Cream of Broccoli Soup

It's been a long time since I, or any of us for that matter, have posted on here. I thought I'd break the streak with one of my favorite winter recipes. I know we already have a Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe on here, but this is quite different. The secret ingredient which makes this soup especially unique is the white pepper. The original recipe came from a friend, Jean A., in my ward here in Sugarhouse. Enjoy!

Serves 8

6 cups broccoli, chopped & steamed
5 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed & boiled
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled, sliced & steamed
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon white pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
6 cups milk or half-&-half
2 cups broth, veggie or chicken
3 cups cheddar cheese

1. Steam or boil broccoli, potatoes & carrots until tender.
2. Saute onion and garlic in butter in stock pot until onion is translucent.
3. Slowly add flour to onion and garlic to form a roux.
4. Slowly add milk to roux until there are no more lumps.  Cook on medium heat, stirring often.
5. Puree broth and broccoli in blender. Add to soup base.
6. Add potatoes and carrots.
7. Add salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes if you choose to use them.
8. Simmer until thickens, stirring occasionally.
9. Stir in cheese until melted.

Swiss Potatoes and Carrots

This is now my new favorite potato dish, and one I have made twice in the past week. Love it!

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
2 cups peeled and thinly sliced carrots
seasoning salt
pepper
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

Grease a large dutch oven or other lidded, oven safe pot. Layer half of the sliced potatoes and carrots in the dish. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper, cover with half of the cheese and dot with half of the butter. Repeat with remaining potatoes and carrots, sprinkle again with seasoning salt and pepper and cover with the rest of the cheese and butter. Pour cream over the top and slowly bring to a near simmer on top of the stove. Cover with lid or foil and place in a 300 degree oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes or until cream has been absorbed and top is lightly browned.

Gouda Potatoes

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, pealed and thinly sliced
2 cups (8 oz) grated Gouda cheese
3 TBsp butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a greases 9x13 baking dish, layer half of the potatoes, half the cheese, and then the remaining potatoes. Melt butter in a skillet and saute garlic until golden brown, then pour over potatoes. Combine cream, salt and pepper and pour evenly over potatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, copycat

This is the zuppa toscana copycat recipe that has been floating around the internet for some time. I hadn't made it in quite awhile and decided to make it today. Perfect for a blizzard-y day like this! It is really easy, inexpensive, and fabulously delicious.


INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Italian sausage (we like hot)
2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 can oscar meyer bacon bits
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

Cook sausage in a 300 F oven for 30 minutes.

Drain sausage on paper towel, then cut into slices, or chopped. (As you can see in the picture I did not do this. Oops!)

Place onions, potatoes, broth, water, and garlic in a pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.

Add sausage and bacon

Simmer for 10 more minutes.

Turn to low heat and add Kale and cream.

Heat through and serve.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this for our Thanksgiving dinner Emily and Spencer kindly hosted on Sunday. I thought I'd post this if anyone was interested in knowing.

To make the caramel sauce mix in a saucepan on low to medium heat until thick:

1 stick butter
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C canned evaporated milk

Casserole:

2 large cans (29 oz.) of sweet potatoes/yams or you can boil your own yams

1 bag mini-marshmallows (I only had large marshmallows when I made the casserole in the pics, they don't work as well but still taste good)

Spray a 9X13 pan with spray oil. Pour cans of sweet potatoes/yams, drained, into pan (or cut up the boiled yams, if you prefer). Pour caramel sauce over sweet potatoes, cover, and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Take out of oven and sprinkle marshmallows to cover. Bake uncovered until toasted and golden brown--no more than 5 minutes at the most. Watch carefully so they don't liquefy.

Veggie Quiche with Potato Crust

I found this recipe earlier today and my parents made it for Sunday dinner. We all loved it and there was only 1 piece left. My parents doubled it to fill a 9"x13" pan to feed six people (including 4 BIG boys). You can really put any veggies in you like, just use what you have on hand. My parents put bell pepper, zucchini, squash, red onion, broccoli, and cheddar cheese--though we think feta would be yummy.

1-2 russet potatoes, sliced very thin

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced

1 cup of button mushrooms, sliced

1 zucchini, diced

1 cup fresh spinach, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup feta cheese

6-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped

7-8 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat pie dish with cooking spray. Layer thin slices of potato all over the edges and bottom of pan, making sure to overlap them. Spray with cooking spray and bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions for 3-4 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes before adding the zucchini and spinach; cook for another 1-2 minutes then remove from heat.

Sprinkle the diced tomato, basil and half of the feta on top of the potatoes, then add the cooked vegetables. Beat the eggs with milk and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pour the egg mixture on top of the veggies and top with the remaining feta.

Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the quiche comes out clean-don't overcook. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Pioneer Cream of Potato Soup

3 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
2 Cups Hot Milk
2 Cups Cooked (boiled) Potatoes, diced
1 Cup Potato Water (reserved from boiling potatoes)
1 Tbsp Onion, grated
Cheddar Cheese

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, salt & pepper. Add milk and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Add potatoes, potato water & onion. Heat to boiling. Season to taste. Top each bowl with cheese if desired.

