Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

For those of you who live in Utah, you may have eaten at a local chain restaurant called "Zupas". And if you have, you've probably ordered (or at least tried) their "Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup". If this rings true so far, you will more than likely agree with me that the Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup is To. Die. For. Mmmmmmm....

So, of course, I had to attempt to duplicate it.

Without further ado, here is my version of Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup.

Suz's Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

1/2 stick butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. chicken base (like "Better Than Bouillon")
1 head cauliflower (2 to 2.5 pounds), sectioned into smaller pieces
1 tsp. dijon mustard
3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded

In a 4 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk, water, salt and chicken base. Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. Process cauliflower, broth and mustard in blender until very smooth (be sure to remove center part of blender cover to allow steam to escape). Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; add shredded cheeses and stir over low to medium heat until melted and smooth. Serve hot.

Note: I prefer a lighter color soup, so I use Tillamook sharp white cheddar. (And if the truth be told, I like my version better than the one at Zupas!) Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing

My favorite commercial salad dressing is Brianna's Rich Poppy Seed Dressing. It is seriously to die for. Unfortunately, the price makes it a bit prohibitive for me to have it on a regular basis with as fast as we go through it.

So therefore, I give you my version of Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing for your dining pleasure. It's not exactly like the original, but close enough to please most. :) recipe for brianna's poppy seed dressing

Suz's Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing recipe

1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 cup sweet white onion
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 cup canola oil

Put everything in your blender, except the poppy seeds and the canola oil. Process until the onion has been liquified. On the lowest speed of the blender, pour in the canola oil and the poppy seeds. Refrigerate and enjoy!


I highly suggest Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, if you don't have it already. You can find it at some grocery stores, and just about all health food stores. You can also substitute agave or your sweetener of choice for the sugar, if you'd like. If you do use a liquid sweetener, omit the water.

My favorite salad to serve poppy seed dressing over:

Spinach
Mandarin Oranges
Strawberries, sliced
Granny Smith apples, diced
Dried cranberries (I prefer fruit sweetened)
Sliced almonds

Happy eating! :) Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe

Amazing Steel Cut Oats

Many of you have asked me for my oatmeal recipe. Since my usual method of cooking is, as my mom used to say, "by guess and by golly"-- in other words, I just wing it-- I had to spend the last week paying attention to how much of each ingredient I was tossing in, and actually using measuring spoons.

So here's what I came up with. Make sure you are using steel cut oats, not the rolled variety (or you will end up with mush)(ew). The most inexpensive place to find them is in your bulk food section. If your neighborhood grocer doesn't carry them, take a trip to your local health food store.

Amazing Steel Cut Oats

1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

In the morning, before you leave for work or start your day, combine the above ingredients in a pan. Cover with a lid, and allow to soak all day. At night, before you go to bed, add in:

1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Bring to a full boil, put lid on pan, and turn off heat. Allow to sit on the stove overnight. In the morning, add:

1/4 cup raisins

Mix well. You may then reheat it on the stove, or spoon out individual servings into bowls and reheat in the microwave. Add in preferred sweetener to taste (honey, brown sugar, agave, etc.), and some fruit on top. (This oatmeal is fantastic with sliced bananas or apples.)

Makes approximately 4 bowls of oatmeal. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, and use within 4-5 days.

(Here's my HASAY addition: Since I've been eating steel cut oats for breakfast almost every morning for just over two weeks, my body fat has consistently dropped little by little each day. Wow!)

Well, Whaddya Know...

My work sponsored a contest on who had the best low-fat recipe. I entered in a recent favorite of mine that I made up....and I won. So now I will share it with you. It's one of those "throw it together" kind of dishes, and is fast and easy.

Fill a pan with water, about half an inch. Sprinkle in some salt. Sprinkle rosemary in water. Turn to medium heat, and put in a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Sprinkle poultry seasoning liberally on chicken. Allow to come to a boil; turn chicken over. Sprinkle other side with poultry seasoning. Allow to finish cooking (approximately another 5 minutes). When chicken is cooked through, take out of water and cut into small slices. Spoon some of the broth over the cut chicken pieces.

It is REALLY good. And simple to make!

Chicken Casserole

Here's an easy easy easy dish to prepare. Tastes good, too. Perfect for those nights when you just need to get something in the oven and go on to Better Things while dinner cooks.

