I love cauliflower so much…I'm so obsessed with it. But I haven't blogged many cauliflower recipes…not sure why! At parties, when there's a vegetable tray, I eat all of the cauliflower. I love to roast it and I love to have it in stir fries. Curtis on the other hand, he kind of turns his nose up at it. I don't know why…I can't understand it. He LOVES vegetables but he doesn't get my obsession with cauliflower!

I was so excited to receive a copy of Ree's cookbook…The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime: Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-Minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper. I actually contribute to her blog too…check out my posts here.

But she didn't ask me to review the cookbook, I requested a copy from her publisher and was thrilled to start making recipes from it!

skillet lasagna for dinner tonite! From Ree's @thepioneerwoman cooks dinnertime (latest cookbook!) ???????? #thepioneerwoman #dinner #instagood

A photo posted by Julie Deily (@thelittlekitchn) on Oct 15, 2015 at 7:19pm PDT

Back to this soup…with tons of cauliflower in it!

First cook some bacon!

Then, the onions.

Add the cauliflower.

In a separate pot, melt butter.

Make a roux.

Then add in milk, here's where I changed it up a little bit. I used almond milk instead.

Back in the other pot with the cauliflower.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup.

Be careful and don't get soup all over your kitchen!

It's just the two of us so whenever I make soup, we have a ton leftover, I always freeze it for quick lunches and dinners!

And guess what? I couldn't get over how much Curtis loved this soup! I think he was as surprised as I was! I loved it too. And I love that almond milk works in this soup! I'm going to keep trying to cook and bake more and more with it!

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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 4 thin slices bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 1 cauliflower head cut into small florets
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun spice more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper more to taste
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 Tablespoons 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups whole milk I used almond milk!
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese more to taste
• 2 Tablespoons minced parsley
• kosher salt to taste optional

Instructions

• In a large pot, fry the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until crisp.
• Remove the bits from the pan and drain on a paper towel. Pour off the grease and return the pot to the stove, leaving the bacon bits to the side for now.
• Add the onion to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until translucent.
• Add the cauliflower, sprinkle with the Cajun spice and pepper...
• And cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, or until the cauliflower starts turning golden brown.
• Pour in the broth, stir, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Next, use an immersion blender...
• To puree the soup slightly, or all the way, if you prefer. (Or use a regular blender and puree the soup in batches; don't fill more than halfway when the soup is hot!)
• In a separate saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour...
• And whisk to form a roux for about 2 minutes...
• Then pour in the milk. Cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture becomes thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the half-and-half.
• Pour the white sauce into the partially pureed soup.
• Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the soup back to a boil for 3 to 5 minutes to thicken it.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream and cheese. Stir until fully melted.
• Finally, stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt if desired.
• And serve it piping hot in a bowl!

Notes

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime: Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-Minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper! by Ree Drummond

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of Ree's cookbook for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own and I only share with you what I love. There are affiliate links in this post.

The post Cheesy Cauliflower Soup appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

For this recipe, once again I'm participating with Land O'Lakes on their Kitchen Conversations panel along with Ree, Maria, Brenda and Sommer! For this Kitchen Conversation, it's all about back to school and quick and easy dinner ideas for those rushed nights when you need to get dinner on the table quick.

As most of you know, I don’t have kids and I work from home, but I still struggle to make dinner sometimes because our days are so busy. For this topic, I wanted to make something that was not only quick and easy, but also full of flavor and something you’ll love. This lemon and thyme chicken dish is just that! Whether you are going back to school or just have those crazy weeknights, a basic chicken dish with fresh flavors is a good recipe to have on hand.

This recipe uses a Half Stick of Land O Lakes^® Salted Butter. I love these little half sticks because they’re so convenient. I have fewer of those little packets of folded, wadded up pieces of butter in my fridge because of them!

First, start the water boiling for the noodles. Then I start the breading for the chicken. I mix lemon zest, thyme leaves (I used fresh thyme), garlic, salt and pepper first. Then the breadcrumbs.

I picked chicken breast cutlets because they are so good and they also cook faster than a full chicken breast.

I use forks and spoons or use one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry…so you don't your hands all clumped up with wet breading. I call that claw hands!

In a non-stick skillet, melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Land O Lakes® Salted Butter.

Add half of the chicken cutlets and cook for 4–5 minutes on each side. Then finish up with more butter and the rest of the chicken.

Once the noodles are done, add butter, thyme and lemon to flavor them. I love buttered noodles, don't you?

This sauce is so easy. In the same pan in which you cooked the chicken, add 1 tablespoon of Land O Lakes^® Salted Butter and melt. Then add flour and allow them to cook. Add some thyme — I love the sizzle the thyme makes!

Then add chicken broth and white wine and cook for a few minutes. You can add a little bit of lemon juice after it’s all done.

Serve sauce over the egg noodles and chicken. I highly recommend serving with a side salad or your favorite vegetable for a delicious dinner!

After you print the recipe, be sure to hop on over to enter in this giveaway provided by Land O'Lakes!

Curtis loved this dish. I told him we can do some rice next time if he wanted. He said nope, I LOVE the buttered noodles with this dish. Curtis approved. There's lemon in this dish but it's not too overpowering. It's the perfect hint of lemon, along with the fresh herbs and butter…we will be making this dish for a long time! Hope you enjoy it if you try it.

