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Creamy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

While having some potato soup at a local establishment, Mom mentioned the Broccoli Cheddar soup that we used to get at Marie Calendars. Since the weather seemed to be getting colder, I thought a Creamy Broccoli Cheddar soup would be prefect. Though you can find it at various restaurants, if you don't get there when the soup is freshly made, you can end up with a thick gummy mess that you could basically cut with a knife. And I find most of the soups you tend to get at chain restaurants these days are way to salty for my taste. And lets be honest, just how "fresh" are these soups or are they coming from a can because half the time I don't really taste the broccoli.

But which cookbook had recipes for the soup? I decided to use one of my favorite tools to find a recipe in my vast array of cookbooks...Eat Your Books* (more on that later). Sure enough, I found several books with the recipe. But quite a few of them asked for flour, potatoes or other fillers to be added. I wanted something that would showcase the flavor of the broccoli more. So I chose the recipe from The Cooks Country Cookbook..it seemed simple and something I could make with ease. It still had plenty of cheese and some cream, but it was made with fresh broccoli.

I was a little worried about this soup at first. It seemed much thinner than most of the broccoli cheddar soups I've had, but that turned out to not be such a bad thing. The flavor of the broccoli stood out much more than the cheddar cheese and together the soup had a wonderful fresh flavor you don't get from canned soups or those chain restaurant versions. This reheated very well (none of the coagulated mess) and my Mom said it even tasted good cold!

The preamble to the recipe states that what makes this soup so good is using the stalks of the broccoli for more flavor. It is a bit more work to peel the stalks, slice them up and make what they call a "broccoli stock" first, but I think it makes all the difference in the flavor of this soup.

Again, super simple and easy to make, perfect soup for these cold and rainy spring days we seem to be having. And healthy. Cuz it has fresh broccoli in it. Which negates any bad influence from the cream and cheese. Right?

CREAMY BROCCOLI AND CHEDDAR SOUP
(The Cooks Country Cookbook)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, stalks peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices, florets chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, plus extra for garnish
Salt
Cayenne Pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli stalks and cook until bright green and just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the stalks are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the florets, cream, and nutmeg and simmer until the florets are tender, about 5 minutes.

Puree the soup in two batches in a blender until smooth, return to the pot, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the cheese until melted and season with salt and cayenne. Serve, garnished with extra cheese. (The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat over medium heat until hot, but do not boil or the cheese will separate.)

Taste the soup before adding any salt; both the cheese and the chicken broth can be quite salty.

Serves 6

Note: To thicken this up a bit more you could always just add more cheese. And for a more pronounced cheese taste, you might use a sharper cheddar or half sharp half mild.

Note: I think some crumbled bacon would go well as a garnish here (of course right??)

I really did like the flavor of this soup and will definitely make it again.

*Eat Your Books is a service where you can list all the cookbooks you own, and then be able to use their search engine to find recipes. All I had to do was type in "Broccoli Cheddar Soup" into my "library" list of cookbooks and it gave me 20 different recipes, the cookbook it could be found in, and an ingredient list of what was needed for the recipe. That way I could rule out recipes that had potatoes or flours, two ingredients I didn't want in my Broccoli Cheddar Soup. They do not post the actual recipe. What this meant was that I didn't have to pull out a ton of cookbooks just to find the one recipe I needed. Think of the service as a giant index that covers all the cookbooks you own.

 

A Strawberry A Day - June 4 - Strawberry Soup

I was very surprised that something this simple could taste so good. A lot of recipes I've come across for Strawberry Soup seem to ask for either orange juice, heavy cream or sour cream as an ingredient. I think that actually takes away from the wonderful flavors of fresh ripe strawberries. I liked the idea that this was so simple.This is just fresh strawberries, yogurt and some honey. A perfect way to start or end a spring meal in my book.

FOOD NETWORK INSTRUCTIONS

Saturday June 4, 2011

Serve fruit soup for dessert: Blend 4 cups strawberries, 1 cup vanilla yogurt and some honey. Ladle into bowls.

Since my blender is still on the fritz, I used my food processor to make the soup. Probably not the best tool to mix it together. There were lots of bubbles. Lots of bubbles. I tried stirring the soup and that got rid of some of the bubbles but there were still way to many left. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the bubbles? Would using a blender have helped?

Note: I used 12 ounces of vanilla yogurt because the two containers I had came in 6oz cups. Of course I'd say maybe a tablespoon or two went directly in my mouth. I used Clover Organic Farms Organic Vanilla Bean Lowfat Yogurt.

Note: It took two full overflowing baskets of large strawberries to make four cups. Though the instructions didn't say, I cut the strawberries up to measure them.

Note: I used Agave Nectar in place of honey. I started off with a generous two tablespoons of the stuff but added probably a tablespoon or so more after tasting. My strawberries needed that extra sweetening as they were from the grocery store and not the Farmers Market.