Chicken Casserole

1 box stuffing mix (like Stove Top)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
shredded cheese (mozzarella or cheddar/jack mix)

Prepare stuffing according to directions. Spread across bottom of casserole dish. Put chicken on top of stuffing. Spoon soup over chicken (thin with a little milk, if necessary). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top. Put back in the oven until cheese is melted (I like to broil it for about 5 minutes-- fast).

That's it.

I like to use a stuffing package from a Costco sized box of Stove Top, six chicken breasts, and 2 cans of soup. And lots of cheese. :)

Comfort food, all the way. Yum!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I saw a co-worker eating some “Fruit Naturals” grapefruit. I hate that brand. It is false advertising in a name! Unless, of course, people think that added sugar to their fruit is “natural”.

Beans and legumes are awesome food. I just wish I knew how to cook with them so I’d eat them more. Mostly, I just stare at the packages of dried little beans and say, "Hmmm."

The Post Office just came out with a new, small flat rate box on Jan. 18th. I’m very happy about this! However, I’m not happy that none of the Post Offices around here have any (“Sorry—we haven’t received our shipments of them yet.”). I even ordered some online on the 18th, and they haven’t shipped yet. Yet another shining example of our government dollars at work.

A couple years back at work, a consultant was brought in to our company to look at the viability of outsourcing the IT work. It made a lot of us paranoid. When they left, our company decided outsourcing wasn’t the thing for us. About a year ago, all our printer support was outsourced to a local company. And last week, they announced the recommendation to outsource our 1st level tech support (phone people) to another company. We’re all taking bets on how long we have before we’re outsourced. **sigh**

I think that most adults don’t feel like adults inside. We’re all just children, pretending to be grown-ups.

Washington ruled in my favor. Now it’s Utah’s turn to clarify the support order and fix the mess later next month. Right now, I am grateful for the accomplishment of Step 1 in this long process.

I’m in the process of starting up a new blog that will follow my attempt at losing my ‘muffin top’. More details to follow…

Sloppy Joes

Since I know people will want the recipe after reading yesterday's post, here it is! My kids have said they are now spoiled for life for ever eating anyone else's Sloppy Joes... and you know they must be pretty good if teens gush to their friends about their mom's recipe. :)

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic (optional)

Brown meat and onions until no longer pink, and drain off any excess fat. Be sure to break up the meat. Add the rest of the ingredients to the meat in the pan. Cook, uncovered, for 30-60 minutes or more on low heat until thick. Serve on buns.

The longer you let it simmer, the better it tastes. And this tastes even better the second day, so I always double the recipe.

Labor Day

My brother Dusty and his family came over to spend Labor Day with us. The cousins had a grand time together, and the adults got in some good visiting time. (Why is it that when you're a kid, adults are SO boring 'cause all they want to do is TALK when they get together, and then you end up doing just that when you grow up?)

Ron and Ana (sis-in-law) talked music-- she really wants his Beatles' collection-- and Dusty fixed a master dimmer switch for me. It's nice having an electrician brother. I'm sure he thinks the same about me, being a sister computer geek and all... :)

We had a yummy dinner of fairly standard summertime food: my to-die-for sloppy joes, chips, red and green grapes, watermelon, and fresh corn-on-the-cob. We all ate too much!

After dinner, we popped in our Heroes DVDs. My brother and sis-in-law hadn't seen them yet... They had to leave after the third episode, and by then they were hooked. :) They took Season 1 home with them.

I really want to get Season 2, but money is too tight right now. Still waiting on Washington to return a "verdict" on the whole child support issue. I hope they hurry... they're killing us right now.

I Rock!

My chalk drawing took first place yesterday. Sweet! Now I get to choose from a handful of places where to get my gift certificate to... maybe Mimi's Cafe. I lovelovelove their corn chowder!

Now to decide what to draw for the next summer party-- I support the computers at two locations, and the other location is having their party next week. The girls think I should do a mermaid, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea, considering the limited colors I have with the kiddie chalk. Ideas?

Jen, the sunflowers are for you!

Yum!

Here is a random post about food stuff, just because I'm hungry right now. :)

Whoever made Cholula should be praised forever. And this is coming from someone who never cared for hot sauce, ever. I love this stuff! It makes it so much easier to eat scrambled eggs (I force myself to eat 'em for the protein...)

