Cauliflower Soup

I'm actually posting a recipe! I haven't gotten around to it for a while, but I love drooling over your recipes. I've marked quite a few to try out for myself in the near future. Here's one I just made and I really loved it, although Scott wouldn't try it. I didn't have the half-and-half, so I used whole milk, but it would have made it less runny and tastier I'm sure (and fatter). Evan actually loved it. Usually the kids don't eat whatever I make for dinner, just decide to go without. The recipe is from the pioneer woman blog.

Cauliflower Soup

Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter, Divided
• ½ whole Onion, Finely Diced
• 1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
• 1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
• 1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (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
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
• 1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature

Preparation Instructions

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons 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.

Serve immediately.

Horchata

This tastes best on a hot, summer day. It's not for everyone, but I grew up drinking it... The porportions are very vague so you can easily alter it to your own preferences. Some people like it really watery, while others like it very sweet.

2 cups rice

water

cinnamon (sticks are preferred, but not necessary)

sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

lots of ice

Place rice in pitcher and add water until it completely covers the rice. Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon and let it soak for at least an hour. It's best if you can do this the night before and let it soak overnight.

When you're ready to make the drink, pour everything into a blender and blend away. Then run it all through a strainer to eliminate as much as the rice pulp as you can. My mom doesn't bother with this step, but I think it's worth it. Otherwise it's very grainy at the bottom. I just use a normal strainer, but I've heard cheese cloth works really well. I'll get back to you if I try it that way...

Once your water is strained and in the pitcher, add some vanilla extract. Now the water that you've got now is concentrated horchata. You will need to dilute this AND add sugar. How much sugar and how much water is up to you and what you like. I wish I could be more specific but I just eyeball it and every pitcher is different.

Refrigerate and serve with ice. The drink will go sour after a couple of days so drink as much as you can while it's fresh.

If my directions are confusing, let me know....

Spicy Pot Roast

Despite the name, it's not actually spicy (I promise), just tasty! I have a crock-pot recipe book and was looking for a good pot roast recipe that's not your typical throw-in-potatoes-and-carrots. Those haven't been turning out well for me lately. This new recipe is great! I recommend it:

3-4 lb beef pot roast

salt & pepper to taste

0.75-oz. pkg. brown gravy mix

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1/8-tsp. garlic powder

1 cup water

Directions:

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper to taste (which means nothing to me, because how to you taste test a raw meat?!). Place in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over meat. Cover. Cook for 8-10 hrs on low or 4-5 hrs on high. Enjoy!

Molten Lava Cakes

My friend made these for me a few times. I finally made it for myself and it was much easier than I expected. This recipe is the same as my friend's so you can just check it out there. Pioneer Woman also made them and you can find her pictorial recipe here.

Also, I like mine with vanilla ice cream, but whipped cream is still really good!

The Perfect French Fry

I've made these fries a few times and every time they turn out amazing! They are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Spaghetti Squash Supreme

Being a cardiac nurse, I am trying to get my family to eat healthier. This tasted really good and I love that it has olive oil, no added salt, and is mostly vegetables. I am excited for leftovers!

1 medium spaghetti squash (4 lbs)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp prepared pesto
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 c dry bread crumbs
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c chicken broth
1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese

Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Place squash cut side down on a microwave safe plate. Microwave, uncovered on high fo 14-16 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the tomatoes, pesto, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Cover and process until blended; set aside. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese;set aside.

In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1 Tbsp oil until no longer pink; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Stir in the broth, chicken and reserved tomato mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

When squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to separate strands. In a large ovenproof skillet, layer half of the squash, chicken mixture, and reserved crumb mixture. Repeat layers.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I've been in a soup mood lately and have been trying out various soup recipes on my family. This one was my own creation and it ended up very tasty.

4-5 Potatoes

2 cans chicken broth

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 green onions, chopped

bacon, cooked and chopped

sour cream

shredded cheese

seasoned salt

black pepper

Boil potatoes in chicken broth. Once the potatoes are tender, drain and save the broth for later. Mash potatoes.

Melt butter in separate sauce pan. Add in flour and stir until combined. Pour in milk and let it boil and simmer until thickened. Stir into mashed potatoes. Slowly add broth to desired consistency. Mix in cheese, seasoned salt and black pepper.

Serve with bacon, sour cream, green onions, and more cheese on top!