Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder

This chowder is so GOOD!  You will thank me later.  Enjoy!  

2 bunches (about 1 pound) fresh broccoli (or you can use frozen)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter (to sauté onions)

1/2 cup butter (to make white sauce)

1/2 cup flour

4 cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp. salt

16 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups sweet white corn (frozen works great)*

¼ teaspoon Pepper

Pinch freshly ground Nutmeg (optional)

Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Cut broccoli into bite size pieces and cook just until tender.  Do not overcook.  Drain and cut into smaller pieces; set aside.  Sautee chopped onion in the 1/4 cup butter until tender; add corn to onions and cook just until warmed - set aside.  In a large saucepan or soup pot prepare a white sauce; melt the 1/2 cup butter over medium heat, then stir in flour until well blended.  Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and salt.  Stir constantly until mixture reaches a boil.  Cook 1 to 2 minutes until thickened.  Add broccoli, onion and corn.  Stir in cheese.  Stir in pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.  Cook 10 minutes over medium - low heat.  Avoid bringing to a boil.   Serve immediately or keep warm over low heat.  Recipe makes 8-10 servings.

*The corn is optional.  I LOVE it with the corn, but my mom prefers it without.  Try and it and let me know which you prefer!    

Pavlova

A sweet Sister missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is serving in our area from Australia and she asked me to make Pavlova for her.  Pavlova is the National Dessert of Australia, so it is a big deal to her.  I wanted to make an authentic version and  found this recipe on an Australian website to ensure it would meet her expectations.  The results were heavenly!  The Pavlova is light, crisp and creamy. The berries were perfect, but using kiwi is also traditional.

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Pavlova 

4 egg whites

1 cup superfine sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar 2 teaspoons cornstarch

1. In small electric mixer bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

2. Add sugar, lemon juice and sifted cornflour and beat until stiff and glossy (at least 10

minutes).

3. Cover a baking tray with baking paper.

4. Pile meringue onto paper and shape into a large circle, leaving the centre slightly hollowed.

5. Bake in at 260 for 1½ hours or until crisp on the outside.

6. Turn oven off and leave pavlova to cool in oven with door closed.

7. Decorate with whipped cream and fruit in season.

Per Sister Chapman, they put a layer of chilled custard sauce under the whipped cream and berries.  

Serves: 10-12; Preparation time: 15 to 30 minutes

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• Custard Sauce
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup sugar (divided)
• 4 large ege yolks
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• Combine the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and 1/4 cup sugar in a large, heavy nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. 
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• Prepare the ice bath if you plan to serve the sauce cooled. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the egg yolks. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Temper the eggs by gradually adding about one-third of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the remaining cream mixture, return to the pan, and gently cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6-8 minutes.  
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• Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher ot serve warm, or into a bowl set over the ice bath to serve chilled. Stir the sauce occationaly as it cools. Cover with plastic wrap, placing the plastic wrap direclty on the sauce so a skin will not form on top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
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• Whipped Cream
• 2 Cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
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• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar, and vanilla. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.
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• To assemble Pavlova:
• Place cooled Pavlova on a plate or cake stand. Put 1 cup custard sauce inside the indentation of the pavlova and spread evenly. Top with the whipped cream and spread inside the indentation. Top with berries that have been washed and dried. You can also use Kiwi if you like. Slice with a sharp knife and serve immediately You won't have any leftovers!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits (Red Lobster copycat)

Try them once and you will be disappointed the next time you eat at Red Lobster. Why? Because they are even better than the orginal! Yes, they are that good! Light and fluffy, yet the crust is crunchy and buttery. As always, let me know how you like them!  








Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Biscuit:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup cold whole milk

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Pinch of Salt

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp parsley flakes

Garlic salt

Brush on top

6 tablespoons butter, melted

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

¼  teaspoon dried parsley flakes

¼ teaspoon Oregano

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine Bisquick and cold butter. Don't combine too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter about the size of peas.  Add cheddar, milk and seasonings.

Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix. Drop 12 equal portions onto greased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle garlic salt on top of each biscuit lightly. 

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until tops are light brown.

Melt butter in a bowl. Stir in seasonings, parsley and oregano.

Use a pastry brush to spread garlic butter over tops of biscuits.

Make a dozen large biscuits.  

