Healthy Cream of Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

3 cups (1/2-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, divided
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
Dash of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine asparagus, broth, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Place asparagus mixture in a blender; process until smooth.

Place flour in pan. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add puréed asparagus and ground nutmeg; stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 teaspoon thyme, butter, salt, and lemon rind.

-Cooking Light magazine

My Favorite Cheesecake

I'm kind of known for my cheesecake, and many of my friends and family already have the recipe since I've given it to anyone who's asked over the years, but I thought I'd share it here.  It is a really good cheesecake if I do say so myself.  I spent a long time trying many different cheesecake recipes until I came up with a recipe that I think is perfect.  It's pretty close to a recipe from allrecipes.com, but I've changed the recipe just a little as well as the cooking technique.  The cheesecake pictured is topped with a can of raspberry pie filling, which would be beautiful for Valentine's day, but obviously strawberry would be perfect as well.

 

 Favorite Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 3/4 cups white sugar 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place a large roasting pan filled up with about an inch of water in the bottom rack of the oven.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup of the white sugar, and the melted butter together. Press mixture into the bottom of one 9 or 10 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks; mix until smooth. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups white sugar, the vanilla,  the flour and the heavy cream. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place cheesecake in preheated oven on center rack above the rack with the pan of water.

Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 250 degrees F (100 degrees C) and continue baking for 1 hour, or until filling is set. Cheesecake will still jiggle slightly in the center and be lightly browned around the edges when it is done. Do not over-bake. Let cheesecake cool, then refrigerate. This cheesecake is excellent served plain or with your choice of canned (or homemade) pie filling.  It's also a nice addition to grate some lemon zest into the batter.  You can also add mini chocolate chips before baking and drizzle with caramel. Let me know if you come up with any other great variations!

 

Beef Broccoli Lo Mein

So, after all the sweet things I posted, I thought I'd post something healthy!  I originally got this recipe from Cooking Light and I've been making it for years now! The whole family loves it and it's super fast to make.  I used frozen broccoli florets and just made sure not to overcook them.  In fact, after cooking the onions and broccoli, I removed them to a plate, cooked the meat in a little of the sauce (I mixed the last 4 ingredients together in a cup), then added the broccoli and onions back in.  I hope that made sense. If not, just follow the recipe as written! Oh! Also, I prefer it when I cut the meat super thin. Much thinner than in my picture.:) 

Beef Broccoli Lo-Mein

4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed and cut across the grain into long, thin strips
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Combine pasta and sesame oil, tossing well to coat.
While pasta cooks, heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add broccoli and onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add steak, and sauté 5 minutes or until done. Add pasta mixture, soy sauce, and remaining ingredients; cook 1 minute or until lo mein is thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Chocolate Waffles

I know I just posted a chocolate cupcake recipe, but with Valentine's Day fast approaching, you can't have too much chocolate! How about chocolate for breakfast? I have several waffle irons, one of which makes flower shaped waffles that are fun.  I also had a heart shaped iron for a while, but a regular waffle iron will do too! It would be really good with strawberries and whipped cream as well!

 

Chocolate Waffles

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

2 eggs

4 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup mini chocolate chips, optional

Preheat waffle iron. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cocoa. Stir in milk, eggs and butter until mixture is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips if desired.

Cook per your waffle iron specifications.

Earthquake Cupcakes

I got a recipe for Earthquake Cake years ago, and decided to make the recipe in cupcake form.  No, it's not a pretty cupcake, but it is gooey and good.  The recipe calls for pecans which I LOVE, but didn't have this day so... I left them out.  Still good. Kinda like an upside down German Chocolate Cake. 

Earthquake Cupcakes

1 chocolate cake mix, prepared according to the directions on the box
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecans chopped
1 8 oz. stick of cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz. stick of butter, melted
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put 24 cupcake liners in cupcake tin. Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box.  Sprinkle a half tablespoon each of coconut and chopped pecans in bottom of cupcake liner.  Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into each liner, or until over halfway full. 
In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and cream cheese together, stirring often until both are melted and combined.  Blend in 4 cups powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.  Put about a tablespoon of butter mixture on top of batter in each cupcake. Swirl the butter mixture in a little with the tip of a knife. 
Bake for about 12-15 minutes.  They may seem slightly underdone, but they will firm up as they cool.  Butter mixture will sink into the cake and make a gooey center.

Ice Cream Cones

I know ice cream cones are a strange way to kick off my food blog, but the fact is, I've been wanting to start blogging about food, and just haven't done it, and it just so happens that this is what I made today that I'm excited about.  So here it is...

I've been wanting to buy a waffle cone iron for a long time, but even when I find them on sale they've been about $25 and though that's not a huge expense, I couldn't rationalize spending the money on an item I might use a couple times a year at best. But, when I ran across one at "Tuesday Morning" for a mere $11.99 I didn't even hesitate. In fact, I was headed for the store exit to leave to pick up my hubby from his vanpool and go on our date, when I saw this find and decided it was worth it to be late to pick him up! Don't tell him that though.
So, as we got home late from our date night, and the kids had already had chocolate shakes courtesy of my mother, I didn't get to try the iron out immediately. When morning came I could wait no longer, and I must admit... I made waffle bowls and ice cream sundaes for the kids for breakfast. Don't call children's services, it's honestly never happened before, and won't again... probably. I was bummed when the recipe that came with the iron failed miserably. It produced bubbles that created holes all over the cone. That wouldn't be an effective ice cream holder. I immediately suspected it was caused by the baking powder in the recipe. I searched online for other recipes, and NONE of them called for a leavener other than egg. I tried another recipe and... success!!! The only thing I'd change in the future is adding vanilla extract, so I'll go ahead and include that in the recipe. The recipe I used came from www.chocolategourmand.com.

Classic Waffle Cones

1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

Heat waffle iron, beat the eggs, salt, sugar, and vanilla together with whisk until well blended and fluffy. Add melted butter and whisk until blended.
Add flour to the batter mixture and gently fold until just blended.
Cook according to your waffle iron directions.

I made some into cones, which are pictured above, using the cone roller that came with my iron. I also made some into bowls (which my kids ate too quickly to photograph) by laying the hot waffle over the top of an inverted bowl. Perfect waffle cones and bowls!