Roasted Potato Soup

Even though it rarely gets cold here in the winter I still like to pretend it does by turning down the AC, lighting a fire, and cooking soup =)  My newest concoction is my family's new favorite soup. My husband's words last night, "You need to add this one to your blog!"

I combined a few recipes that I've saved over the years and added a few of my own ingredients to use up some fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden. This soup is packed full of nutrients...potatoes, leeks (Don't be afraid to use these if you've never tried them! It's a type of onion. Branch out and I promise you won't regret it!), arugula, and cauliflower.

                                                             Loving my painted rocks =)

Roasted Potato Soup

Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks

4 leeks, chopped (white and light green parts only, cleaned of all sand)

olive oil

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 cups baby arugula 

1/2 cup of dry white wine

6-7 cups of chicken stock (I use reduced sodium.)

2 cups of milk (I use milk instead of all of the fattening creams, and I think it tastes great)

4 cloves of garlic sliced

1 1/2 cups shredded aged white cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon of  chopped fresh thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Optional: crumbled cooked bacon and extra cheese to top each bowl of soup

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Put cauliflower on a separate pan. Drizzle both pans of food with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes turning with a spatula a few times until tender. Add the arugula, garlic slices, and thyme and toss to combine. Roast for 4-5 more minutes, until the arugula is wilted.

In a large pot over medium heat,  add all of the vegetables and herbs. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pans to get any crispy roasted bits (this is the best part!). Add chicken stock and white wine. Simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Puree everything together with an immersion blender. *If you don't have an immersion blender add the vegetables to a food processor or regular blender before adding all of the chicken stock! The immersion blender is my favorite kitchen tool! Put it on your Christmas list ;)*

Add milk and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. 

Optional: Serve with a garnish of cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon, garlic bread, and pair it with a sweet white wine.

 If you're lucky enough to have an amazing neighbor like me...you can cook and drink it with this! Thanks Emmily for my early Christmas gift ha!

Light Garden Pasta

I'm loving my cherry tomatoes this year! I have several ripe tomatoes every day from just 2 plants.
My favorite way to use them is in this Light Garden Pasta. I love that you don't need butter or heavy cream to make it tasty!
Here's what you'll need:

Cherry tomatoes - couple of heaping handfuls ( I added an heirloom tom. from the garden because my family eats the cherry tom. like candy off the counter!)
Olive oil
Garlic 4 cloves, minced or pressed
12 large basil leaves, julienned (sliced)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
3/4 lb. angel hair pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 cups fresh whole spinach leaves

**Quick tip on Slicing Basil "Julienne" style:

 Stack the basil leaves

 Roll up long ways

 Slice

 Ta-Dah! Quick and fancy =)

Cook pasta according to directions (add a splash of olive oil to the pot of water). Drain and set aside.
Drizzle a little olive oil in a saute pan over med. heat. Saute spinach for 3-5 minutes. Add cherry tom. and garlic. Saute 1 minute and remove from heat. (Careful not to burn the garlic!)
Toss remaining ingredients and a drizzle of olive oil in a bowl. Combine and toss everything together including the pasta. Serve with extra fresh julienned basil and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

If you want a "hardier" dish, you can add grilled chicken or shrimp scampi (LOVE!) to it.

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks

Over the last few weeks, I've had several people ask what to do with the abundance of zucchini from their garden or farmer's markets. This is one of my and my kids' favorite ways to cook it =)

1/2 cup fine, dry Italian breadcrumbs (I sometimes use panko to change it up)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium zucchini
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Canola oil or Olive Oil
sprinkle of salt
Optional: I like to serve them dipped in marinara or spaghetti sauce.
( I scaled it down to one zucchini in the pics bc I made it for lunch for just me and the boys)

Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Cut zucchini in half crosswise; cut each half into 8 sticks. Like this:

Dip zucchini sticks in egg; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.
Pour oil to a depth of almost an inch into a Dutch oven or large heavy saucepan (medium high heat). Just wanted an excuse to show off my favorite cooking piece! ;)

Fry zucchini sticks in hot oil just until coating is golden. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and a little more Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Can serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce...really good!

Find 2 cute little boys to help you eat them =)

Super Healthy Summer Smoothie

This is our go-to smoothie recipe in our house during the summer. I love how healthy it is! It's naturally sweet this time of year because all of the berries are ripening =) It's easy to tweak if you want to change some ingredients up.

Toss all of these ingredients in a blender:
1 banana
2 heaping handfuls of berries - I usually do a mixture...strawberries, blackberries, rasberries, and blueberries.
1 cup of low fat greek yogurt - I use plain bc it has no sugar. Feel free to get vanilla or flavored to sweeten it up a bit.
2 handfuls of ice
splash of juice - Here I used apple bc it's what I had, but my favorite is orange juice.
1 TBS Wheat Germ -I always sneak this into my kids snacks for the health benefits, and they never know =)
Handful of Sliced Frozen Peaches - I didn't have these on hand this time around, but I find that they make it so much creamier...yum!
Drizzle of Honey (optional for a sweeter taste)
Blend Together.

Heirloom Tomato Flatbread Pizza Recipe

This is what you'll need:
1 Heirloom Tomato - Can use regular tom. as well. I prefer the yellow because they are sweeter. I just planted the yellow ones in the garden for the first time :)
Red pepper
Few cloves of garlic, cut each clove into 3 pieces (I like the chunks of garlic)
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
Flat Bread ( I like the brand below because it is low in calories, sugar, and fat)
Preheat oven 400 degrees. Saute sliced peppers and garlic in olive oil on stove for about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels to remove extra oil. Put flat bread on pizza stone and sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella. Put in oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Add sliced tomatoes topped with salt and pepper. *If you want to get fancy you can drizzle with a LITTLE bit of basil oil. Top with red peppers and some more Parmesan. Put back in oven until the Parmesan melts and turns a little brown ( I put mine under the broiler for a quick minute). Remove from oven and top with garlic and fresh basil. Enjoy!
*Option Basil Oil:
Put 1/4 cup basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds. Carefully remove with slotted spoon and place in food processor or blender with 1/3 cup olive oil. Puree. Drain with mesh strainer. Using oil and discarding basil.
Can use left over oil that you don't use on tomatoes broiled in the oven (one of my favorites!) or pasta.

What to plant now...Peek in my Garden

Love this time of year! I just finished planting my spring/summer beds. I put the metal cages over all of my plants this year in "attempt" to keep my dog from digging them up...we'll see how that works! This year I bought all of my plants at Home Depot. I get the "Bonnie" plants there because they use a minimal amount of pesticides.
Here's a list of some plants you can buy now (it's too late to plant most seeds): peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, basil, oregano, squash, zucchini, beans (buy the seed).
If you are buying eggplant, there are many different types. The ones I see most of in the garden nurseries are "black beauty". I along with 2 of my neighbors have never had any luck with them. They have beautiful leaves and flowers, but the flowers fall off and never pollinate. I've had the best luck with the white, lavendar, and "ichabon" eggplants. Hope this helps :)