Home made Broccoli Cheese Soup

 Have you ever had one of "those" days,  You know the kind, the kind where no matter what something just doesn't work out? I am having a day like that. 

It is going to storm here in Nova Scotia tomorrow and as I had some free time I decided I would prepare some yummy soup to stave off the cold and snow.

Broccoli Cheese soup in fact. Here is the thing about broccoli cheese soup, it is wonderful thick and creamy. It is easy peasy to make. But here is the thing,- it cooks FAST. Like really really fast. Because of this I didn't get many pictures, I was busy making sure it didn't stick as it bubbled and thickened. 

But I did get a few so you will get the idea

Here is what you will need

3 good sized heads of fresh broccoli
1 diced onion
2 Cups of milk
2-3 Cups of sharp cheddar cheese
1 Cup of chicken stock
1 stick of butter about a half a cup
Half a cup of flour
2 Table spoons of fresh pepper
1 Teaspoon of salt

I start with the broccoli, if you don't have fresh you can use one package of frozen.

 Dice your broccoli and onion up any way you like, I like some chunks in mine so I chop it kind of big. (if you don't like onion you can leave it out if you like)

Now go grab a stock pot and melt your butter in there.

Once your butter is all melted toss in your veggies and stir them around, what you are going for here is bright green broccoli and your onion just starting to turn translucent.

Once your veggies are nice and bright, toss in your flour and stir that around, quickly add in your chicken stock, milk and seasonings.

Now here is the part where things get going quick, I find you have to stir constantly or it will start to burn, so stir, and stir and stir some more, every so often check the tenderness of your broccoli, once it tender remove your pot from the heat. (It should also be fairly thick at this point as well. If you find it too thick, just add a couple of splashes of chicken stock to thin it to your desired consistency)

This is the point where picture taking was all but forgotten :(

Now I use and emulsion blender to do my blending, if you don't have one you can use a blender but never fill your blender more than half, Hot liquid expands and you don't want it to explode all over your kitchen and you. Or you can use a potato masher if you are really energetic, I am not. I used the emulsion blender.

Now its time to add the cheese, place your pot back on the heat (medium low at this point) and stir in almost all of your cheese ( save a little for garnish later). Stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted.  Remove your pot from the heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes. 

Then its ready to serve ( I remembered to take pictures at this point) sprinkle some of the cheese for garnish on top and enjoy!

This makes about 6 servings and as for freezing truthfully it has never lasted long enough in our home to find out!

If you try it let me know how it turns out in the comments below!

Oven Roasted Spaghetti Sauce

The very first meal I ever made when I was cooking on my own was spaghetti. All those years ago I really didn't know what I was doing but over the years it has remained a staple in my home.  I have tweaked my recipe and thrown in a few twists of my own since then and it is now a real family favorite. On cold blustery days I make oven roasted Spaghetti, There is just something about your old favorite, hot and bubbly out of the oven with that slightly different roasted for hours flavor. It is very easy to make, In fact if you can make spaghetti on the stove top, you can make this.

Here is what you will need:

1.5 lbs of cooked ground beef
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 bottle of your favorite prepared tomato sauce
1 onion diced
1 Cup of chopped mushroom
2 Cups of your favorite bell peppers
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1.5 Teaspoons of garlic powder (or 2 cloves minced)
1 Teaspoon of fresh minced rosemary (about two stems)
1 Teaspoon of dried or fresh basil
 .5 Teaspoon of salt
1 Teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
1 Cup of grated parmesan (optional)

First prepare all of your veggies

I like my veggies kind of chunky but you can chop them as fine as you like.

Once you have them all chopped, add them to your frying pan with your olive oil and saute them until the onion is translucent and the veggies are just starting to soften. throw in a sprinkling of salt and some basil if you like (please excuse my frying pan Its old and has served me well but it will never look new again)

Once they are ready take those out and set them aside. Prepare your ground beef add your spices  (make sure it is cooked completely, drain it well.

Then add the beef and the veggies and your can of tomatoes and the juice to a large bowl.

Then add your tomato paste and mix it all up, then add your favorite sauce (if you have some you made from scratch then you are a queen and you should use that, me I use prepared sauce)

Once you have everything mixed up, it should look like this

At this point you can also add a cup of grated parmesan if you have it, if you don't want to you can leave it out. Then grab an oven crock or roaster and pour your lovely sauce in. I used this wonderful bean crock my mom gave me years ago, I have made so many wonderful meals in this thing.

Then you cover it up and pop it in the oven on 300 for about 4 hours, give it a stir every 45 minutes or so, it will darken and thicken, after about four hours spoon some over hot pasta and enjoy!

Its perfect for a cold blustery day, serve it with some hot buttered rolls or garlic bread. Its divine! 

This freezes really well, you can freeze some during the preparation if you think you have too much or after it is roasted. This recipe makes enough for a family of five but if you want less you can just reduce it if you like.

I hope you enjoy, let me know in the comments if you try it and like it.

Welcome to my kitchen

Hi there,

Welcome! I love to cook and I am told often that my recipes are pretty good, so I thought I would share them with you. Most are family recipes that I grew up with and now make for my own family and friends. In the past 20 years of cooking for my family some of them have evolved to be completely my own. I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think.

Keep watch over the next few days for some yummy creations, come and join me and lets eat!