Broccoli Cheese Soup with Potatoes - Slow Cooker

with a basketball game this last week that i had the joy of taking minihe along to, i planned ahead with a crock pot waiting for us with this winter favorite.  a special thank to my fil (father in-law) for actually getting out the crock pot and starting it up for me since i forgot!!  :)


i looked at probably ten different recipes for this kind of soup and found everything on the spectrum - things that were incredibly rich and incredibly bland; different ways to increase the thickness and creaminess.  i finally decided on the following hybrid.  i did all of the prep monday night while waiting for my shrimp to cure in their marinade so all i had to do in the morning was turn the crock on.


broccoli cheese soup with potatoes - slow cooker:
prep time - 30 minutes
cook time - 8-10 hours (on low) 4-5 (on high)
ingredients
3 heads broccoli, trimmed and chopped into small chunks
4 carrots, peeled and cut on the angle 
*the angle cut is probably not necessary but i think it looks nice when i eat soups that way in a restaurant, so when in rome, right?
1 medium onion, finely diced
10 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
*i happened to have both red and yukon, so i used 5 of both and, as you can see, they are fairly small
*you could also use other vegetables like celery, corn, peppers...
*i bet bacon would be good in this, just make sure to fry it first and crumble it in, reserving a few pieces to crumble fresh when you serve the soup
1 C velveeta cheese, cut into 1" chunks
1 1/2 C milk
2 C chicken or vegetable broth
*i didn't want to use sour cream, cream cheese, creamed soup, more velveeta, or more milk to save on some extra calories, fat, and so on, but i did need some more liquid...  see preparation for how i plan to make the soup creamy without the use of these ingredients
2 T butter
s&p
other choice of herbs/seasonings you enjoy


preparation:
throw everything in the crock pot
cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5
when done, remove approximately half of the soup and let cool slightly
place in small batches in the blender, and run until smooth
add back to the crock
serve and enjoy!


let me know if you have any recipes similar or what you do with a soup like this.  i think had i had more time, this would have been delicious with some seasoned croutons or oyster crackers...  i'll be trying that next time!

I Have A Dream

a common question i have received from family and friends over the last few days has been "do you have the day off on monday?" My standard answer was "ugh. no." but why do i think i even deserve a day off?  


after reflecting on my attitude about this as the day has progressed, i have a few thoughts.  isn't the best way to celebrate the life and work of MLK to actually work or go to school?  wouldn't it defeat the purpose of this great man's passion if we didn't experience civil rights in action on a daily basis? wouldn't that be the legacy that he would want for himself?  this is the living, breathing result he died to bring to fruition.  his efforts were not for us to have a day off from work, but for us to embrace our differences and revel in the amazement that as red, yellow, black, and white; male or female; young, old, or somewhere in-between; gay, straight, bi, trans-gendered; religious, spiritual, or atheist; republic, democrat, or independent-- everyone is created equal.  


"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." 
~I Have A Dream, Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963


as we near the 50th anniversary of this monumental speech, i certainly recognize and hold dear everything this man stood for.  in actuality, i cannot even begin to fathom what the civil rights movement means to minorities.  after all, it was a major turning point in our history and although we have made exceptional strides since 1963, we are quite obviously still a far cry from accepting of differences.


this day absolutely deserves recognition. "i have a dream" stands on the same ground as the declaration of independence, signing of the constitution, and the emancipation proclamation.  i don't think there has been any more important speech in modern history that has had such an impact on society as this.  i implore you to consider just how crucial and just how alive this movement is yesterday, today, and tomorrow...


