March (Soups and Salads)

Courtney Zaugg:

Cheesy Broccoli Chowder

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

(Courtney said to pass along that this isn't her favorite soup, but Sander loves it!)

Jasmine Sagum:

Mushroom, Potato Leek Soup

4 TBS olive oil

3 leeks, white parts only, CLEANED WELL, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, peeled & sliced

6 cups of broth (vegetable or chicken)

1 lb mushrooms, sliced (cremini and/or button)

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup milk (I use unsweetened rice milk, but you can use whatever milk

you have on hand (cow, soy, etc))

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup heavy cream (to keep this dairy free, and to save on uneeded

calories and fat, I use CASHEW CREAM instead (recipe follows))

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried dill

3 bay leaves

pepper

Clean your leeks well. If you don't know how, here's a quick video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpGgm-dqYnI Make sure to clean them well, or you will be left with sand in your soup.

1. In a large pot on medium-high heat, saute the leeks and carrots in half the oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the broth and seasonings.
3. Add potatoes and cook for about 20-30 minutes on medium heat, or until the potatoes are soft (the time will depend on how large you cut the potatoes).
4. Meanwhile, in a separate saute pan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, and saute them until they are cooked (about 10 minutes). Add these to the soup.
5. Once the potatoes are done:
6. In a small bowl add the flour to the milk and cream. Mix thoroughly and add the the soup. Stir well.
7. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens. Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately.

Cashew Cream
(I use this recipe in place of heavy cream in all of my soup and pasta recipes!)

Place 1/2 cup cashews in your blender. Add enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes until very smooth. If you don't have a high-powered blender, like a blendtec vitamix, this can take up to 5 minutes.

Katie Naylor:

Spinach Salad

Spinach

3 Gala Apples

¼ c. thinly sliced purple onion

2 avocados, diced

1-2 cups candied pecans (broken into small pieces)

1 c. dried cranberries

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, toss with Poppy Seed Dressing just before serving.

Poppy Seed Dressing

½ c. mayonnaise

½ c. sugar

2 T. apple cider vinegar

2 T. poppy seeds

¼ c. milk

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. (You will not need

all of the dressing for the salad…use only enough to lightly coat spinach.)

Candied Pecans

Preheat oven to 300°.

Butter a large cookie/baking sheet.

1 egg white

1 tsp. water

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 c. Pecans

In a large bowl, beat until frothy, egg white and 1 tsp. water. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, salt and

cinnamon until well combined.

Add 4 cups Pecans to egg white mixture and toss until all pecans are coated.

Add cinnamon/sugar mixture to the pecans and toss to coat.

Spread the sugar coated pecans evenly over the buttered baking sheet.

Bake at 300° for 40-50 minutes (depending on your oven) turning the pecans every 15 min.

*Once the pecans are dry when you turn them, they should be done. (Mine usually take 40-45 min)

Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a sheet of foil.

Trish Atkinson

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2-3 large cooked, cut-up or shredded chicken breasts (I boil my chicken) Noodles (I use 1/2 a bag of "Country Pasta" - homemade style egg pasta (don't use egg noodles, they fall apart))

1-2 cups of carrots

1-2 cups of celery

1/2 of a large onion

4 bouillon cubes

3 cans of chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

1 can cream of chicken soup

In a large pot combine chicken broth and bouillon cubes on med heat until cubes are dissolved. Then add chicken, noodles, carrots, celery, and onion. Bring to a simmer and simmer until vegetables are tender. Then add evaporated milk and cream of chicken soup and mix well. Eat and enjoy!! Total prep cook time is about 1 hour.

Abbey Morris:

Potato & Ham Soup

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes (check potatoes with a knife that it goes through easily- they are soft). I usually get a potato masher and mash a little bit, but it is up to you if you want full pieces of potatoes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

I have also added cheddar cheese and some cream which made it pretty rich. But it was AWESOME!

I serve this with banana bread and it is always amazing.

Costa Vida Sweet Pork Salad

Ingredients:

Pork Roast (4-5 lbs), thawed if frozen
3 cups Coke
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. (heaping) brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large carrots, peeled and grated
1 (smallish) jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 6-7 hours. Once done, remove roast and put on cutting board.

Add another 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a cup of coke to crock pot and stir. Shred roast (it should easily come apart). Add shredded pork back in crock pot.

Cook on low another 3 hours (I did it for two and it was fine.)

SALAD:

Add cilantro, avocado, rice, black beans, tomatoes and any type of salsa on a bed of lettuce (I use romaine or mixed greens to get an added value) with the pork.

Deanna Williams

Zucchini Soup

3 large zucchinis finely grated
1/4 onion finely grated
Butter
4 oz cream cheese
6 cups water
Chicken bouillon: amount equal to 6 cups of water
About 10 drops of worcestershire sauce (adjust to preference)

Sautee zucchini and onion in butter. Add cream cheese and melt. Add water. Boil, then add bouillon and worcestershire sauce. Simmer for about an hr. Enjoy!

April Felix

Easy Thai Coconut Soup
Recipe by Ourbestbites.com
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh minced ginger, or 1 ½ teaspoons ground dry ginger
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth
1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk or light coconut milk (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 packages ramen noodes (discard seasoning packet)
optional: ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
1 ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 cup diced or shredded cooked chicken
toppings: additional chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, and lime wedges
Instructions
Heat medium sized pot to medium-high heat on stove top. Add olive oil, jalapeno, and ginger (if using fresh.) Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until jalapeno and ginger are softened and fragrant. If using ground ginger, add now and stir. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, and salt and increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add noodles (note you will discard seasoning packet that comes with noodles.) Simmer 3-5 minutes, until noodles are softened. If using mushrooms, add them in the final 2-3 minutes of cooking the noodles. Add chicken and simmer for about 30 seconds to heat through. Remove pot from heat and stir in lime juice, chicken, and cilantro. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with additional chopped cilantro, green onions, and lime wedges if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
Note: This type of noodle absorbs liquid exceptionally fast, so you should serve the soup immediately. If you know you need to keep the soup warm for a while before serving, wait to add the noodles until a few minutes before you’re ready to serve.

Linda Atwood:

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

8 oz. (1/2 bag) of baby spinach

1/2-1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 thinly sliced medium red onion

1 large avocado, cubed

8 oz. mozzarella or Swiss cheese, shredded

1 12-oz. package bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 large can Mandarin oranges, drained

Poppy seed dressing, to taste

Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. When ready to serve, toss with desired amount of salad dressing and serve immediately. If you anticipate leftovers, just let your eaters dress their own salads because the dressing will make the greens wilt.

Poppyseed Dressing

1/3 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. mustard
1 green onion, ends removed
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a blender, combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard. While the blender is running, add the green onion. Continue running the blender and add the oil in a steady stream and is fully incorporated into the dressing.

Pour the dressing into a serving or storage container and whisk in poppy seeds.

Laura Duvalois:

Apple Spinach Salad with Red Onion Dressing

1 bunch of spinach, torn
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 granny smith apple, diced and added right before serving
1/2 cup toasted, sugared slivered almonds
(I melt 1/4 c. + 1 T. sugar over med. high heat then mix almonds in and let dry on foil. Then break apart.)

Dressing:
1/8 red onion
1/3 c. oil
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix dressing in blender and pour over salad just before serving.

Caitlin Peterson:

Sweet Vinegar Dressing

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. apple cider

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dry parsley plakes

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Combine all ingredients together and blend well. Chill before serving.

Sweet Salad:

Slivered Almonds

Fresh parmesan cheese shaved

Strawberries, Grapes, Apples (or any kind of fruit you want)

Lettuce (or any kind you want)