Grandma's Cheese Soup

Grandma Evans' Cheese Soup

INGREDIENTS

·         4 Large Carrots diced in small cubes

·         1 Stalk of Celery diced into small cubes

·         4 Medium Potatoes diced into small cubes

·         1 package of frozen peas

·         1 Large onion (Blend in blender with 1 Cup of water until onions are liquefied)

·         5 Quarts of Water

·         1 jar of Cheez Wiz (16 oz size)

·         30 Chicken Boullion Cubes

·         1 Can of Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup add 1 can of water

·         1 cup of canned milk

·         2 cubes of butter melted

·         1 cup of flour

DIRECTIONS

COOK VEGTABLES:

·         Mix the Carrots, Celery, Onion water blend and 4 cups of water

·         Cook until vegtables are half done, then add the potatoes and simmer

PREPARE SOUP STOCK

·      While the veggies are cooking, Mix 5 quarts of water, cheez wiz, boullion, canned milk and cream of chicken soup then bring to a boil in a very large stock pot.

·         Mix melted butter and 1 cup flour – mix smooth, make sure there are no lumps

·         Add butter/flour mixture to the boiling broth slowly stirring all the time

ADD VEGTABLES

·         Add the vegetable stock to the broth

·         Add frozen peas

·         Simmer minimum of 30 minutes before serving

Summer Vegetable "Ceviche"

Summer Vegetable "Ceviche"  

Source: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/summer-vegetable-ceviche

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup fresh baby lima beans (from about 1 1/2 pounds in the pod) or other shelling bean
* 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
* 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 scallion, thinly sliced
* 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
* 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
* Sea salt
* 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (raw, from 2 ears)
* 2 nectarines, cut into thin wedges
* 1 Hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 1 large orange bell pepper, finely julienned
* 1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
In a small saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the lima beans until tender, about 10 minutes.
Drain the beans and rinse under cold water.

In a large bowl, whisk the lime zest and juice with the olive oil, scallion, jalapeño and shallot; season the dressing with salt. Gently fold in the lima beans, corn, nectarines, avocado, orange pepper and tomatoes.

Refrigerate the “ceviche” for at least 2 hours. Fold in the cilantro just before serving and serve the “ceviche” chilled.

MAKE AHEAD
The salad can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours.

Authentic tabbouleh

Ingredients
4 bunches of Italian Parsley chopped finely, drained
1 bunch of fresh green mint chopped finely, drained
1 Persian cucumber chopped finely (if using regular cucumbers, use only up to 4 inches of it)
5 medium sized tomatoes chopped, drained
1 small white onion chopped finely
1/4 cup of fine Burghul (fine cracked wheat #1)
1/3 to 1/2 cup of quality olive oil
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon of salt
1/3 teaspoon of Lebanese 7-Spices*
Directions
1. Rinse all vegetables and let dry, especially the parsley and mint.

2. Cut stems off parsley then chop finely. Spread chopped parsley on paper towels and let rest for a few mins in order to get rid of the moisture. Parsley needs to be dry of moisture before adding it to the mixing bowl.

3. Cut stems off mint, and finely chop the leaves. Lay them on a paper towel and let dry.

4. Chop tomatoes into small cubes of less than 1/2 in then place in strainer to rid them of the juice.

5. Finely chop onions and mix with 7-spices.

6. Finely chop the cucumber.

7. Rinse all vegetables and let dry, especially the parsley and mint.

8. Cut stems off parsley then chop finely. Spread chopped parsley on paper towels and let rest for a few mins in order to get rid of the moisture. Parsley needs to be dry of moisture before adding it to the mixing bowl.

9. Cut stems off mint, and finely chop the leaves. Lay them on a paper towel and let dry.

10. Chop tomatoes into small cubes of less than 1/2 in then place in strainer to rid them of the juice.

11. Finely chop onions and mix with 7-spices.

12. Finely chop the cucumber.
Source
http://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/salads/authentic-lebanese-tabbouleh-salad-recipe/
Description
Authentic Lebanese Tabbouleh is a healthy and super-green traditional salad. It has a nice lemony kick and is very delicious. Try our easy Tabbouleh recipe.

Mini Pavlovas

INGREDIENTS

6 egg whites, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 1/3 cups baker's sugar

3 pints strawberries

1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Combine egg whites, vanilla, vinegar, and cornstarch in a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer.
Whip, using either a standing mixer or a handheld mixer, until soft peaks form. 

Slowly incorporate the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, whipping all the time. 
Continue beating the mixture until stiff peaks form.

Spoon the mixture into six evenly-sized mounds on the prepared pan. Smooth the tops decoratively.