"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
~I Have A Dream, Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963


to see and hear the full "I Have A Dream" speech, click here.
to see the development of the MLK monument, click here.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Butter Noodles

as promised this afternoon on facebook, here is what was for supper tonight at reeder ranch!  at the bottom is a picture of the finished meal, served with steamed green beans and fruit salad.  the fruit salad is my grandmother's concoction, and i cannot locate it in my recipe box.  i'll post it sometime later this week after grandma emails it to me.  the kid's call it frozen cupcakes and go crazy for them!


lemon garlic shrimp and butter noodles:
preparation time - 35-65 minutes
cooking time - 10 minutes


basic ingredients:
thawed shrimp
*enough to serve your family; i used 1/2 pound but probably could have done the whole pound... i'm trying to cut back on my portions, so it's also probably fine that i didn't use the whole package :)
*could use uncooked, but pre-cooked makes the process faster and more cost efficient
8-10 oz. thin noodle (spaghetti works fine)
*again, use as much as needed for your family. i had a 32 oz. box of vermicelli and used about a third.


shrimp marinade:
3-4 T lemon juice
2 T honey
1 T oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T soy sauce
sprinkle ground mustard
sprinkle salt
sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional)


butter noodles:
3 T butter
medium palmful parsley flakes (1/2-1 T?)
small palmful garlic salt (1/2 t?)
extra small palmful basil leaves (1/4 t?)
1-2 T leftover marinade, if desired
serve with a sprinkle of parmesan, if desired

preparation:
thaw, remove tails, rinse and pat dry shrimp 
*i remove tails because of the kids, but if you like it with tails on, by all means, do what you like...
mix with marinade and let sit for 30-60 minutes
prepare grill pan for skewered shrimp or frying pan for sauteed shrimp 
boil water, adding 1 T oil, 1/2 t salt to water 
*rachael ray says that the oil prevents the noodles from sticking to each other and the only time to season the noodles is in the boiling process
follow package instructions to prepare noodles
after adding noodles to water, heat pan for shrimp
*avoid overcooking pre-cooked shrimp or it gets rubbery
drain off water and immediately add butter, parsley, basil, garlic salt, and marinade
toss to melt butter
sprinkle with a dash of parmesan and some fresh parsley right before serving

Molasses Cookies

i have been promising minihe we'd make cookies for a while now but things just didn't work out for us - naptime, suppertime, bathtime...  i love molasses cookies but have never made them myself. probably because i don't happen to keep molasses on hand, but with seasonal items, like molasses, in stock and highly visible, i thought this would be a delicious project for the two of us.  the recipe is not my own, although i did have to use golden brown sugar instead of dark since that's what i had on hand. i also only had whole cloves instead of ground so i neglected that ingredient from my batter.  i used a tiny, itty, bitty sprinkling of nutmeg instead.  they're similar, right?   click here to view the website where this comes from.  

dry ingredients:

2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 t ground cloves (omitted)
preparation:
wisk together in a bowl and set aside

wet ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 C dark brown sugar (i used golden)
2 T oil
1/3 C molasses
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
preparation:
beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently.
add remaining liquid ingredients and beat until incorporated. scrape sides and beat briefly.


combine:
add flour to liquid bowl, beating with each addition.
refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.  this step is important because the batter is sticky and extremely difficult to work with.


bake:
preheat oven to 375 degrees.
cover baking sheet with parchment paper
place 1 C sugar in a bowl
roll dough into 1" rounds and then roll in sugar
using the bottom of a glass, flatten each round slightly
bake 9-10 minutes or until tops start to crackle
cool on a wire rack

don't these just look delicious?

more, please!

 fish is a dish i am not confident in my ability to prepare.  i have tried boxes of breading, countless cookbooks, consulted websites, all with an inconsistent level of success.  tonight's recipe worked out beautifully and ironically, i followed no recipe at all...  three of the four of us were members of the clean plate club, in fact!  i'll divide this recipe out a little bit differently than previous posts...