I really enjoyed this. Simple  and quick to make, it made an awesome dessert. I might add a dab of sour cream/creme fraiche or whipped cream as a garnish next time. It's very thin, Mr. L drank it in a glass but it really wasn't a milkshake. I tried to put a nice fanned strawberry on top, but it just fell to the bottom of the soup. I can see serving this in cups after a nice barbecue. Or, maybe making Strawberry Soup Shots (oh yes we did!).

 

Asian Dumpling Soup

This is the kind of recipe I was looking for when I bought the Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's cookbook. I buy potstickers and goyza from them all the time. But I just serve them as potstickers or gyoza. Not a lot of imagination in that. Putting them in a soup and adding a few other ingredients was perfect as something else to do with them.

This recipe was so quick and easy to do that I've been making it quite often on nights when I need a quick dinner (like nights I'm at the gym or we are headed to a movie later in the evening). Since I usually have a bag of potstickers in the freezer the only thing I have to worry about is grabbing some stir-fry veggies (and even then I can put a few bags in the freezer to use). Though I do use the Thai Shrimp Goza from TJ's I'm sure using other brands or even vegetarian versions of potstickers or gyoza would work. The soup has a nice flavor and is quite filling.

The only trouble I've really had with this recipe is that the potstickers/gyoza tend to disintegrate and not stay whole. While ascetically that might not be optimal, taste wise I don't think it matters. 

ASIAN DUMPLING SOUP

(16-oz) bag frozen Thai Shrimp Gyoza
4 cups (one 32-oz carton) Organic Free Range Chicken Broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1 small garlic clove, crushed, or 1/2 tsp jarred Crushed Garlic
3 cups refrigerated Stir Fry Vegetables, any variety, or frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables
1 egg (optional)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
Black Pepper

In a medium pot, heat broth, soy sauce, and garlic over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Add gyoza and vegetables. When mixture boils again, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.

If using egg, beat with a fork until frothy. Slowly pour into boiling soup in a thin stream, creating cooked ribbons of egg. If you prefer, you can pan-fry the egg and cut into strips or squares. Use as a garnish.

Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Serves 4

Note: We use Trader Joe's products in this though other brands can be used.

Note: I've used both TJ's frozen and refrigerated bags of vegetables. They both have their pluses and minus's as they contain different types of veggies. The refrigerated version had pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms. Or should I say it had all those veggies but only THREE pea pods!

Note: The bag of veggies is more than three cups. I actually stir-fried the leftover veggies for another meal.

Note: I actually had less broth than the photo in the book shows so I sometimes will add a bit more broth to make the dish soupier.

Note: I added the egg. Really like the egg stirred into the dish as opposed to using it as a garnish.

Portuguese Sausage Soup

I decided to make this Portuguese Sausage Soup from the Heritage of America Cookbook not only because my mom had marked it as something she wanted to make but also because it seemed pretty quick and simple to make. Which it was. Came home after work, threw this in the pot and had dinner on the table in half an hour. Though the recipe said that this made six side servings, Mr. L and I had it as a filling dinner with some leftover for lunch the next day. And we might have added a bit of fresh shaved Parmesan on top even though it wasn't called for, because we are cheese people.

Mr. L really liked the soup as did I. Simple flavors. Easy to make. The Portuguese Sausage Soup was a great meal to serve on a blustery day. Since this only calls for 1/2 cup of beer there was plenty of beer left over for Mr. L to drink with his soup. He was very happy about that.

The blurb about the recipe says it comes from Massachusetts and  "Portuguese fisherman and sailors settled in New England coastal towns like New Bedford, Massachusetts, before the Civil War. They brought with them their spicy Iberian cuisine. Sausage soup is one of the best known of these recipes".

PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE SOUP

4 ounces hot Italian sausage links, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 ounces sweet Italian sausage links, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
1/2 cup beer or water
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large saucepan cook the hot sausage, sweet sausage, and onion till sausage is browned and onion is tender. Drain fat. Add the potatoes, the chicken or vegetable broth, spinach, beer or water, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or till potatoes are tender. Makes 6 side dish servings at 163 calories each.

Note: I used fresh ground hot and sweet Italian sausage. I broke the pieces up while cooking but tried to leave a few "chunks". I think using the ground sausage made this dish a bit greasier but I did try to remove as much grease as I could.

Note: I used beer instead of water. I used chicken broth.

Note: I cut the potatoes more into chunks than slices.

Quick. Easy. Good.

Hoppin' John Soup

We are pretty traditional here in the Mr. and Mrs. L household. New Years Eve must consist of champagne, a kiss at midnight and now the eating of 12 grapes in the first minute of the new year (note to self...try finding smaller grapes next year. Trying to stuff twelve giant green grapes in your mouth and finish eating them in one minute is not the easiest thing to do, especially when you are laughing hysterically and just had half a bottle of champagne). New Years day is just as traditional with our custom of eating black eyed peas at some point on the first. Though I have made other Hoppin' John recipes in the past, this year I just wanted to throw something together using ingredients we had on hand.

