The Real Housewife of Santa Monica

Posts Tagged ‘delicious’

Chunky Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

Hoo boy – I bought this head of cauliflower at the Farmer’s Market on Wednesday because it was $1.00. I thought I’d roast it and eat it, standing at the counter, while the kids ate their noodles. But then I realized, since I had a loaf of rustic bread all ready to pop into the oven, I better make a soup to go with it.

Last time I did a cauliflower soup, it was a creamy one with cheddar cheese and a potato. Alas, I had no potatoes having used them up in my Gardener’s Pie last week so I checked out another recipe. It was easy! I was able to do this while unloading the dishwasher, helping someone to various art supplies spread far & wide across the house, and picking up all the toys scattered across the backyard.

But I’m glad you didn’t see the kitchen/house afterwards!

YOU NEED:

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2-3 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1-1/2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped (I only had 1)
2 tsp fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes)
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth (I used Vegetarian Chicken Bullion)
2 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 c grated cheddar cheese
4 TBSP butter
2 c whole milk
6 TBSP all purpose flour
OPTIONAL: 1 c half & half

1. Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until browning, stirring occasionally.

2. Add carrots & celery and cook for another 4 minutes.

I used a red onion because I had it! To me, it made no difference.

Lookit how cute and tinily diced those carrots & celery are.

Tinily?

3. Add the cauliflower & parsley. Hoo boy it’s time for me to get a new parsley plant. I need two going at all times as my poor parsley can’t keep up with the demands placed upon it. This is all I could get!

That “undead” finger is actually my pinky. So photogenic!

I only had one head of cauliflower but next time I’ll use 1-1/2 heads as my soup needed more.

Turn heat way down, cover & cook for about 15 minutes on LOW. Feel free to stir every so often.

4. Add 1 or 1-1/2 quarts of the broth. Save that last 1/2 quart to decide if you need it or not depending on how you like your soup. Heat to boiling, then turn down heat and simmer.

5. Melt butter in a small saucepan. I used the same soup pot I started my soup in until realizing that pot was way too small. So there are a few onions in there. No bigs!

6. Now whisk your milk & flour together. Add that mixture to the melted butter, stirring to combine. **Now here’s an option for you: add 1 c half & half to the white sauce you just made. I didn’t do that b/c I never have half & half in my house.** You will have a thickened sauce. Pour that milk/flour/butter mixture into the soup and stir.

7. Add 2 tsp dijon mustard to the soup as well as 2/3 c grated cheddar cheese. I think mine needed the cheese because I used 1% milk instead of whole milk. If you use whole milk AND half & half, you might want to omit the cheese. Or add it! What, me worry?

Let soup simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt & black pepper to taste!

Serve with rustic bread

& grated cheddar to top.

Thank you.

Bea ate 2 bowls of soup. Btw: who noticed the dog bite on her (camera) left cheek?

 

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6
 

Hearty, cheesy soup that goes perfectly with a crusty piece of bread on a cold night!
Ingredients
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 carrots, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 1-1/2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped (I only had 1)
  • 2 tsp fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes)
  • 2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth (I used Vegetarian Chicken Bullion)
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • ⅔ c grated cheddar cheese
  • 4 TBSP butter
  • 2 c whole milk
  • 6 TBSP all purpose flour
  • OPTIONAL: 1 c half & half

Instructions
  1. Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until browning, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add carrots & celery and cook for another 4 minutes.
  3. Add the cauliflower & parsley.
  4. Turn heat way down, cover & cook for about 15 minutes on LOW. Feel free to stir every so often.
  5. Add 1 or 1-1/2 quarts of the broth. Save that last ½ quart to decide if you need it or not depending on how you like your soup. Heat to boiling, then turn down heat and simmer.
  6. Melt butter in a small saucepan.
  7. Now whisk your milk & flour together. Add that mixture to the melted butter, stirring to combine. **Now here’s an option for you: add 1 c half & half to the white sauce you just made. (For extra creaminess…)** Regardless of the half & half, you will have a thickened sauce. Pour that milk/flour/butter mixture into the soup and stir.
  8. Add 2 tsp dijon mustard to the soup as well as ⅔ c grated cheddar cheese. I think mine needed the cheese because I used 1% milk instead of whole milk. If you use whole milk AND half & half, you might want to omit the cheese. Or add it! What, me worry?
  9. Let soup simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt & black pepper to taste!
  10. Serve with rustic bread & grated cheddar to top.

Notes
If soup is too chunky, puree ⅓rd of it using a blender or immersion blender. Be CAREFUL if you use a regular blender as the heat can make it explode out! It never happened to me – it happened to a “friend” of mine.

Adapted from two different recipes at The Pioneer Woman & Annie’s Eats.

Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Just a break between salads to add this recipe. I know I just did a chocolate chip cookie recipe a week or two ago but this one is:

A. Simpler

 

and

 

B. WAYYYYYYY better!!!!

 

These are very light, fluffy cookies. If a cookie can be fluffy?? They look “undone” coming out of the oven and don’t flatten out or darken. Don’t worry though! That is how they are supposed to be. I made these for the Daleos’ visit last weekend and they were all eaten BEFORE the Daleos arrived so I ended up making a second batch really quickly. They were so good I just made a THIRD batch this weekend!

You probably have all these ingredients!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars.

Add egg (replacer) and vanilla and beat well.

3. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda & salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix!

You’ll notice this sandy, grainy texture. This is exactly as it should be!

4. Once it’s thoroughly combined, add chocolate/butterscotch chips and stir until spread throughout the batter evenly.

5. Drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet using a Tablespoon. Since the dough hasn’t really “come together” you may need to make small balls with your hands. I did.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. NOTE: the cookies will NOT darken or flatten. They will not seem to be “done” but they are done! If you truly are worried about them being underdone, just bake them for the full 10 minutes.

By the way, my brother in law got me this Airbake cookie sheet for Christmas. I put two dozen cookies into the oven – one on this sheet and one on a regular one and the regular ones burned on the bottom. I really love this cookie sheet! (I am not being compensated in any way, by anyone really, for saying this…)


The top.


The bottom.

Back to the cookies. Here’s what they look like PRE baking:


I make ‘em on the small side since they have so much butter/sugar.

Here’s what they look like POST baking:

It almost looks the same as the raw dough!

Trust me on this one.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6
 

Light & fluffy chocolate & butterscotch chip cookies!
Ingredients
  • ¾ c unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ c brown sugar
  • ¼ c sugar
  • 1 egg (I use egg replacer – NOBODY notices)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 c all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ½ c butterscotch chips

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat together butter & sugars. Add egg (replacer) and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Then add to butter/sugars. When evenly combined, fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed. (How many times can I use “evenly” and “combined”??)
  3. Drop Tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. NOTE: cookies will NOT flatten or darken. Trust me!
  4. Cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before eating.

Notes
Having a box of egg replacer on hand saves you a trip to the store for the eggs if you have run out. Also, you can eat the raw dough without fear of salmonella (though that risk is quite low…) Nobody notices and it does help keep the cholesterol lower than it would be.

 

Barely adapted from Kelseys Apple a Day



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...