Simply Delicious Broccoli Cheddar Soup

It's getting a bit chilly outside and that means it's time for soup for dinner (and for lunch and possibly even breakfast!)
I created this simple, satisfying and ultra-cheesy broccoli soup to warm me up.

4 C chicken or vegetable broth
4 C chopped fresh broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 tsp olive, canola or other light tasting oil
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 (15 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese (*see note below)
1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder OR 1 clove garlic, pressed
a few generous pinches of Old Bay or Cajun seasoning

In a large pot, cook diced onion in olive or canola oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the butter and melt over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined.
Add the chicken broth and stir until combined. Add the broccoli and heat over medium high heat until it comes to a low boil.
Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Stir in the evaporated milk and continue cooking for 3 minutes, returning to a simmer.
At this point, you can mash the broccoli with a potato masher, if desired. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

* I used 2 cups of Tillamook Medium Cheddar AND 2 cups of Tillamook Sharp White Cheddar (Farm Style Cut). Some brands of shredded cheese melt more easily than others. I recommend buying a block of cheddar and shredding it yourself and adding it to the hot soup, off the heat and stir until melted, to avoid curdling the cheese.
The Farm Style Cut Sharp White Cheddar really punched up the flavor of this soup.  If you prefer a less sharp result, use cheddar only.

Caramel Apple Squares

A memory came up this morning that made me think of Fall desserts.

So now I am craving this ooey, gooey, sweet piece of Heaven.  The Gluten Free cookie mix is on my list for my next shopping trip. Or, perhaps I have a box if it in my Jenga-esque pantry : )

This is simple to prepare, delicious and satisfying and can be made with traditional or gluten free cookie mix. 

 

Caramel Apple Squares

1 Hodgson Mills GF cookies mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 C oats
3 small to medium granny Smith apples
1 jar Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel sauce

Line a 9" baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Grease well.
Mix all ingredients except apples and caramel.

Press half dough into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and chop apples; mix with the caramel sauce.

Spread over partially baked crust.

Put the remaining crust dough on top, breaking into pieces and covering apples well. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut into squares.

Delicious topped with vanilla or vanilla-cinnamon ice cream, or whipped cream.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Four

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.

Continuing the series of ideas that can help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

(This is from a self.com article)

Day Four: Take Five (Minutes to Meditate)

Meditation seems like a thing that only yoga teachers do, but it doesn't need to be a whole thing to be effective. Don't worry about accomplishing anything or reaching some sort of enlightenment when you do it; just the fact that you're taking a few minutes to calm down and focus on your breathing is huge. If you don't know where to start, just sit quietly and focus on breathing in and out, slowly, for two minutes. Then work up to five minutes the next time you do it.

You’ll be doing yourself a favor by just doing nothing but breathe for a little while and

it feels good to be mindful and present in the moment.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Three

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.
Today I'll continue a series of ideas that you can do to help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.
(This is from a self.com article)
Day Three: Borrow Things from Vacation
Think about things you only enjoy on vacation. Then inject a little of that into your daily life.

We tend to have a more chill outlook on everything when we're on vacation. You replace the gym with swimming and walking, dinner consists of potlucks with new friends or dining at a quaint little bistro, and your email (hopefully) has an out-of-office reply. What if we took just a little bit of that mentality and made it the rule - rather than the exception? Maybe that means skipping the gym to go for a simple run in the park, turning your phone on Do Not Disturb between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. or simply reading outside for a little while.  Obviously it won't make you feel like you're on vacation, but it might help you reclaim your time.

Let's Talk About Mental Health – Day Two

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.
Today I'll continue a series of ideas that you can do to help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.
(This is from a self.com article)
Day Two: Turn the TV Off
Do something else besides watching TV before bed.

If you've lost track of more nights than you can count while binge-watching a series, only to feel tired and groggy and kind of behind on life the next day, try a little experiment where you don't watch TV before bed for a week. Use that time to read, color, call your mom, journal, take a bath, whatever. For a lot of people, zoning out with a good series can be a therapeutic coping mechanism, which is great, but it's helpful to find other tools for calming down at the end of the day. And maybe you'll find one that won't occasionally keep you up until 2 a.m.

Let's Talk About Mental Health

When it comes to actually being mentally well, there's no shortage of self-care strategies out there, but not everyone has the time and money to spend on a wellness retreat or horse therapy or crystals that may or may not chill you out.

Today I'll start a series of ideas that you can do to help keep your mind, body and soul feeling good. (or at least less stressed)

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

(This is from a self.com article)

Day One:

Give yourself permission to take a mental health day when you need it.

Try to think of it as preventive medicine - by taking a day to relax and recharge now, you're giving your body (and immune system) some time to catch up, which could help prevent an actual sick day in your future.

Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya

Celebrate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) with some homemade Jambalaya. It's easy to make and oh so delicious. Make it as hot or mild as you want, raise a Hurricane glass of rum punch, crank up the Dixieland Jazz and make sure to save room for a slice of King Cake! (Lent starts tomorrow!)

Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya

2 T vegetable oil, divided

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 red sweet bell pepper, diced
1 green sweet bell pepper, diced
1 yellow sweet bell pepper, diced
3 stalks of celery, sliced or diced

1 pound of Andouille sausage or Chorizo sausage, sliced into 1/4” slices (remove the skin if necessary) OR boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes. (OR use a combo the two)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well - reserving juice for seasoning

4 C hot, cooked rice of your choice (I use Uncle Ben’s Boil in the Bag – 2 bags)

Combine in a small bowl:
1/2 tsp (or more!) of hot sauce (Tabasco, Franks Red Hot, Tapatio, etc.)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp (or more!) of cayenne pepper

1/4 to 1/2 pound peeled and cleaned raw shrimp (about 20 medium or large sized)

2 green onions chopped
lemon slices for garnish
(optional)

Mise en place: (set up ahead of time)
Chop and dice all vegetables and set aside: onions and garlic in a one bowl; peppers and celery in another.
Slice meat and clean shrimp. (sprinkle shrimp with sea salt) Set aside.
Combine the spices in a small bowl.
Drain the tomatoes, save the juice.
Whisk spices into reserved tomato juice.
Cook rice and set aside.

Heat 1 T of oil in a very large, family-sized skillet (or wok if you don’t have a very large skillet) 
Add onion and garlic, cook on medium, for about 3 minutes.  Add peppers and celery, cook about 5 minutes more.  Transfer mixture to a bowl, and set aside.  
Heat remaining oil, and cook the sausage or chicken on medium high heat, browning on all sides.  Stir, stir, stir. 
Reduce heat to medium.
Return the veggies to the pan, stir in tomatoes, rice and tomato juice/seasoning mixture. Cook for 3 minutes. 
Push mixture to the side of the pan, add a drizzle of oil and add shrimp to the pan.  Cook and stir for a few minutes until shrimp turns pink.  Stir shrimp into the rest of the mixture.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook a few minutes longer.  I like to garnish with chopped green onions, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and more hot sauce, ‘cause I like it spicy!