Free Time!!!

Let me set the scene for you.  It's Wednesday at 10 am.  I realize I have no place I need to be or anything I need to be doing for an hour and a half.  How has this happened?  I have no clue.  I have a sneaking suspicion that I have forgotten that I should be somewhere doing something.  I decide to ignore that thought and enjoy the free time, rather than walking around aimlessly waiting for the school to call me and tell me that one of my minis has ralphed all over.

I crank up the tunes to my favorite Pandora station, flip on the fireplace, and head to the kitchen.  Since it's cloudy with a high of 20 and snowing today, there was really only one thing I could consider cooking.  Soup.  And I knew I had to make this soup recipe that I got from my friend Jami.  My friend Jami lives in Seattle, which means she has very good taste in food and clothing.  So I get very excited whenever I get a new recipe from Jami.  I get equally excited when she messages telling me I should buy things she sees on my pinterest boards.

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged Cheddar Soup

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
6. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
7. Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again.
8. Mix in the milk, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Chop up your cauliflower, get it oiled, salt and peppered, and roast it at 400.

Remove your roasted cauliflower from the oven.  Resist the urge to eat the entire pan.

Get your onions and garlic sauteed.  Add in your fresh thyme (which by the way, can be a total bit** at times, but don't cheat and used dried.  The fresh is worth the effort).

Add your broth (I used chicken) and your cauliflower.

Get the broth boiling and let it simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

At this point, you need to puree your soup.  Now, I may sound like I am bragging, but I had a big decision to make....do I use my Vitamix or my Breville food processor?  I went for the Vitamix since my Breville was filled with fresh shredded aged white cheddar. 

 Get your soup all pureed and then return it to the pan on low heat.

Add your cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.

Pour in your milk/cream.  I suggest adding the milk slowly in small amounts and tasting it between each addition.  I personally prefer the soup with a stronger cauliflower taste, so I use less milk.

Once the milk is added and the soup is warm, it is ready to be served.  

This soup is absolutely delish.  I served it with a loaf of garlic cheddar bread from Great Harvest, which took the dinner from delish to fantastic.  

I actually felt sorry for this girl, who got no soup....but she did enjoy frequent "snow snacks" throughout the day!

Family Business

This past weekend we had a little bit of family business that we had to take care of in Florida.  Seeing as the temperature was -4 the morning we left, we were thrilled to head to sunny Florida to take care of our family business.  Here is what the McGhee family business looks like....

 Hey...I didn't say it was tough family business!  

After three days of gorging ourselves on dole whips, candy, and even a kitchen sink (!!!!), we were ready to come home and eat some homemade, nutritious food.  And I knew that this two-bags-of-spinach-recipe was  exactly what we needed.

Spinach-Artichoke Pasta 

• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 2 bags Baby Spinach
• 2 cans Artichoke Hearts, Drained And Halved
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 3 cups Whole Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1-1/2 cup Mozzarella Or Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (less Or More)
• 12 ounces, weight Penne, Cooked Until Al Dente
• 1/2 cup Seasoned Panko Breadcrumbs
• Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste

1.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot or skillet. Add garlic and throw in the spinach. Stir it around until it's wilted, about 1 minute. Remove spinach from heat and set aside.

2.  Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same pot and raise the heat to high. Throw in the halved artichokes and stir it around until they get a little color, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the artichokes from the pot and set them aside.

3.  Reduce the heat to low. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the pot. When melted, sprinkle in flour and whisk until it's combined. Pour in milk and whisk to combine. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until starting to thicken. Add Parmesan, Mozzarella/Monterey Jack, salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to melt, and if it's overly thick, splash in chicken broth.

4.  Add artichokes and pasta, tossing gently to combine. Gently fold in spinach, then pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the top with crushed red pepper flakes and plenty of Panko breadcrumbs for crunch.

Serve immediately!

*side-note:  I realize that this dish also contains over a stick of butter, 2 cups of cheese, and 3 cups of whole milk.  Not exactly low-carb, low-fat, or low-calorie.  You could definitely tweak it by using olive oil, less cheese, and lower-fat milk.*

That's a whole-lotta butter and garlic.  

Spinach before....

...spinach after....

..

Roasted artichokes.  The minis and I stood around the pan and ate them as they were cooking.  Next time I will add three cans.

The butter and flour....beginning of a roux.

Add your milk and whisk, whisk, whisk.

Add your cheese and let it melt.  Add your spices.  I took it easy on the cayenne pepper.

Add the artichoke and pasta back into the cheese sauce.

Fold in the wilted spinach.

Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with panko crumbs.  In all my excitement to eat this, I forgot the panko crumbs.  Didn't miss them one bit either.

