cream of asparagus soup

a foodie friend of mine, casey over at tastestopping mention on twitter last week that she was making cream of asparagus soup for dinner. hmmm.....i have never had this before and i was intrigued. i love asparagus, so i am guessing it has got to be good. i set out looking for a recipe. lo and behold, my favorite, favorite, favorite blog, for the love of cooking had one posted. i should have gone there first. pam always fixes the most delicious and healthy foods. her mexican selections, holy moly, just leave me drooling. don't go there on an empty stomach, it is down right cruel. i duplicated her recipe which was originally from cooking light magazine changing it just a bit. i swapped out fat free half and half for the low fat milk, subbed brummel and brown for the butter and omitted the bay leaf all together. i didn't have one on hand. you know what, this soup is goooood. it is light, creamy and has a very mild flavor, almost a cream of broccoli taste. you wouldn't know it was low fat. i will make this again. enjoy.

easy veggie soup

this soup was so good, that i am making another pot today! that is a pic of my reheated bowl i had for lunch. it is my take on the ol'weight watchers zero points cabbage soup. it is delicious, flavorful, filling and so dang simple to make. plus, you can change it up any way you like. i topped mine off with some reduced fat feta. enjoy!

in a dutch oven over medium heat, heat a tbsp of olive oil. through in two carrots diced, a small onion diced and one clove of garlic, chopped. saute about 5-10 minutes, till veggies are soft. now add a 32oz box of fat free chicken broth, one heaping tbsp of tomato paste, two cups chopped green cabbage, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 dried oregano, 1/2 kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. on low, let simmer for about 15 minutes. now add one zucchini chopped and a can of rinsed, drained cannellini beans. still on low, simmer till squash it tender, another 10-15 minutes. taste to see if you need to adjust your seasonings. i like to let mine sit for awhile on the stove, off, to let the flavors bloom. i tell ya folks, it's gooooood stuff.

easy and tasty broccoli cheese soup

i won't keep ya, but a second. i have sick and cranky four year old to deal with myself. i just wanted to share this tasty broccoli cheese soup that we had for dinner last night. this was a big hit in my house, with the exception of the sick and cranky four year old who is currently living off ginger ale. make some for your bunch tonight. enjoy.

beth's broccoli cheese soup

1 bag of frozen broccoli cuts
1 stick of butter
1 medium onion diced
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk( i use fat free half and half sometimes)
1 cup grated cheese, your choice, i like sharp
2 cans of chicken broth(about 4 cups, if using homemade)
small block of velveeta, cubed for easier melting
salt and pepper

cook your broccoli cuts, i zap them in the microwave till done, then either mash them up a bit with a fork or pulse a few times in your food processor. sit aside. melt the sick of butter in a large pot over medium heat and add the onions. cook until tender, 4 minutes or so, then stir in the flour, it will be like a thick paste, cook a few minutes more to cook out the raw flour taste. now slowly add the milk stirring constantly(i like a whisk for this) till mostly incorporated. throw in the cheese, keep stirring till smooth. okay, slowly blend in the chicken broth into your sauce. add your velveeta cubes and continue to stir. it might take awhile, so you can walk away and come back. just don't have you heat too high as to possible scorch the bottom. once your velveeta is mostly melted, add the broccoli. stir well, turn to low and let it simmer about 15 minutes. salt and pepper to taste.

we ate it with saltines(it is a sick house staple) last night, but i usually do those yummy little garlic cheddar drop biscuits.

oh btw, i used a white sharp vermont cheddar last night, so my soup turned out a little less orange than usual. guess what's for lunch? plus ginger ale.

creamy tomato soup with a buttery baguette crouton

i love soups and a good tomato soup in particular, but i always thought the canned soups were the good ones, until now. i made the best creamy tomato soup tonight. i say creamy, but it has crushed tomatoes in it lending it to be a little lumpy, yet delicious. i like the lumps, but i am sure you could do away with them with an immersion blender or a food processor. i don't recall where the recipe came from, but no matter, it's mine now. i switched it up quite a bit adding oregano and freshly ground black pepper among other goodies. it is delicious. no more slithering condensed tomato soup that goes splat in this house. it is homemade all the way.

oh, try sinking a pat of butter to the bottom of your bowl for even more flavor. oh baby....

i also bought a little baguette a the store, cut in pieces, basted it with butter, sprinkled with seasoned salt and baked in a slow oven till nice and toasty. it was a big fat crouton to float on top. mmmm.... mmmm good. enjoy.

