Broccoli Cheese Soup (from scratch)

One soup I've loved since a child is Broccoli Cheese Soup. It's always been a favourite of mine, and I was fortunate enough to discover, thanks to this recipe, that it is also one both of my children love. I stumbled across this Panera Bread copy cat recipe at Yammie's Noshery, but while I was making it discovered that I needed to tweak it to get a soup that I would like.

My biggest issue with most soup is the incredibly skimpy amount of vegetables in it. I fixed that. Below is my recipe, made multiple times and devoured by all!

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Based on this recipe from Yammie's Noshery

1/2 stick of butter (1/4c)

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

1c of milk

1c of heavy cream

3c chicken stock

1/4c corn starch

1/4t nutmeg

2 bay leaves

2c chopped carrots (roughly 4 carrots)

4-6c broccoli florets (an entire bunch + some more if you desire)

3c shredded cheddar cheese

Pepper to taste

1) Sautee onions and garlic in butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until tender.

2) Add the milk, cream, and stock.

3) Combine corn starch with a bit of water (or a bit extra broth) and stir until fully dissolved. Add to the pot.

4) Turn heat to medium low and add in nutmeg and bay leaves, stirring until thickened.

5) Add in the vegetables and allow to simmer until tender (roughly 30 minutes).

6) Remove bay leaves and stir in cheese until fully incorporated.

7) Serve.

This will have an excellent flavour, especially if you use homemade chicken stock. There will be no need to add any salt while cooking (or after it is served), as there is plenty of sodium in the cheese, and, as I mentioned already, there is no lack of flavour.

This recipe is easy to make, and a crowd pleaser. Definitely a win in our household! I really need to remember to make bread bowls next time, though! I don't have images of the children eating the food because I was too busy stuffing my face. The leftovers go quickly, too!

This recipe claims to serve 4, and I could see it feeding 6 adults good sized servings. If you are serving with bread bowls, I'd think it could feed 8. You will easily have leftovers to get at least one more meal out of it for 4 adults, though.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from your own. This recipe is an adaptation of one found at Yammie's Noshery.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake (LS, Original Recipe)

With a new diet requirement (low sodium), I find myself having to come up with alternatives to lunch for Bobble's school. He eats really clean at home, but the preschool doesn't really want the parents sending lunches since they have to make sure it would meet certain dietary requirements. I find this rather frustrating since I feel that they are not well versed in nutrition. In all fairness, that's not their job... their job is to teach 3 and 4 year olds, not know what veggies have what vitamins and minerals. Either way it goes, now we find ourselves making his lunches and attempting to keep it similar to what the kids at school are eating because literally everyone else has the same thing.

I saw a "spaghetti pizza bake" on the menu, and I have no idea what that is. I can only assume it's spaghetti with sauce and some cheese (maybe other toppings?) baked on top... or mixed in. Here was my version that I made for lunch that day, filling an 8x8 pan. (We set some spaghetti squash and sauce aside for a separate bake and to use sauce on pizza later in the week. Original amounts to include the other bake and pizza sauce would equal a full spaghetti squash, 5 tomatoes, 1 can paste, a whole serving of chopped pepperoni, and 1/2 tsp. salt.)

This can easily be vegetarian by omitting meat and adding other veggies instead.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake
2c. Spaghetti Squash (cooked and scraped out to be noodle-like)
3 Tomatoes
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. tomato paste
1/2 serving turkey pepperoni chopped up (or chopped peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. for a veg. dish)
1/4 lb ground beef (browned) (or more chopped veggies for a veg. dish)
1 1/2c. shredded mozzarella
Fresh Basil to taste
Dried Oregano to taste
Coconut Oil to grease dish

1) Shred cooked Spaghetti squash and then put in a greased 8x8 dish

2) Blend tomatoes, paste, basil, and oregano. Add in chopped pepperoni, ground beef, or any veggies you want to use.

3) Mix sauce and spaghetti squash together, and top with mozzarella.

4) Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

5) Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

This whole dish would contain roughly 1,000 mg. of sodium, so a generous serving of 1/4 of this whole dish would only be at around 250mg for the meal!

Please keep in mind that the sodium content can vary GREATLY from brand to brand, so (obviously) check your labels. To replicate this recipe exactly, the specific brands I used (other than general items like ground beef or spices) were:

Boar's Head turkey pepperoni
Happy Farms Mozzarella (Aldi brand)
Friendly Farms Tomato Paste (Aldi Brand)

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Braised Barley and Vegetables (LS)

I had never made barley in my life before trying this recipe, so this was definitely an experiment for my family. In fact, I don't recall ever EATING barley in my life. I'm sure I've had it in a soup or something, but I'd never really had it to where I remembered it. I had no idea what it would be like, or how well I would make it. Still, it sounded tasty, looked simple, and easily could be a low sodium dish.