This dish was easy to prepare and it smelled absolutely heavenly.  In fact, my boy minis actually abandoned their legos and came down to investigate what their sniffers were sniffing.  And they were not disapointed....this dish was a huge hit with the minis.  I'm talking man-sized portions.  Mr. McGhee and I agreed, this recipe is a keeper!  I served it with kale chips, which means that the McGhee family consumed 2 bags of spinach and a bag of kale in one dinner.  I think we should be good on the green leafy veggies for a few days.  

Lunch Lady on a Diet

Like everyone else in America, I am currently battling a few "holiday pounds".  Which means, like everyone else in America, I am currently on a diet/cutting back/counting calories.  Which means, like everyone else in America, I am hungry and cranky.

So, if you're in the same boat as I am here is a couple of lunch ideas that I have been rotating lately.  The first is a yummy spinach and fruit salad.

Heids McGhee Winter Fruit Salad

• spinach 
• grapefruit (cut into chunks)
• orange (cut into chunks)
• pomegranate seeds (a VERY fun project for the minis....removing pomegranate seeds)
• walnuts
• crumbled feta cheese
• salad dressing of your choice
• salt and pepper

1.  Combine all the ingredients.

This salad is very delish.  Super healthy too!

My other favorite lunch is turkey roll-ups.  My disclaimer is that this is a very processed meal, but it is convenient and would be the perfect lunch to pack to take with you to work.

Turkey Roll-up

• tortillas
• cream cheese, I used garlic and herb Laughing Cow (when I make these for the minis, I use hummus
• turkey slices (I get sliced oven roasted turkey breast from my local deli)
• pepper slices (I also like to add cucumber)

1.  Slather your cheese or hummus on your tortilla.

2.  Add your turkey and veggies and roll.

I love these.  THey're quick to make and convenient to pack.  They'll make all your coworkers with their lame diet lunches feel like a schmuck.  And that will ease your on a diet/counting calories/cutting back crankiness.

Confession Time

I have a confession to make.  It's a big one, so you should sit down.

I, Heids McGhee, have been going through the McDonald's drive-through nearly every day for the last month.

I, Heids McGhee, love McDonald's coffee.

Morally, ethically, and nutritionally, I am opposed to McDonalds.  In my mind, McDonalds is like Walmart's irritating step-brother.

Here's how I justify it in my head....

1.  It is only a dollar.  Well, actually it's  $1.09.  (And, truthfully, this arguement doesn't even hold after today's drive through experience....I got caught in one of those "pay for the person behind you" schemes.  So, my $1.09 ended up being $3.76 for the big man in the little red truck behind me who upon finding out I had paid for his heartattack on a biscuit starting honking and gesturing wildly at me.  At which point, I realized he had no clue that this was a "thing" that strangers do for one another and no, indeed, I was NOT being flirtatious.)

2.  I always put any change I have in the collection bin that goes to the Ronald McDonald House.  So, technically, my coffee habit is supporting parents that need housing while their kids are in the hospital.  (And being one of those families, I know how crucially important those houses are.  See, for this reason alone, I should not even feel as if I have to justify this habit.)

 3.  It's really all my grandma's fault anyway.  Grandma loved her coffee and she loved it hot.  Piping hot.  And apparently food temperature preference is herditary, because I inherited Grandma's preference.  And since McDonald's serves its coffee much hotter than any other establishment, (and despite $640,000 lawsuits, they refuse to lower their temperature) that's where I will get my scalding caffeine fix.

So there.  Conscience cleared.

I figured since I may as well give you all something to confess about as well.  I know that most of you are on a New Year's diet, but I just can't help myself from sharing this cookie recipe with you.  So go ahead and make them.  And then e-mail me your confession.  In some weird way, it will make me feel better than blaming Grandma for my bad habit.

Salted Caramel Rounds

• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 36 milk chocolate covered caramels (AKA Rolos)
• 12 vanilla caramels, unwrapped
• 1 teaspoon whipping cream, half and half, or light cream
• course salt

1.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

2.  In another large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated and brown sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. If necessary, cover and chill for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

3.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Press a chocolate-covered caramel into each ball and shape dough around caramel to enclose. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4.  Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely.

5.  To decorate, in a small saucepan combine vanilla caramels and whipping cream. Heat over medium-low heat until caramels melt and mixture is smooth. Drizzle melted caramel mixture over cookies and then sprinkle cookies with coarse salt. Let stand until set.

Mix your butter and sugar.  

Add eggs and vanilla.

Mix up your dry ingredients.

Add your wet and dry ingredients.  

Make a cookie ball and stick your rolo in the middle.  

 Make sure the rolo is in the middle of the dough ball.  

Bake.  Let cool.

 Make your caramel sauce.

Sprinkle with sea salt.

These cookies were really quite amazing.  I suggest you try them and if you have any extras, drop them off to your McD's coffee-loving friends.