Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Amanda requested soups...I have made this one before and just made it again this past Monday. It's easy to make. It's also something that I usually have the ingredients on hand for and can add other things like the carrots that I added this week.

CHEDDAR BROCCOLI SOUP

INGREDIENTS
2 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I often use more)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
Bring broth to a boil. Add broccoli and onion. Cook for five minutes, or until broccoli is tender.
In a separate bowl, slowly add milk to flour, and mix until well blended.
Stir flour mixture into broth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup is thick and bubbly. Add cheese; stir until melted. Add seasonings and serve.

NOTE

The broccoli is pretty easy to break down in the soup but if I'm adding something like carrots, I will usually puree the soup for a creamy texture.

Image courtesy of: http://icandigit-kel.blogspot.com/2008/07/broccoli-cheese-soup.html

Simple Broccoli Recipes?

Did anyone by chance try any of these recipes? I made the broccoli bow ties for the second time (the first time I accidentally put in 2 T of salt, not 2t of salt). We were pretty underwhelmed. Anyone have a broccoli recipe that is really tasty?

Try me, Please?

Sooooo, this is going to sound weird. I'm working on something at work where we are tying in the benefit of something to a recipe. Sort of like this:

Benefit = recipe for success and recipe = characteristic of the benefit

The recipes have to be fairly simple and not have 800 years worth of instructions. I'm trying to do a variety of recipes and am already including bread/breakfast (strawberry bread=antioxidants), meat (slow cooker chili chicken tacos=easy to assemble, no fuss) and cookies (monster cookies=lots of disparate ingredients come together all yummy). I found all of these other recipes online and need to try them out before publicly giving them two thumbs up and distributing them into the world.

I'll be trying some of them, but I'd love it if any of you were piqued enough to make them yourselves. If you do try them within the next two weeks, give me a shout and let me know if they are any good. Gracias!

Apple, Pear and Walnut Salad

2 T red wine vinegar
2 1/2 T orange juice
1 orange, zested
1/2 C raisins or craisins
4 apples, preferably use 2 to 3 different kinds
2 pears, preferably red and green
2/3 C walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl whisk together vinegar, orange juice, zest, and raisins. Core and cube apples and pears. Add fruit and walnuts to a bowl and drizzle with oil. Toss well to combine. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Special Fried Rice with Carrots

2 3/4 C water
1 1/2 C white rice
3 T vegetable or wok oil, 3 turns of the pan
2 eggs, beaten
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 inches fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/2 C shredded carrots, available in pouches in produce section, a couple of handfuls
1 small red bell pepper, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1/2 C frozen peas
1/3 C Tamari, dark aged soy sauce

Bring water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat, cover and cook over medium low heat until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Spread rice out on a cookie sheet to quick cool it.

Heat a wok, wok shaped skillet or large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add oil to the pan. Add egg to hot oil and break into small bits as it scrambles. When eggs are scrambled, add garlic and ginger to the pan. Add carrots, pepper, scallions to the pan and quick stir-fry veggies 2 minutes.

Add rice to the pan and combine with veggies. Fry rice with veggies 2 or 3 minutes. Add peas and soy sauce to the rice and stir fry 1 minute more, then serve.

Broccoli and Bow Ties

Kosher salt
8 C broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 T unsalted butter
2 T olive oil
1 t minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 t lemon juice
1/4 C toasted pine nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to the broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 t salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pine nuts and cheese, if using, and serve.

To toast pine nuts, place them in a dry saute pan over medium-low heat and cook, tossing often, for about 5 minutes, until light brown

Soft Dough Pretzels

1 1/2 c. water
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2-2 1/2 c. flour
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. water
Coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat water to 120 degrees. In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and yeast, sugar, salt and warmed water. Mix for 3 minutes. Add 2 cups flour and continue kneading for 3 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to form a soft dough.

Shape into a ball. On a floured surface, cut into 16 pieces and roll with hands into approximately 12 inch ropes. Shape as pretzels and put on foil covered cookie sheets. Beat egg yolks and 1 tablespoon water until well blended. Coat dough with egg mixture and sprinkle with salt. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.