Studio Night Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ok, ok...so we haven't created any new entries for MONTHS. But we've been crazy busy with a major move this last summer and you probably know just how exhausting that can be! But hopefully, this recipe will make up for it! School is in full force and I have a new bunch of kiddos taking part in the Art after school program we call "Studio Night." Anyone who has had a hoard of teens to contend with, when they're ravenously hungry, will appreciate this wholesome and filling soup. Not that they care, but this is good for you and vegetarian! 

Start with veggies, loads of them. I use one medium onion, a good handful of carrots, one medium zucchini, 2 or 3 small potatoes, one rib of celery and 3 or 4 stalks of broccoli.

Chop up the clean veggies, except the broccoli, and saute in a small amount of vegetable oil on medium high heat in the following order: first throw in the potatoes and carrots; they take longer to cook than the rest. After about 3 minutes, add the celery and onions. At this point, you're basically stir-frying. Another 3 minutes or so and you're ready for the zucchini.

Add 2 tablespoons of real butter and 1/4 cup flour. Toss the veg quickly to coat with flour and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes to get rid of that raw flour taste. 

Add  5 cups of whole milk and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all of the caramelized goodness into that creamy base. 

Now add your chopped broccoli. When I clean my broccoli, I always peel the stems before chopping. This assures tender, non-stringy chunks of broccoli. Next, mix up the cheesy, saucy addition that goes so well with broccoli.

I like to use Rico's Condensed Aged Cheddar sauce, a whole 15 oz. can. But you can use whatever is your family's favorite.
Into the cheese goo and your favorite spices/ flavorings, whisk one 12 oz. can of evaporated milk--NOT sweetened condensed milk! It should be thick but pourable. I add about 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeno brine, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic and a splash of liquid smoke. We like it a bit Texanized :) 

I take the soup to school so into the slow-cooker crock it goes. If that isn't a part of your plan, keep it all in the soup pot and simmer until the broccoli is tender. You can add a bit more milk or water if it's thicker than you like.

When I get to school, I'll put the soup on low and add water (how much depends on if there will be 12 or 20 attendees). I'll adjust the salt level to the added water amount.

For super Cheesy-ness, bring chunked melty-style cheese to throw in the mix. I provide whole grain crackers to complete the after school meal for my fabulous student artists. It'll be gone within the first 15 minutes of the event!

ENJOY!

Holy Crepes!

I peer into the frig. Hmmmm, what to make, what to make. I need to grocery shop. I see a few eggs, bits of cheeses, a bunch of asparagus, leftover mashed potatoes...that's it! Crepes!

Jan's Basic Crepe Batter 
2 C. milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 C. flour
pinch salt, 2 TBS. oil

I'm not sure why everyone quakes at the thought of making crepes. You need a non-stick saute pan, wire whisk, spatula and simple techniques (and of course, filling). Fillings can be just about anything, sweet or savory. Experiment! I'm using leftovers; as grandma used to  say--waste not, want not!

Whisk together milk, oil and eggs. All at once, add flour/salt and whisk the dickens out of it.  Use a ladle and pour a dollop of batter into a small, non-stick saute pan preheated to med-high. As soon as the batter hits the pan, swirl to coat evenly on the pan's hot surface by tipping up and around (pic below).

No need to flip, just turn the pan upside down over the plate and they'll flop right out. You'll need to help just a bit by loosening the edges with a rubber spatula just as they look cooked through. The batter shouldn't have any gooey-ness on the surface of the crepe if it's done. Cover the stack with a damp paper towel and set aside while you assemble the filling.
 Don't worry, they won't stick together.

I've peeled the asparagus stems and foraged fresh, spring dandelion greens. Both get lightly steamed, drained and chopped.

I've cut up a medium sized onion, caramelized in butter and deglazed with my current favorite white wine (Moscato--fabulous!!)