beth's creamy tomato soup

3 cups tomato juice(you could use v8, but i just used plain tomato juice)
1 28 oz can good crushed tomatoes( i used hunt's)
1 cup fat free half and half
1 med sized shallot diced
3 tsp butter
1 to 1.5 tsp dried oregano(rub in between you hands to release the oils when adding)
2 tbsp of flour
1 tsp salt
3-4 tsp of sugar
freshly ground pepper or pepper

in a bowl whisk together two cups of juice, milk and canned tomatoes. set aside.

in a dutch oven or large pot, melt butter over med high heat, add the shallot and oregano. saute a few minutes until shallots are tender. add the flour and stir for another minute or so. now add the tomato/milk mixture. whisk to combine and keep whisking till the soup begins to boil. now reduce to low and add the other cup of tomato juice, salt, sugar and a good grind of pepper. let the soup simmer uncovered for about an hour, stir often to make sure it does not stick to the pot's bottom. taste and adjust your seasoning. you could even add some red pepper flakes for some bite.

i think this would be wonderful topped with parmesan or cheddar cheese, pretzels, goldfish crackers, just about anything. i even think the addition of some rice would be lovely. it makes for a tasty jumping off point.

cheese straws, more plank than straw

i have not been to inspired to bake these days and i don't really know why. i do know that i have been thinking about cheese straws though. you know, those buttery, cheesy little crackers squeezed through your mama's cookie press and baked lightly till crispy. they are pretty common here in the southern u.s. and i just love'em. cheese straws make a great nibble paired with some salty green olives or homemade bread and butter pickles. although i didn't really need an excuse to make a batch, i thought they would be tasty with the big ole pot of bean and bacon soup i am making for supper. now, i need to clarify that my cheese straws are more like cheese planks. i did proudly use my mother's 1960's cookie press, but fitted it with the bar disk rather than the star, which would have given you more of a rope that you would need to cut into sections(straws). actually, any disk would work. next time, how about some cheese spritzes!

this recipe for cheese straws is crazy easy and can be made entirely in the food processor.

cheese straws

preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

1 8oz block sharp cheddar cheese(i use extra sharp)
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 stick of butter, softened(butter, not margarine)
one pinch of cayenne pepper or to your liking(i go easy on the cayenne for the kiddos)
.5 tsp salt

that's it. now, in your processor or by hand, grate the cheese. remove the shredder blade and replace with the steel knife blade. i just dump my grated cheese into another bowl, switch blades and right back in. add the butter, pulse a few times to get it going and then add the rest. you might need to pulse, take off the lid and push things around a bit, but it will magically become a dough ball. now fill your cookie press and start squeezing or twisting, in my case, onto parchment lined cookie sheets. i use silpats. bake about 11-12 minutes. when you smell them, they are generally done. cool and enjoy.


the bean and bacon soup came from here. this is one of my absolute favorite blogs. i did switch up the recipe a bit, instead of an onion, i used a shallot. i used two cans of navy and one can great northern beans. i opted for one large clove garlic instead of four average size. oh, also it was not quite thick enough for me, so i added a little cornstarch slurry. overall, this is a dynamite recipe. thanks pam!

hannah's chicken tortilla soup and ina's corn muffins

so i tried two new things yesterday and both turned out to be very good things.

first, i had seen ina garten aka the barefoot contessa make the best looking corn muffins while tuned into the network, so naturally i had to have them. i wanted to pair the muffins up with something different, that's when i saw this. yeehaw, that looks mighty tasty, not to mention mighty easy. hannah, over at honey and jam makes the most delicious recipes, visits fun places and documents all with the most amazing photos and she is only nineteen folks! i mean, hey, i am forty three and still can't do any of those things near as well as hannah. maybe, when i grown up. please take a moment and peruse her site. it is fantastic.

both the soup and corn muffins were a big hit with the hubby. the kids, not so much, but they are weird anyway. the soup was perfectly spicy even though i opted out of the jalapeno. i cheated and used a rotisserie chicken which worked perfectly. i also used a quality sharp white cheddar rather than the monterey jack cheese. oh, and the lime, don't forget the lime, squeeze a wedge over your bowl. it just gives it that something extra special "kick". yummy! i will make this again and again.

now, the corn muffins, oh my, they were delightful, delicious, delovely. this is an excellent recipe and one for your cookbook. i halved the recipe and got six texas sized muffins. they baked up beautifully and are a moist, cakey, buttery, desserty corn muffin. both recipes are simply great. i hope you give them a whirl. enjoy.

