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What a Crock (of Cream of Broccoli Soup)!

Well not quite a crock, but at least it’s a nice pot of cream of broccoli soup. There are lots of recipes for different cream of vegetable soups, and they all seem pretty much the same to me. You basically cook the vegetables you want until they are done, puree it and re-heat it with some cream. This recipe, which I got from Mark Bittman, does a slight variation that seems to taste better to me. He uses a little more cream and adds either some white rice or a potato to the soup to help make it thicker and creamier. You can choose to leave the rice or potato out of the recipe if your like your soup with a thinner consistency; I personally prefer to have it thicker.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

4 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup white rice or 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into quarters

4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cream or half-and-half

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Combine the broccoli, rice (or potato) and stock in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook until the broccoli is very tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree through a food mill, blender or food processor. (At this point, you may refrigerate the soup, covered, for up to 2 days; re-heat before proceeding).

Return the soup to the pot and re-heat over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add the cream. Heat through again, garnish, and serve.

Just a couple of notes about this soup. I am using homemade chicken broth, but any broth or even water will do nicely. For a soup like this, homemade broth doesn’t really make a huge difference since it’s not really the star of the meal, and if you’re going with a vegetarian meal, use vegetable stock or water. As far as pureeing soup, I think the blender probably works best of all your options. It reduces chunky ingredients into a smooth consistency very quickly. I often use the food processor myself for this, but be sure you only fill the food processor half-way to prevent the soup from leaking out of the bowl. Food processors don’t usually have a watertight seal like a blender, so be careful. Another option for this would be to use the immersion blender, which I also use often for soups. You can place it right in the pot, eliminating the mess created by using the blender or food processor. The only downside to this method is that the immersion blender doesn’t give you quite as smooth of a puree as a blender or food processor.

I’ll be serving a crunchy loaf of bread I got at Adams Farms this morning, and that’s all we have for this meal. Tomorrow’s meal is another one pot meal that I’ll be doing. It is Artichokes, Potatoes, Garlic, Olives and Shrimp. It’s something different, our seafood meal of the week, and cooks like a stew. It should be a good one. Check back tomorrow to see what it’s all about. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

Nothing Better Than Cooking a Meal Ahead of Time

24 Jan

Today I was really glad we had cooked tonight’s meal ahead of time. It was a crazy day and I haven’t had a lot of free time to do things like blog or cook. Luckily, we had made tonight’s dinner for the meal plan on Sunday night and refrigerated it, so it was just a matter of re-heating and serving. Tonight is Potato Soup with a side salad and some crusty bread. Nothing fancy tonight, and it is our meat-less night of the week and this one really hits the spot. Potato soup is one of my favorites and it is so easy to make. The prep time is simple and then it just cooks on the stove. It also freezes really well if you want to save some for another day or use for lunches (This is a good kid’s school lunch if you can send them with a thermos. This soup is one of Sean’s favorites).

Potato-Leek Soup

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter

2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced and rinsed thoroughly

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups chicken broth (I use homemade, use that or store-bought. If you use store-bought, try to go low-sodium)

2-3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 3/4 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (we used large russets this time and only used 3 or 4. Red potatoes also work well with this dish)

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Stir in the leeks and the garlic. Cover and cook until the leeks are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the broth, carrots, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup (or use an immersion blender or pour some of the soup into a food processor and puree, then return it to the pot with the rest of the soup). Discard the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Another quick entrée in the books. I like one pot meals from the clean up standpoint as well. A couple of notes about this soup. We usually let it cook longer, maybe an extra 15 minutes or so, because we like thicker soups. If you like more liquid, don’t thicken the potatoes or add a little milk or cream instead of thickening the potatoes. Also, if you have never prepared leeks before, leeks tend to be very dirty and gritty and need lots of rinsing. My best bet for preparing them: trim and discard the root and the green leaves. Slice the trimmed leek in half lengthwise, then cut it into 1/2-inch pieces. Then rinse the cut leeks thoroughly in a bowl of water to remove dirt and sand. Make sure you really sweat the leeks down before you add the liquid in this recipe. We use 2 large leeks, and they sweat down to next to nothing by the time they are done, so you could use even more if you want to, or even add an onion in for some extra flavor.

Wow, it seems like I am cheating since that is basically the whole meal tonight. The salad we are making is just mixed greens that I purchased in the bag and rinsed, added some English cucumber and shaved carrots and some black olives. You could use any dressing you like, or not at all. last week, I posted a recipe for Balsamic Vinaigrette. That’s a family favorite. We’re not using this vinaigrette today, but this Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette is tasty and simple to make.

Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 shallot, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Shake all of the ingredients together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring it to room temperature and shake vigorously to re-combine before using.

Throw in a loaf of your favorite crusty bread (I love Ciabatta myself) and you are all set with a very easy meal. It’s hearty, it’s filling, it’s good for you and it’s great for a winter’s night, even if it is pretty warm for January here right now.

With my schedule being kind of hectic the last few days, I haven’t had a chance to get to the fish market yet, so we are moving the fish meal to Thursday and making one of my favorite meals tomorrow – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and Brussel Sprouts. I’ll go to the fish market Thursday and get something fresh to make. Any suggestions? I am pretty open-minded when it comes to fish and will try just about anything. I am trying not to break the bank though on the cost, so try to keep that in mind if you have any suggestions as far as the fish goes.

Other than that, I hope everyone has a great night and thanks for reading the blog. I am grateful for whatever visits I get here, and to have had over 200 in a short time to me is pretty good, so I thank you for following. If your planning on watching President Obama tonight, make yourself a nice cocktail and relax so you don’t get too agitated by what you may hear, one way or the other. Enjoy your evening and happy cooking!