This is the only way I enjoy cottage cheese. I first had it this way at a Scottsdale food joint, and I fell in love with it this way only. At the moment, there is no other way for me to enjoy it. Especially when paired with fruit, yuck!
This makes for a great low-carb side dish, paired with grilled chicken or fish, however you wish to enjoy, and I hope you do. Perfect for summer time, or anytime.
Ingredients:
1 24 oz. container of Cottage Cheese
1 4 oz. can of diced jalepenos
2 large radishes, diced
S & P
Directions:
1. This is easy to whip up, pour cottage cheese into mixing bowl, add in jalepenos, diced radishes, S & P. Stir to evenly distribute the jalepenos and radishes, then taste test to make sure seasonings balanced, you might need to add a bit more S & P. That's it!
Bon appetit!
Creamy Italian Roasted Vegetable Soup
With a lot of extra veggies in the fridge that needed to be used, I pulled together this savory soup.
Ingredients:
2 med-large zucchinis, sliced into medallions and quartered
2 C. grape tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
9 small mozzarella medalions (Fresh & Easy carries these)
6 cloves garlic
3 Tbps. olive oil
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth); reserve 1/2 C.
1/2 C. half n' half cream
1/2 C. V8 Juice-Spicy Hot
1/2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (basil, oregano, sage)
1 tsp. red pepper flackes
S & P to taste
Non-stick spray
Appliances:
13 x 9 baking dish
Large sauce pan
Large mixing bowl
immersion blender
Roasting Vegetable Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray non-stick spray to evenly coat baking dish.
3. Layer the veggies in the baking dish, place garlic cloves evenly throughout dish, evenly pour olive oil over veggies, sprinkle italian seasoning, S & P, stir everything with wooden spoon to incorporate olive oil and seasonings.
4. Place baking dish into center of the oven, let bake for 20 mins.
5. At 20 mins, pull baking dish out, pour in 1 1/2 C. broth, stir ingredients together, place dish back into oven for 30 more mins.
6. Five minutes before completion of roasting, in rows of three, place mozzarella medallions into dish, one row in the center, one 2 inch to the left, and one 2 inch to the right. Place dish back into oven, then remove, let sit 10 minutes. Stir ingredients together to blend the now melted cheese.
Soup Instructions:
1. Ladel roasted veggies into the mixing below, removing the garlic cloves-this is key! Unless you want that much garlic that will be pureed into your soup, they are in the roasting process to give flavor boost.
2. Pour liquid after veggies removed from backing dish into mixing bowl.
3. Be sure to wear an apron, and long sleeves, as when you begin blending, you might get some hot splatters on your arms/body, and its best to blend while still hot! Put immersion blender on low, and blend away. What you'll have is a puree that smells fantastic, and will be orangish, due to cheese lightening up the mixture.
4. Once you have pureed to your likeness, pour mixture into soup pan, add remaining 1/2 C. broth, V8 juice, and cream, stir, place pan on med-high heat, bring to a boil, then turn down to the lowest heat setting. At this point add in red pepper flakes, and while you're at it go ahead and add S & P, you'll need it. Taste along the way, being cautious as pureed soups retain heat for a while, so don't do what I did and burn your mouth! Ouch! Once it tastes the way you like it, serve and you're ready to dine!
**Note-if you're wondering why the V8 juice, I felt the puree needed a tomatoe kick, and I have V8 Spicy Hot on hand, and it helped boost the flavor. Tomato paste or a little tomato sauce would work just as well. I also liked the extra heat the V8 spicy hot gave the soup.
Bon appetit!
Ingredients:
2 med-large zucchinis, sliced into medallions and quartered
2 C. grape tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
9 small mozzarella medalions (Fresh & Easy carries these)
6 cloves garlic
3 Tbps. olive oil
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth); reserve 1/2 C.
