dinner for 3

Thursday night we had one of Caleb's our friends over for dinner (thanks for making the trip Matt). He was Caleb's best man in our wedding, so now he's technically our friend. (what's yours is mine, what's mine is yours, right?)
Matt is a great guy and he's always there for you to back you up or if you need help. He's been wanting to get together with us for a while, but as you may know, Caleb's been UBER busy. This week Caleb had a little downtime and Matt drove out here for a little dinner, dessert and a visit.
I made a broccoli cheddar soup (courtesy of my coworker Julie, thanks).
Here's the recipe and a few pictures.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Soup
2 or 3 carrots (depending on size)
1 large onion
2 stalks of celery
3 small potatoes
2 bunches of broccoli (4 cups chopped)
3 cups water mixed with chicken stock cubes OR 24 oz chicken stock
3 tbsp butter or olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Cheesy White Sauce
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (more if you want)
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or mix cheese if you need to)

Soup
Wash all your veggies, chop celery & onions.
Add celery & onions to 3 tbsp butter to a large soup pot (I used a dutch oven). Cook on medium heat till the onions start to turn translucent (5 min). Stir every few minutes so they don't burn.
While onions & celery are cooking, peel & chop carrots, potatoes, and broccoli
Add them to the pot
Add chicken broth with a pinch of salt & pepper
Cover with a lid & bring to a boil. Once it is a full boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook till veggies are tender (10-15 min).

Basic White Sauce
Melt butter over medium heat
To add some flavoring, add a little spice (Mrs. Dash, oregano, all spice, etc)
Add flour to melted butter and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes to take away the flour taste, it will have more of a nutty flavor instead of raw flour flavor
Whisk in milk, as it cooks it will thicken, add more milk to make it thinner, use less milk to make it thicker
Add grated cheese (if you don't have cheddar, you can use other varieties), stir over low/med heat till well blended

Once veggies are tender, remove from heat and add 2/3 of them to a blender. Mix till smooth and creamy, not too much or it will get starchy. Add back to 1/3 in pot (using an immersion blender will make it easier)
Add in the cheese sauce, stir over medium heat until well blended
Salt & pepper to taste

 Note: Sam is concerned because his mamma is taking pictures instead of feeding him...

 Then dessert. Dr. Oetker's Chocolate Lava Cake, Cookies n Cream ice-cream and raspberries. It was delish

 

We took some great pictures of Sam w/Uncle Matt (Caleb & Matt were best friends, practically brothers, growing up, therefore Matt is Uncle Matt). They will be posted shortly :)

apple crisp

(my mom's easy delicious recipe during apple-picking season or any season)

• ½ cup Honey
• ½ cup Butter
• Oatmeal
• Apples
• Cinnamon
  

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• Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a baking pan. Peel and cut the apples into pieces and place them in the baking pan, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. (you don't HAVE to peel them)
• In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Add the honey to the butter and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in oatmeal. I never measure the amount, I just put oatmeal in until it's a nice consistency, not too soupy, not too dry. Scoop the oatmeal mixture on top of the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in the oven until the apples are soft.
• Serve with vanilla ice-cream!

cinnamon chip scones

ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup cinnamon baking chips (found near chocolate chips in grocery store)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
  
• cinnamon sugar

Note: for buttermilk - approx 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, let stand for 5 min, is a substitute for buttermilk (who has buttermilk in their fridge??)

directions

1. Preheat over to 375°F
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl
3. Add butter slowly, mixing well
4. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk; add to dry ingredients, mixing completely
5. Stir in cinnamon chips
   

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1. On a floured surface, roll our dough (with hands only) to 1/2" thickness. It should be in the shape of a flat rectangle
2. Cut into triangle scone shapes and place onto ungreased cookie/baking sheet
3. Brush egg white over scones; sprinkle scones with cinnamon sugar mixture
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 18 minutes
5. Cool scones, move to cooling rack or plate
   

one day i was feeling inspired to bake. i had cinnamon chips on hand, random, i know, and i googled cinnamon chip scones. i thought i could try to bake the scones i enjoy at starbucks without spending the $$$ at starbucks. i found the above recipe and decided to try it. they came out warm, sweet and crumbly. a delicious treat on a rainy sunday afternoon curled up on the couch reading... one thing starbucks had, but i did not add was the icing... something caleb didn't fail to point out ;) oh well... maybe next time. hope you enjoy this recipe as breakfast, dessert or a mid-afternoon snack ;)