Tomato Bisque Soup

More soup! This time one of my favorites, tomato bisque.
I based my recipe, on this.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. butter
• ½ onion
• ½ cup carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2.5 cups broth (or water with 1 tbsp/cup)
• 3.5 cups tomatoes, chopped, peeled
• 1 tsp. Dried parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup heavy cream (I didnt have heavy cream or enough milk, so I combined 1/4 cup milk and 1.5 tbsp. butter)
• 1 tsp. salt
• Black pepper
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 10 fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. Boil water and add whole tomatoes. boil until skin starts to crack. Then remove from heat. Allow to cool then peel and chop. Make sure to conserve the juice.
2. Heat butter in large pot over medium.
3. Add onions, carrots, and garlic. Cook, covered, until soft, which takes about 8 minutes. Make sture to stir occasionally.
4. Stir in flour, and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly.
6. Add in spices.
7. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
8. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
9. Remove bay leaf, and puree in blender until smooth.
10. Whisk in heavy cream and salt. Pepper to taste.
11. Garnish with basil, cilantro, cheese, and so on.

Serve hot and enjoy!

PS. It had a rich tomato taste. If you like it to be creamy add more heavy cream.

Peanut Butter and Nutella Chocolate Bar Recipe

I had some peanut butter I wanted to use so I searched for a good peanut butter chocolate bar recipe, but then I didn't have enough peanut butter so I had to add some Nutella.  I played around with the recipe and this is what I came up with! 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Makes: ~16 pieces

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 3/8 cup butter
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine peanut butter, Nutella, butter, and brown sugar in a microwavable bowl.
2. Microwave for around 30 seconds or until the butter is more or less melted. Combine well.
3. Add powdered sugar, 1/4th of cup a time until well combine.
4. Put in a 9X9 by glass pan.
5. In a separate bowl microwave chocolate chips for 30 seconds until melted. Mix well.
6. Add chocolate mixture on top of the peanut butter mixture. 
7. Cool in fridge or at room temperature. 

*Note: Once it solidifies, it makes it harder to cut the pieces. I would allow it set for a little, cut the pieces, then refrigerate to become even more solid. 

Next time, I think I might make this in minicupcake form. 

Enjoy 

Baked Meatballs Recipe

I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown's recipe. I really liked it and thought it was great. The seasoning is enough such that you can eat it on its own or with a sauce. Enjoy! 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes: 25-30 meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1.5 tsp dried basil
• 1.5 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 whole egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine ground beef and dry ingredients.
3. Add whole egg. Combine well.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. 
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Spaghetti Squash with Mushrooms and Zucchini

Hello!
I haven't updated in a long time, but I wanted to restart this blog. I have been cooking a lot more and have many new recipes. Please me comment with any recipes you think I should try out.

This year I tried out one of those food services that send you all the ingredients for a recipe (HelloFresh). They were interesting. Often times I have found the seasoning to be lacking, but the concept is great. This particular recipe was great the way it was made. I might have added more Parmesan cheese because more cheese is always good.

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 zucchini, medium
• 4 oz button mushrooms
• 1 bunch oregano (you really  need 3/4 of this)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 can coconut milk
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Halve the spaghetti squash, lengthwise. This is difficult so be careful! Then scoop out the seeds. 
3. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
4. Place the halves flesh side down on a lightly oiled pan and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. It should be ready when the flesh is tender.
5. Halve the zucchini lengthwise, then thinly slice. Thinly slice the mushrooms and roughly shop the oregano leaves (discard the stems).
6. Heat some olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Be sure to toss to make sure nothing gets burned. 
7. Then add the zucchini, half the oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Season with salt and pepper. 
8. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Turn off heat. 
9. Once the spaghetti squash is cooked, allow it to slightly cool. Then scoop the flesh into the coconut milk mixture. Careful to not break through the shells because you will be using them to serve the mixture.  
10. Add the Parmesan cheese to the coconut milk mixture and combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. 
11. Scoop the mixture into the squash shells. Garnish with remaining oregano and more cheese if you would like. Serve and enjoy!