Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Gather your ingredients.

Chop the onion.

Chop the cauliflower.

Add the butter and flour to the saucepan.

Make it into a roux.

Add the stock.

Add the veggies and simmer for 20 minutes.

Whip out your immersion blender and puree the heck out of it!

Tah-dah! Yummy, creamy, soup!

Recipe from skinnytaste.com

Note: I added two teaspoons of turmeric to the recipe...it worked well.

* 1 tbsp butter
* 2 tsp unbleached flour
* 1 head cauliflower - chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped onions
* 4 cups fat free chicken broth (vegetarians can use vegetable broth)
* salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, make a rue by melting the butter on low heat. Add flour and stir about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, onions and cauliflower and set heat to medium. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Monday: Tomato Soup with Cheese and Bacon Toasties

Recipe courtesy of Every Day Food Magazine

Serves 4.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 large red onion, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* coarse salt and ground pepper
* 3 large tomatoes (about 2 pounds total), cored and chopped
* 1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* 6 slices bacon
* 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
* 8 slices white sandwich bread
* 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion softens, 4 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes begin to break down, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Add broth and 1 cup water. Simmer until tomatoes are very soft, about 10 minutes. In batches, puree soup in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return soup to pot and simmer 1 minute; stir in cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
3. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until lightly browned but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels; discard fat from skillet. Butter 8 slices bread. Place 4 slices, buttered side down, on a work surface. Top with bacon and cheese. Top with remaining bread, buttered side up. In batches, cook sandwiches in skillet over medium-low until cheese melts and bread is golden, about 5 minutes per side. Quarter sandwiches and serve with soup.

Monday: Creamy Braising Greens Soup & Savory Smoked Gouda and Sun-dried Tomato Muffins

Creamy Braising Greens Soup

courtesy of Relish Mag



Ingredients
1 slice thick-cut bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound sausage, dried chorizo or
smoked sausage, diced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
7 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 cups mixed braising greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens and dandelion greens, thoroughly washed, stems removed, and cut into very
fine strips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1⁄4 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Sauté bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving drippings in pan.
2. Add onion and carrot to pan; cook over medium heat until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Add greens and cream and continue to simmer until soup is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Add hot sauce, if using. Add salt and pepper.
5. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with reserved bacon. Serves 10.
Recipe by Tracey Medeiros, "Vermont Fresh," Oct. 2009.

Savory Smoked Gouda and Sun-dried Tomato Muffins Recipe

courtesy of Relish Mag



Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, minced
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup shredded maple-smoked Gouda (about 4 ounces)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line it with paper muffin cups.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, butter, tomatoes and parsley in a large bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until almost combined. Gently fold in cheese; the mixture will be lumpy.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake until muffins are golden brown and firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Makes 10 muffins.

Recipe courtesy of Taylor Farm, Londonderry, Vt., taylorfarmvermont.com. "Vermont Fresh," Oct. 2009.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

from Everyday Food Magazine, September, 2007

Notes: I used chopped frozen broccoli to save time and I used a hand blender rather than the regular blender.

Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 large head broccoli (about 3 pounds), trimmed, stalks peeled, stalks and florets roughly chopped
1 medium baking potato, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

1) In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add broth, broccoli, potato, 2 cups water; season generously with salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until broccoli and potato are just tender, about 4 minutes.

2) Working in batches, purée soup in a blender (fill it no more than halfway) and return to pot. Stir in cream and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

To freeze: Cool soup to room temperature. Pour about 1 1/2 cups into each of 6 airtight containers, leaving 1 inch of space at top. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in microwave or overnight in refrigerator; warm over low heat.

from Campbell's Soup - how to re-create their Cream of Chicken Dijon Soup

from the support team at the Campbell Soup website after I emailed them inquiring if Cream of Chicken Dijon had been discontinued:

"The following recipe will give you a similar taste to the Cream of Chicken Dijon:

1 can Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard
1tbsp. dry white wine
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves, crushed
Dash garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together."