This came out pretty good. Didn't take long to make, heated up well the next day and was made with ingredients we had on hand (and I specifically wanted to use up the ham bone and some leftover ham). It's an easy recipe to tweak...the addition of rice or pasta, red chilies or some sort of hot sauce, additional vegetables, would all work well. A good way to start off the new year.

HOPPIN' JOHN SOUP

1 large onion chopped
1 16-oz. package frozen black eyed peas
2 bay leafs
1 tablespoon jarred minced garlic
1 bunch kale, trimmed and chopped
8 to 10 cups beef broth
1 cup leftover Honeybaked Ham, chopped into pieces
1 leftover Honeybaked Ham bone
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a big pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for about five minutes until soft. Add bay leafs and garlic and cook for another minute. Add black eyed peas, kale , ham, ham bone and beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Ingredient measurements are just a guideline. Add more ham, don't put a bone in, one bay leaf instead of two, add more veggies etc.

Note: I "trimmed" the kale by cutting out the big thick center. Not sure if this was necessary.

Note: You will notice some "fatty" pieces of ham that came off the bone. We like pork fat. No it doesn't fit in with a healthy eating plan. Did I mention we like pork fat? Deal. And yes there is jarred garlic in this, I didn't have any fresh on hand.

Note: Since Honeybaked Ham tends to be a bit salty along with the beef broth I used, I didn't add any additional salt during the cooking. I would definitely add salt otherwise.

Note: Cooking time had more to do with making the kale tender than anything else. 

Note: We wanted a bit more "soup" so we added more beef broth. Your millage may very.

Knock-Your-Socks-Off Chipotle Chili Soup

Many years ago I received a subscription to Chile Pepper magazine from my cousin. Though I never cooked anything out of the issues I did collect quite a stack of recipes to try.

Since then, here and there, I've picked up an issue with good intentions to try at least one recipe. When I went through the November 2008 issue I realized it was time to get up off my duff and make something instead of just tearing out a recipe and filing it away.

Tons of things sounded good. Spicy Crisped Chickpeas, Hungarian Goulash, Stuffed Jalapenos (which resulted in my habanero debacle). But since it was cold and rainy outside I figured the first dish to try was this chili soup. And yes, I have since bought more issues of Chile Pepper magazine. If you have a taste for anything hot and spicy, it's worth it.

It's definitely more of a soup than a thick chili. I really liked the spiciness of the dish though Mr. L found it a bit too spicy for him (the magazine rates the 'zest level' for this dish at medium). It wasn't really hot (as in burn your insides to your knees) just spicy. The cilantro cream worked really well with this soup. The jalapeno I used wasn't very hot at all and it gave the cream a nice flavor. I actually mixed a bit more cream than probably suggested into my chili soup. This also heated up great the next day...a bit spicier and the flavors had a chance to meld a bit.

This went together fairly quickly. I made the Cilantro Cream (included below) while the soup was simmering for an hour.

The Chile Pepper magazine recipe was adapted from a Robert Rose recipe. The magazine suggests serving the chili soup with warm tortilla chips on the side (I think it would work over rice too).

KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF CHIPOTLE CHILI SOUP

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (14-oz) can crushed tomatoes with added puree or diced tomatoes with juice
6 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo
2 (15-oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Cilantro Cream (see recipe below)
Corn Tortilla Chips (optional)

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and saute, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess fat. Add garlic and onions; cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add chili powder, salt and pepper; saute for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, stock and chiles; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Add beans, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Ladle into heated bowls, and top each with a dollop of cilantro cream. Stick a few chips upright into the cream. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: I used ground chuck. I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. I used S&W canned black beans.

Note: I actually didn't use all of the two onions I cut up. I considered the onions to be medium size but after chopping them up, it just seemed like to much onion so I only put in about 3/4 of what I had.

CILANTRO CREAM

1 cup packed cilantro sprigs, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
salt

In a small bowl, stir together cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream, lime juice, and salt to taste.

Note: This was very tasty and I can see using it with other soups, stews, on baked potatoes, in an omelet....

Five-Bean Soup

Ahem.
Yes.
Well.
You know that saying new cooks or cooks trying a new recipe for the first time say? You know the one...we can always order pizza if this doesn't turn out?

We ordered pizza. Okay technically it was too late for pizza so Mr. L just whipped up some eggs, but I think you get the gist...we didn't eat this. Pretty much all eight servings went right in the trash.