I don't have a kitchen scale, so I just eye-balled it. I also had no idea how much 8 ounces of cut rutabaga and 8 ounces of cut potatoes would look like. In fact, I'm most certain that I didn't have the "correct" amounts of them in there. This dish claiming to serve 4 people should fit in my 3QT pan, so I had a rough idea. The pan was to the brim, so I definitely went with the larger pan the second time around.

The meal turned out well. Inexpensive, easy prep (just chopping a few things), super easy to make, and hubby even said, "...this isn't what I expected. It's DELICIOUS, just not what I expected!" before I even had one bite.

It was delicious, actually. Very delicious. I was surprised, as there wasn't really any spice in it to flavour it, but it was a good flavour. It would be good with cut up mushrooms in there, too. If you like mushrooms, that is. It was so delicious, actually, that both children LOVED it!

Pre-cooked Bacon (optional!)

This is a FABULOUS cold-weather meal.It would be great accompanying a variety of meats, though the second time around I put in 4 slices of (finely crumbled, cooked) bacon. I used the Aldi uncured bacon brand "Simply Truth", which has 65mg/slice. This is the lowest sodium bacon I have found anywhere. There was no salt added to the veggie stock since I make my own, so the overall sodium for this entire dish was roughly 300mg, 560mg with the added bacon. Keep in mind that the sodium content will be altered by using store-bought stock, and by how much of particular vegetables you add. I googled the nutritional information for each veggie I used to get a rough idea of the sodium content they added. 

* NOTES *

• I only had a 2 cup pyrex cup, so I guesstimated the additional 1/2 cup of water, covered with plastic wrap (and a rubberband to secure it), and left over night in the fridge
• Lacking a kitchen scale, I added half of a rutabaga and only 2 (red) potatoes. I also added 3 ribs of celery and 3 carrots.
• I sprinkled in a tiny bit of some pink Himalayan sea salt and ground some fresh pepper into the pan (it was a peppercorn medley and not just black pepper), brought it to a boil, then set the stove to 3 for a simmer.
• I seriously had no idea how to tell if barley was done, so I just set the timer and hoped for the best. Worked out great. Timer went off, turned off the burner and moved the pan from the heat (like I do for other things that need to lose their liquid or absorb/thicken).
• I expected this, originally, to feed all 4 of us with a bit left over for someone for lunch since youngest isn't going to eat a full serving.... we have enough for ALL Of us to have left overs, and then even one or two more servings after that.It goes a long way!
• For extra flavour, you can soak your barley in stock instead (all the water the barley is with gets dumped into the dish anyway)

This is another recipe out of my Russian, German & Polish Food & Cookingcookbook.

Braised Barley and Vegetables 
Serves 4
Ingredients

• 1 cup pearl or barley
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 8 ounces rutabaga or turnip, cut into 3/4" cubes
• 8 ounces potatoes, cut into 3/4" cubes
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• celery leaves, to garnish

Instructions:
1) Put the barley in a measuring cup and add water to reach the 2 1/2 cup mark. Let soak in a cool place for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight. (Below is when I first put it in to soak that morning, and when I took it out to use that afternoon)

2) Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add the sliced celery and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is starting to brown.

3) Add the barley and its soaking liquid to the pan. Then add the rutabaga or turnip, potato and stock to the barley. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pan.

4) Simmer for 40 minutes, or until most of the stock has been absorbed and the barley is tender. Stir occasionally towards the end of cooking to prevent the barley from sticking to the base of the pan. Serve, garnished with celery leaves.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from your own. Post contains affiliate links.

How to make Spaghetti Squash

 
How to make a spaghetti squash:

1) Wash squash off!
(You should wash all fruits and veggies off before cutting into them, as the knife will bring bacteria from the outside of the veggie into the flesh. This is especially important if you're eating the fruit or veggie raw, and one of the reasons Cantaloupe can be such a big cause of illness like e. coli.)

2) Slice squash in half long-ways and scoop out the seeds.

3) Place squash in a wax-paper lined dish, cut-side down, and bake for about 45 minutes at 350F, or until inside is tender enough for a fork to easily slice through to the peel.

4) When cooled, take a fork and scrape/rake the inside of the squash. This will release the squash in long strands, much like spaghetti.

Voila! You've made a spaghetti squash!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Baked Veggie and Grains Pilaf

This is a nutritious side dish that will go with any meat. We paired it with a yummy lamb roast, but it would be delicious accompanying anything. You can also add different veggies into the mixture like eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and more.