breading: mix the following in shallow pan
spattering of seasoned bread crumbs (probably 1/2 c)
2 T corn meal
2 T flour
1 t parsley
sprinkling of garlic salt
s&p


in a bowl, wisk together 
3/4 c milk
2-3 T sour cream
1 t lemon juice


fish:
tilapia fillets to fill your family, i think i fried 6 and could have gotten away with 4 or 5...
thaw fillets, rinse well, and pat dry


tartar sauce:
3/4 c miracle whip
1/4 c sour cream
2-3 T finely diced onion
1 T relish
1 T lemon juice
1 t dill
1 t parsley
s&p


mix all ingredients in a small bowl while fish is thawing to allow flavors to marry longer.


preparation:
in a skillet, heat 2 T oil
dip fillet in milk, dredge in breading, place on skillet
fry until golden and flip, total time around 7 minutes
*i am always concerned about cooking fish completely so i err on the side of over cooking...

60 Greatest Love Stories

if you have a few minutes and a box of kleenex nearby, check out these touching stories about some of the greatest love stories of all time.  thanks for sharing, ally-bear!

french onion soup & burgers

i adore my slow cooker and use it as frequently as i can, usually once during the week, and once on the weekend.  i came across a recipe on betty crocker website and followed it, mostly.  i didn't have broth on hand but i did have instant bouillon.  (more about that below) i also didn't have any mozarella but i did have a block of muenster. (also more about that below)  the soup served 6 with leftovers for french onion burgers, the second recipe in this post.  it's delicious!!!


french onion soup: this is my adaptation of the betty crocker recipe i found online.
ingredients:
2-3 onions, sliced thinly
6 cups water
2 T instant beef bouillon
**or 4 cans beef broth**
one turn of worcestershire sauce
4 T butter
s&p
loaf of french bread
butter
garlic salt
parsley
4-6 oz. cheese
preparation:
slice onions, add to crock pot
add in four cups of water
microwave until warm, 2 cups of water and stir in 2 T instant beef bouillon, add to crock.
add butter, worcestershire, s&p, and stir to combine.
turn crock on low for 8-10 hours
for french bread -- turn broiler on low (i do this because i inevitably burn bread otherwise...)
i happened to have the kind that was sliced lengthwise and pre-buttered, so i placed my slices of muenster on top and broiled until bubbly.  otherwise, you could use the prepackaged texas cheese toast, or slice your bread the "right" way, butter and season both sides, pile mozarella sky high, and broil until bubbly.
notes:
i am a fan of homemade but semi-homemade is sometimes just as delicious and takes a whole lot less effort.  i think if i make this again i'll use texas cheese toast and save myself the expense and time...


french onion burgers: i used the leftover soup to make these tasty burgers.
ingredients:
1 lb burger
sprinkle of lawry's
1 t parsley - i hear that you're supposed to rub the dried seasonings in your hands to help refresh the aroma and flavor before adding to a dish (shout out to rachael ray, actually...) 
sprinkle of garlic salt
sprinkle of onion salt
1 T bread crumbs
4 buns
butter
onion salt
1 cup french onion soup (could use a can of soup, make a packet of it, or simmer some onions in a can of broth)
sliced cheese
preparation:
preheat the oven to a low broil (again, i use low so i don't burn the bread)
thaw the burger and mix in seasonings and bread crumbs
form patties - 1/4 lb patties was perfect for us and fit right on the bun, but you could make them smaller)
fry 'em up!  (or grill if the weather permits)
while the burgers are cooking, butter the buns and sprinkle with onion or garlic salt or both
when just about done, remove burgers from the pan and add soup
bring to a boil and cook out some of the liquid, condensing the flavor
when you add the burgers back to the pan, throw the buttered buns in the oven
serve the burgers with a slice of cheese and a side of the au jus left in the pan!  
notes: 
these were delicious and everybody ate every last morsel.  the toasted buns added a nice crunch, and the au jus made it seem a little more like a restaurant burger.

splitting wood...

we are a two-income family but still struggle if any "extras" come up, like a car repair, medical/dental bill, and so on. between daycare, vehicles, camper, mortgage, insurance, and the standard monthly expenses, there's not an over abundance of cash remaining.