The best gum ever is Epic's fruit gum. It's made with xylitol, which is really really really good for your teeth. Using xylitol can even reverse cavities (true story!). Here's my experience after starting to use Epic gum: I wasn't able to get back to the dentist for a little over a year. When I had my cleaning done, the hygienist was surprised I hardly had anything to scrape off my teeth. I spoke to them about the wonders of xylitol. :)

Recently, there was a dessert contest at work. I won the "People's Choice" award for my entry. I made up a recipe for the contest (hey, it worked last time I won a recipe contest at work!), and it turned out pretty darn good, if you ask me.



Suzy’s Strawberry Tiramisu

1 cup strawberry jam
6 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate
1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
20 oz. angel food cake, cut into 3x1x¾ inch pieces
4-6 cups strawberries, cut up (sweeten lightly with sugar, if needed)


Stir the jam and 4 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate in a small bowl to blend.

Combine the cream cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate in a large bowl to blend. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream, sugar and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Use a large rubber spatula to stir ¼ of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Line the bottom of a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish (or other decorative serving dish or a springform pan) with half the angel food cake pieces. Spread half of the jam mixture over the cake. Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the jam mixture, and then cover with half the strawberries. Repeat layering with the remaining cake, jam mixture, cream cheese mixture and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Drizzle with melted chocolate or chocolate syrup, if desired.

Awesome Saturday

This last Saturday was a good day.

I got my "new" car finally... I really wanted another Cherokee, but I settled for a Pathfinder. The kids think it's "cooler" because it has a sunroof and leather seats. I'm twitching because my car payment went up. I miss my Jeep! Stupid black ice...

After many years, Tap Dogs came to town!!! [http://www.tapdogs.co.uk] Awesome experience, well worth the $$ to go see. Ron and I got great seats-- first row balcony, left side, almost near the center. Way too cool.

We ate Thai food afterwards, which I haven't done for ages. I opened the menu, and immediately knew what I had to order. I mean, how on earth can you resist an entree choice named, "Evil Jungle Princess Chicken"? It was a zesty peanut-red curry with chicken, long beans, vegetables, mint and Thai basil. I ate it over brown rice, and enjoyed every minute my mouth was on exquisite fire. Yum!

It was fun to dress up... not often I get to wear a fancy black dress and high heels. I think I clean up pretty good. Ron looks very handsome in his black slacks (which show off his magnificently tight butt) and long leather trenchcoat. He was looking very Matrix-y that night. :)

I definitely need more Saturdays like this in my life.

Worth the "Weight"

Last night, Ron and I tried to get in a fancy Italian restaurant without a reservation. They attempted to turn us down very nicely at the door, but I countered that someone might call and cancel their reservation. "Well, ma'am... it's not likely tonight, it being Valentine's Day..." We said we'd wait. And about 5 minutes later, we were seated.

They had a specialized menu for the evening-- a five course meal for two for $60. We were served:

• Freshly baked herb bread (which we dipped in olive oil and basalmic vinegar, of course)
• A bottle of Martenelli's Sparkling Apple Cider
• A full appetizer plate that included fried mozzarella sticks, zucchini somethings, and prosciutto
• Not-from-a-can tomato basil soup
• Caesar salad
• Your choice of entree: prime rib, chicken, or salmon (all Italian style, of course)
• Dessert plate with 4 different delights on it

I swear, I gained 10 pounds last night. It was the best dinner I've ever had, hands down. There was even a live accordian player walking around the restaurant. Very romantic!

In other news, I went for a follow-up visit with my opthamologist yesterday. He infomed me that I was a "borderline at best" candidate for lasik. So it looks like I'll be heading to see my sister's eye surgeon to get a second opinion as to whether or not I can ditch glasses/contacts for good. I figure if her eyes were worse than mine, and she's seeing 20/20 now, he most likely will be able to help me!

I got to thinking a lot last year after Katrina hit. There were so many people that were in dire straights because they didn't have the medicine they needed, or other medical necessities to be able to function in their daily lives. It made me realize that if there were any type of a disaster, and I were to have my glasses broken, or contacts lost, I would be functionally blind. I would not be able to take care of my family. And that is a sobering thought.

So I had a choice to make: do I pay off an attorney bill, or do I pay for eye surgery? After much careful consideration, I opted for eye surgery. Now I just need to find a surgeon that can actually work on someone who has eyes as bad as mine. Cross your fingers!