potatoes Archives - Page 2 of 2

Lighter Cheesy Potato Soup with Broccoli

January 31, 2012 ·

healthy cheesy potato soup with broccoli

So I just logged in to do a final proofread of this Cheesy Potato Soup recipe, and my post was gone. Blank. Nothing. It was my best post ever. It was witty and insightful, delivered a life-changing message – all. gone. Seriously folks…my mommy brain cannot recreate the greatness of that post, so I will simply cut to the chase and get to the real reason why you’re here…the soup!

Lighter Cheesy Potato Soup is one of the tastiest soups I’ve ever had and is also very easy to make. Win-win if you ask me! I decided to add some broccoli for color and to bump up the nutrition level. I also added more cheese than called for in the original recipe. For the love of cheese, it’s a ‘cheesy’ soup! We’re using reduced-fat cheese here, so this only adds 45 calories per serving. It is worth every bit, trust me.

The result is a light and healthy soup, filled with perfectly tender potatoes, vitamin-packed broccoli and calcium-rich cheese. Mike noted the consistency was just perfect for a cheese soup – not heavy, drips off the spoon nicely. I’d say this is a keeper for sure!

Lighter Cheesy Potato Soup with Broccoli

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chopped red potato (about 1 pound)
3-4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 stalk)
1¼ cups skim milk (or 1%)
¾ cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
½ cup water
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced fat (2%) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring onion mixture constantly.
Add potato, broccoli, milk, broth and water to pan; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Add cheese, cayenne pepper, cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat immediately once cheese has melted. Top each serving with chopped green onions, if desired.

Adapted from Cooking Light, Jan/Feb, 2012

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

July 27, 2011 ·

As my rosemary plant continues to flourish, so continues my search for tasty recipes using rosemary. I recently made Herbed Balsamic Grilled Chicken, which required a suitable accompaniment. For some reason it was just screaming potatoes to me.

This recipe for Rosemary Roasted Potatoes has a nice short list of ingredients and could not be any easier. It is very hands off, which worked well with cooking the rest of the meal on the grill (or doing whatever else you need to do).

The only changes I made from the original recipe were adding more garlic and increasing the amount of potatoes to use up my 2 pound bag. Otherwise, this recipe is absolutely THE perfect go-to recipe for roasted potatoes.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher flake salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 pounds red potatoes, quartered
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut potatoes in quarters and put in bowl with the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss making sure potatoes are well-coated.
Dump potatoes on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread out so they are 1 layer.
Roast in oven for at least an hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice during cooking to ensure evenly browning.

Slightly adapted from Ina Garten