Put the pan in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 250 degrees. 

Bake until the pavlovas are crisp on the outside but still tender on the inside, about 45 minutes. Check on them periodically (through the glass, if possible), to be sure that they are not browning or cracking. If they are doing either, lower the heat by 25 degrees. You may have to add some cooking time if you lower the temperature. 
Now, when the pavlovas seem crisp but still tender on the outside, turn off the oven, leaving the pan in the oven with the door closed. Leave the pavlovas to cool in the cooling oven with the door closed for 30 minutes. Then open the oven door partially and leave for 10 additional minutes. Now remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the pavlovas to a rack to cool completely. If you allow them to cool completely on the pan, they are liable to stick. The cooking spray is a bit of insurance against this.

TOPPINGS

Trim the stems and leaves from the strawberries and cut the berries in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Put the cut strawberries in a bowl. Stir to coat and leave to macerate at room temperature for at least one and up to six hours, stopping by to stir them every once in a while.

Just before you're ready to serve the pavlovas, whip the cream. Place each pavlova on a plate and top each with a sixth of the whipped cream and then a sixth of the berries. 
Serve immediately.

Tomato Soup

 4 lbs. tomatoes (or at least 2; you can supplement with good, canned diced tomatoes)
 1 large onion, chopped
 1 medium carrot, thinly chopped (for a change I will use 2 red bell peppers instead of the carrot)
 1 stalk celery, chopped
 1 clove garlic, chopped
 4 T. butter, room temperature
 1 1/2 T. flour
 2 sprigs fresh thyme
 water
 1 c. milk
 salt
 pepper

 Turn the broiler on in the oven and set the rack six inches below it.
 Spray a sheet pan with non-stick spray. Core the fresh tomatoes (not as essential with Romas) and spread them out on the pan. Broil on both sides until the skins are blackened. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
 In a large saucepan (larger is better so it doesn't spit at you), sauté the onion and a couple of pinches of salt in 2 T. butter for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. (Adding the salt immediately with the onion helps to bring out the sugars in the onion, which will help it to carmelize faster.) Add the carrot and celery and continue to cook until the onions are starting to brown, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 5 more minutes, until they're more thoroughly browned but not burning. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Remove the pan from the heat.
(I have found that I perfer to slow roast the tomatoes, rather than broil - cook onions and tomatoes in the oven at 250 for 4-5 hours until fully cooked and browned around the edges.)
 Place all of the contents of the saucepan in the blender. If you're supplementing with canned tomatoes, add a 15-oz. can, juice and all, along with the onion mixture to the blender, purée the tomatoes, in two batches, in the blender. Strain the seeds and skins and add to the saucepan. Stir everything together and return to heat. Add 1 cup of water and leaves from the thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

(Beurre manié (French "kneaded butter") is a dough, consisting of equal parts of soft butter and flour, used to thicken soups and sauces. By kneading the flour and butter together, the flour particles are coated in butter. When the beurre manié is whisked into a hot or warm liquid, the butter melts, releasing the flour particles without creating lumps)

Stir together the remaining 2 T. room temperature butter and flour to make a beurre manié.
Stir the beurre manié into the soup and continue stirring as the soup thickens slightly. Stir the milk into the soup and remove the pan from the heat. If you prefer a thinner soup, you can add more milk. I like to use whole milk for a richer soup.


 Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.
 You can, of course, strain the soup if you don't like the tomato seeds in there. It wasn't a big deal to me, and straining would take a while. Plus I really liked the consistency of the soup, which would smooth out more upon straining. Removing the skins before puréeing the soup takes away the biggest reason to strain, but use your own judgment.
 Also, one or two tablespoons of chipotle purée would be a great addition if you're not serving it to spicy-sensitive kids.

Mashed Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 6 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. 
2. Allow potatoes to cool enough to peel the skin off with your hands.
3. After peeling, put the sweet potatoes in a bowl, add butter and season with the salt and pepper.
4. Mash with potato masher
5. Serve

Nutritional Information

Per Serving

• Calories 214
• Calories From Fat 50%
• Fat 12g
• Sat Fat 7g
• Cholesterol 31mg
• Sodium 230mg
• Carbohydrate 26g
• Fiber 4g
• Sugar 5g
• Protein 2g

Kale Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 bunches Tuscan kale (about 14 oz), ribs removed and leaves sliced into 1/4-inch shreds
• 1/2 cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus shavings for garnish
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat breadcrumbs, toasted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Add kale and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes.
2. Add grated cheese and breadcrumbs and toss.
3. Garnish with shaved cheese before serving. Cover and refrigerate leftovers up to two days.