Homemade Cream of Anything Soup

Back To Basics.  Sometimes that is the best thing for us.  Simple and whole ingredients.  Forget about the cans lined with BPA, high sodium and nasty preservatives.  Get control back of your kitchen, body and what goes into both of them.  This recipe for Homemade Cream of Anything Soup takes a few minutes and freezes so well.  I encourage you to try this tasty, basic, homemade ingredient.  Taste much better than pouring glop out of a can any day and knocks 'Mmm Mmm Good' out of the park. 

After you make this, bring on the Midwest Haute Dish! Hmmm I wonder what the next post will include????  Hint-o!


Homemade Cream of Anything Soup
Print recipe here
¼ C onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 TB unsalted butter
¼ C flour, unbromated and unbleached
4 C chicken broth
2 C cream or half & half
2 TB flour, unbromated and unbleached
1 tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
½ tsp thyme (or any seasoning you desire)
¼ tsp nutmeg

1. Melt butter in large frying pan over medium high heat. Add in onions, garlic (and any other veggie or meat you desire at the time). Cook 5 minutes until onions are coked and translucent.


2. Blend in the ¼ cup flour and stir until bubbly.


3. Add in the chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently.


4. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the cream, 2 tablespoons flour and seasonings together.


5. Slowly pour cream mixture into soup stirring constantly. Heat to a boil and thickens. (Will lightly coat the back of a spoon.)


Variations:
Cream of Chicken: add ¼ C shredded chicken.
Cream of Mushroom: add 1 C chopped mushrooms.
Cream of Celery: add ¼ C diced celery and ½ tsp celery salt and omit salt.
Cream of Onion: add another ¼ C chopped onion to equal ½ C.
Cream of Broccoli: add ½ C finely chopped broccoli.
Broccoli Cheese: add ½ C finely chopped broccoli and add ½ C sharp cheddar cheese when adding cream.
Cheese Soup: add ½ C sharp cheddar cheese when adding cream.

Note: If you know you are making the soup for a certain recipe, change up the thyme for parsley, oregano, basil, sage or your favorite herbs.
Tip: To equal a can of soup, store in 1 ½ C storage containers. Refrigerate or freeze for future use.

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:   Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Ranch French Bread Pizza

Wow has this month been flying by.  I have wanted to get something up all week.  I have been working on several things for you!  One is this gooey pizza perfect for a cold Friday night in.  This could also be called Leftovers Pizza.  I used leftover spaghetti sauce, left over chicken, leftover Green Goddess Dressing and a loaf of frozen french bread that had been in there for a week or two.  This would also be an easy appetizer to serve for Super Bowl Parties!  It qualifies as Ooey Gooey Gourmet. 
Sorry the pics are not award winning. I blame my lighting along with the dark cutting board and dark baking pan.  I am steadily improving that skill but these are a bit drab in my opinion.  When I make this again, and I will be making this again....!  I will update with something more impressive.



Ranch French Bread Pizza

1 loaf french bread
1/4 C unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 C pizza sauce
2 C shredded mozzarella
3/4 C ranch dressing (Leftover Green Goddess Dressing?)
garlic powder to taste
Basil and Oregano to top
Parmesan to sprinkle over top
Pizza topping of your choice- pepperoni, ham, chicken, bacon, onions, peppers, olives, green onions, mushrooms, etc...(I used left over chicken sliced thin)


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Slice your french bread lengthwise. Spread each side with 2 TB butter and then sprinkle with garlic powder. Spread 1/4 C of the pizza sauce on each bread.


2. Mix mozzarella and ranch in bowl, split between two breads and spread over pizza sauce.


3. Top with Basil and Oregano, meat of your choice. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from baking sheet and slice to serve.
 

PS- Do I have any MN followers? What was your temperature this morning where you are? Here you ask? -29 actual temperature. Currently it has warmed up to -17. Where are my kids you ask? At school! Crazy MN people....crazy. To say I am longing for summer would be a major understatement.