1/2 C. half n' half cream
1/2 C. V8 Juice-Spicy Hot
1/2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (basil, oregano, sage)
1 tsp. red pepper flackes
S & P to taste
Non-stick spray
Appliances:
13 x 9 baking dish
Large sauce pan
Large mixing bowl
immersion blender
Roasting Vegetable Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray non-stick spray to evenly coat baking dish.
3. Layer the veggies in the baking dish, place garlic cloves evenly throughout dish, evenly pour olive oil over veggies, sprinkle italian seasoning, S & P, stir everything with wooden spoon to incorporate olive oil and seasonings.
4. Place baking dish into center of the oven, let bake for 20 mins.
5. At 20 mins, pull baking dish out, pour in 1 1/2 C. broth, stir ingredients together, place dish back into oven for 30 more mins.
6. Five minutes before completion of roasting, in rows of three, place mozzarella medallions into dish, one row in the center, one 2 inch to the left, and one 2 inch to the right. Place dish back into oven, then remove, let sit 10 minutes. Stir ingredients together to blend the now melted cheese.
Soup Instructions:
1. Ladel roasted veggies into the mixing below, removing the garlic cloves-this is key! Unless you want that much garlic that will be pureed into your soup, they are in the roasting process to give flavor boost.
2. Pour liquid after veggies removed from backing dish into mixing bowl.
3. Be sure to wear an apron, and long sleeves, as when you begin blending, you might get some hot splatters on your arms/body, and its best to blend while still hot! Put immersion blender on low, and blend away. What you'll have is a puree that smells fantastic, and will be orangish, due to cheese lightening up the mixture.
4. Once you have pureed to your likeness, pour mixture into soup pan, add remaining 1/2 C. broth, V8 juice, and cream, stir, place pan on med-high heat, bring to a boil, then turn down to the lowest heat setting. At this point add in red pepper flakes, and while you're at it go ahead and add S & P, you'll need it. Taste along the way, being cautious as pureed soups retain heat for a while, so don't do what I did and burn your mouth! Ouch! Once it tastes the way you like it, serve and you're ready to dine!
**Note-if you're wondering why the V8 juice, I felt the puree needed a tomatoe kick, and I have V8 Spicy Hot on hand, and it helped boost the flavor. Tomato paste or a little tomato sauce would work just as well. I also liked the extra heat the V8 spicy hot gave the soup.
Bon appetit!
Creamy Chicken Dijon Soup
I morphed leftover chicken dijon I made for dinner last night, into a soup! This time I opted out the mushrooms, and added in cauliflower, which I morphed leftover cauliflower into cauliflower puree. Having the leftover dinner made the steps for this "souper" easy!
Ingredients:
Leftover chicken dijon dinner
1 1/2 - 2 C. chicken broth
1/2 C. half n' half
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (optional)
S & P to taste
Appliances:
Immersion blender
Sauce pan
Large mixing bowl
Directions:
1. Medium to large sauce pan depending upon amount of leftovers. For me it was a large sauce pan. Add in leftovers, broth and mustard, stir everything to incorporate broth and dijon. Heat on medium-migh heat, until boiling, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins. Add in half n' half 10 minutes before removing off heat, stir pot to evenly distribute cream.
2. Pour contents of sauce pan into mixing bowl, and blend away with immersion blender, until everything is evenly blended and creamy. Once at your desired consistancy, be sure to taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add soup back to sauce pan, on low heat for 10 minutes, remove off heat, and serve!
2 steps! Basic idea for sharing this is to let you know how easy an immersion blender is, and clean up is very easy! I've seen people puree their soups in an actual blender, that makes for more clean up. Once you get the idea of how to easily make creamy soups, ideas will come flooding. You cannot go wrong with chicken broth, veggies, cream and seasonings!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients:
Leftover chicken dijon dinner
1 1/2 - 2 C. chicken broth
1/2 C. half n' half
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (optional)
S & P to taste
Appliances:
Immersion blender
Sauce pan
Large mixing bowl
Directions:
1. Medium to large sauce pan depending upon amount of leftovers. For me it was a large sauce pan. Add in leftovers, broth and mustard, stir everything to incorporate broth and dijon. Heat on medium-migh heat, until boiling, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins. Add in half n' half 10 minutes before removing off heat, stir pot to evenly distribute cream.
