Cream of Cauliflower Soup

You know how that Wisconsin Cauliflower soup at Zupas is my favorite soup of all time?  This recipe comes pretty close. I thought I would post it since it's getting colder and more like soup weather in the normal places of the world. :-)

4 Cups of fresh or loose-pack frozen cauliflower florets

1 ½ cups chicken broth or vegetable stock

1 Tbls. Butter or margarine

1 Tbls. All-purpose flour

½ teaspoon celery seeds (optional)

½ cup shredded American cheese (or mozzarella) 

¼ tsp. Salt

Dash of black pepper

1 cup milk, half-and-half, or light cream

Directions:

1.      In a large saucepan cook desired vegetable, covered, in a large amount of boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Reserve 1 cup cooked vegetables.

2.      In a food processor bowl combine remaining cooked vegetables and ¾ cup of the broth.  Cover; process about 1 minute or until smooth. Set aside.

3.      In the same saucepan melt butter.  Stir in flour, celery seeds, salt, and pepper.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

4.      Stir in the reserved 1 cup cooked vegetables, blended vegetable mixture, and remaining ¾ cup of broth.  Cook and stir until heated through.  If necessary, stir in additional milk to reach desired consistency. If desired, season to taste with additional salt and pepper. 

(To make Cream of Broccoli Soup, replace Cauliflower with Broccoli and celery seeds with lemon-pepper.) 

Easy BBQ Ribs

These may not be as good as Grandma Riedel's but they're pretty darn close!

Ingredients

·         2 1/2 pounds country style pork ribs

·         1 tablespoon garlic powder

·         1 teaspoon ground black pepper

·         2 tablespoons salt

·         1 cup barbeque sauce

Directions

1.     Place ribs in a large pot with enough water to cover. Season with garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Bring water to a boil, and cook ribs until tender.

2.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

3.     Remove ribs from pot, and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour barbeque sauce over ribs. Cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Laura's Apple Turkey Croissant Sandwiches

My good friend Laura made these for a babyshower she threw for me the February before Abby was born. I've dreamed of them ever since and finally made the attempt to make them myself today. So good!

For 8 sandwiches

1 lb Sun dried tomato deli turkey breast meat (i know this sounds bizarre, but you CAN find this, or something akin to it at most grocery stores, like Walmart/Tom Thumb/Kroger, and it adds SO much to the mix of fantastic flavors in this sandwich!)

1 pkg Muenster cheese slices

2 gala apples, cored and sliced horizontally, so you can see a little circle where the core was (any other sweet, crunchy apple would work, just as Jazz, Ambrosia, or Fuji)

1 head romaine lettuce

1 batch of Laura's Amazing Sandwich Spread (recipe to follow)

8 croissants (cut in half like a bagel)

Compile like so, from bottom to top: bottom half of croissant, 1 slice Muenster, 2 slices turkey, 1-2 slices apple, 1-2 leaves lettuce, Laura's amazing spread on underside of top half of croissant.

If you like your sandwiches toasted, feel free to first toast the croissant with the cheese and the turkey open faced and THEN add everything else!

Laura Amazing Sandwich spread

1/2 pkg Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Mix together! Can be made ahead of time and saved in refrigerator for a few days to a week.