easy chicken noodle soup

jamie requested this for dinner tonight. he loves chicken noodle soup, so i delivered. why not? the weather is cool and it is beginning to feel a tad like fall, and well, truthfully it is so dang easy to make. i made it earlier in the day and let it sit on the stove till he got home. it was still nice and warm. he inhaled two big ole bowls. i don't really like "noodle" soups, so i opted for a tomato, avocado and cheddar panini (jamie had one of those too, mind you). the kids, travis ate pretty much nothing, a few fig bars and milk. caroline, she had chicken flavored cup o'noodles.

hey, what? wait. isn't that basically the same thing, minus the styrofoam cup? jeez. enjoy.

beth's easy chicken noodle soup

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large container of chicken broth(32 oz i think, i threw the container away)
1 cup of water to start, maybe more
2 chicken bouillon cubes
big pinch of sea or kosher salt
big pinch of course pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp of butter
2 stalks of celery-diced
3 carrots-diced
1/2 onion-diced
coupla big handfuls of extra wide egg noodles

in a large, lidded dutch oven place you chicken breasts, chicken broth, water, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and bay leaves. bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is done. remove the chicken to cool. turn the broth to low, to simmer. in a frying pan, melt your butter and add the celery, carrots and onion. cook 3-4 minutes till slightly tender. add all to your broth. now cube your cooked and cooled chicken breast, add to pot too. now let you soup simmer on low for about a half an hour. check your veggies often to make sure they are not cooking too quickly. when they are still slightly firm, add two big handfuls of egg noodles, more or less, your choice. here is where you might need to add some more water. you should have plenty of broth, but the noodles will soak up quite a bit while cooking. you might want to add another cup, just use your best judgment. simmer for another ten minutes, check veggies, noodles and broth. if it is not flavorful enough you can always add another bouillon cube, some poultry seasoning, whatever you would like. once done, just turn off heat, place on the lid and walk away. if the noodles are quite done, they will keep cooking a bit, so don't worry. i let mine sit maybe two hours before jamie got home. throw a pot together for your family today, or tomorrow, or next tuesday, or whenever.
p.s.-i actually think this tastes better the next day.

vegetable beef soup/stew

we have been having some unseasonably cool weather here on the east coast of virginia, so i decided to make a pot of vegetable beef soup/stew. we love this stuff, even my kids will eat it. it is so simple to make. you can start it in the morning, let it sit and it will be perfect for your evening supper. i call it a soup/stew, because the first day it is more like a soup with lots of soup liquor. come day two, it has thickened more like a stew, that is my favorite. as i look at the photos i think how monotone it looks. all the veggies' colors have dulled, but that is the nature of a soup/stew plus my lack of photographic skills. trust me, this is delicious and a favorite dinner. we like to top it with handfuls of grated vermont sharp cheddar. i also made a batch of garlic cheddar drop biscuits to go alongside. i hope you give it a try.

both pics are two day stew....



beth's beef vegetable soup/stew

2 tbsp. of evoo
1 tbsp. of flour
2 lbs. of stew beef or chuck roast cubed
one small onion, chopped
1 bottle of vegetable juice such as V8
one large can of petite diced tomatoes(28 oz)
one bag of frozen mixed veggies
one half bag of frozen butter beans
1/4 bag of frozen green peas
three whole bay leaves
start off with about two tsp of italian seasonings
sea salt
course black pepper
one tsp of sugar
one half box of elbow macaroni

okay, in a dutch oven over med high heat, heat the evoo and add the onion, stir for a few minutes and add the stew beef. sprinkle with the flour and brown briefly. maybe, three or four minutes. pour in the vegetable juice, scraping up all the lovely brown bits on the bottom of the pan. add a little water to the bottle, shake to get out all the juice and pour right into the pot. now, add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT macaroni. let it start to bubble and turn heat to low, put the lid on. allow it to simmer for about an hour or until the meat is cooked. taste it. adjust your seasonings and allow it cook slowly on low until the meat is tender. now cut it off and let it sit on your stove top. okay, an hour before you are ready to eat, turn it back on to med heat. let it start bubbling,add the macaroni, turn it back down to low, put the lid back on and allow it simmer again till the macaroni is just tender. watch it so it doesn't stick. don't add the macaroni till the end or you will end up with vegetable beef wall paper paste.

you can add most anything you want to the pot, potatoes, okra, whatever. this is the basic combo that my family loves. this is most forgiving recipe, so experiment and have fun. i love it best the next day. enjoy.