 

Rice and Veggie Pilaf
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Butter (or oil)
1 Onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped (or 4 smaller ribs)
1 chopped bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)
1 ear of corn (cut kernels off)
4 small to medium sized carrots (chopped)
1 medium zucchini (chopped)
3/4 cup millet
3/4 cup quinoa
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups stock of choice (use veggie stock to make vegetarian)

** Use oil instead of butter and veggie stock to make the dish vegan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Heat butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir vegetables in the hot oil until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Mix veggie mixture, millet, quinoa, stock, and salt together and put into an 8x8-inch casserole dish; pour in stock. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until grains are tender and have absorbed all the liquid, about 30 minutes.

We made this to accompany a lamb roast, so we did the stock part a bit differently. We had 2c of chicken stock that needed to be used, so we used those 2 cups, 1/2c of the juice from the lamb roast, and then pulled a 1/2c of frozen chicken stock from our freezer.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not reimbursed for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Recipe was an adaptation of this recipe. Post contains affiliate links.

MOMables GF Zucchini Au Gratin

I had been eying this MOMables recipe for a while, and finally had the opportunity to make it. I followed the suggestion of serving with a whole roasted crockpot chicken, and made a whole chicken in my crockpot to go with it. One of the quickest and easiest meals imaginable!

I made my mixture:

Chopped my zucchini:

Baked while I made my topping mixture:

.... and this is where it stopped being super quick and easy. It WOULD have been had I had almond meal like I thought I did. I apparently did not have any, so I grabbed my mortar and pestle, then ground up almonds until it was really fine. Otherwise, it would have been super quick and easy!

Sprinkled that on top and baked again.

VOILA!

Seriously easy, and very yummy! The kids both loved it. The only complaint hubby had was I missed a few pieces of almond and so he got some tiny pieces of almond he had to chew. ( wah. )

Want the recipe for yourself? Mastermind Laura Fuentes (the mom behind MOMables) also had this recipe for free on her other page: Super Glue Mom. I have provided both recipes for here so you don't have to dig for the non-gf recipe if you would prefer to have that.

Enter for your chance to win a 3 month subscription to MOMables and get more great recipes like this one!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff received a trial to MOMables in exchange for reviews. This did not sway my opinion in any way. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

MOMables Cauliflower Rice

Have you considered going grain or gluten free, but love rice too much to give it up? Cauliflower rice might be a great option for you! It's simple to make, and it tastes great! Bonus, it's veggies for the kids when they might not even realize it!

MOMables has an easy how-to for making Cauliflower Rice, though I'm going to share the recipe below and our experience with it.

We don't have a food processor, so hubby added some water to the 1" pieces and used an immersion blender. When they were the size desired, we dumped that into a mesh strainer and then cooked it after it drained.

Enter for your chance to win a 3 month subscription to MOMables and get more great recipes like this one!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff received a trial subscription to MOMables in exchange for reviews. This does not sway my opinion of the product and all opinions are my own.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Want a delicious crust without all the carbs? Maybe you just want a sneakier way to get your kids to eat veggies? This crust might take a bit more prep time than a regular dough, but it's well worth it! The taste is phenomenal, you get extra veggies, and it's not only gluten-free (if you care about that) but grain-free, too!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 1 4 oz. package of herbed goat cheese

Preheat Oven to 400F

1) Heat water (about 1 qt) to a boil while washing and cutting cauliflower into small pieces.

2) Add boiling water to cauliflower in a glass bowl and use an immersion blender and blend until in small particles ("cauliflower rice") and no chunks left.

3) Strain to remove as much water as possible.

4) Place in cheesecloth (optional) and place inside a dish towel (not optional) to wring out the remaining moisture. Too wet and you will have a soggy crust! The cheesecloth just makes it easier to clean the towel when you're done.

5) Place cauliflower back in a bowl and blend in the egg and goat cheese.

6) Press dough onto baking sheet (or pizza stone) that is lined with parchment paper. Shape however you want. Keep the dough about 1/3" thick.

7) Bake at 400F for roughly 40 minutes or until crust is firm and golden brown.

8) Add sauce and toppings, then return to the oven for 10-30 minutes. The more toppings you have, the longer it will take. We added a lot of toppings, so it was about 25 minutes. Bake until the cheese is lightly browned to ensure you cooked out enough moisture.

ALLOW EXTRA COOLING TIME! This pizza retains a lot of heat if you are using a pizza stone, so allow extra cooling time.

 

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Thursday Tips: Garden Veggies

Do you have a garden? Odds are, you've missed a few things at some point and had green beans get gigantic, peas start to turn brown, or squash just get so big you don't know what to do with it.

