to be as pretty as when you make it in a casserole dish, but if it's just for the fam, it's fine! You could probably make just about any lasagna recipe this way as long as there is enough fluid to cook the noodles and still be juicy!

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb lean ground beef

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I actually use about 1 1/2 jars, or you can add extra tomato sauce out of the can-this is important, because the noodles are absorbing the juices to cook, and having too little sauce will result in a slightly drier lasagna)

2 cups cottage cheese, or ricotta is you're fancy!

1 egg, beaten

Parsley

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Uncooked, regular Lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Add sauce, mix. Separately, combine the cottage/ricotta cheese with the egg and parsley. Put a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, then layer the uncooked noodles (you may have to break them a bit to fit), then more sauce. Drop spoonfuls of cottage/ricotta cheese mixture on top of the sauce, mix slightly to combine. Sprinkle cheeses on top, repeat the layers until you have about 3 layers of noodles. Cook on low for 4 hours. Mangia!

Grandma's Sloppy Joe's

2 lbs. Hamburger meat
1 can Campbell's chicken gumbo soup
1 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tb. vinegar
2 Tb. ketchup
2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb. mustard
2 Tb. chopped onion

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain the fat. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Ham and Potato Casserole

This recipe isn't an exact science. So you can add more or less of the potatoes/ham/sauce depending on how many you're feeding. But for a family of 6 this is what I do:

Par boil 5 potatoes (that means boil them but take them out a few minutes before they are tender--partially cooked through) Cut the potatoes into bite size chunks.
Buy a small ham or use left over ham or buy a thick slice of ham. Cut it up into bite size chunks.

Put the potatoes and ham in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Sauce:
Melt 4 Tb. butter in a saute pan. Once it starts to bubble add 4 Tb. of flour. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk (you may need more or a bit less--you just want a nice saucy thickness). Add salt and pepper and dry mustard to desired flavor. It should be a nice tasting sauce. Pour over the potatoes and ham and gently fold in to cover all in the pan.

Cover dish in tin foil and bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Add cheese on top at the end. Enjoy!!!

My entire family loves this meal! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

Chicken Sausage Gumbo

(from Southern Living, December 2004, slightly modified)

submitted by Amy Stephenson

1 t. olive oil

11/2 lb. low fat smoked sausage, cut into slices

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped celery

2 large cloves garlic, pressed

1 medium green pepper, chopped

5 T. instantized flour (Wondra)

2 c. chicken broth

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 - 2 t. Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere's, which is also great on grilled burgers!)

4 cups chopped cooked chicken (rotisserie)

Saute sausage, onion, celery, garlic and green pepper in oil in Dutch oven until onion is tender.  Combine flour and 1 cup broth in shaker container or jar with tight fitting lid and shake well.  Add remaining broth, tomatoes and creole seasoning to pot and bring to a slow boil.  Slowly stir in broth and flour mixture and simmer to thicken.  Add chicken, stir well.  Serve over hot cooked rice.  (Wondra is an easy way to thicken a soup without making a roux or adding extra fat.)

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

(from "Desperation Dinners" newspaper column)

Amy Stephenson made this for the Women's Broadcast! It was delish!

10 oz. package frozen spinach

1 t. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (3/4 c.)

2 stalks celery, chopped (3/4 c.)

3/4 c. chopped baby carrots

1 t. bottled minced garlic

1 t. Italian seasoning blend

2 c. water

2 14 oz. cans chicken broth

1 lb. frozen Italian style meatballs (1/2 oz. size)

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

3 T. Parmesan cheese

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. salt

1 large egg

Remove spinach from package and microwave on high for 5 minutes to thaw.  Heat oil in Dutch oven.  Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and Italian seasoning.  Cook and stir until onion is tender.  Add water and broth and bring to a boil.  Squeeze excess water from spinach and add to pot.  Add meatballs and return to boil.  Drain and rinse beans and add to pot.  Reduce heat to medium, maintaining a slow boil and cook until meatballs are heated through, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile in a 2 cup or larger bowl, whisk cheese, salt, pepper and egg.  Reduce heat to low and slowly drizzle egg mixture into soup, stirring constantly.  Stir and cook 2 minutes until egg mixture is thoroughly incorporated and soup begins to thicken.  

Roasted Vegetables & Pasta with Bechamel Sauce

A grown up twist on Mac 'n' Cheese. Jaclyn Anderson brought this to me a long time ago, and it's been one of our favorites ever since!

2 lbs carrots
2 T dried basil
1-2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.

Peel carrots and cut on the diagonal to 1/2 inch pieces. Spread on baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Add basil. Toss to coat. Roast for about 15 minutes until slightly browned and softened.

Cook pasta.

Bechamel Sauce:
8 T butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk, warmed
1/2 cup grated of each: cheddar, parmesan, swiss
2 T fresh thyme

1lb penne
1lb fresh spinach
1/4 cup carmelized onions
2-3 cups grated med/sharp cheddar for topping

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low/med heat. Whisk in flour; let bubble 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in warm milk, then cheeses and thyme. Continue to whisk over low until smooth and thick.

Spread spinach on bottom of 9x13 casserole dish. It will appear to take up the whole dish, but will cook down. Top with onions, then carrots and penne. Spoon on sauce, top with cheddar. Cover, bake 15-20 minutes until bubbly and heated through.