Cauliflower and Pimiento Chowder

This year, Josh got me a handy dandy immersion blender for Christmas. Practical? Yep. Do I love it? Yep.

And I've been a little soup happy this week--getting in lots of practice with my new immersion blender. Maybe he should get me a new vacuum next year, and then I'll get vacuum happy :)

Maybe not.

I've been wanting to create and try this recipe for a while now, and I was happy to learn that it didn't disappoint. Not only is it light and smooth, but it is flavorful and lick-the-spoon good!

The key to this soup is roasting the cauliflower. And garlic. And onion.

You know it's done roasting when it looks a little brown around the edges. Just like it got a nice tan.

I wonder what that's like?

Have fun roasting, blending, and slurping away!

Cauliflower and Pimiento Chowder
Makes about 4 servings
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1 medium onion (thickly sliced)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 14oz can of chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of pimientos from the jar (small jar)
1/2 cup of water
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Break apart the head of cauliflower and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add the sliced onion and whole garlic cloves.
3. Using a spatula, spread olive oil over cauliflower, onion, and garlic. Sprinkle on pepper.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or until top is slightly brown).
5. In a large pot, warm chicken stock. Add roasted cauliflower, onion, and garlic (the garlic should come out of the outer shell/skin).
6. Break apart cauliflower in the pot. Once soft, blend it all together. You can use an immersion blender or pour mixture into a blender. Blend until desired texture. I like mine a little chunky!
7. Add water, pimientos, and sour cream. Mix together and serve.

{I'm sharing my recipe at It's Overflowering,  Tatortots and Jello, Whipperberry}

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Thanksgiving Recoup Soup

I don't know about you, but after Thanksgiving I feel like eating light for a few days. Even though I sneak cheeseball left-overs and pumpkin pie, I try and eat more nutritious meals. Try is the operative word.

When thinking about what to make with our left-over turkey, I thought that it would be nice to make a pot of hearty, yet not too heavy, soup.

I call it the recoup soup.

It all begins with onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Oh, and don't forget a little russet potato. I love the earthiness of the russet potato.

And then a little homemade veggie broth and a bit of milk.

After it cooks up for a while (all the while smelling delightful!), it gets blended into a thick, tasty base. I, unfortunately, only have a small bullet-like blender, but an immersion blender would make this step a breeze. While blending about four small batches of the broth, I was seriously contemplating adding an immersion blender to my Christmas list.

Once it's all brothy and thick, I added more onion, mushrooms, pepper, zucchini, corn, potatoes, canned chilies, white navy beans, and about two cups of shredded turkey.

Let it simmer for about twenty or so more minutes. Add a dash of pepper and salt. Maybe add some cayenne if you want it a little spicy.

And gobble it down.

And then go take a nap. Because you can. Blame it on the turkey.

Thanksgiving Recoup Soup:
Serves 10-14
{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
6 cups of veggie or chicken broth
5 cups of white navy beans
2 cups of shredded turkey
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
1 medium zucchini (chopped)
1 cup of milk
8 oz of mushrooms (about 2 cups chopped)
1 7oz can of chopped green chilies
1 15 oz. can of corn (drained)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 small or 1 large russet potato (about two cups chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Chop up onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Heat the oil in a large pot; cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Once onion is clear (about five minutes), remove half of the mixture from the pan and set aside.
2. Add a cup of chopped potatoes to the remaining mixture in the pot and cook for another five minutes.
3. Add broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add milk.
4. Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend the broth until well blended and frothy.
5. Add the remaining cooked mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Then, toss in the chopped potatoes, beans, chopped bell pepper, turkey, corn, green chilies, chopped zucchini, and seasonings.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes.
7. Add seasonings and eat!

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