Green Soup

It's really Broccoli Cheese Soup. Our three-year old Alex, can't say broccoli cheese soup. He can say, "Green Soup."

The original recipe came from America's Test Kitchen (a TV program that's likely on your local PBS station - I highly recommend watching it.) It flips the idea of a cheese soup on it's head. The soup isn't just green, it tastes like broccoli. Yum!

2 tbsp. butter
2 lbs. broccoli chopped into 1-inch pieces. This can include both the florets and stems, though you may need to peel tougher stems. (I GUESS you can use up to one lb frozen broccoli, but then the fresh better have been picked today...)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or put through a garlic press
1 1/2 tsps. dry mustard power
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3-4 cups water
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups chicken broth
2 oz baby spinach (about 2 cups loosely packed)
3 oz shredded "orange" cheese (preferably a nice sharp cheddar, but a Colby works too)
1.5 oz shredded parmesan cheese (the good stuff, not the powdery bottled variety)

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium high heat. Add the broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard powder and cayenne. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until the scent makes you inhale deeply and smile :)

Add one cup of water and the baking soda. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook the mixture for 20 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking. At the end, the result should look like a mushy mess. If there are any hard bits, cook a little longer.

Add broth and 2 cups of water. Bring the soup back to a simmer, and stir in spinach. Cook the spinach until wilted, about a minute or two.

Now, you have two choices.

IF YOU HAVE AN IMMERSION BLENDER:

Use your immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot until smooth. Stir in the cheese, a handful at a time.

IF YOU HAVE A BLENDER:

Ladle about half of the hot soup into your blender, add about half of the cheese, and whizz until smooth. Repeat with the other half of the soup and the other half of the cheese. Return the soup to the pot and stir.

Now is the best part :) Top with more shredded parmesan, croutons, pieces of toast or hearty rye crackers. Enjoy!

Steak Soup

I grew up in a rural area, where purchasing an entire section of a cow was common. Now that I have a family of my own, we occasionally do the same.

When you purchase an entire section, you end up with cuts of meat that you might not normally purchase at the grocery store. Round steak is one of those cuts. I have several packages in my freezer and didn't really know what to do with them - enter my brilliant intern who waxed poetic about her mom's soup. This isn't her mom's recipe, she left before I could get it from her, but I think this one is flavorful.

2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs boneless beef round steak, cut into cubes
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water
4 sprigs fresh parsley (or a dried equivalent)
2 tsbp chopped celery leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups sliced celery

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, stir in the steak and onions. Cook and stir until the meat and onions are browned (10 minutes?) Drain away excess fat and return meat to pan.

While the beef is cooking, mix together flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the browned meat and stir to coat.

In a large soup pot, pour in the beef broth and water. Stir in the parsley, celery leaves, bay leaf and marjoram. Stir in beef mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 45 minutes.

Mix in the potatoes, carrots and celery. Bring the soup back to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender - 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot.

Rice Noodle Soup

There are times when I crave this soup. I think it's the cilantro, or maybe it's the tender shrimp... You'll notice when you read the recipe, it's not terribly precise. Soup rarely is.

8 oz package thin rice noodles (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 lb medium shrimp, cleaned and shelled (save the shells!) You can also use uncooked cubed chicken.
1/2 lb baby bok choy, broccoli or celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms (canned work ok)
2 tbsp fish sauce (I sometimes don't have it and omit it)
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (I usually only have dried)

Cook noodles according to package directions (usually boil water, let the noodles stand in the heated water off heat then rinse them with cold water.) Divide the noodles between 4 bowls.

Meanwhile, if you saved the shells from the shrimp, put the shells into the chicken stock and microwave it for one minute. (If you didn't, that's ok.) Remove the shells.

Add the chicken stock and one cup of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to heat to medium, add the shrimp, vegetables and mushrooms and cook until the shrimp are cooked through (opaque) and vegetables are tender. Stir in the fish sauce and cilantro. Remove from heat.


Fill each bowl of noodles with hot soup, taking care to evenly distribute all the ingredients (no hogging shrimp!) 

Guacamole

My husband loves guacamole. I hate it. I've tried it; I really I have. I just don't like it.
Interestingly, I apparently make a good Guac (a testament to the love I have for my husband) and have received a number of requests for the recipe.

1 jalapeno chile, top removed then quartered. Remove the seeds and membranes if you like. I don't.
1 medium onion, quartered
2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (sent through a garlic press)
4 tbsp dried cilantro
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
4 ripe avocados
1/2 tsp of salt

You'll need a food processor. Toss in the jalapeno and onion. Pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until creamy. Add a little more juice if needed. Taste. Adjust as necessary.