Now, for the leftovers. I grated all the cheese bits from the cheese drawer with some shredded mozzarella and combined the above ingredients with the mashed potatoes. I seasoned with garlic powder and nutmeg. One at a time, fill the crepes and roll up. Place them seam side down into the baking pan.

I made a little white sauce to nestle and top the crepes into the non-stick sprayed baking dish. Bake crepes, covered with foil, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until just heated through.White Sauce: melt 2 tablespoons butter over med-high heat, add 2 tablespoons flour and whisk for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add about 4 cups milk gradually as you whisk. When it reaches the lump-free gravy consistency you desire, stop adding milk. Add salt to taste.

Beside seared leftover meatloaf, crepes are most nom nom nom-ful!

Lettuce Soup

Lettuce soup- lemme tell ya. Maybe you have your own garden, you planted waaaaaaay too many beautiful, leafy lettuces, and now you have eaten as much salad as you possibly can...  maybe you belong to a veggie co-op, and every week you get at least two heads of lettuce... maybe you just like surprising the fam at dinner time with something totally outside the box. No matter the reason, you have got to try this one out.

How to flesh out a dinner with the star being a big, vibrant, steaming bowl of emerald lettuce soup? How about a deconstructed BLT night? Lettuce soup with crumbled bacon, tomato and mozzarella salad, and garlic toast! Give it a try, and trust me, it'll be a hit.

Courtney's Lettuce Soup

Makes enough to easily feed 8

1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped

3 big cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1-2 TBS good olive oil

1 rib celery, leaves included

4-5 small-ish peeled russet potatoes

1 liter good chicken stock

2 heads green lettuce, any variety (the darker the green, the higher the nutrition, FYI)

salt to taste

1/2 & 1/2, heavy cream, kefir, yogurt, or aioli for garnish

crisped bacon, for garnish

In a large stock pot on medium-high heat, saute onions, garlic, and celery in olive oil with a pinch of salt. When
onions start to get soft, add peeled, chunked potatoes. Cover with chicken stock and bring up to a boil.

While potatoes are softening, chop lettuce, wash thoroughly, and dry as much as possible. Try to avoid adding any extra moisture to your soup... I used a salad spinner to get rid of extra water clinging to leaves.

When potato chunks can easily be smashed with the back of a spoon, add lettuce.

It may seem like you have way too much lettuce, and you may
even have to add it in batches to keep it from overflowing the
pot... but trust me, it'll cook waaaaaay down.

Once all lettuce is wilted but still bright green (it will happen very quickly, don't overcook or you'll end up with
a dull, avocado-green soup!), remove from heat.

Puree lettuce and potato mixture in batches in blender. Make sure
you don't have a tight-fitting lid, or you've removed the center of the
lid to allow for steam to escape. Use a dishtowel to cover blender.

Once pureed, it's basically ready, but you can return it to the pot and keep it warm on your lowest heat setting (don't forget overcooking it will make it lose it's vibrant green color). Serve with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkling of bacon.

At my house, lettuce soup is the best way for me to get my kiddos to eat those leafy greens... I've never tried this recipe with more intense greens like spinach and chard, but those are so easily disguised in quiches and omelettes  I'm content to let lettuce shine in this one. 

Enjoy!

Mom's Potato Leek Soup

There's nothing more comforting, simple, or satisfying than your mom making you a rich, thick potato soup... except if maybe she throws in some fresh leeks, and makes it in your kitchen so you don't have to pack up the kids and go anywhere. Especially when it's still pretty chilly, and your dad is entertaining said kids so you can just be with your mom and soak in the experience of watching her in her element.

Mom's Potato Leek Soup

Like any good mom recipe, this feeds a legion

3-4 lbs russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1-2 TBS kosher salt

water

3 medium-sized young leeks, white and light green parts only,

washed however you think is easiest and cut into small pieces

1/4 yellow onion, finely diced

1 rib celery (including leaves), finely diced

1/2 stick butter

1 can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk!)

