My recipe has lots of broccoli and other veggies, chicken broth, half and half and a little flour but most of the thickness comes from the broccoli itself.  Broccoli is a remarkably healthy vegetable rich in nutrients, fiber, Vitamin C and cancer fighting antioxidants – truly a superfood!  This soup is so good, even kids love it! And, it’s a snap to make.

I like to serve my broccoli soup with grated cheese and homemade, crunchy croutons!

You may want to invest in an immersion blender.  It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools and I use it all the time. It’s so much easier than trying to put batches of hot soup in the blender.  I invariably put too much soup in the blender and then, when I turn it on, the lid flies off and I get covered in hot, scalding soup. Not fun!

Organic broccoli, organic chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, nutmeg, whole wheat flour and half and half.

Chop your veggies.

Saute them in butter until soft.  About 3 minutes.

Add broccoli, flour and chicken broth and cook about 10 minutes.

Use your immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup.

Make some croutons.

Warm,  satisfying,  cheesy,  creamy and crunchy.  What more can you ask of soup?

Kitchen Princess Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup – Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons organic butter
• 1 cup yellow onions, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 large head  organic broccoli, chopped, or one 16-ounce bag of frozen,organic broccoli
• 1/2 cup organic half and half
• 1 1/4 cups shredded medium Cheddar cheese
• Croutons, for garnish (optional)

Kitchen Princess Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup – Method

1. In a medium pot, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, chopped carrot and celery and the salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes.
2. Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, whisking constantly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the broccoli and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender. (Or, you can puree in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.  Just be really careful and hold the lid of the blender down. Don’t overfill or it will splatter and could burn your skin.)
5. Add the half and half and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted.
6. Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle croutons over the top of the soup and serve immediately.

Princess Tips

• To help lower the calories in the soup, rather than adding the cheese to the whole pot, let each person add cheese individually to their bowl of soup. It’s delicious with or without cheese!
• This recipe will work well with cauliflower instead of broccoli.
• Any cheese you like is fine. I like to use either cheddar or monterey jack.
• Feel free to use vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian soup.
• You can omit the croutons and serve with a crusty baguette or leave bread out all together and serve with a salad.

Now, doesn’t that look healthy and delicious?

Please leave me a comment if you like this recipe. I love your comments and I read and respond to every one. Blessings!

Fruit butters take a little time but they are easy to make and so homey and delicious. They use less sugar than jams and preserves and they’re a lot more forgiving.  You have to spend a few hours cooking them down but it’s easier to tell when they’re ready to can. You don’t need to use a thermometer or figure out what the jelling point is.

Home canning is easier than you think. You need some equipment but it’s not expensive to tool up and once you start canning your own homemade jams,  preserves and butters you won’t go back to store bought. I promise. My friend is bringing me 20 pounds of apples from Maine this week so, apple butter is up next!

This is a great resource to get you started,  FreshPreserving.com  It’s the official site of the Ball and Kerr jar makers.  For a detailed look at home canning, go here: The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning Also, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is a great resource. 

My favorite home canning blog is the wonderful Food In Jars. I adapted her recipe for Apple,  Pear and Peach Butters and it’s a terrific,  flavorful recipe. 

Start with 6 pounds of ripe peaches.

Slice them up but don’t peel. Toss them in a big pot with maybe a cup of water and bring to a boil.

When they’re nice and soft, use an immersion blender to puree. Or, you can use a blender and do it in batches. To me, the immersion blender is a kitchen essential. Have you ever pureed hot soup in a blender only to have the top shoot off and hot soup fly all over you? Yeah. Me neither.

Beautiful peach puree.  You can do this one day and refrigerate and finish the next day if you like.

Add 2 or 3 cups sugar to the puree. It will depend on the how sweet the peaches are and how sweet you like your butter to taste. I used 2 1/2 cups.

Add spices. Cinnamon, ground cloves and and 1/2 a freshly grated nutmeg. Also, add the juice of a lemon.

