Broccoli Cheese Soup

Do you love broccoli cheese soup as much as I do? Oh my, I am absolutely addicted to Panera's broccoli cheese soup. I try to eat it at least every 3 weeks. It's actually part of my recharging I do when I drop my boys off with my mother in law and go out on my own. I take a magazine and go to Panera, order my soup and sandwich and recharge my batteries. I am so thankful for my in laws to be able to watch the boys! OK, back to the soup. I've made a broccoli cheese soup once before, and it was terrible. I didn't eat it. This one was delish! Definitely eat it hot, because as it cools, it has just a slightly more grainy texture. I am assuming it is the real cheese starting to solidify from cooling off. It still tastes good, just a different texture. If you're looking for another soup to add to your collection, this is one to try!

 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

6 tbsp. butter, divided

¾ cup onion, chopped

1 cup carrot, chopped or shredded

4 cups small broccoli florets (I used frozen.)

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

½ tsp. onion salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

4 tbsp. flour

2 cups milk

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (original recipe calls for 2, but we all know I love cheese.)

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots to the pan and cook a couple minutes more. Stir in the broccoli, chicken broth, onion salt and garlic powder. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Once the mixture has thickened, whisk in the cheese until completely melted. Remove from the heat and add the cheese sauce to the soup pot. Allow to simmer until warmed through and broccoli is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

This recipe is linked to Prairie Story Recipe Swap Thursday.

Sweet Treat Tuesday-Rocky Road Chocolate Cake Recipe

This dessert is so yummy! My mother in law made it a couple of weeks ago and everyone raved about it. The best part is the topping, so good! This cooks in your crock pot so you don't have to worry about taking up space in your oven. And I promise you, that you will want vanilla ice cream, so don't forget to buy some before making this chocolate dessert!

Rocky Road Chocolate Cake Recipe
from my mother in law who got it from My Recipes.com

Prep: 15 min.; Cook: 3 hr., 40 min.; Stand: 15 min. This cake will look like it needs to cook just a little longer, but by the time the topping is set, it's ready to serve.

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
1  package German chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9-oz.) package chocolate instant pudding mix
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups milk, divided
1 (3.4-oz.) package chocolate cook-and-serve pudding mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:
Beat cake mix, next 5 ingredients, and 1 1/4 cups milk at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Pour batter into a lightly greased 4-qt. slow cooker.

Cook remaining 2 cups milk in a heavy non-stick saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or just until bubbles appear (do not boil); remove from heat.

Sprinkle cook-and-serve pudding mix over batter. Slowly pour hot milk over pudding. Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, heat pecans in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant.

Turn off slow cooker. Sprinkle cake with pecans, marshmallows, and chocolate morsels. Let stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly melted. Spoon into dessert dishes, and serve with ice cream, if desired.

Daddy's Sausage Balls

Sausage balls have always been a part of my Christmas morning tradition. The same goes for my husband. It is not Christmas, if he doesn't have sausage balls to eat for breakfast. I've been a slacker the past couple of years and bought the frozen, already made sausage balls. This is mainly due to the fact that every time I would try and make them, they would turn out too dry. Well last weekend, while visiting with my dad, he made sausage balls for us. He let me in on what I had been doing wrong. I've always used 2 cups of Bisquick/baking mix  instead of only using 1! So this morning, as I've been slaving away in our kitchen for tomorrow, I made some of these yummies and they turned out just perfect. Thanks dad!!

Daddy's Sausage Balls

from my daddy

Ingredients:

2 pounds sausage (I used one regular and one hot.)

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 1/2-2 cups Bisquick/baking mix (I used the Bisquick Heart Healthy kind.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. I used my kitchen aid mixer for this because, well, it makes my life easier. I used just under 2 cups of Bisquick for these sausage balls. Mix all ingredients together until everything is incorporated and there is no longer any cheese or dry Bisquick in the bottom of the bowl. Form mixture into small balls, about an inch in diameter. I used my cookie scoop for this. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, at least a finger apart. These don't expand, so you can put them pretty close together, just make sure they don't touch. Bake in a preheated oven for 13 minutes. Check to make sure one of the sausage balls is completely cooked through, which means no red when you open one up. Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a paper towel so that any extra grease will be absorbed. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator for up to a couple of days. Just pop them in the microwave to warm them when you want to serve them. This recipe makes 70 sausage balls, and can easily be halved if you don't need that many.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Do you have snow where you are? We got between 5 and 6 inches here! My 4 year old asked for hot chocolate after playing in the snow today so we made some. I have actually never made "homemade" hot chocolate, we always do swiss miss. This was delish! My favorite part about hot chocolate is the marshmallows! For mine I topped it with marshmallows and a sprinkle of cinnamon. This is so easy and so yummy! Hope you're staying warm!

