French Onion Soup For Two

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Andrea

I adore French Onion soup. It’s warm and loaded down with caramelized onions. It’s got bread that helps thicken it up and then it’s topped with melty cheese. Plus served to you in a little crock pot! Can it get any better?

When Scott and I were dating, I would order this soup as a starter whenever I saw it on the menu. It wasn’t the best “date” soup to be eating but Scott never minded me slurping away or when I had cheese dangling from my chin.

He’s a keeper!

Once I started making it at home, I stopped getting it out at restaurants. For some reason I have not made this soup in ages and recently decided that I needed to change that.

My version is not traditional at all but it gets the job done. When I’m craving French Onion soup, this is where I turn.

Andrea’s French Onion Soup For Two

1QT Beef Stock

Read more on French Onion Soup For Two…

Chicken Curry Stew

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Andrea

Curry spice is something that I’m still experimenting with. There are many different kinds of curry spice which create different flavor experiences. My current favorite I’ve been using for a while but I just purchased a new flavor to try out.

Kitchen fun! And sometimes I can be a spice dork.

The first time I ever had curry was when I had some of Whole Food’s chicken curry salad. I fell in love with the first bite.

I have been fiddling around with it and using it in different ways to make it a central flavor of a meal. This dish was a total kitchen experiment and ended up not even being close to what I originally had in mind.

However it turned out amazing and I was beyond happy with the results.

I originally thought this was going to be like a rich sauce that some chicken thighs would simmer in then I discovered I didn’t have any chicken thighs but only some bone-in breasts.

Cauliflower Chowder

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Andrea

I was prepping things for dinner one day when Scott told me that somehow in his daily internets hopping, he stumbled upon The Pioneer Woman’s cauliflower soup and it sounded good.

Mind you, he didn’t read the ingredients, he just looked at the finished product.

I instantly responded because I had just been thinking of making a cauliflower based dish but wasn’t sure how receptive Scott would be to the idea. Not that he’s picky, he’s a great eater and will not shy away from a veggie meal. But I wasn’t sure if an entire meal based on cauliflower would win him over. Since he seemed interested, it wasn’t long before I made us some chowder!

I bumped up the veggies and added in some beans making this a really hardy soup. I used the same approach as making a potato soup. Plus I’ll take any opportunity to bust out the immersion blender!

Andrea’s Cauliflower Chowder

Summer Corn Chowder

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Andrea

If you’ve been reading OHC for any length of time, you know that one thing I love is soups. To widen that category out, I love soups, chilis, and stews so much that I could probably eat them everyday and be fine. Give or take a few super hot summer days where all I want to eat is ice cubes, of course.

I’ve been experimenting with fresh corn a lot this summer. While corn on the cob will always be a favorite, fresh corn can be used in so many other applications that it’s almost mind boggling. I have found it incredibly fun to do different things with the corn I’m getting from the farmer’s markets this year.

Once you remove the corn from the cob, it can be used in salsas, salads, or just satueed up in a touch of butter. Each experiment always leads to the next one and then the next one.

Rose had created a corn chowder this summer and it looked delicious. Scott has had corn chowder as an appetizer on occasion when we’ve gone out to dinner. I knew that I could create a lovely corn chowder recipe full of veggies and accentuating the fresh summer corn.

Asian Noodle Soup

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Andrea

I believe that some of the best recipes are ones you just have to create on the fly, not really knowing what you’re doing and hoping for the best.

Scott always talks about those big noodle bowls that you sometimes see at Asian restaurants and how delicious and yummy they look.

“I can make that for you. What do they taste like?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well what’s in them?”

“I don’t know.”

“Haven’t you had one before?”

“No. I just think they look good.”

“I see.”

Not much info to work with but I decided to try and find out what I could do. Scott was not feeling well one day and I decided to make him some “Asian soup”. I put a bunch of stuff in a pot, added noodles and it was fantastic. We’ve been having Asian Noodle Soup ever since when want some veggies or if Scott’s allergies are bad that day.

It’s evolved over time. Me finding new ingredients or adding in different veggies but the core has stayed the same and we love it.

Creamy Potato and Broccoli Soup

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Andrea

I might have told you this before but I could eat soup everyday and be a happy girl. The only other person I know of who liked soup as much as I was my father. He could eat soup everyday as well.

Soup is great because it can have a lot or a few ingredients. It can be hardy, creamy, or brothy. It can be hot or cold. It can be whatever you want it to be and it doesn’t take ages to make. I think sometimes people have the misconception that soup takes all day long to create. It doesn’t, I promise.

Lori recently posted her recipe for Potato and Broccoli soup for 2 and I sort of stuck that idea on the backburner so that I could make it soon. With the recent snow storm that we just got hammered with (12+ inches of snow), soup seemed like a really great idea.

Yesterday while Scott and I were out shoveling the driveway and sidewalks, I asked him what he preferred for dinner.

Sweet Potato and Squash Chili

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Andrea

One of the things that I wanted to do last fall was make chili with pumpkin. Ever since I discovered my love for cooking with pumpkin puree, chili was tops on my “to-make” list. Fall came and went without me having a chance to make some. Thankfully I live in an area that sees a good amount of winter which provides nice chili-makin’ and chili-eatin’ weather.

One of my vegan cookbooks, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, has a recipe for chili using cocoa powder in it. This intrigued me greatly! I have used cocoa in a savory recipe before (Cocoa Chili Rubbed Chicken) but haven’t used it as a savory spice since then. I wanted to rectify that quickly. Could I combine my desire for using pumpkin in chili with the addition of cocoa powder without it tasting like a pudding gone wrong?

Last week I decided to experiment and find out!

Andrea’s Sweet Potato and Squash Chili