Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Chuck is addicted to Panera's broccoli cheddar soup, which is a super cheesy, thick, delicious soup that is only nominally broccoli. It's usually served in a bread bowl. There aren't currently any Paneras that are easy for us to access from Columbia Heights on any sort of regular basis, so we decided to use one of the internet's copy cat recipes to recreate it.

I've made cheesy broccoli soups before, but I've tried to err on the side more broccoli than cheese, to keep it healthy. The Panera recipe doesn't even attempt that. It was cheese-a-licious.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Rabe

Over a year ago I attempted to make some stovetop mac & cheese... it was a colossal FAIL. I decided to try another recipe to see if I could conquer the beast, and it fared much better. Probably because I used cheddar rather than American cheese. American is the devil.This time, I tried a new recipe and threw in some cauliflower and broccoli rabe that I'd roasted with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Creamy, rich, and delicious!

Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Syrup and Chicken and Apples with Honey Mustard Sauce

Two recipes from Simply Recipes last week... I tackled this simple roasted acorn squash last week, while Chuck cooked this chicken with apples with honey mustard sauce, while Madison and Tim worked on their Halloween costumes.The roasted squash was tasty, although I think I came to the conclusion that I like butternut squash better than acorn squash... it seems sweeter and not as stringy.

The chicken had a good flavor, but the directions seemed a little weird... why would you bread the chicken, and then have the breaded chicken simmer in sauce? The breading soaked up the sauce and got super soggy. But the sauce tasted good!

Served with roasted broccoli...

Shrimp Scampi

Tim cooked a lovely shrimp scampi the other night... buttery, garlicy, lemony. Mmm.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

So I haven't posted in a while due to a busy schedule (trip to Ann Arbor, softball playoffs, etc.) and a lack of new ideas. I've been re-making and enjoying old favorites over the past couple weeks. However, my former OSW girls came over for dinner and a Costa Rica trip planning session a couple weeks ago, and I prepared a vegetarian feast in their honor using veggies I had on hand from the CSA.

This chickpea and sweet potato curry from the voluptuous Nigella Lawson, via the New York Times seemed like the perfect meal for the occasion... vegetarian, but interesting, consisting of beans and rice (to slowly ease us into the diet de rigueur of Costa Rica), but still having some veggies and vitamins. I served it with a side of spicy roasted okra.

We all liked the curry- I think everyone came back for a second helping. The tamarind paste gave it a tangy authenticity that I liked. Plus it was pretty easy, using canned chickpeas and onion, garlic, ginger and chili chopped up via food processor. Colleen sagely observed that one could throw a handful of spinach or some green peppers for more color and veggie goodness (I lean towards spinach because green peppers are my personal devil).

Okra, Corn and Tomato Saute with Cajun Grilled Shrimp

The end of summer is nigh... but the summer veggies keep coming! The CSA is still rife with corn, tomatoes, okra, peppers, and other summery goodies, though. I threw a whole bunch of these veggies together in a quick stir-fry, supplemented with a dash of hot sauce. Topped with some Cajun-esque grilled shrimp. Simple and delicious!

Chicken Sausage Lasagna

For our most recent True Blood TV Club meeting, I decided lasagna would be a good option since it serves a crowd and is delicious. Plus, I had 10 pounds of Roma tomatoes from the CSA to use up, and lasagna uses lots of tomatoes.Ina's recipes are consistently good, so I thought I'd use her lasagna recipe as my jumping off point. I did make a couple changes, though. Rather than use canned crushed tomatoes, I roasted halved Romas at 425 for about an hour, then zipped them in the food processor to make my own crushed tomatoes. Also, I substituted chicken sausage for the turkey sausage Ina recommends, solely because that's what was available (and on sale!) at the Teet.

This recipe was soooo good. Good thing I made a double batch so we had leftovers!!