2. Pour contents of sauce pan into mixing bowl, and blend away with immersion blender, until everything is evenly blended and creamy. Once at your desired consistancy, be sure to taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add soup back to sauce pan, on low heat for 10 minutes, remove off heat, and serve!
2 steps! Basic idea for sharing this is to let you know how easy an immersion blender is, and clean up is very easy! I've seen people puree their soups in an actual blender, that makes for more clean up. Once you get the idea of how to easily make creamy soups, ideas will come flooding. You cannot go wrong with chicken broth, veggies, cream and seasonings!
Bon appetit!
Cauliflower puree
I was left with too much cauliflower, which I used in my dijon chicken recipe, so I made a puree with it, and it turned out fantastic! Great alternative to pureed potatoes, and healthy too!
Cauliflower Puree
Ingredients:
2 C. cauliflower florettes
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth)
3 Tbsp. white truffle oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped coarsely
S & P to taste
Optional spices to add: 1/2 tsp of ground nutmet, 1 tsp of parsley
Appliances:
Immersion Blender
12 x 6 baking dish (or whatever you use for lasagna)
Large mixing bowl.
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven 400 degrees. Into baking dish, add cauliflower, onion, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, toss everything to get evenly coated. Place into oven, 20 mins.
2. After 20 mins, pull baking dish out, add broth, stir everything again, put back into oven for another 20 mins.
3. When 20 mins are up, pull baking dish out, set onto trivet and let cool 5 mins. Pull out your immersion blender and mixing bowl. With a ladel, scoop out the cauliflower florets and place into mixing bowl, when all cauliflower is out of dish, carefully poor juices and onions into mixing bowl.
4. On the low setting (to avoid splatter), turn on your immersion blender. If cauliflower is too big, stop the blender, and in the bowl take a fork and sharp knife and cut the pieces, if needed. Then try the immersion blender again. Once everyhing is a beautiful puree, season with salt and pepper, then taste. Oh its glorious! I added dried parsley and a dash of nutmeg, even better!
Pair this with fish, chicken, or pour into sauce pan, add more broth and some half n' half, and you can have a creamy cauliflower soup!
Bon appetit!
Cauliflower Puree
Ingredients:
2 C. cauliflower florettes
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth)
3 Tbsp. white truffle oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped coarsely
S & P to taste
Optional spices to add: 1/2 tsp of ground nutmet, 1 tsp of parsley
Appliances:
Immersion Blender
12 x 6 baking dish (or whatever you use for lasagna)
Large mixing bowl.
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven 400 degrees. Into baking dish, add cauliflower, onion, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, toss everything to get evenly coated. Place into oven, 20 mins.
2. After 20 mins, pull baking dish out, add broth, stir everything again, put back into oven for another 20 mins.
3. When 20 mins are up, pull baking dish out, set onto trivet and let cool 5 mins. Pull out your immersion blender and mixing bowl. With a ladel, scoop out the cauliflower florets and place into mixing bowl, when all cauliflower is out of dish, carefully poor juices and onions into mixing bowl.
4. On the low setting (to avoid splatter), turn on your immersion blender. If cauliflower is too big, stop the blender, and in the bowl take a fork and sharp knife and cut the pieces, if needed. Then try the immersion blender again. Once everyhing is a beautiful puree, season with salt and pepper, then taste. Oh its glorious! I added dried parsley and a dash of nutmeg, even better!
Pair this with fish, chicken, or pour into sauce pan, add more broth and some half n' half, and you can have a creamy cauliflower soup!
Bon appetit!
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