This is a splatter screen on the pot of peach butter.  It will bubble and spit a lot so you want to invest in a splatter screen. You can’t use a pot lid because you need the liquid to evaporate over several hours.

Peach butter ready to can.

Ladle the hot peach butter into the hot jars. Using a canning funnel makes it so much easier and neater.

Remove the air bubbles from the jar.

Wipe the rim with a damp paper towel.

Screw on your two piece lids.

Place your hot jar in the canner.

Repeat with all of your jars.  Now the canner is ready to go.

Done and cooling.

So spicy and delicious!

Peach Butter – Ingredients

Yield: 7 or 8 half pints

• 6 pounds organic peaches
• 2 or 3 cups organic cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 of a ground nutmeg or 1 tablespoon
• Juice of  a lemon

Peach Butter – Method

1. Remove the pits from your peaches and cut into chunks or slices. Put them in a big, heavy pot. Add about a cup of water and cook them until they are quite soft. Puree the peaches with an immersion blender or use a regular blender in batches, very carefully!
2. At this point, you can refrigerate the puree for a day or two if you don’t have enough time to finish the butter.
3. Now you will begin cooking the puree down into butter. Add the sugar, spices and lemon juice and put your pot on the lowest heat setting.  It’s going to take anywhere from 2 – 5 hours to cook it down. It will depend on your stove and the size of your pot. The bigger the pot with more surface area, the quicker the moisture will evaporate.
4. Stir every 15 minutes or so.  It may begin to stick on the bottom a little bit. Use a splatter screen because it will sputter and bubble a lot.
5. While it’s cooking and the butter is cooking down, get your jars and canner ready. This site will give you some canning basics:  Simple Bites
6. Once the butter becomes thick and spreadable, begin to fill your hot jars, one at a time. Remove air bubbles,wipe rim of jar and put on the lid.
7. Place hot jar in canner. Repeat with each jar. Process for 15 minutes. Start timing when water begins to boil.
8. When done, remove jars from canner and place on towel lined countertop. Let them cool completely. Remove the rings and lift the jars by the lids. If it’s a good seal, they will not move. Store in a cool, dark place. They will last for about 6 months.  Make sure to label and date the jars.

Princess Tips

• Some folks like to make fruit butters in the crock pot. It will take about 8 hours. Put your puree into the crock pot with the other ingredients and let it cook down overnight or while you’re working. Don’t go longer than 8 hours. Check it occasionally.
• You don’t have to use sugar but it will help to preserve the product and give it a longer shelf life.
• Use peach butter as a delicious spread on toast or muffins or with a mild cheese.  Also works great as an accompaniment to roast pork or ham.

They’re easy to roast and delicious in so many recipes.  Beautiful,  earthy and sweet in a green salad with goat cheese and chopped pecans or warm with orange slices and dill.

But my favorite and most beautiful way of eating beets is in this luscious, fuschia, dill infused lemony beet borscht.  Most people think of borscht as a hot winter soup rich with beef and cabbage and indeed, it is. This is the light, cold and summery version. The best part of this soup is no cooking other than the beets. Enjoy!

Honestly now, isn’t that beautiful?

Ingredients: cooked beets, chicken broth, lemon zest and juice, fresh dill, scallions, salt and pepper and sour cream or yogurt.

Zest your lemon using a microplane (pictured) or the small holes on your grater.

Chop six scallions.

Beets and chicken broth in the food processor.

Blend it into a beautiful scarlet mess. And wear an apron. Just in case.

Add scallions, dill, lemon zest and juice.  Blend some more.

Making Borscht.

Pour everything into a big bowl.  It’s pretty but not yet gorgeous.

Add sour cream or yogurt and stir until it becomes a smooth, creamy and beautiful fuchsia.

See what I mean?

Cold soup perfection.  Top with sour cream and fresh dill.

