Cream of Asparagus Soup

I know it seems strange to want soup in the middle of Summer but I've been in the mood for it! I've been wanting to make this one for awhile and I'm glad I did. I love finding soup recipes that are good and simple enough to make again. Much to my surprise and delight, the kids couldn't get enough of it and they loved dipping the asparagus spears (used for garnish) in the soup.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. green asparagus
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Directions:
Cut tips from 12 asparagus
1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick and reserve for garnish.
Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2 -inch pieces.
Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of broth then simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15-20 minutes. While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling, salted water, until just tender, 3-4 minutes, then drain. Puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth, transferring to a bowl, then return to pan. Stir in heavy cream, then add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil and whisk remaining tablespoon butter.
Add lemon juice and garnish with asparagus tips!

Who Doesn't Like Broccoli?

My daughter, that's who! I never buy it because of this and secretly, because I'm not so much a fan, either. I mean, who craves broccoli? Anyway, I broke down and bought it because it's good for you and even though my kids eat a good amount of other veggies, broccoli is one of those super veggies that I feel they need to learn to like and we should eat more. While googleing "broccoli recipes that kids will enjoy", I came across this recipe and made it tonight. It was so good! Both our kids gobbled it down and asked for more. It is broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce. Doesn't sound too original and sure, you could just go to the store and buy Velveeta but this was so much better in taste and making it from scratch allows you to modify the recipe to your liking and also to make it a little healthier since you know all the ingredients. I also learned that by roasting the broccoli, it totally makes a difference in taste. The hubby and I thought the cheese sauce would make for an amazing fondue sauce too and couldn't get enough. I'll be hitting the gym tomorrow extra hard. :)

Ingredients
4 cups broccoli florets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli florets, olive oil and salt together. Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or just until color is vibrant.
2. Melt butter in skillet, and whisk flour. Add spices. Whisk well and cook for 2-3 minutes while constantly whisking. Add milk and bring to a boil while whisking. After it boils, let it thicken and turn burner off. Add cheese and whisk in to melt. Remove from burner or turn it off.
3. Spoon over broccoli before serving.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

100% without a doubt the best homemade macaroni and cheese recipe you will ever eat. The mix of cheeses give it a gourmet taste w/out taking away from the OG goodness of good ol' Mac and Cheese. This recipe has been tried and tested by some of the biggest food lover's I know. Another recipe from the kitchen of my bestie Elishia. I made it a couple times last winter and the entire family was happy. I normally only crave something like this when it's cold outside but I resurrected it for my step-dad's birthday since I'm pretty sure Mac and Cheese is one of his favorite foods ever. My sister-in-law made this recently for a friend's birthday also and served it with ribs. Great idea and great pairing! I think I'll make that combo next.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup oil
1 stick of butter or margarine cut into pieces
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (or substitute 1/2 the Velveeta with a blend of grated sharp cheddar cheese, Jarlsberg and jalapeno cheese)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/16 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk + a little more milk
1 (8oz.) bag shredded sharp Cheddar (2 cups)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
1. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water and 1/4 cup of oil. Bring to a boil. Cook macaroni in boiling water, approximately 9 minutes, until tender.
2. Slice butter and drop into crock pot. Turn crock pot on to melt butter while cooking pasta.
3. Drain macaroni, but do not rinse it. Place in slow cooker.
4. Add cubed Velveeta or grated cheese. Mix gently.
5. Mix egg, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. If you like it spicy you can add 1/4 tsp. of Tabasco sauce to egg mixture. Pour over macaroni. Add additional milk if necessary, to come up to 1" from the top of the macaroni. Don't cover the macaroni with milk!
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over top of macaroni.
7. Sprinkle top of cheese with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs.
8. Cook 4 hours on Low or 2 hours on High.
9. 6-10 servings.

Poppyseed Chicken

This is a dish that is easy and good to make for pot lucks, funerals, etc. I made it for my sister-in-law after she had baby Mia and they loved it. It is such a good comfort food.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut in small pieces
1 16 oz sour cream2 cans cream of chicken
2 tbls of poppyseeds (I don't measure - I just shake a ton in)
1 roll of Ritz crackers
1 stick of butter
white rice

Directions:

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serve over rice.

Crescent Pepperoni Rolls

This is the easiest appetizer/snack/finger food to make and is especially yummy for kids! I stole this recipe from Jordan's "Nana". There is is so much you can do with these crescent rolls but she gave me the idea to spread them with Mascarpone cheese, put Pepperoni on them and then roll them up and stick em' in the oven! They are not very low fat but I made them last weekend for the football game and they were D-lish!

Ingredients:
1 tub mascarpone cheese
1 bag of pepperoni
1 tube of Crescent dough

Directions:
Roll out the dough, tear along perforated edges to spread out each roll. Spread on the mascarpone cheese, add pepperoni and roll up into a crescent roll! Cook according to directions on the dough. Easy!

*You can always modify to make a slight difference with low-fat crescent dough and turkey pepperoni. *