Broccoli-Cheese Soup

Makes: Serves 6 to 8

If any of you haven't discovered America's Test Kitchen on PBS, you need to IMMEDIATELY. It is an amazing show. Plus it feeds my Food Network addiction since we got rid of cable. America's Test Kitchen reinvents recipes by testing every possible way of making it, resulting in the perfect recipe.  And every recipe we've tried is, in fact, perfect. Plus you learn technique, tips, tools, etc. It's far more informative than any show on Food Network... Shhhh.... Don't tell Food Network I said that. I still love them.

This recipe is not your standard broccoli cheese soup. As America's Test Kitchen says, they made the broccoli the star, not the cheese (of course, you can always slip in more cheese if you need your cheese fix...). We also found it was pretty forgiving. We used what we had on hand and didn't buy anything special, like salted butter and regular chicken stock. It may have been a bit on the salty side without the low sodium ingredients but Nando is a salt freak so it worked.

And a bonus for this recipe? It's healthy and low calorie! I think I'm the only one of us who's counting calories (the joys of sharing a blog with 3 awesomely skinny sisters) but we actually added extra spinach for good measure and it was still delicious.

And finally, you can freeze it for later. Hurray for frozen soups in the middle of winter!

Here's what America's Test Kitchen says about this recipe: my additional comments are in GREEN

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We were after a soup with pure broccoli flavor that wasn’t hiding behind the cream or the cheese. Overcooked broccoli has a sulfurous flavor, but we discovered when we cooked our broccoli beyond the point of just overcooked—for a full hour—those sulfur-containing compounds broke down, leaving behind intense, nutty broccoli. Its texture was fairly soft, but that was perfect for use in a soup. Adding baking soda to the pot sped up the process, shortening the broccoli’s cooking time to a mere 20 minutes. A little spinach lent bright green color to the soup without taking over the flavor. After adding cheddar and Parmesan, we had a soup so full of flavor and richness that it didn’t even need the cream.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - we used salted but didn't add any salt
• 2 pounds broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustardpowder
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Table salt
• 3–4 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth - we used regular salt and again didn't add salt
• 2 ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
• 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving - we used our obsession - pecorino romano from Costco. yum!
• Ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven (or regular soup pot. we're not fancy) over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
2. Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water (depending on how you like it. We didn't. We like it thick). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Source: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=27401

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Here's another quick and easy recipe. (Crock pot! Woot!) I'll admit, the ingredient list (and lack thereof) was even more off-putting than my last post. But this is seriously good! I made it for the first time last week, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. And even better proof: Craig despises leftovers and can't stand to eat the same meal more often than once a month...but he requested that I make this meal again this week, even though we ate it last week. That, my friends, is high praise!
 
Credit due: Our Best Bites
 
I sized this recipe for my family. Andrea might want to double or triple it. :)
 
Ingredients:

1/2 c. chili sauce (Heinz brand works best, according to the fine ladies at OBB)
1/2 c. grape jelly
1/3 of a package of frozen meatballs (2 lb package)
 
If you’re wondering, this kind of chili sauce is found near the ketchup. It's different than Asian chili sauce.

OBB has a note that if you want to make this less sweet, use less grape jelly. I thought the ratio was fine as it is. Surprisingly, Craig did too. He tells me often that he doesn't like sweet meals ("Unlike you Upton-Rowley's"...apparently he'll never forgive us for adding grapes to chicken salad sandwiches, lol.), but he liked this sweet & sour ratio.


The down low on the how to:
Combine jelly and chili sauce and whisk until smooth. Heat the mixture if needed to get rid of lumps.  Put meatballs in a crock pot, pour sauce on top, and cook for 2-5 hours on low.

I served this with mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, and side salads.

Apricot Chicken

Here's a super easy, super quick, very yummy recipe. A friend brought this over after Brody was born. Yay for friends!

 
If you're picky like me (hahahaha), don't be put off by these ingredients. I would never have made this recipe if I saw the ingredient list first.
 
  
 
 
Ingredients: 

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix

2/3 cup Thousand Island dressing

2/3 cup apricot preserves

 

4-5 c. cooked rice (if serving with rice)

 

 

The down low on the how to: 

Put the chicken in a 9x13 pan (or a 3-qt casserole dish). Mix the soup mix, dressing and jam together, and pour over the chicken. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

 

Serve with white rice, salad, rolls, and roasted veggies.

 

 

Yep, that's it. It's THAT easy, and oh so good!

 

Note: when my friend sent me this recipe, she said she adds about 1/2 tsp of curry. I'm not a big fan of curry, so I haven't added it.

 

Southwest White Bean and Chicken Chili

This meal can be made in a crockpot or on the stove. It's super yummy, and healthy too. I made this a while ago, when I was doing my food service, so I just adjusted the amounts to reflect a normal number of servings. This recipe is great in that it can be changed around and you can kind of use whatever you have on hand. For instance, I used canned chicken, but you can use chicken breasts in the crockpot and just shred them later. The green salsa can be purchased, but I make my own. And, if you don't like green salsa, don't use it. :) That goes for any of the other ingredients, except beans and chicken. Oh, and sorry for my non-measurements for the spices and seasonings... that's just how I roll.

