White Asparagus Goat Cheese Soup

I’ve been meaning to make this soup for quite awhile now. Since last June, in fact, when I tasted it at a conference in Washington D.C. I’d never had white asparagus before, and it tasted so good and creamy in soup form. Plus, add goat cheese to anything and I’m a goner. Anyway, it’s a rainy and cold day, so I figured today would be the perfect time to post this recipe. Since I only knew that the original recipe contained white asparagus and goat cheese, I kept it pretty basic.

A fair warning though- white asparagus MUST be peeled before eating. As I had never worked with this variation of asparagus before, I was unaware until I started chopping it up and came away with long, woody pieces. So yes, there is a bit of prep required for this recipe. Luckily for me, I was in the middle of my 13 Reasons Why Netflix binge while peeling. Made the process so much easier as I was sympathizing with Clay while having ill thoughts about several of the other characters the whole time. Most addicting show ever.

White Asparagus Goat Cheese Soup

1 lb white asparagus, PEELED and chopped into 1 inch-sized pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

2 cups water

2 oz goat cheese

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: chives

Directions:

Add the asparagus, onion, broth, and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. With an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add in the goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir until the goat cheese has melted. Top individual bowls with chives before serving.

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Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup (Paleo)

Last week, I had my annual Super Bowl Sunday Home-Alone-Cook-Off. Not going to lie, I’m no a football fan. I’ve tried watching games, but every time my mind begins to wander off to the 100 things I could be doing instead. And no, the Super Bowl is not the exception.

So every year, I have the house to myself and have my own party where I create my own recipes that I know my family would put their noses up to if they were around.

The arrangement works out nicely: I get to experiment in the kitchen and end up with a week’s worth of yummy food. I then eat while watching some Netflix with the game on in the background (for the halftime show and commercials).

Anyway, this was one of the end results:

Pumpkin Coconut Beef Sauce/Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp red palm oil (or avocado oil)

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp sage

1 lb. organic, grass-fed ground beef

1 cup chopped carrots

1 (13.5oz) can of full-fat coconut milk

1 (15oz) can of pumpkin

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

salt and pepper

For soup version– add in 1 cup vegetable/chicken/beef broth (if you just want a sauce, omit)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pot and add in the onion, garlic, and sage. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the carrots and meat and cook until the meat is entirely brown. Add in the coconut milk and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper, to taste. If you are making the soup: Stir in your broth here. If not, serve over rice or cauliflower rice.

Peanut Butter Tomato Soup

It’s not intentional, but I’ve got another peanut butter combo for this week’s recipe. Tomatoes and peanut butter. Mixed together to make comfort soup. Sooooo good. After a hectic week working with 1st graders, it was exactly what I needed 🙂

Peanut Butter Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 (28oz) cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 cups vegetable broth

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add in onions and nutmeg and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in tomatoes, vegetable broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until at the desired consistency. Stir in peanut butter until melted. Note: In my opinion, this soup tastes best after to has cooled down and is just warm or even cold (you taste the peanut butter best this way!)

Curried Egg Drop Soup (Paleo)

This past week I went to visit the school that I am going to be student teaching in next year. I was so excited to meet my cooperating teacher and look around! Only problem is, I had an AWFUL cough. Like the congested kind that makes you lose your voice and forces you to either cough harder or desperately try to clear your voice. (Fun fact- I found out that I’ve developed an allergy to cats this past week :/)

Anyway, here’s me trying to make a good impression while I’m hacking up a lung. And then- uh oh- I cough and no longer have my voice. Praying that nobody would ask me a question, I quietly tried to clear my throat. Which brought on a series of small coughs that made my eyes water like crazy and probably had the whole class think I should be quarantined.

Nice first impression, right?

So, after this, I went home and made egg drop soup to soothe my poor messed up throat. Thank goodness egg drop soup is pretty quick and easy to make. It’s my new go-to on days that I feel off (or have been around a cat).

Curried Egg Drop Soup (Paleo)

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp avocado oil

1/3 cup chopped onions

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 cups beef/chicken/vegetable broth

1 egg

2 tsp coconut aminos

Salt and pepper

Optional: chives

Directions:

Heat oil in a pot over medium-low heat and add in onions. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, crack an egg into a mug and whisk until scrambled. Set aside.

After onions are done cooking, add in the curry powder and continue to cook for 1 more minute.

Add in broth, put on high heat, and bring a boil. Once at a rapid boil, immediately turn off heat and quickly stir in the egg. Stir in the coconut aminos and then pour into a bowl. Add salt and pepper and top with chives, if desired.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I remember the first time I went to Panera Bread. I got their Broccoli Cheddar soup and, like so many before me, became OBSESSED with it. It was total comfort to just sit at their booths and suck down a bowl between classes.

As I started to change up my eating habits and make my own recipes, broccoli cheddar soup was at the top of my list. So this is my own take of a more “cleaner” broccoli cheddar soup. Less ingredients, yet still full of cheesy goodness!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups plain whole milk yogurt

3.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3 large heads of broccoli, chopped into florets

1 large onion, chopped

2 tbsp ghee (or butter)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp mustard

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp salt

pepper

2 and 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

In a crock pot, whisk the 3 cups of yogurt and 1 cup broth together until smooth. Slowly add and stir in the rest of broth. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except cheddar cheese. Cook on HIGH with the lid on for 1.5 hours. Afterwards, use an immersion blender and blend ingredients until all broccoli chucks are gone. Stir in cheddar cheese. Place lid on top and cook on LOW for an additional 30 minutes. Adjust taste with salt and pepper, if needed, before serving.