Homemade Hot Cocoa
from Easy Meals for Busy Moms

*Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c milk (any type you like, the fattier the richer)
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Toppings, optional: marshmallows, whipped cream, cinnamon

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together with a whisk in a medium pot until combined. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until hot. Serve and enjoy!

Sausage and Grits Breakfast Casserole

A few weeks ago I had to bring a breakfast dish to my monthly MOPS meeting. I usually take this opportunity to make new things and try them out on others. I know, I am totally the opposite of most people. I enjoy making new things when I have company. Anyway, the previous month we someone had brought a breakfast casserole with grits and sausage in it, and I wanted to make something like that. My friend Nancy at Casual Cuisine reminded me that she had a great recipe posted on her blog. I decided to use it. It called for a garlic cheese roll, which I have been told is nonexistent these days. So I changed the recipe to use a little garlic and some cream cheese. I also used Jiffy Cornbread mix instead of regular mix. This of course made it sweet. I honestly didn't love the sweetness, and next time I make this I will use a regular, non-sweet cornbread mix. But, having said that, I had multiple people seek me out for the recipe because they loved it so much. They loved the sweetness of the cornbread and saltiness of the sausage. So, I guess it was a hit the way I made it. Either way, you can't really go wrong with grits, sausage, and cheese, can you?

Sausage and Grits Casserole

adapted from Casual Cuisine originally from Tables of Content, a Junior League of Birmingham cookbook

Ingredients:

1 pound hot bulk sausage

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups cooked grits

1 3/4 cups milk, heated

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (8-ounce) package corn bread mix (I used Jiffy, next time I will use regular.)

6-ounces cream cheese

1 TBSP minced garlic

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce

Directions:

Brown the sausage in a large skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Spread the sausage over the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish and sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese.

Combine the grits, warm milk, butter, corn bread mix, garlic, cream cheese, eggs, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce in a bowl and mix well. Pour the grits mixture over the prepared layers and chill, covered, for 8-10 hours. (I made mine the night before and placed it in the fridge overnight.)

Let the casserole stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the casserole for 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 8-10

and the Spices Inc. winner is....

Erin from EKat's Kitchen!

Her spice set is called “The World Kitchen Connection”. It contains Adobo Lime Rub, Ras El Hanout, Cajun Rub Hot, Maharajah Style Curry Powder, Paella Seasoning, and Piri Piri Seasoning. Greg said, "It had the best blend of seasonings and a clever spice set name. She did an excellent with her theme of selecting spice blends from around the globe – touching on South America, Morocco, the US, India, Spain and Africa."

Congrats to Erin! Your 6 jar spice set will be on Spices Inc.'s website as a Limited Edition Spice Set! How cool is that! He'll also announce you as the winner on their facebook page!

Thank you Greg and Spices Inc. for partnering with This Mommy Cooks! It was a lot of fun and I think my readers enjoyed it too! Don't forget to stop by Spices Inc. to check out Erin's spice set and all the other wonderful things they have to offer!

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Jambalaya

OK. So by now you've noticed I've really been slacking on the blog posts and new recipes. I just haven't been up for cooking lately, I'm hoping that funk has passed and I can move on to cooking fun new things for December. I'm not doing a menu this month, because I didn't cook half of what I had on my menu for last month, and I already have a lot of the ingredients to make a lot of it. But today, I do have a new recipe for you! One of my husband's favorite things to eat is jambalaya. He's perfectly happy with the Zatrain's box, but I wanted to try it without the box. This recipe was great. I was hesitant about the clam juice because I've never used it before, but it was a good addition to the dish. This one got all thumbs up and smiles from my hubby, and kiddos of course.

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Jambalaya

adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tsp. vegetable oil

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1-2 TBSP Worstershire Sauce

1/2 tsp Cajun Spice (I use Tony's)

8 oz. andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch chunks (or crumbled, if in delicate casings)

1½ cups long-grain white rice (I used brown rice.)

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. fresh thyme leaves (1/8 dried)

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained (¼ cup of juice reserved)

1 cup bottled clam juice

1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 lb. shrimp (31-40 per lb.), peeled and deveined

2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Directions:

Mix worstershire, cajun spice, and chicken in a bowl. Let sit for a couple of minutes while you dice the veggies, or use a food processor.

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to pot and cook until no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the andouille. Cook, stirring often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the chopped vegetables to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add the rice, salt, thyme and cayenne; cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated with the fat, about 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, clam juice, chicken broth, bay leaves, cooked chicken, and cooked sausage to the pot. Stir to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scatter the shrimp over the rice, cover, and continue to cook until the rice is fully tender and the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Once the shrimp are finished cooking, discard the bay leaves, stir in the parsley, and serve immediately.