Simply the Best Chocolate Chips Cookies

I have been on the quest for many years to find the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I have made hundreds of recipes!  Finally, a few months ago, I stumbled upon one that seemed to be the one. After a few tweeks, here it is!  Simply the best chocolate chip cookies, ever.  They are easy to make, even easier to eat and they turn out perfectly every single time.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!  

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.   Bake for 10-12 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. 

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool.  Makes approximately 2.5 dozen.  

Tip:  If you like a crispier cookie, flatten slightly with hand before baking.  If you like a fluffy cookie, scoop and leave as balls. 

Corn Salsa

Corn salsa that is HEAVENLY!  Don't let the cinnamon fool you.  It is so good, your lips will be smacking you in the face just to get to another bite.  Wow!  Such a flavor explosion!   And it is HEALTHY too!  The delicious salsa recipe is courtesy of Meredith Wittman by way of a Penzey's catalog from August 2011.  I have slightly modified it, to make it even better of course!  I love it with tortilla chips or served with a variety of Mexican inspired dishes.  Enjoy!


Corn Salsa

3 large ears of corn
1 large onion, chopped
2 Jalapenos (seeds removed unless you like it HOT), finely chopped
1 garden tomato, chopped
1⁄3-1⁄2 Cup lime juice
3⁄4 tsp. GROUND CUMIN
1⁄4 tsp. CINNAMON
1⁄2 tsp. GROUND BLACK PEPPER
1/2 tsp. Kosher or Sea SALT
1 small cucumber, chopped and seeds removed
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed,  and thoroughly dried with paper towels

Shuck the corn and remove the corn from the cobs. In a large bowl, combine the corn, onion, peppers, tomato, lime juice and SPICES. Mix well. Add the cucumber and/or black beans and mix again.  For best results (and to ensure a flavor explosion) cover prepared salsa and let sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Prep. time: 15 minutes
Yield: about 7 cups

Nutritional Information: Servings 7; Serving Size 1 cup (188g);
Calories 80; Calories from fat 10; Total fat 1g; Cholesterol 0mg;
Sodium 105mg; Carbohydrate 19g; Dietary Fiber 4g; Protein 4g.

Link to Meredith Wittmann's original recipe in the Penzeys catalog (page 42)

Shrimp Sauce or Yum Yum Sauce...

Whatever you call it, it is delicious! I found a recipe on Pinterest that claimed to be the real deal for the shrimp sauce that you find served at Hibachi type restaurants.  I made it and it just didn't have the right taste.  I made it several times and tweaked it until it was PERFECT!  

I used an electric griddle to make shrimp, chicken, onions, zucchini, mushrooms and rice.  

So simple and way more affordable than dining out!   

Shrimp Sauce/Yum Yum Sauce

1-1/4 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise *

1/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoon tomato paste

2 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tsp sriracha (Korean garlic chili sauce)

1 tsp honey

1 tsp seasoned rice wine vinegar

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Melt butter in a glass bowl, add warm water, sugar, honey and mix to dissolve sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients – adding the mayonnaise last. Using a fork or a whisk, blend all ingredients together thoroughly until well mixed and the sauce is smooth. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temperature before serving.

The sauce will NOT taste right if you don't let it sit overnight.

* As everyone knows, I generally prefer Dukes mayo. However, in this recipe, Hellmann’s comes the closest to replicating the taste of the sauce. Hellmann's is called "Best Foods" west of the Rockie Mountains. Use other mayos at your peril - many other brands make the sauce taste too much like mayo.

Walnut Date Bran Muffins

I fell in love with bran muffins during a trip to Canada when I was 15 years old.  I have tinkered with many recipes over the years to make the most perfectly moist and tasty bran muffin ever.  This is my most recent creation that combines ground flax, chewy dates and crunchy walnuts.  And I think it is the best yet!  Let me know what you think.




1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped majool dates (optional)
1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts (optional)
1 cup bran
1/2 cup ground flax
1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup molasses
1 egg, extra large
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Combine your dry ingredients: mix flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda       and salt.
2.  Add dates and walnuts to flour and stir.
3.  In a separate bowl, mix the bran, ground fax, milk and buttermilk together.  Let sit for five minutes to moisten the bran and flax.
4.  Stir molasses, egg, coconut oil and vanilla into the bowl with the bran/milk mixture.
5.  Pour wet mixture into the dry and stir until combined.  Be careful not to over-mix.

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.  Fill each muffin tin with batter.  Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve with butter and a little sprinkle of kosher salt.  ENJOY!