Showing posts with label recipe box. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe box. Show all posts

Soup For You

Last soup season (yes, I'm officially declaring it as a season) I posted some recipes of friends of mine.  I'm re-posting them here today for you.  It's always nice to have a bevy of soup ideas.  If you've got a great soup recipe to share with all of us put it in the comments section below or email it to me at j.yphotography@yahoo.com.  {Once upon a time a dear friend of mine whose first name started with K & last name started with B, said she had a fabulous zucchini soup recipe.  Sure wouldn't mind getting that in my hot little hands.  Hint, hint.}   It's always nice to get new soups for the official soup season.


Broccoli Cheddar Soup 
Submitted by Sarah S.

1 stick butter
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, thinly chopped
2 carrots, grated
about 1lb fresh broccoli, chopped well
1 red pepper, finely diced
5 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 cups half and half
3/4 cup flour
16oz cheddar cheese, shredded
4oz whipped or very soft cream cheese
salt and pepper
dash of hot sauce
dash of nutmeg 

1- In large soup pan or dutch oven celery, onion, red pepper and carrots in butter until soft. 
2- Add chicken stock and broccoli and cook at medium heat broccoli is done (15-20 min)
3- Season with salt and pepper (you will need a fair amount of each.) 
4- Whisk together the flour and water to form a slurry
5- Add slurry to cream cheese to soup and increase heat to thicken. 
6- Add cheese until melted. 
7- Add half and half, nutmeg, hot sauce and more fresh ground pepper and heat through. 


Curry Squash Soup
Submitted by Amanda W.

1 butternut squash, cut lengthwise, seeds scooped out and discarded
2 large onions, peeled and cut into quarters
1 head of garlic, top trimmed so you cna see the cloves; wrapped in tinfoil
 6 cups of broth
bay leaf
1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
Preheat oven to 350. Place first three ingredients on baking sheet with enough water to cover bottom of sheet. Cook for one hour.
Squeeze cloves out from garlic and scoop cooked squash out from skin. Puree squash, onions and garlic in blender with some of the broth. Pour into soup pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer ten minutes. Serve with spoon of yogurt or sour cream on top.


Booba's Soup (but if I had to give it a proper name I'd call it "Chicken & Rice")
Submitted by Angela (Booba) H.

2 T Butter
1/2 onion chopped
2 t. minced garlic
2 carrots chopped into small pieces
1 stalk of celery chopped into small pieces
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms if desired
8 c. Chicken broth*
2+ c. cooked shredded chicken*
*It really tastes best if you boil an entire chicken and use that chicken broth and debone and clean the chicken to use that but that takes a lot of work and time so its totally up to you.
1/2 c. uncooked wild rice
1t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 c. half N half

In a pot, melt butter and cook onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add everything else but the half N half. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer on med-low for about 45 minutes (until rice is tender). add half N half. Heat until hot and serve (do not boil after the half N half is added.)  Also, I guessed on the amount of chicken broth so if its not enough, add more or water.   Its pretty hard to mess up so you can probably add more or less of anything. Season to your taste.

Creamy Potato & Ham
Submitted by Jami R.


This soup is SO creamy but not fatty....instead of cream I add Cream cheese (the 1/3 less fat kind) It's AWESOME and YUMMY:

5-6 cubed and boiled med potatoes
2 cups chicken stock
3 cups milk
3 TBLS spoons butter
3 TBLS flour
1 tea garlic
1 tea celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 8oz block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded ham
1 cup Cheddar cheese

In med to large pot melt butter, add flour and stir to make rue. Add cream cheese and milk. stir until cream cheese is melted. Add the rest of ingredients to the
pot and heat through! Enjoy!

Here's some exciting news: recipes are now easier to find on my blog!  I have redone The Mixing Bowl page & it is now an index of all the recipes I post.  This should help you find recipes & meal ideas easier.  Let me know what you think or if it's working right.

Helpmate

 I do most of my cooking from recipe cards.  I like to have my recipes where I can easily read them & they won't get covered in food.  A few years ago I randomly put a recipe card in a photo holder (I think my counters were covered in stuff, including a photo holder & I stuck my recipe card in it out of desperation to make sense of chaos)... and I was hooked!  I love that the recipes are up out of harms way where I can read them.  And the recipe card holding device takes up very little room when not in use.  Last plus, it's super duper cheap!  You probably have one of these sitting around your house right now.  If not you can pick one up almost anywhere for cheap.  They also make great gifts.
Since I think all cooks should have the opportunity to use one of these cute "recipe card holders" I'm giving away two of them this weekend.  I will announce 2 winners Sunday evening.  All you have to do to get in the running for one of these babies is tell us all what your plans are for this weekend in the comments section below.

I will be hanging out at home & relaxing & going to church.  It's a very rare weekend for us because we do not have people in the house besides our family.  Oh, & I may attempt making won tons... I'm horrible at Asian food so this is quiet an undertaking.  What are you doing this weekend?

A Good Gift Idea...

 Today I'm featuring the work of my friend Jami from Scrappy Chic.  She does amazing shabby sheek projects in almost any form.  I love so many of her ideas, you must check out her blog.

One of my favorite items that Jami does are these pre-made scrap books.  This is one I got for my preggo sis-in-law.  At the time the sex & name of the baby, so this one is generic.  Still so cute!
She makes these one out of paper lunch bags.  So adorable.

 The lunch bag pages make for these great little pockets to hold keepsakes & memories.
 She even fills the pockets with these cute little cards for you to write down thoughts, memories, etc.
This is how the pages look, all you need to do is add the pictures.  Perfect for the time-crunched & scrap book challenged like me.
I had her make this one for my son JoJo- notice the initials.
Here's what it can look like with the pictures inserted.
Here's the book I got for my daughter Danica.
This kind is a little bigger & is made out of cardstock rather than paper bags.
At the back is that cute pocket stuffed with memory/milestone cards.  So pretty & girlie.  These pre-made scrapbooks are the perfect baby shower gift.
Here is some other stuff I've had Jami make for me.  My awesomely huge & cute recipe box.  A perfect Mother's Day gift.
My calendar.  Love this because I don't mind having it on the wall in my kitchen.  It's not embarrassing like the free ones you get from the farm equipment guys.  Plus, I ordered it in September & had her make it from then through 2011- so custom.
I love that it has the general colors & idea for that month, but not the generic iconic symbols that most calendars have.  These would make great birthday gifts.
scrappy chic
So, if you need a little gift for someone (yourself included) or you want some home decor inspiration check out Jami's blog for some ideas or to contact her for custom made items.