Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

I made this healthier version of Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup from EatingWell last night with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. It was really good.

I didn't have mushrooms or shallots so I just used some onion. As it says in the recipe, you could always substitute chicken.

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

Tater-tot Casserole

Ok this sounds soooo bad but yet I really want to try it..perhaps tonight! Going to make a few minor adjustments to class it up a bit starting with fresh green-beans I just got at the market....also going to definitely use turkey and low sodium soup to keep it healthier...going to put meat and beans both down then cover with soup and tots and lastly I'm going to put under the broiler the last few minutes to really get those tots crispy! Mmmmmm, we'll see how it goes!


TATOR TOT CASSEROLE

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 (16 oz.) pkg. French style green beans
1 can mushrooms (or fresh) - optional
1 pkg. tater tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup - or any other cream variety you like
1/2 C milk
1/4 C water


Brown ground meat. Put in a 9 x 13 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cover meat with cream of mushroom soup mixed with milk and water. Top with green beans and tator tots and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Mini Meatloaves

We had some seriously (y)ucky weather the past two days, so I was craving a comfort food meal. I made these mini meatloaves last night and they were tasty! Also, they qualify for meals that can be frozen for later use. Recipe from here.

Mini Honey-Mustard Meatloaves
olive oil for baking sheet
2 tablespoons honey mustard (I used honey dijon)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 pound ground meat (I used turkey)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 cup shredded white cheddar (I used a yummy six month aged cheddar)
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons mustard and ketchup.

In a medium bowl, combine meat, egg, panko, 1/2 cup cheddar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper. Form into four 2-by-4-inch loaves; place on baking sheet. Brush with mustard mixture; top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar.

Transfer meatloaves to upper rack of oven. Bake until loaves are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

The panko made the meatloaves light and fluffy, plus the mustard/ketchup mix was all tart and tangy. I served with salad and yukon gold smashed potatoes. Yum!

At last MY comfort food!

Ok so I got behind schedule and don't have a super story- food in general has always warmed my heart and my Mom and I have always done alot of cooking together...so here's one of our many family meals and probably my favorite.

Orange Pork Chops

4 thick pork chops or a few more if smaller- salt, pepper to taste
2-4 tbs water
5 tbs sugar
1.5 ts cornstarch
1/4 ts salt
1/4 ts cinnamon and/or nutmeg
10 cloves (optional)- can also use ground to taste
2 ts grates orange rind
1/2 c OJ

Season chops w salt and pepper and brown in skillet on each side.

Turn down heat and add water, simmer turning once. Add more water as needed and until chops cooked through- I usually always use more water because it keeps the chops juicy.

In seperate small saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, rind and cloves. Simmer on low while adding juice gradually so it does not lump- using a whisk also helps. Simmer until slightly thickened. * Just a note, the sauce is always everyone's favorite part so we make a double batch and put some over the chops and add to rice too!

Favorite Comfort Food - Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan was on the regular meal rotation growing up and always my brother's request for his birthday dinner. My mom used to microwave the chicken (gross!) and use frozen broccoli. When I started making it in college, I decided to go with boiling the chicken and fresh broccoli. It's a couple extra steps but well worth it in my opinion. When we were little, we used to pick around the broccoli and ask my mom why she couldn't make it with just chicken. Now the broccoli is my favorite part! The leftovers of this may be even better than the dish itself.

Chicken Divan

3-4 Chicken Breasts
2-3 heads of broccoli
5 Slices Lorraine Swiss Cheese (highly recommend using Lorraine Swiss rather than regular - you can get it in the Deli)
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sherry cooking wine (any white wine works)
1+ teaspoon lemon juice
4 tbsp butter or margarine
1+ cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing mix

Put the chicken on to boil and while it is cooking, cut the broccoli up into small pieces. Steam or boil the broccoli until it is crisp tender (will cook more when you bake the casserole). When the chicken is done, cut it up into small pieces and put it into a bowl with a bit of sherry. Mix the chicken soup, mayo, sherry, and lemon juice in a separate bowl and set aside. Melt the margarine or butter and then toss in the stuffing mix until it is coated. Lay the broccoli on the bottom of a large rectangular glass pan. Pour some of the chicken soup mixture over it to cover a bit. Layer the chicken on top of that and pour the rest of the mixture on top of the chicken. Lay the slices of swiss cheese on top and then add the stuffing mixture on top of that. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly (about 20 minutes). Serve with rice.

p.s. thanks to mollie for sending me my recipe so i didn't have to type it all over again:)

Broccoli Casserole

This casserole shows up at every single one of my family's holiday celebrations plus several other times during the year when we just want something warm and delicious. Comfort food, indeed.

Ingredients
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. jar of Cheez Whiz
1/2 - 3/4 bag of frozen broccoli (thawed)
1 - 2 cups of Minute Rice
1/2 cup celery (diced)
1/2 cup onion (diced)

Instructions
Mix soups and Cheez Whiz in casserole dish. Mix in vegetables. Mix in rice. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Cover with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncovered for the remaining time.