Broccoli Potato Soup
Slow Cooker Easy. Broccoli Potato Soup with chicken that can be made pureed or chunky. Healthy, easy AND tasty…what more could you want?
Ingredients:
3 Large Broccoli Crowns (diced)
3 Cloves Garlic (minced)
2 qts. Organic Chicken Broth
2 Large Chicken Breasts (chopped-raw)
10 Small Red Potatoes (diced)
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 teas. Parsley
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Directions: dice veggies, chicken, potatoes and dump all ingredients into a slow cooker (except cheese). Cook on high for 4-6 hours until vegetables and potatoes are tender.
If you want the less chunky version: drain broth through a strainer over a large bowl, separating potatoes and chicken from the broccoli and onions. Place the chicken and potatoes back in the slow cooker and toss the broccoli back into your strained broth (don’t be too picky about this). Find the bay leaves and discard them. Take broccoli/onion/broth mixture and puree to your desired consistency. Pour pureed “veggie” broth back over the chicken and potatoes in the slow cooker. Add about a half cup of Parmesan cheese and return to high for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Enjoy!
Jewish Apple Cake
Think apples + pound cake. This great cake is perfect for dessert or in the morning with tea. It gets better with age—make it the day before and store in an airtight container.
Ingredients:
3 cups Flour
2 1/2 teas. Baking Powder
1 teas. Salt
2 cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Orange Juice
2 teas. Vanilla
4 Eggs (beaten)
Apples:
5 Granny Smith Apples (peeled and chopped)
5 T. Sugar
1 T. Cinnamon
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease your bundt pan (perhaps even use parchment paper on the bottom). Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil, OJ, vanilla and 4 eggs (beaten already). Simple. Peel and chop your apples (I made them pretty small). Toss with the sugar and cinnamon.
To assemble the cake there are a couple options: layer half of cake batter in the bottom of the pan, cover with half the apples, cover that with the remainder of the cake batter and layer remaining apples on the top. If you choose this method, be very careful taking the cake out of the pan—it needs to cool completely or you risk the cake fracturing at the middle apple layer. You can also fold 2/3 of the apples into the cake batter and pour into the bundt pan, then top with remainder of the apples. Having apples on the top is a must! Bake for 70 to 90 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (rotating cake several times through the baking!). Enjoy!
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
A simple, fantastic, and delicious dessert. That is all.
Ingredients:
5 Lbs. Granny Smith Apples (peeled and chopped)
2 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 teas. Cinnamon
1 teas. Nutmeg
Optional: Zest of one lemon, Zest of one orange & 2 T. Orange Juice
Topping
1 1/2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teas. Salt
1 cup Oatmeal
2 sticks cold unsalted Butter
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Generously butter a 9x14” baking dish. Toss you chopped apples with the juice, ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and zest (if using it) and arrange your chopped apples in the bottom of the buttered dish.
To make the topping, combine flour, two sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until its blended and crumbly (will be pea sized bits). Scatter the topping evenly over your apples (I found this made a lot and pressed some of it into the apples a bit which came out wonderful with the bubbly juice of the apples).
Bake for approximately one hour with foil or a sheet pan underneath to avoid the juice spilling on the bottom of your oven. The top should be golden brown and bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! ENJOY!
Note: When I first made it I cut the recipe down to only a 1/3 using a 3x5” ceramic baking dish for a little apple crisp for two! I also omitted all the zest and it was still fabulous. Make sure you use a tart apple like Granny Smith.
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa.
Beef Bourguignon (Beef Stew)
Cold weather food. Time to break out that crock-pot! For weeks, I have thought about attempting the perfect stew. After perusing recipes for stews and french beef bourguignon’s, I came up with this recipe (and crossed my fingers!). Luckily, it turned out fabulous!
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Reserve Beef Chuck
3 T. Flour
2 T. Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Onion
1 lb Red Potatoes
5 - 6 Carrots
1 Cup Red Wine
1 Small Can Tomato Paste
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 Cups Stock (Chicken or Beef)
1/4 teas. Ground Mustard
1/2 teas. Garlic Powder
1 T. Parsley
1/2 T. Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
1 T. Cornstarch
Salt and Pepper to Taste (generous)
Directions: Get out your crock-pot and prep your veggies. Chop (do not dice) onion. Peel and chop carrots into large inch sized chunks. Wash and chop your potatoes into a similar size. Drop them all into the crock-pot. Add tomato paste, stock, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings (except cornstarch).
Slice 1 to 1.5” chunks of beef chuck (usually you can find it pre-cut in your deli). Toss the beef in a bowl and coat with flour and ½ teas. salt. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and brown beef lightly (I did this very gingerly maximum of five minutes). When you finish browning, toss the meat into the crock pot. Keep the same skillet over medium heat and throw in onions. Add your red wine and leave on to simmer. Simmer the onions for 3 to 5 minutes until the wine begins to reduce (to no less than 1/2 cup). And you guessed it…add to the crock-pot.
Turn the crock on high and cook for 4 to 6 hours. Taste along the way and season generously with salt and pepper (estimate that this is at least 1 teas salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). After 3 hours, mix 1 T. cornstarch with some broth (taken from the pot) in a cup until cornstarch is dissolved. Mix this rue into your stew and continue to cook until vegetables are tender, broth is thick and stew is ready. Enjoy!
Kitchen Sink Brownies: Cookie Dough, Oreo, Fudginess
Brace yourself. These brownies are over the top. A layer of cookie dough, oreos and classic brownies will send you over the edge. Make sure you have plenty of milk on hand when they are done!
Brownie Layer:
10 T. unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
Oreo layer:
1 package of Double Stuff Oreos
Cookie Dough layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat oven to 350, line a 9x9 pan with foil and spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is melted. Whisk to combine and remove from heat. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and continuously whisk until the eggs are combined. Add the flour and continue to mix. Set batter aside. Now make the cookie dough! Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat until well combine. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Fold in the chocolate chips and press into the bottom of your 9x9 pan. Layer 16 oreos (4x4) on top of the cookie dough. Next, pour and spread the brownie batter on top of the oreo layer and make sure it’s evenly layers on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes. If the knife comes out clean they are done! ENJOY!
Recipe courtesy of What’s Gaby Cooking.
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