It wasn't inedible...I'm sure there are some folks that would like this...we just didn't. It smelled fine. It looked okay. I kept picking out some of the beans. Mr. L? One bite and he was asking if I'd cooked something to go with the soup. The thing of it is, I should have known. It asked for frozen cut green beans...it was this taste that I think I objected to most. But really, none of it worked for me. The only substitution I made was to use big butter beans instead of the limas.  This was the first "failure" I've had since I've started this blog...I knew it had to come at some point. At least it wasn't with an expensive cut of meat!

Would I ever make this again? Nope, not in a million years. Would I try other things from this cookbook? Probably. Though I wouldn't add any frozen green beans if it was asked for.

FIVE-BEAN SOUP

1 15 1/2-ounce can red kidney beans
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1 15-ounce can navy beans
1 8 1/2-ounce can lima beans
1 9-ounce package frozen cut green beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 12-ounce can beer
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

Drain kidney beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, and lima beans. In a 3 1/2-, 4-, 5-, or 6-quart crockery cooker combine drained beans, frozen green beans, chopped onion, chili peppers, chili powder, basil, oregano, and hot pepper sauce. Stir in beef broth and beer.

Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours. Ladle into soup bowls. Top each serving with shredded cheese. Makes 8 servings.

Not recommended for 1-quart crockery cooker.

Notes: I used S&W beans. I used Green Giant frozen green beans. I used Tabasco hot pepper sauce.

Vichyssoise

Back in November there was a National Vichyssoise Day. Which seemed odd to me because isn't vichyssoise a cold soup? Why would you want cold soup during the cold days of November?  So I figured no vichyssoise until sometime in the spring.

But then, perusing my Ratatouille cookbook, I noticed that their version of vichyssoise could be served warm or cold. Since Mr. L was supposed to be going to a 49er game, and would probably need something to warm him up when he returned, I figured I'd give the warm version of the soup a try.

Because this was supposed to be a kids book I wished there was a bit more direction...like were you supposed to leave the pot uncovered while simmering? Or whether to use low or medium low heat to do things. But the recipe itself was pretty simple. The book considered this dish "medium" in difficulty.

This was actually pretty good and Mr. L thought it was perfect served warm. I'm honestly not sure I'd like it cold. The recipe does tell you when you need to have a grown up assist you, but I attempted the recipe without adult supervision.

VICHYSSOISE

5 cups peeled, chopped all-purpose potatoes
3 cups thinly sliced leeks (use the white and 2 inches of the green)
1 2/3 cups chicken broth
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Chopped chives (optional)

In a soup pot, add the potatoes, leeks, broth, water, salt, and pepper. Ask a grown-up to help you turn the stove to simmer, and cook for 1 hour.

In batches, puree the soup and pour it into a large bowl. Stir in the cream. Serve warm or cold. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Gusteau's Tip: Be sure to wash the leeks thoroughly to remove any sand.

Note: I used about one and a half leeks. I used four potatoes. I used a bit more cream than they asked for because I used a bit more of everything else.

Note: I used Better Than Bouillon.

Nacho Cheese Soup

I honestly couldn't figure out what to make from The Dinner Doctor. Lots of quick recipes to make after a long and hard day at the office. Not sure why I chose this recipe except at the time it was cold and I wanted something warm and soothing.

When I stopped at the store after work, I couldn't find the Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup called for in the recipe. It's one of those items I've seen a million times when not looking for it. I bought a can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup and hoped that it would work. Of course a week later when I rearranged the pantry I found a can of the Fiesta Soup sitting on my shelf!

This didn't turn out bad though I did doctor the original recipe a bit. The photo looks pretty bad (and the dish doesn't exactly look appetizing) but I think it tasted decent.

NACHO CHEESE SOUP

1/2 pound ground beef round
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (14 to 14.5 oz) low-sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken broth
1 1/2 cups mild store-bought salsa
1 can (11 oz) Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 cup tortilla chips
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Crumble the ground beef into a 2-quart nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat and break it up with a wooden spoon. Add the cumin and pepper. Cook the beef, stirring, until it browns all over and is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and 1 cup of the salsa and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let simmer until the ingredients cook down a bit, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese soup and cook only until blended but not boiling. Remove the pan from the heat.

Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish each serving with some of the tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, and the remaining 1/2 cup of salsa. Serves 4 as a main course.

Note: I used Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup instead of the Fiesta. I used Better than Bullion Chicken base. I used mild fresh salsa from the deli (not from a jar). I wasn't sure about just the Cheddar Cheese soup, so since I had some Velveeta Cheese, I added it to this dish (probably 3/4 a cup). I think it made it thicker and probably altered the intended taste. I also added a bit of hot sauce since I didn't use the Fiesta soup.

Note: I completely forgot the avocado and cilantro. I think they would make a great touch so do try them. The tortilla chips made a great accompaniment to this dish too.

Both Mr. L and I liked this dish. Not sure I'd make it again, but I might make something similar.