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:   Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Orange Maple Pork Tenderloin

Have you noticed a trend with my menu lately.  I notice that they all contain wine.  Hmmm...  It IS a great tenderizer, it does add a depth of flavor and I just happen to have some around from all the holiday goodness!   Great fancy dinner in 2 simple steps. 


Orange Maple Pork Tenderloin
Print recipe here
1-2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into large chunks
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C dry white wine
1/2 C pure maple syrup (KT#6)
2 TB grapeseed oil or unsalted butter
2 TB fresh rosemary, chopped  (KT#1)
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 TB orange juice
2 TB corn starch


1.  Place the cut pork tenderloin into the slow cooker. Pour the orange juice, wine, maple syrup and oil over the meat.  Top with rosemary, salt and pepper. (For dried measurements, Kitchen Technique #1.) Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours or high for 3 1/2 hours.


2.  Combine orange juice and cornstarch in a small cup and mix until dissolved,  pour into slow cooker and stir through.  Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. 


Serve over rice or egg noodles.  Make sure to spoon more sauce over your veggies because it is that good!  I have also made this using chicken with great results.  Enjoy!


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  AllRecipes

New Year's Fondue Party

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome to Saved by the Egg Timer's first 2011 post!  I hope all of you had a wonderful and safe New Year full of celebrations, love and joy.  My wish for you all in 2011 is many good recipe's to be cooked in your kitchen with minimal disasters!  I started my morning off with a disaster...remember I always say "Every good cook has awful tragedies".  I take ownership of this fully!  I attempted to make cinnamon rolls and the dough was so sticky that it stuck to my well floured surface and would not come off....so out came Cinnamon Balls....they where tasty and wonderful.  Improvise...always improvise. 


What did you all do last night?  We stayed in and had a wonderful homemade "Melting Pot".  Here are some photos and recipes that made this an awesome dinner.  The broth was wonderful and made a very tender, flavorful meat. 


Sauvignon Fondue Broth
4 C organic vegetable broth
2 C Sauvignon Blanc wine (or any dry wine of your choosing, red or white works)
4 cloves garlic
10 peppercorns
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp sugar

1. Pour vegetable broth and wine into fondue pot, season with garlic, peppercorns, salt and sugar. Bring to boil, turn down and simmer for 1 hour. Bring to a low boil before using. Cook bites size pieces of chicken, beef, lobster, shrimp, duck, any meat...Also, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans and ravioli.


We also had a cheese fondue, it was good but not excellent.  So I will share once I get it perfected.  I mimicked the excellent Green Goddess Dressing from The Melting Pot, which is used to dip your veggies and meats in.  This was amazing!  Lucky first attempt!


Green Goddess Dressing
Print recipe here
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 C cultured sour cream
1 TB red wine vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ C green onions- white and green parts, sliced
¼ C cilantro, chopped
1 TB dried parsley
1 TB dried chives
1 tsp raw cane sugar
1 tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ tsp sweet paprika
couple drops of Tabasco

1. Combine all the ingredients together and whisk to combine. Cover to refrigerate at least one hour before using. Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  Use as a dressing, potato topping, pretzel/ chip dip or accompany any meat.

For dessert we had fruits and leftover Christmas treats to dip into the chocolate.  The raspberries where my favorite.


Chocolate Fondue
1 C dark chocolate baking chips (60-70% cocoa)
1 C milk chocolate baking chips
½ C heavy cream
2 TB unsalted butter
2 TB coffee flavored liqueur
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
dash of Vietnamese Cinnamon

1. In a small fondue pot or slow cooker, combine the chocolate, cream, butter, liqueur and vanilla. Turn on low stirring when starts to melt. Keep stirring until completely melted and smooth. Keep on low and serve warm. Dip with strawberries, raspberries, apples, rice krispie treats, cheesecakes, cakes, graham crackers, cream puffs, etc. 


Thank you for cooking along with me in 2010.  I am so excited with the response I have gotten and looking forward to a wonderful New Year with you!

~Natasha @


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Saved by the Egg Timer: Original, My Kitchen Cafe and All Recipes