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of nutmeg

~1/2 tsp dried dill, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Fill a large stock pot with enough water to cover peeled, chopped potatoes by about 3-4 inches. Add potatoes and 1-2 TBS salt, and boil until one of the biggest chunks can easily be pierced with the point of a knife or a fork.

Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, and leeks in butter with another pinch of salt until tender. 

Partially drain potatoes, leaving about 3 cups of the cooking liquid in the pot with them. Add can of evaporated milk, spices, and sauteed veggies. While combining, gently mash some of the potatoes to add thickness to soup, while leaving most chunks whole. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crumbled bacon, a sprinkling of cheese and scallions, or with a side of cheesy toast. 

Enjoy!

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Aaaah, if not for the 50- and 60-degree days in January, no on would live in Texas.

Feeling an urge to soak up some midwinter sun, yet still craving the comforts of an open fire? How about some tiny, sweet peppers in all the colors of sunshine, wrapped in bacon, and grilled to tasty perfection?

Sunshine? Check.

Fire? Check.

Tasty? Check, check, check!

Courtney's Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Assume 4-5 per person

This recipe stuffed about 30

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used French bread)

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a colby/jack mix)

4 oz cream cheese, at room temp (1/2 package)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 large eggs

Dulcetta (small sweet) peppers, split from top to tail and any present seeds removed

Thick-cut bacon, one slice for every three peppers

Wash, split, and de-seed peppers (it is not necessary to remove the stem- in fact, leaving it on will enable
you to more completely close in the stuffing and prevent leaks while grilling).

In a medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, shredded cheese, garlic powder, and onion powder.

In a food processor, pulse 3-4 slices of fresh bread until a coarse
crumb is achieved (you are looking for about 1 cup crumbs). Add
crumbs to egg/cheese mixture.

Mixture should have a thick and relatively dry texture.

Carefully scoop filling into cleaned, split peppers, being careful not to break peppers apart.
My peppers held an average of 2 tsp of filling per pepper.

Once peppers are filled and squished closed, cut bacon
slices into thirds and wrap 1/3 piece of bacon around each pepper.
Slide on to skewer*, making sure skewer pierces overlapping
bacon ends to ensure a good wrap.

Place skewers of peppers over heated coals (avoiding open flames like in photo, unless super-charred is your style).
Peppers are ready when bacon is crisp, pepper skin is slightly charred, and filling is hot and gooey.

These peppers are a crowd pleaser, and a for-sure hit for any Super Bowl party that may be coming up, so put a pin in this and enjoy!

*If no grill there be, you can use toothpicks and your broiler!

Avocado Pasta

This weekend we got 3 perfectly ripe avocados in our co-op share, and we had no chips... what to do, what to do? No guacamole, that's getting a bit tired anyway. How about... a bright green, creamy, rich, healthful, and crazy-easy pasta? Perfect.

Courtney's Creamy Avocado Pasta

Makes enough for 4-5 

3 medium-sized ripe avocados

olive oil

lemon thyme

1/2 lemon

garlic powder

salt

1 lb pasta (we used bowtie)

water and salt 

In a large pot, fill with enough water as to give your pasta room to move without overflowing the pot itself once the pasta starts a-cookin'. Toss in a few tablespoons of salt and bring water to boil. Toss in pasta and cook to your texture preference.

In a food processor or blender, puree 2 of the ripe avocados with a pinch of thyme, a pinch of garlic powder, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, and salt to taste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil (while processor or blender is going) until sauce becomes the thickness of a really good alfredo. 

Pour avocado sauce into a heat-safe bowl, and then scoop cooked pasta directly from hot pasta water and into avocado sauce (don't worry about excess pasta water, you actually want some of it in the avocado sauce). Toss pasta in avocado puree, and then cube the third avocado and gently fold into pasta. Serve with fresh tomatoes, an extra squeeze of lemon, or some freshly grated Parmesan, and enjoy!

