Asparagus Season

While our weather here has been up and down a lot lately, the rain is at least helping the asparagus grow!  I'm lucky enough to live out in the country where it grows wild on the side of the road.  I have easily picked more than a grocery store bag full so far this year.  As usual it is delicious!  I'm the only one who eats it (well Addison tried some too) So I usually just blanch it and eat it with some salt.  I got bored with that so I roasted some in the oven last week with olive oil and garlic and that was pretty wonderful.

Today I decided to try something different:

Cream Of Asparagus Soup

It was pretty easy to make, so long as you have a food processor, and it was delicious!  And Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine asparagus, chopped onion, and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until asparagus is tender, about 12 minutes. Process the mixture in a blender to puree the vegetables. Set aside.
2. In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining chicken broth, and increase the heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture boils. Stir in the asparagus puree and the milk.
3. Put the sour cream in a small bowl, and stir in a ladleful of the hot soup. Add the sour cream mixture and the lemon juice to the soup. Stir while heating the soup to serving temperature, but don't allow it to boil. Serve immediately.

And Yum!  I added some mozzarella cheese, some extra seasoning, garlic and a few croutons to mine, and I would up the amount of asparagus unless you are into thin constancy soup. Otherwise it was quick easy and great!

PB&J Cookies, Yum Yum!

I came across a recipe from Martha Stewart for these Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies, and they were fitting for the Valentine's holiday!  This was the first time trying them and they turned out fabulous!  

 I  made these on a whim one night and didn't have raspberry jam, so I used what I had which was a small remainder of Strawberry Jam, some Blueberry Jam and Peach Preserves.  They tasted wonderful (all but the peach, they were a bit too sweet, I actually tossed the whole jar after I tasted these just too sweet!)  So be creative if you try them, use whatever your favorite jam is!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg

1/3 cup raspberry jam, stirred to loosen

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, then egg. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until dough forms. If dough is sticky, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Press into 1 3/4-inch rounds. Press hearts into centers using your fingertips. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and reshape hearts using your fingertips or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill indentation of each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon jam to form a heart. Bake until cookies are firm, 6 to 7 minutes more.  (warning: They won't look done, they are though!)

deliciousness.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

3 ingredients

1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 egg
1 Cup Sugar

mix all ingredients in a bowl, place rounded balls onto baking sheet, flatten with fork.

bake for approx. 10 mins in a 350 degree oven

Enjoy....

This came from a recipe exchange that I did a few weeks ago they get an A for easy and tasty!

Recipes

I love to bake/cook things, no really as much as I hate to cook dinner every night I absolutely LOVE to try out new recipes.  (I think the old and boring just makes dinner lame)  Unfortunately my husband is not a lover of all things food and is a bit more picky than I am so I don't try all the new things I would like to because come on now I'm not going to eat it by myself!  So for me making a passing dish is a wonderful time to try out something new that sounds delicious to me.  (Sorry for those of you who get to be my guinea pigs)  So the latest passing dish I got to try out was this one for the MSU game tailgate: 

 

California Bean Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (11 ounce) cans white corn, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup Italian-style salad dressing
• 1 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I used red hot wing sauce cause its what we had)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix white corn, black beans, Italian-style salad dressing, ranch-style salad dressing, onion, hot pepper sauce, cilantro, chili powder and ground black pepper. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight, before serving. 

I followed the directions then went and added white beans cause I love them, and added a few tablespoons of sour cream to the mix. It doesn't look wonderful but I assure you it is!

And just because we just had Thanksgiving and all the wonderful pumpkin things I share my fav pumpkin recipe:

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. 

FYI take the cookies out of the oven at the point where they don't quite look done, they will be 10x's better if left moist rather than fully cooked and dry.