If you make your own stock, don't fret! Take those peas that started drying a bit (so long as they aren't actually rotting), the extra squash you just can't use (or don't want to because you ate half of it for dinner and it could still feed an army), extra green beans, and just throw them in a freezer bag labeled veggie scraps. I add my scraps as I go, but if you're ready to make stock today, just throw them in the pan! It will only add to your stock, and it will not have been wasted.

Mashed No-tatoes (Original Recipe)

I'm a huge fan of mashed potatoes. I always have loved them, and likely will always pile them way too high on my plate when they are around me. However, I don't always have potatoes on hand. Other veggies can bring the same result, albeit with slightly different flavour.

Rutabaga is one such veggie. You can make it the same way you would mashed potatoes. Some people prefer to add a tiny bit of sugar at the end (instead of salt, if you add salt), but I like it just how it is.

To use up some more items in the fridge, and also to add more flavour to the dinner, I made some Mashed No-tatoes, instead. As you might guess from the title, there are no potatoes in it.

Mashed No-tatoes

I apologize for the lack of great pictures as of late, but my phone really doesn't take the best quality photos. That aside, I didn't think to take pictures of this until it was already done.

Mashed No-tatoes (a naturally sweet root-veggie mash)

·         1 lb. carrots  (about 6 good-sized carrots)

·         1 lb. parsnips (about 3 parsnips, peeled and cored)

·         1/3 - 1/2 of a rutabaga

·         1/2 c. Milk, half & half, or cream (whichever you prefer when you make mashed potatoes)

·         3 T. butter

·         cinnamon

·         nutmeg

1) Peel and chop/slice carrots, parsnips, and rutabaga. (Store peels from the carrot and parsnips in a bag & freeze to use in a veggie stock later if desired.)

2) Boil veggies until cooked.

3) Drain veggies and place back in pan, a mixing bowl, or food processor along with butter. Once butter has melted, add milk, cream, or half & half and mash (or blend) to desired consistency.

4) Add in cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, and mix well. (I used 1/4t. - 1/2t. Cinnamon and about 1/8t. - 1/4t. nutmeg… I honestly just eyeballed it.)

5) Serve hot.

 

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the contents of this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Rutabaga

It's come to my attention that not many people know what a rutabaga is, and even fewer have tasted it. I'm not sure if this is because it looks like it might be difficult to prepare (it isn't) or what, but this very delicious, nutritious vegetable has been neglected for a long time.

This post will be short, but will hopefully help you learn a wee bit about the rutabaga.

A rutabaga I took a third off of for a recipe

For starters, it's a root veggie. Just like turnips, beets, potatoes, and carrots, the rutabaga grows below ground. It generally has a waxy coating put on when sold commercially to help slow spoilage.

The rutabaga can be used just like a potato can. You can mash it, fry it, bake it, etc. It can be used in lieu of potatoes in recipes, too. It is firmer than a potato, so it takes a little bit longer to cook. It is also slightly sweet. Very slightly. Think of the slight sweetness a carrot can have. That's about how it is.

To prepare a rutabaga, you just wash it to remove any grossness before cutting into it (don't want to spread grossness through the veggie via the knife!), peel the waxy layer off with a veggie peeler, and cut as desired for whatever recipe you are making and cook accordingly. Seriously, that's it. Nothing fancy.

This is another time my Farberware Vegetable Peeler comes in handy. That peeler has been used for years and is still just as sharp as ever. That's especially important when you're trying to peel through the waxy skin of a rutabaga!

I tend to cut the rutabaga in half (or even just take 1/3 of it at a time) and only peel the piece I cut off. One rutabaga generally gives me 2 or 3 meals.

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Easy Vegetable Stock (how-to)

In an effort to save money and reduce waste, I have been making my own version of things that are often bought ready-to-use. Cream of Chicken Soup is one example. Today, while making something for dinner, I decided to make a vegetable stock.

I had a package of mushrooms that were nearing the end of their window for consumption, so I through those in with the scraps from my meal prep. I also added a small onion and a few cloves of fresh garlic.

Making a vegetable stock is really simple. Seriously, very simple. You take the veggie peels and bits that you were going to throw away (or compost), and you throw them in a pot instead. Cover them with water for a regular stock, or cover them 1/2 way up for concentrated stock.

Bring to a boil, cover, then turn down to a simmer for an hour.

Strain the veggies/scraps out, and store your broth for a week in the fridge, or you can store them in the freezer.

We like to let our stock cool, then pour it into ice cube trays. Each "cube" is about 2 tablespoons.

For a great guide to what veggies to use, avoid, and more, check out this super helpful page over at In Sonnet's Kitchen.

Thoughts Of Fluff was not compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are my own and my differ from those of your own.