potato cheese soup

sorry it's been a while since i last posted. the cord for my camera to get my pictures on to the computer went mia, but thankfully i found it last night. so here we go! the other night i made potato cheese soup. it was perfect for a sunless rainy day. i got the recipe from Renee's cookbook, but i added carrots to the recipe to give the soup some texture. my mom always made this soup for us kids growing up and i love it!

Potato Cheese Soup
SERVES: 4
 Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 c. boiling water, lightly salted
2 medium-sized carrots, diced
Milk
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
Pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
[1] Add potatoes and onion to boiling water. Cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
[2] Meanwhile cook carrots in microwave or over stove until tender.
[3] Mash tender potatoes and onions lightly; do not drain.
[4] Add milk to make soup about 5 cups.
[5] Blend butter, flour, salt, and pepper. Stir into potato mixture.
[6] Cook and stir until mixture thickens, then add tender carrots and cheese. Cook until cheese is partially melted. Serve immediately.

family dinner

my brother, Jesse, just graduated last sunday from his jockey program and came back home for a week off before he heads to Maryland (read more here). it's been great having him around! last night we had a family dinner with the whole family minus Jon & Kali, because they're having too much fun in Argentina or New Zealand...wherever they are in the southern hemisphere! (read more here).  anyways, i had the pleasure of making dinner for everyone last night! i made skillet chicken and ravioli, parmesan zucchini and a baguette on the side, with double-chocolate swirl pound cake for desert. lucky for us, the weather was beautiful so we were able to eat outside. it was so much fun sitting out on our back deck with the family, laughing and sharing over supper. my family loved the meal. however, i adjusted the recipe for the skillet a bit, because turns out our local IGA doesn't have such delicacies as frozen ravioli (i didn't have time to make my own). i used  tortellini as a substitute, which worked out fine. the recipe also called for mushrooms, which i was hesitant to put in because i am not that big of a mushroom fan, but i decided to give it a go. i'm so glad i did because i absolutely loved them! the mushrooms were also my dad's favorite part of the dish and my brother, who feels the same way on mushrooms as i do, loved them too! lesson learned: try the foods you don't like because they might just surprise you! the dessert was really good too, but my only complaint would be, as usual, double the glaze!

Recipes:

Skillet Chicken Ravioli
TIME: 30 minutes SERVES: 4 (i doubled this recipe for my family)
Ingredients:

Kosher salt
1 9-ounce package small cheese ravioli
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Freshly ground pepper
8 ounces white mushrooms, halved
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, basil or a combination

Directions: 

[1] Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook as the label directs; drain, then drizzle with olive oil and toss.
[2] Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken; cook, undisturbed, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring, 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate.
[3] Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and continue to cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 more minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic and vinegar and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet, then add the ravioli, broth and parmesan; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Top with the parsley.

For the Parmesan Zucchini all i did was saute the zucchini and sprinkle parmesan on top when they were tender. Delicious and easy way to cook zucchini.

Double-Chocolate Swirl Pound Cake

TIME: 1 hour 26 minutes SERVES: 16

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups sugar 
1/3 cup canola oil 
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) 
3.4 ounces whole-wheat pastry flour (about 3/4 cup) [ can substitute for all-purpose]
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light sour cream 
1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
1 teaspoon canola oil 
1 ounce chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
Baking spray with flour

Glaze: [double this]
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk 
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

[1] Preheat oven to 350°.

[2] Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating until incorporated. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

[3] Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level. Combine flours, powder, soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Combine sour cream and 1/4 cup milk. Add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

[4] Combine 1 teaspoon canola oil and chopped bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa. Remove 2 1/2 cups vanilla batter; add to chocolate mixture, and stir.

[5] Using 2 ice-cream scoops or 2 large spoons, add batters alternately to a 10-cup Bundt pan coated with baking spray; swirl.

[6] Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

[7] Combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Orange-Glazed Baked Chicken

last night was they very first time i hosted potluck. my friend and i are in it together as a "couple". since i hosted the potluck at my house, it was my duty to cook the meat. i knew i wanted to do chicken breasts and i thought something citrusy would be fun. i found a recipe for orange-glazed baked chicken in our church cook book. it looked like it would be perfect, but i decided to do a trial run on my family the week before. the recipe called for a cut-up chicken, but i adapted the cooking time to make it work for boneless skinless chicken breasts. after my family and i taste tested it, we all decided that it would be better with a few alterations: rub the chicken in salt before coating the chicken with the flour mixture and double the sauce so there would be extra to pour over it after serving. with these few minor changes, the chicken turned out wonderfully and delicious! i loved that the dish was not too complicated and involved, but still looked beautiful.

for my family i served rice on the side with the chicken

my version of Orange Glazed Baked Chicken

SERVES: 8 TIME: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

8 (6 oz.) Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c. Butter

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

salt

Glaze:

1 c. Brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch

2 c. Orange juice

Directions: 

[1] Preheat oven to 375. Melt the margarine or butter in a 9x13-inch baking dish. 

[2] Mix the flour and paprika. Rub the chicken in salt then coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Place in the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. 

[3] Turn the breasts over and continue baking for another 10 minutes. 

[4] While chicken bakes, make the glaze. Blend the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the orange juice. Heat the mixture until clear.

[5] Pour the glaze over the chicken, reserving about 3/4 c. for extra sauce, and continue to bake another 10 minutes, or until chicken is nice and tender.

[6] Serve chicken with the extra sauce on the side.