like other families in our very common situation, we found a way to all but eliminate our dependence on propane by installing a wood burning furnace in our basement. last winter alone, we saved ourselves a minimum of $1,500! we had one fill in the fall since we use propane for our stove, water heater, dryer, and barn. a fill usually runs us right around $700-900 and we would need at least 3-4 fills per year so that was a huge savings for us. we've gone from a fill every 3-4 months to 1 per year! an added bonus-the heat from a wood burner was so much warmer, and in our old farm house, that's huge! in winters past we would bring the kids to sleep downstairs because it was just too cold. now, they sleep with light blankets and a t-shirt. another note about the savings--it paid for itself! d put up the chimney himself and retrofitted our ductwork, so if you are a DIY kind of family, it wouldn't take more than a weekend to get you up and running!

the drawbacks?
1. d is busy nearly every weekend cutting, splitting, hauling, stacking, and tending to this endeavor. thank goodness it's been a very mild winter thus far and we have been able to stock up instead of literally burning through it. also, we have an attachment for the bobcat that splits wood and is operated inside the cab. makes the work go pretty fast...
2. our yard to the west of the house is a mess. the lawn is torn up from the bobcat tires, there's wood chips, sawdust, and splinters all over, but it's not visible from the road or visitors or really from the family room so it's more of an eyesore only if you know it's there.
3. chimney fires are a real danger and maintenance of the chimney is a must. it is recommended to sweep them quite frequently to clear out the build-up of creosote, which is highly flammable. we had to clean ours twice and ended up not using it when the temps got too high since creosote is better carried out with the draft of cold exterior air.

if you have considered using an alternative method for heating your home, consider burning wood. d's dad bought a brand new corn furnace, burned corn for a season, and traded it for a wood furnace. theirs is outside and plumbed into the house underground. we're, and by "we're" i mean d, is happy to share more about our experience, cost savings, and methods.

strawberry sour cream pancakes

pancakes are a huge hit in our house. anytime. i've experimented with bisquick, homemade batters, add-in's, syrups...  i've made this strawberry sour cream recipe several times with excellent results and very happy eaters.  i hope you like it!

strawberry sour cream pancakes: i eyeball a lot of my ingredients so this in generally a more or less kind of recipe.  add ingredients to achieve your desired consistency.

ingredients:

1 cup bisquick

1 egg

1/4-1/3 c sour cream

1/4-1/3 c milk

2 T sugar

1/2-3/4 c quartered strawberries (i used frozen and thawed them partially)

preparation:

mix together the first five ingredients, adding more milk or bisquick to achieve your desired consistency

fold in the strawberries; be gentle or your pancakes will turn pink

heat a griddle with a teaspoon of oil, spoon batter and spread out slightly. 

flip when bubbles pop and don't fill back in, 2-3 minutes.

second side goes faster, about 1-2 minutes.

yielded 14 pancakes

notes:

i have found that lowest heat setting yields the most even cooked, blonde colored pancakes.  it takes a little more patience, but definitely worth the effort. these go so fast i haven't had the chance to actually freeze this particular kind, but i have frozen blueberry, banana, applesauce, and regular pancakes very successfully.  just make sure to put them in a freezer bag, squeeze as much air out as you can, and seal it tight.  just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds, sometimes less depending on thickness and size.

 my happy eaters dug right in!

me and d

tonight d and i were laying on the couch cuddling and he says to me, "i love you. more than you know. i'm sorry i don't tell you enough just how much you mean to me."  awh.... *sigh*  (he had been drinking all afternoon, but the message was nonetheless heartfelt and sincere.)  to which i replied, "it's ok, honey.  i tell you enough for the both of us."  we chuckled and enjoyed our time together until minishe climbed on d's back and exclaimed, "gittyup horsie!"  but i have had a few hours now to reflect on his words, and i have to admit, i don't hear those words enough from him and we stopped kissing goodnight years ago. but you know what?  i never have wondered how he feels about me.  i never have and i never will.