Roasted Parsnip and Cauliflower Soup

Having never cooked with parsnips, I spontaneously bought some at the grocery store and thought they would work well with cauliflower for a soup.  This turned out better than I could have imagined.  Since I had to fight the desire to eat this whole recipe, I think I did well on this one!  This makes two servings, but feel free to double it up to serve more.  


Ingredients:

• 2 medium/large parsnips (peeled and cut into chunks)
• 1/2 lb cauliflower, cut into florets
• 3 small scallions (white and green parts), chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cut up the parsnips and cauliflower.  Toss them the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread evenly onto a cookie sheet.  Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes until they are starting to brown.  I recommend stirring them 1 or 2 times during the 30 minutes.  After removing them from the oven, put a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the butter.  Then add the scallions and garlic, stirring so the garlic doesn't burn for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the milk to the pan and scrape any browned bits off.  Also add the roasted vegetables and the broth.  Using either a food processor or immersion blender, puree the soup to your desired thickness/chunkiness.  I like chunks in my soup for texture, so I didn't puree it completely.  Taste the soup to see if it needs more salt or pepper, and then bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve with a sprinkle of your favorite shredded cheese.  Enjoy!

Classic French Onion Soup

This recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook (which is so often my go-to guide for a good recipe), though instead of using red onion as they suggest, I used sweet white onions.  The key to great flavor in this soup is the time spent cooking the onions--don't rush it!  I like to serve French Onion soup with slices of baguette that have been broiled with provolone or swiss cheese on top.  To do this, all you need to do is broil (500 degrees) the bread slices and cheese for 1 to 2 minutes (watch it carefully!) in the oven on a cookie sheet.

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced in half-rings (you should end up with 4 to 5 cups of onion)
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp fresh)
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2.5 cups chicken broth (preferably reduced sodium)
• 2 cups beef broth (also reduced sodium)

After the onions are sliced, heat the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions, 1/2 tsp salt and the thyme; stir to coat the onions in the butter.  Occasionally stir the onions, but allow them to cook until very soft and golden brown (about 30 minutes).  When they have some caramelized coloring, add the balsamic vinegar and scrape any brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.  Next, add the broth and the bay leaves.  Bring to a simmer, and allow to cook 15 to 20 more minutes.  After simmering, remove the bay leaves from the soup.  

Right before the soup is done simmering, broil your bread slices so they'll be hot when the soup is done.  If you've got a thing for croutons, go that route instead!  Either way, you'll have something to sop up that delicious broth.  Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Soup

This is a really awesome, hearty soup.  I came up with the recipe after having some of the best soup of my life at a coffee shop in Kirksville.  They called it Panzanella, but typically that is a tomato and bread salad that is popular during summer.  So I did some guessing and came up with a pretty close contender with their soup.  The recipe below makes really thick soup, so you could always thin the soup out with some vegetable stock or water.





Ingredients:

• 3 med-large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 medium onions peeled, halved and sliced into half rings
• 1 small green bell pepper, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored and roughly chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, cut in half (or 2 small)
• 1 cup (8 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vegetable juice (such as V8)
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Toss the chopped vegetables and garlic clove with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread the veggies in a thin layer onto a cookie sheet.  Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through baking (rotating pans if necessary).  You want the vegetables to be nicely caramelized, but not burned.  After removing the pans from the oven, let the vegetables cool for about 5 minutes.  Using a food processor, process all the veggies with the 1/2 cup vegetable juice to a fine puree.  When the mixture is a pretty smooth consistency, transfer this to a saucepan and stir in the crushed tomatoes.  This is a good time to decide if the soup is too thick or not; if so, go ahead and add some vegetable stock or water to thin it.  Bring the soup to a boil, and let simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.  Taste test the soup for needing more salt or pepper.  Finally, stir in the basil before serving.  I think this would pair well with some crostini or grilled cheese sandwiches.  Enjoy!

Zesty White Bean & Turkey Chili

I love making chili, especially on a cool fall night.  I'm kind of surprised I have no chili recipes on here yet!  As with any chili, you can make this one as spicy or mild as you prefer; for more heat, add additional chili powder or a little more jalapeño.  This takes a little bit of prep work, but I think you'll be glad you made the effort!