Bacon Bleu Cheese Potato Salad

Two miracles about to happen. First, I am actually posting. Second, I am sharing a recipe I made up. NEVER HAPPENS! Okay didn't totally make up but tasted somewhere else and replicated it all on my own! I love potato salad anyway but this one was extra good!

Bacon Bleu Cheese Potato Salad

Boil, peel and cut up 15-20 good size red potatoes. (this salad doesn't have the bulk of the hard boiled eggs that many potato salads do so this may sound like a lot of potatoes but it really won't be super big.)

Dressing: I like to do a 1:1 of Mayo and Miracle Whip. For a salad this size I start with 1 cup of each and gradually add to make sure I am not overdoing it. If I need more I usually go with just Miracle Whip because that is my personal preference anyway! I added about 2-3 tbsp of pickle juice (as in liquid from the pickle jar!), a dash of garlic powder, dash of onion powder and a little salt and pepper to the dressing as well.

Add as much as you want of the following:

green onions/chives
bacon (loved the Costco bag of bacon bits)
celery - chopped small
bleu cheese - I did 1 1/2 of the normal size packages you would buy in the grocery store. Then again I REALLY like bleu cheese! Save some to sprinkle on top as well.

I think the flavors blend well if you make it the night before and keep in the fridge until right before serving.

I took this salad to my mom's for David's homecoming and every drop was gone - one of the resons no picture is included! One cousin was asking me for the recipe and when I got to the bleu cheese part he looked surprised because he usually avoids it but didn't mind it this time.

Warm Potato Salad

My aunt made this when we went to Bear Lake for a family reunion over the 4th of July. It reminds me of German Potato Salad. This is such an easy recipe! *Shauna, this would be a great thing to serve with pulled-pork sandwiches or something for interviews.

Ingredients:

Red potatoes

Hidden Valley The Original Ranch Salad Dressing Package (Mix with Milk & Mayo) or a bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Green onions

Optional: Bacon

Estimate how many people you are feeding and buy the amount of potatoes, dressing, onions (and bacon if you are using it) you think you will need. I used about 6 pounds of potatoes, 3 green onions, one bottle of dressing and about 8 pieces of bacon (crumbled on the side) for approx. 20-25 people at a Richard's mission BBQ.

Mix the Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing package with a whisk according to directions (make sure to use the package that requires only 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of mayonnaise, real mayo and not Miracle Whip)--if you are using the package not the bottle. Put the dressing in the fridge to thicken for a few minutes. When dressing thickens, pour over the warm potatoes and mix.

Cut up the green onion and mix in.

Cook bacon. Add bacon pieces if desired, or leave on the side.

Keep in oven on warm until served.

Twice Baked Potatoes

6-8 large Potatoes
Several cups of Cheddar Cheese
1/3 cup Green Onion
1 cup Sour Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

I bake good sized potatoes the night before I need them. I rub a light layer of shortening on them and poke a couple of holes with a fork. I bake them for at least an hour or until they would normally be ready to eat. Don't under cook. When they are completely cool I take a sharp or serrated knife and cut the top off but not the entire top. It would look like an oval taken from the top. Then I take a good spoon (my grapefruit spoon works best) and I scoop out the entire potato and put it into a mixing bowl. This is the part that takes some time. Then when everything is scooped out and the shells are left I mix the grated cheese, green onion, salt, pepper and sour cream together with the potatoes. If it is too firm I add a little milk. You don't want to whip it to death because it changes the consistency. Add the mixture back into the potato shells and sprinkle a shake of paprika on the top and bake on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I decided to make Annalisa's grilled pork chops with balsamic caramelized pears, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Rich and I love garlic when we cook and this is how I like to do my potatoes (I mostly use regular potatoes, but I'm sure you could substitute red for this recipe just fine).

Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact.

3. Cut 1/4-1/2 inch off the top of the cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. (Sometimes it is hard to cut the top off the lower side cloves, it's ok if you can't cut them all off, it just makes it easier to get them out.)

4. Place garlic bulbs in a muffin pan and drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive/vegetable oil over each head, making sure they are well coated.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cloves are soft.

6. Allow garlic to cool enough to be able to touch it then use a knife, fork or your fingers to squeeze the cloves out of their skin.

You can eat the garlic plain like this, mash it and spread it on bread, mix with sour creme for baked potatoes, put in pasta, or our favorite, potatoes!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

8-10 potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped and cooked through

1 C milk, warmed

1 onion, chopped (I omitted these with Annalisa's meal because of the onions already with the pears)

2-3 heads of garlic, roasted and mashed (mash first or you will end up with chunks of garlic in your potatoes--also this sounds like a lot but the garlic is sweet and very mild flavored when roasted)

1/2 C +2 Tbs. butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

(optional) chives or fresh chopped green onion

Boil potatoes until soft, drain. Slow-saute the onions and garlic in 2 Tbs. butter until carmelized. Whip hot potatoes, onions, garlic, (chives) and 1/2 C butter with warm milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tired Richie helping me stir the onions and pears.