Ingredients: 
2 cans cooked chicken
2 cans great northern beans, reserve half of one can
2 cans white kidney/cannellini beans, reserve half of one can
1-1 ½ cans chicken broth
½ each green, red, yellow, orange bell peppers, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1-2 cups frozen corn
½ cup of mild salsa verde 

Seasonings: 
onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, cumin, coriander, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper
[Optional seasoning for a bit of a kick, add some chipotle chili pepper powder or red pepper flakes or smoked paprika powder] 

Garnish: 
1 lime, juiced
½ cup chopped cilantro

Simmer chicken in seasonings and own juice. Rinse great northern beans and white kidney/cannellini beans, then add them to the chicken. Blend reserved beans with some chicken broth to a puree. Add to chili. Sauté peppers and onions. Add to chili.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and ½ cup chopped cilantro. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Crockpot:
If using raw chicken, cook the chicken breast with 1 can chicken broth and seasonings on Low for 4 hours. Then either shred the chicken or break it up into chunks. Add the beans, bell peppers, green onion, corn, and salsa verde and cook on Low for another 1 to 2 hours. (Puree the reserved beans with the rest of the chicken broth before adding to crockpot.) Add the juice from one lime and the ½ cup chopped cilantro. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

If using all canned ingredients, add everything all at once to the crockpot and let it simmer on Low for an hour or two. 

 

Basil Lime Chicken and Sweet Potatoes with Rice and Quinoa

So yesterday I noticed I had a bunch of basil and quite a few limes and decided I should probably use them before they went bad and old, respectively. (You'll see a running theme here in the way I cook... I decide what to cook depending on what I have and what needs to be used up in a hurry.) :)

I also wanted to make a crockpot meal because it is really nice to come home after church to something already cooked. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on the way you look at it), we have church at 9 am, so I started my crockpot meal last night... which caused it to cook all night long, doubling the time needed for cooking, and making the chicken and potatoes fall apart. However, it still turned out pretty good. And, starting in January we will start at 12:30, so I will be able to do this crockpot thing the right way.

Okay, so here is the recipe. I took it from bits and pieces of other recipes I found online. I mostly found lemon and basil chicken recipes, which would be good too. Oh, and feel free to substitute regular potatoes (white, golden, or red) if preferred over sweet potatoes. I served it with Sprouted Rice & Quinoa Blend. (Got that at Costco. It's good!)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup lime juice
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 chicken bouillon cube
salt and pepper 
chopped basil for garnish

Directions for crockpot:
Place sweet potatoes on the bottom of the crockpot and top with half of the basil, lime juice, olive oil, and garlic, and with the chicken bouillon cube. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. Stir to coat potatoes. 

Layer chicken on top of sweet potatoes and add the other half of basil, lime juice, and olive oil. Sprinkle a little garlic powder, salt, and pepper over chicken. Cover and bake on Low for 4-6 hours. Serve garnished with a little chopped basil on top. 


Directions for oven:
Basically same as the crockpot, but use a covered baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir potatoes and rotate chicken. Cover and return to oven. Bake for an addional 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done and potatoes are softened. Remove from oven and serve. Garnish with chopped basil on top.

This is the Rice/Quinoa blend I use.

 

 

Chocolate Lava Cake

So, tonight I had the missionaries over for dinner (Yay! We finally have sister missionaries in our ward!) and I wanted to make a dessert that would be yummy. I decided to make Chocolate Lava Cake, because it seemed pretty simple. I looked online and found a recipe to make it in the crockpot! It was super easy.

So, credit given where credit is due... Here is the link to Betty Crocker's recipe. :)

I basically followed the directions, except I had Pillsbury Devil's Food cake mix (it was on sale), I used milk and half n half (I needed to use it up. It expired today.), and I threw in some butterscotch chips. (I had a few leftover in the bag.) I forgot to take a picture after it was finished (I was too busy feeding the missionaries.), but it looked EXACTLY like Betty Crocker's picture. ...Exactly...ish... Well, it tasted good. I served it with vanilla ice cream while it was still hot. Yum!

Other serving suggestions: Serve with fruit (why bother?!?), whipped cream, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Lava Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® triple chocolate fudge cake mix
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Topping
1 box (4-serving size) instant chocolate pudding and pie filling mix
2 cups milk
1 bag (12 oz) milk chocolate chips (2 cups)

Spray 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat Cake ingredients with electric mixer as directed on cake mix box. Pour into slow cooker.

In medium bowl, beat pudding mix and 2 cups milk with whisk as directed on box. Pour into slow cooker over cake batter. Do not mix. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours or until cake is set and pudding is beginning to bubble out of cake.

Makes 8 servings

First Post

Hi girls!! I just made this post so I could put all of the labels on the side. These will be the verious categories we can post in and choose from on the side bar.
Ready...................set................post!!! :)