Carrot Soup

Melissa's Notes: A few years ago I was on vacation over St. Patrick's Day Weekend and the restaurant where I was staying at had the usual fare of corned beef and cabbage and the like. I decided to try the soup that night, and it just happened to be carrot soup. Let me tell you, I wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised, it was one of the yummiest soups I had ever tasted; and I do love my soup, let me tell you. Since then, I have been wanting to try a carrot soup recipe, and last week, I finally did! You know it's a hit when your 4 year old asks for another bowl and finishes the whole thing. That has never happened before with soup at my house. Never. James also gave it two thumbs up, and admitted that he wasn't too excited when he heard we were having carrot soup, but it was "surprisingly, really good!". Of course it was, James, how could you ever doubt me?

Carrot Soup w/ Sesame Bread Cubes (although it's great even without the bread cubes!)

recipe courtesy of Keeping Up Cookbook

6 Tbsp. butter
3 c. peeled and chopped carrots
1 c. chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
1 c. chopped celery
6 c. chicken broth
1 c. heavy cream or half-and-half
1 c. sour cream
1 Tbsp. Asian sesame oil, divided
5 c. 1" bread cubes, crusts removed (preferably from day-old French bread)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions (I left this out)

Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, leeks, and celery. Cover and cook for 10 min., stirring occasionally. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Return to soup pot. Whisk cream, sour cream and 1 tsp. of the sesame oil into soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter with 2 tsp. of sesame oil over medium heat. Add bread cubes and saute until golden brown and crispy.

Ladle soup into bowls and mound bread cubes in the center of each bowl. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

*I halved this recipe and it was gone that night, so if you want leftovers, make the whole thing. Also, the soup gets an interesting consistency when you add in the sour cream, so if you want, you could just add a dollop to each bowl so you have a prettier soup. Personally, I liked the soup better without the bread cubes, but I thought I'd include them in case they sounded good to someone else.

Corn Chowder

Melissa's Notes: I've tried a lot of different recipes for Corn Chowder, and most of the time, it just doesn't do it for me. But when I had my second child, Annie, my good friend Jen brought this over for dinner one night and it was delicious! So even if you don't get excited at the thought of Corn Chowder, give this one a try, it might just change your mind. Serve with Cornbread Muffins.

recipe courtesy of Jen

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1/2 c. flour
2 cans chicken broth
2 c. fat-free half and half
1 c. onions, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1 c. carrots, chopped
2 c. potatoes, cubed (I used yukon gold)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 can corn

Melt butter and add flour, quickly stirring. Cook about 1 minute, then slowly add chicken broth and half and half, continually stirring. Add the salt, and all the vegetables, except corn. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender. Add extra chicken broth or milk if soup is too thick. Add the canned corn, and heat through. This makes enough for 6-8 adult servings.

Summer Tomato and Basil Soup w/ Grown-up Grilled Cheese

Melissa's Notes: This meal was soooo good. I am not a huge fan of tomato soup (esp. the Campbell's soup kind), but I love the tomato soup at Nordstroms Cafe. My Mom bought this cookbook years ago, and I finally tried this recipe, YUM! I made up the grilled cheese recipe myself (I know, not so hard to do, but you have to start small), and it was so satisfying to eat together. It got rave reviews from hubby and kids, they ate it all up! A winner in my book if my 2 year old is getting some vegetables in her. I halved this recipe and it still made plenty. I love that you don't need fresh basil to make the soup, very convenient. And I am positive that if you left the whipping cream out it would still be super good (for the health conscious).

courtesy of Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook
For the soup:
1/3 cup EVOO
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. dried basil
3 28-oz. cans whole Italian-style tomatoes in puree
1 14-1/2 oz. can chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. lightly packed fresh basil leaves, cut into fine ribbons

In a 6-8 quart saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots, onion, and dried basil and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes, including the puree, and the broth and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes to blend the flavors.

Remove from the heat. Puree the soup in the saucepan using a wand type immersion blender or working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan, add the cream, and place over medium heat. Warm until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into a warmed soup tureen or individual bowls, garnish with the basil, and serve immediately.

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese (my own recipe)

fresh French bread from the store
Havarti cheese
Grated Parmesan Cheese (I just used the Kraft kind)

Assemble the sandwiches by cutting thick slices of bread, and putting about 2 slices cheese on each. Heat a skillet to medium heat. Melt some butter and olive oil together on skillet. Put sandwiches on skillet, and flip right away to make sure the butter/oil mixture soaks in on both sides. Sprinkle the tops with the Parmesan. Get another skillet and squish down the bread, leaving the skillet on top (kind of like Panini). When browned on one side, flip and brown the other side. Smoosh the bread again so it's a nice thin sandwich.