A Girl's Gotta Eat!

No clever story to this one. We just saw the recipe on the cover of our Food Network Magazine and really wanted to try it. It was easy, tasty, and something we'll definitely be making again. Don't skip the croutons on top; they add a ton of flavor! Broccoli-Cheddar Soup 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups half-and-half 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 cups chopped broccoli florets 1/3 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/3 cups) Croutons for topping Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth, half-and-half, both potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-l

It’s that time of year again: Mike’s birthday! A few weeks ago, we were looking at German recipes to try in honor of Oktoberfest while we were renting a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains . We found Oktoberfest Strudel , a delightful savory pastry dish that called our names immediately. We decided it might be a bit much to transport all that we would need to make it there, so we opted to wait and try it as Mike’s birthday dinner. We invited Mike’s family over and decided to go ahead and double the recipe, making two strudels. I will admit, I was a little hesitant about using phyllo pastry, having tried it to make empanadas with disastrous results. Still, pastry stuffed with apples, sauerkraut, bratwurst, and mustard was too tempting not to take the chance. I had much better luck with the phyllo this time. Be sure you brush it well with butter as directed, and don’t forget a damp towel over the sheets you’re not working with. Also, a few of my sheets stuck together, so I left them toge

I meant to post this one two weeks ago, so I'll keep it short. Mike had drill, and he had been hungry for "regular spaghetti." I decided to take it up a notch and create homemade marinara and meatballs. I wanted a recipe for marinara that was reliable, but easy. We have a cookbook from Mario Batali that came in handy. The following recipe was super-easy and super-tasty. I don't know that we'll buy marinara again. I'm not a fan of big tomato chunks, so I used my immersion blender to smooth out the chunky bits. It's really up to your personal taste, though. I doubled the recipe, mostly due to the fact that I love really saucy pasta. It was fantastic having leftovers. The sauce especially turned out extremely scrumptious, and the original recipe specifies that you can freeze the sauce for up to 6 months. We didn't have any to freeze after a week, but it's duly noted. :) I didn't use a recipe for the meatballs, but I used 1 pound of lean ground