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Lemon & Thyme Chicken with Buttered Egg Noodles Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lemons zested and juiced (for use in recipe below)

Chicken

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 small garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter divided

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Land O Lakes® Salted Butter
• 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• fresh thyme leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme or a sprinkle of dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• Egg noodles with butter thyme and lemon juice to taste
• Salad for serving

Instructions

Lemon & Thyme Chicken

• Bring water to a boil for the egg noodles and add noodles when water is boiling. Prepare according to instructions on the package.
• While waiting for the water to boil, prep the chicken. Beat two eggs in a shallow dish and add 1 teaspoon of the freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix. In another shallow dish, mix lemon zest, garlic, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Then add breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Add chicken to the the dish with eggs and coat. Using a different hand, add chicken to the dish with the breadcrumbs and coat thoroughly. Place chicken on a plate and repeat until all chicken is coated.
• In a nonstick pan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter on medium heat. Add half of the chicken cutlets and cook on each side for 3–5 minutes (timing depends on thickness). Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat and cook the rest of the chicken with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon of Land O Lakes® Salted Butter.

Sauce

• Once chicken is done, in the same nonstick pan, add 1 tablespoon Land O Lakes® Salted Butter and allow the butter to melt. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon and cook for about 1–2 minutes. Add fresh thyme leaves; it will sizzle. Mix and cook for about 30–60 seconds. Add chicken broth and white wine; it may bubble up a little bit (turn down the heat if needed). Allow the alcohol to cook off and the sauce to thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
• Serve sauce over egg noodles if you'd like. Flavor the noodles with Land O Lakes® Salted Butter, thyme, pepper and lemon juice. Serve with a side salad or your favorite vegetable. The leftover chicken is great on top of a salad!

Disclosure: I've partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of
Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

The post {Quick & Easy} Lemon & Thyme Chicken appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

A couple of months ago, I received an invitation to travel to Idaho to witness the Idaho potato harvest. I jumped at the chance…potatoes? Little ol' me has had an obsession with potatoes as long as I can remember. I cook with potatoes all the time and I love to consume them…so this was a perfect fit.

Little did I know, this trip would change my life. I'm serious. Dead serious.

I met 3rd generation potato farmers like Jim Tiede (pictured here with his son, Alex), who are proud of what they do and at the same time are humble. They work incredibly hard and were so excited to show us their farms. We often forget the hard work and sacrifice farmers make in this country…I only wish all of you could have gone on this trip with me.

I just love this photo on Jim's farm because it seems so serene to me. Jim's farm harvests 2.7 million pounds of potatoes a day during the harvest which lasts 10 days. I'll bet you didn't know that the potatoes from Idaho are harvested only once a year…and yet they last us all year long. And Idaho is 1/3 of the total potato supply in this country. I found all of that pretty amazing. And the care that goes into the harvest as well as the storage of the potatoes year-round is astounding.

Potatoes are living organisms – don't store them in the fridge or under fluorescent lighting, the best thing to do is to store them in a humid space and store them in the dark.

I also learned that Idaho is gorgeous. Completely gorgeous. The last night we were in Idaho, we made the drive to Teton Springs and I rode a horse for the very first time in my life! It was completely amazing and scary all at the same time.

And about this recipe…it's going into the regular rotation, folks. Curtis absolutely loves it. To be honest, I was going to make a salad and baked potatoes with some of the huge russets I took home with me from Idaho. Curtis insisted that I make a soup. I said how about potato leek soup (which I love) and then he said how about a baked potato soup?

I love the depth of flavor this soup has from actually baking the potatoes to adding sour cream to the soup. Be sure to temper the cream and the sour cream so it doesn't curdle. Instructions on how to do that in the recipe.

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

This soup is called loaded because it includes the regular fixins' for a baked potato but also sour cream and broccoli! A warm and comforting soup for those fall and winter months.

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 10 -12 servings

Ingredients

• 3 to 3.25 pounds Idaho Russet potatoes scrubbed and washed
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 green onions sliced and divided in half
• 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sharp cheddar grated (and more for topping)
• 2 heads of broccoli florets cut
• cooked bacon for topping optional

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with foil. Place potatoes on cookie sheet and bake for 60 minutes. After baking, allow potatoes to cool for 20 to 30 minutes or cool enough for you to handle. Remove the potato peels and chop into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes.
• Melt butter on medium heat in a large heavy bottom French oven, I used my 5.5 quart Le Creuset. Add half of the green onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add chicken broth and turn heat to high and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, turn heat back down to medium or medium low and allow to simmer for about 5 to 6 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in the broth, about 5 to 6 times.

How to temper cream and sour cream

• Add cream and sour cream by tempering. Do not add both directly to the pot, first take a measuring cup and remove about 1-2 cups of potato soup mixture into a bowl. Add half of the cream and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Pour cream-potato soup mixture back into the pot and repeat for the remaining cream and sour cream. By tempering, you ensure the cream and sour cream doesn't curdle in the soup.
• Add the 1 cup of cheddar cheese and all of the broccoli to the soup and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes on low to medium low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with cheese, bacon and green onion as toppings.

Disclosure: I'm proud to be sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission, who made these experiences possible. I only share with you my favorite brands and all opinions expressed are always my own.

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