(Try not to lick the plate)

Kraut Broca

It's chilly (or, at least, chillier), your family seems to be getting hungrier, and the soup recipes you've mastered suddenly seem like they're not quite enough... what to do? Go ahead and make that cream-of-mushroom, that butternut squash, or that tomato soup, and then add a batch of these to round everything out.

Courtney's Great-Grandmother's Kraut Broca, with a Twist

Makes around 24 rolls, heavily dependent on how big or small you make 'em

1 batch of your favorite bread dough 

(equivalent amount to one loaf of bread- 

our go-to recipe comes from this book and it never does us wrong)

For filling:

1 small head of cabbage, cut into thin ribbons 

(we used purple this time, but standard green is the norm)

1 lb sausage (meat or veggie- today we used veggie)

1 large sweet yellow onion, cut into thin half-circles

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS soy sauce

~1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

pinch of nutmeg for the sake of the cabbage

For the twist:

2-3 thick-cut slices of cheese, cut into chunks (we used Swiss today)

Make and proof your bread dough. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice onions and cabbage into thin slices, and toss into deep non-stick pot with sausage, olive oil, and spices.
Saute until cabbage is tender and sausage is browned, ~8 minutes.

Cut cheese into chunks while cabbage filling cools slightly. Working with lightly floured hands,
divide dough into 18-24 equally-sized balls. 

One by one, flatten a dough ball, place ~ 2 TBS of cabbage filling
in the center, top with chunk of cheese, and crimp edges of dough closed
around filling and cheese.

Dough should completely encase filling and cheese. Place finished kraut broca seam side down on tray sprayed with
non-stick spray or covered in parchment paper. Continue flattening, filling, and closing remaining dough balls.

Bake completed kraut broca for 30-40 minutes on rack placed in the lower half of your oven until golden brown.

The original recipe from my Great Grandmother does not call for cheese. However, I find the extra fat and richness a great compliment to the cabbage and bread. We have also tried this recipe with chorizo sausage and cheddar cheese with great results.

Enjoy!

MMMMMMMMMaple Meatloaf

Maple Meatloaf, cream cheese mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli--YUM!

AHHHHH! This weather is just so invigorating! It makes me want to get into the kitchen and make all of those hearty comfort foods I grew up eating, like meatloaf and mashed potatoes. You should smell my house right now! There's a chill breeze out of the north wafting through the place. The savory scent of maple meatloaf mixed with that clean Yankee air--you just can't beat it. I know everyone has their own recipe for meatloaf; I hope you enjoy my take on it (especially with your windows open!)

Jan's Maple Meatloaf

1 lb. Jimmy Dean's Maple Pork Sausage
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 C. lowfat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 loaf of French bread, torn up
1 small onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 C. quick oats
1/4 C. each of Italian salad dressing and ketchup, plus extra ketchup for loaf coat
3/4 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 TBS. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground fennel seed
salt/pepper to taste

This is leftover garlic bread from a couple of nights ago, any stale-ish bread will do

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add the buttermilk. Tear up the French bread and let it soak in the egg/buttermilk while you chop the veggies. When the bread is soft, add the Italian dressing, ketchup, cheese and quick oats. Add seasonings. Mix thoroughly. Plop veggies, ground beef and sausage into the mix and use your hands to squish it all together making sure there are no isolated pockets of any one ingredient. Form the meat mixture into a loaf and slather the surface with extra ketchup. Bake for the first 15 minutes at 400 degrees and then reduce to 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I like to bake my loaf on a rack in a roasting pan with a little foil underneath for support. This allows the fat to run off and the ketchup coat to caramelized. Pam everything if you want to make clean up easier. If you don't want the fat drippings to smoke up your kitchen, add a couple of cups of water to the roasting pan...or you can do the traditional bread loaf pan baking method, your choice. Happy Autumn, Eat Hearty!