Roasted Cauliflower and Aged Cheddar Soup

Some of y'all asked for the recipe to the soup I made for Christmas Eve and here it is. I went the slow cooker route to make it easy to transport and keep warm. I doubled this recipe and it made plenty - would be great to do and freeze half.

Bottoms up!

ingredients

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

• 2 tablespoons oil

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

• 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth or chicken stock *

• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded

• 1 cup milk or cream

• salt and pepper to taste

directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper, arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.

1. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.

1. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

1. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.

1. Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again.

1. Mix in the milk, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, optionally implement steps 2 & 3, place everything except the cheese and milk in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the cheese and milk and cooking until the cheese has melted.Note: The amount of broth that you are going to need will depend on how large your head of cauliflower is and how thick or thin you prefer the soup to be.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/02/roasted-cauliflower-and-aged-white.html?m=1

Cindy's Calico Beans

I know we all love Cindy's baked bean recipe. Thought I would add it here so its always on file.

1/2 pound hamburger

1/2 pound bacon

1 cup chopped ham

1 can kidney beans

1 can butter beans

1 can pork and beans

1 can lima beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tbl.vineger

2 tbl.prepared yellow mustard

1/2 tsp.salt

1/2 cup catsup

 

brown and drain bacon and hamburger.

crumble bacon add ham and rest of ingredients.

include all liquid from beans (or at least half).

put in casserole and bake 40 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.

*crockpot option- follow directions above but put all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on medium-high for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally.

 

ENJOY!

Easy Tuscan Bean Soup

I made this tonight and it was so so good! I added turkey meatballs for Rob and Bo. Bon appetito!

Easy Tuscan Bean Soup

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow summer squash, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 quart vegetable (or chicken) broth
• 2 (14 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juices
• 3 cups chopped kale, ribs removed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I didn't have this so I used apple cider vinegar)

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 6 quart or larger Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, and squash. Saute for 4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme and rosemary. Cook 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the broth, beans, and tomatoes. Bring the contents to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and add the chopped kale. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Use an immersion blender* to partially puree the soup, leaving some chunks of beans vegetables for texture.
5. Add the salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
6. Serve topped with Parmesan or Dubliner cheese and a side of crusty bread.

Notes

*Alternatively, transfer small amounts to a counter top blender and puree as desired.

Cheddar and chive scones

Full disclosure - I haven't tried these yet. They sound amazing (has anyone else had the cheddar/chive scones from Nordstrom Cafe? They're delicious! This recipe reminds me of them) and not too difficult to bake. Posting the recipe here so I can refer back to it when the time comes to make these.

Makes 12

• 1/2 cup milk (plus 2 tablespoons for brushing over scones)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , more for rolling out biscuits
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup grated sharp or aged cheddar , divided

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and eggs until blended. Stir in chives and set aside. Blend flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a food processor or large bowl. Add cold butter and pulse, or quickly blend with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Do not over-mix. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese and pulse just to combine. Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Cut dough ball in half, then flatten each half into an 8-inch round circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges, as you would cut a pie. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Spicy Black Bean Soup - Slow Cooker

This was spicier than I thought it would be. Rob and I love hot, hot, hot, but this was too much for Bo. You could cut down on the jalapeño and chili powder to make this more kid-friendly. INGREDIENTS: 1 pound dry black beans, soaked overnight 1 medium white onion 2 cloves garlic 1 large diced jalapeño pepper 2 Tbsp olive oil 6 cups veggie broth 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt, black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

	Drain black beans, and rinse. Saute onion, jalapeño, garlic in olive oil till soft in slow cooker base on stove top.
	Add beans and broth. Season with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, pepper, and salt.
	Transfer base to slow cooker. Cook on Dual for 6-8 hours. *Serve over rice, with sour cream, limes, tortilla strips, avocado.

Vegetarian Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from Lexi about a year ago and just gave it a go. I made a few changes to make it vegetarian - Lexi's recipe includes chicken while it's cooking, plus chicken stock instead of the veggie. 

It's easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. Hope you all give this a try. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained
• 2 cups veggie broth 
• 1 (15-ounce) can yellow corn, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 8 corn tortillas
• canola oil, enough to fill a small skillet 1/2-inch high
• garnish options: sour cream, shredded chihuahua cheese, sliced green onion, avocado, fresh squeezed lime, chopped cilantro, grilled and shredded chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté onion and jalapeño in a bit of oil until soft and onions are just starting to caramelize 
2. In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, purée the onion, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green chiles. Transfer to a large stock pot.
3. Add veggie broth, corn and black beans to the pot. Heat over medium heat until ingredients are heated through.
4. While soup warms up, prepare tortilla strips. Stack the tortillas and slice into 1/4-inch strips, then slice the larger strips into halves. Heat oil in a small cast-iron skillet to 350 degrees F (or until very hot so when the tip of a wooden spoon is inserted into oil, the oil will bubble around the spoon). Add a handful of tortilla strips and fry until golden and crispy, 1-2 minutes, separating with tongs so they don’t stick together. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate or baking sheet and immediately season with kosher salt.
5. When ready to serve soup, garnish with tortilla strips and anything else you'd like!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Spaetzle

I know a lot of the gals on here aren't meat/pork eaters, but I wanted to post this dinner idea and figured everyone could tailor it to their liking. Rob and Bo love the pork tenderloin, but I make tofu for myself. I'm sure you could do this with chicken, butter beans or any other protein. Let me know if you try it, and what you choose to prepare it with!

Ingredients for your protein:
Pork tenderloin (I just ask the butcher for enough for a big guy)
1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained
Fresh thyme, 1 Tbs
Fresh basil, 1.5 tsp
Garlic powder, 1.5 tsp
Dried oregano, 1.5 tsp
Cumin, 1.5 tsp
Minced garlic, 1 tsp
Olive oil

Ingredients for your spaetzle:
Spaetzle
Heavy cream, 3/4 C
Butter, 2 Tbs
Fresh sage, 2 Tbs
Minced garlic, 2 cloves
Salt & pepper, to taste

*Side serving suggestions: Peas, beets, salad

Directions for your protein:
Mix together all herbs and garlic to make your rub. Lightly brush your protein with olive oil so it does not stick to the grill grates. Pat both sides of your protein with the rub and get grilling. Adhere to the 7-6-5 rule…7 minutes on high heat (keep the grill closed), flip over, 6 minutes on high heat (again, keep that grill closed! It's not going anywhere, so you don't need to check on it). Turn off the heat and keep the grill closed for another 5 minutes.

Directions for your spaetzle:
I got this recipe from the back of the Maggi brand spaetzle box and it is delicious. It tastes like an adult mac'n'cheese. Bring the water to a boil, add spaetzle, boil for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking. Drain. Add butter to the pan, melt. Mix in the garlic and sage. Cook for 2 minutes on a low-med heat. Add heavy cream and cooked spaetzle. Mix well, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Eat right away, or put a top on the pan to keep it warm.