Ingredients (makes 3 servings):

• 10 oz ground turkey
• 15 oz can Great Northern or white beans
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Anaheim pepper, chopped
• 1/2 of a medium bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 4 to 5 jarred jalapeno rings 
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth (reduced sodium)
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• kosher salt and black pepper

Prep the beans by draining and rinsing them, and add all but 1/3 of a cup of the beans to a food processor.  Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and the jalapeños to the beans and puree.  Set the bean puree aside.  Next, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper and Anaheim pepper.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Cook 7 to 9 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked.  Meanwhile, in another skillet, cook the ground turkey, also seasoned lightly with salt and pepper; when it is almost fully cooked, add the minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander and oregano.  Keep stirring to keep the spices and garlic from burning until the meat is fully cooked.  Now add the remaining whole beans, the ground turkey, and bean puree to the saucepan with the veggies.  Pour in about 1.25 cups of chicken broth (less for a thicker chili) and stir to combine everything.  Bring the chili to a boil, and then simmer for 10 more minutes.  Right before serving, taste for more salt/pepper and then add the chopped cilantro.  Serve with tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of shredded cheese!

Born to cook?

I was looking through the pictures on my computer, and stumbled across this particular favorite of mine.  I scanned it a few years ago from the original, and I'm guessing that I am probably 3 or 4 years old.  I've been told multiple times that I was the happiest baby/toddler/child as long as I wasn't hungry!  I'm sure my parents had no idea at the time that their little baby would grow up with such a passion for food, but I like to think it was in my blood.  After all, my first word was 'Eat!'

Sun-dried Tomato and Feta Meatloaf with Smashed Potatoes

This is seriously one of the best meals I've made in a while; meatloaf is really great comfort food for a fall or winter night, and this one is a knockout.  I owe a lot of credit to Giada De Laurentiis, since I adapted it from a recipe of hers in the cookbook "Giada at Home."  I served it with simply seasoned mashed potatoes since the meatloaf itself is so flavorful.  When I originally made this, I divided the recipe in half to make a small loaf, but I included the full recipe here:

For the meatloaf:

• 1 lb ground turkey meat (93/7 works well)
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (first re-hydrated in hot water for 10 minutes, then chopped)
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (pulse 1 - 2 pieces of toasted bread in a food processor)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 egg whites
• 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

For the smashed potatoes: 

• 1 pound fingerling or small red potatoes
• 2 tsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup milk (warmed in the microwave)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Meatloaf:  In a large bowl, stir the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, egg whites, olive oil, feta, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Add the ground turkey and gently mix to incorporate the bread crumb-herb-cheese mixture.  Try not to handle it too much too keep the meatloaf moist and tender.  Pack the meat into a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes (until meatloaf temperature reaches 165).  Remove from the oven and let sit 5 - 10 minutes (if there is excess fat on the top, spoon it away or use a paper towel).  Slice to serve.

Potatoes:  Scrub potatoes in cold water and place into a medium pot; if there are any large ones, cut them in half so that they all cook in the same amount of time.  Cover the potatoes with cold water and add 2 tsp of kosher salt.  Put the lid on the pot and heat over high heat to bring the water to a boil.  After the water boils, turn the heat down to simmer the potatoes for 13-15 minutes.  When they are fork-tender, drain out the water but keep the potatoes in the warm pot.  Add the butter, olive oil, 1 tsp salt and pepper; mash with a potato masher or fork (leaving the skins on).  Slowly add the milk and stir to combine until your potatoes are to  your desired consistency;  finish with the fresh parsley.  

Serve a couple slices of meatloaf with a heap of smashed potatoes and enjoy!

Rotini Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

I go a little pumpkin-crazy in the fall.  Maybe it's the nostalgia of Halloween and pumpkin patches, but it's probably my favorite thing about fall!  Normally people think of pumpkin as belonging in sweets like pie and muffins--which they definitely do--but I wanted to try making a savory pumpkin dish.  I've heard of pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli and thought, why not pumpkin pasta sauce?  I tried to keep it relatively healthy, so I only added one tablespoon of cream cheese; adding another would probably make it even better!


Ingredients (for 2 servings):
-1/3 cup chopped carrots
-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
-2 tsp olive oil
-2/3 cup chicken stock, divided
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-8 dashes hot sauce (or more, to taste)
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tbsp cream cheese
-Cooked rotini pasta


Start by heating the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the bell pepper and carrots, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and cook until tender.  (Now would be a good time to boil water for pasta)  Transfer the cooked carrots and pepper to a food processor, add 1/3 cup of chicken stock, and puree.  Put the puree back into the saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin, remaining chicken stock, hot sauce, nutmeg, salt, and cream cheese.  You want the sauce to simmer, but not boil, so keep an eye on the heat.  If it looks too thick, add a touch more chicken stock.  Whenever you make your own sauces, it's always a good idea to save a bit of the pasta cooking water in case you need to loosen the sauce as you toss the pasta in it.  When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then put it right in with the sauce.  Toss and enjoy!