Recipe Review - Fresh Broccoli Cream Soup

Post holidays, I'm looking for something simple, fresh, warm, and delicious. This creamy, vegetarian soup one hits the spot for me. Hope it does for you too!

Fresh Broccoli Cream Soup 
Ingredients - 4 c chopped fresh broccoli florets, 1 c chopped celery, 1 c chopped carrots, 1/2 onion, chopped, 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, 6 Tbsp all purpose flour, 3 c vegetable broth, 2 c whole milk, 1 tsp dry parsley (or 1 Tbsp fresh), 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Boil 2 cups of water. Add the broccoli, celery, and carrots. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In the same pot, saute the onion in butter until tender. Whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the milk and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring for 1 minute.
Add the vegetables, and the remaining ingredients, to the pot. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Serve with shredded cheese on top.

Recipe Review - Favorite Red Soups for Fall

Autumn Equinox. It's officially fall. I love fall. Just to be clear, I'm not fond of what follows, but the aromas, colors, and activities this time of year cannot be beat. We made a couple of our favorite red soups over the weekend, and prepared some upcoming fall themed crafts that should be a lot of fun for the coming weeks. Hopefully, you can enjoy one or both of these soups sometime in your Autumn celebrations too.

Triple Red Soup 

Ingredients - 1 red pepper, (chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1 clove garlic (crushed), 2 Tbsp olive oil, 14oz can diced tomatoes, 4c vegetable stock, 6 Tbsp quick cooking long grain rice, 2 Tbsp Worcestershire, 14oz can kidney beans (rinsed,drained), 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp sugar, salt, pepper, parsley & shredded cheddar to serve

Heat pepper, onion, and garlic in oil; cover & cook 5 minutes on low. Add all remaining ingredients, other than parsley and cheddar. Bring to boil. Stir and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cheddar. Serve w/ crusty bread!

Italian Cheese Ravioli Stew 

Ingredients - 2c chopped carrots, 1c chopped onion, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 - 15oz cans vegetable broth, 2 - 15 oz Italian diced tomatoes, 1 - 15oz can Cannelloni beans (rinsed/drained), 2 tsp dry basil, 10oz refrigerated cheese ravioli

Heat olive oil, and saute carrots and onion for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the ravioli. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Return to boil Add ravioli, and cook the additional time to cook the ravioli, typically 7-9 minutes. You can also make this in the slow cooker on low for ~6 hours, but eliminate the oil. Increase heat to high, and add ravioli. Cook additional 8 minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese and garlic toast.

Roald Dahl Day

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
   -- Roald Dahl

I just love Dahl's writing! From the classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the hilarious Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts and everything in between, I can't get enough. So, for Roald Dahl Day, I had to do a lunch AND dinner inspired by some of my favorite works. Be sure to visit  Lunches Fit For a Kid  and Bent On Better Lunches for more Dahl-icious ideas!

Wormy spaghetti complete w/ gummy worm (The Twits), chicken (Fantastic Mr. Fox), sharp cheddar cheese letters, peach slices (James & The Giant Peach), peas (The Witches), and cashews, butterscotch, and chocolate chips (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory) all in our giraffe bento box (The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me)

One of my personal favorites by Roald Dahl is The Witches. Witches from all over the world are attending their annual meeting, and their meal of choice is split pea soup. As a kid, I loved my mom's split pea soup, but I haven't eaten ham in a long, long time, so I really had to get the right recipe to capture that smoky flavor without the use of meat. I'm happy to say that the recipe I made, which was adapted from Taste of Home, was absolutely fabulous. No one missed the meat one bit!

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup 

Ingredients - 4 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups water, 2 cups dried green split peas (rinsed), 1 medium onion, chopped, 1 cup chopped carrot, 1 cup chopped celery, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp dry marjoram, 1/2 tsp dry basil, 3/8 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, sour cream (optional)

In a stock pot, mix the first 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and pepper and simmer another 10 minutes. You can serve as is at that point, or you can puree. It really depends on your preference. I used my immersion blender for the task of pureeing and achieved a silky smooth split pea soup.

You can also cook this soup in a crock pot on low for 2-3 hours. Add-ins can make your soup really unique too. Croutons with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese is one favorite!

We served ours last night with crusty bread and sour cream. Absolutely fantastic! I would make this again and again!

 And our project for today was a peach! The most fun was ripping up pin, orange, and yellow construction paper into bits. Then the bits were glued down, and the shape cut out when it was all dry. Add a stem and leaf, and tada!

 

In this lunch...