Kitchen Princess Cold Beet Borscht – Ingredients

Serves 6

• 12 – 16 ounces cooked, organic beets*
• 12 ounces organic chicken or beef stock
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of one lemon
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups organic, full fat sour cream or plain yogurt or one cup of each
• Additional sour cream and chopped chives for garnish

I’ve been looking for a good Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe for awhile now. I couldn’t find one I liked completely so I’ve concocted a mashup of sorts by using a few that looked good and taking what I think are their best elements and making it my own.

First,  I looked at Tyler Florence’s recipe and I liked a lot of what I saw but I wasn’t sold. So I kept looking. And looking. Then, when I’d nearly given up, I happened upon The Pioneer Woman’s recipe. Whoa Nelly, now that one grabbed my attention. Lots of spices, loads of flavor and between the two and my own little changes, I think I’ve stumbled on soup heaven.

Seriously. Are you hungry yet? You will be.

You’ll start with veggies. Tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, bell pepper, garlic and spices.

Spices: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt.

Chop a bell pepper.  Any color you like.  I like red.

Slice Jalapenos.  Remove seeds and ribs unless you like a spicy soup.  See how I’m wearing rubber gloves? You will want to.

Pretty chopped jalapenos. Not so hot now.

You will also chop an onion, 3 plum tomatoes and 3 cloves of garlic.  All your chopped veggies will equal about 4 cups of sunny goodness.

Put oil in pot, heat and add the chopped veggies and all the spices.

My leftover roast chicken. I cut off a bunch of the meat and shredded it.

Lovely shredded roast chicken.  You could roast a couple chicken breasts or use a rotisserie chicken.

While you shredded the chicken, the veggies turned into this. Pretty.

Now you’re going to add these.

First add a quart of chicken broth.  Homemade is best but I didn’t have time.

In go a can of drained and rinsed black beans.

Now add the shredded chicken. We are getting closer to soup heaven.  Simmer for about 30 minutes. Your kitchen is smelling pretty awesome by now.

While it’s simmering, get your condiments ready. Sliced avocado, diced red onion, shredded jack cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream.  Oh, and lime. Please don’t leave out the lime.

I almost forgot, add a tablespoon of tomato paste.  It adds some depth.  Thanks Pioneer Woman!

Slice 3 or 4 tortillas.  Use corn, white or whole grain.  I’m a health nerd so I use whole grain.

This is the fun part.  Heat 1/4 inch of coconut oil in a skillet.  When hot, add strips and fry till golden.  Less than a minute!

Oh my.  These are almost as good as french fries.  Almost.

Can I get a witness?

This is what happens to Chicken Tortilla soup.

Kitchen Princess Chicken Tortilla Soup – Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 chopped onion, about a cup
• 1 chopped bell pepper, any color
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded, ribs removed and chopped
• 3 chopped plum tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• 32 oz. organic chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 or 4 tortillas
• Oil for frying (I use either grapeseed or coconut oil)
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup grated jack or cheddar cheese
• lime wedges

Marsala wine is a fortified wine similar to sherry or Madeira. It is not red or white or pink but golden brown and it looks like strong iced tea. It has a flavor sometimes described as “nutty,” and is a key ingredient in many classic Italian dishes like chicken or veal marsala.

Serve over pasta with a nice green salad or a green veggie like green beans or asparagus. Enjoy!

Beautiful Chicken Marsala!

Ingredients for Chicken Marsala: Chicken breasts, fresh mushrooms, chicken stock, olive oil, parsley, flour, Marsala wine.  Oh, and butter. I forgot to put it in the picture!

First, you will pound the chicken breasts thin so they cook quickly. This is the fun part!

Put chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound thin.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and dip in flour to give a light coating.  That’s my husband Mike’s hand. He loves to make this dish!

Saute chicken breasts for about 3 minutes on each side to brown. Remove from pan.

Slice mushrooms and saute.

Pretty, sautéing mushrooms! They really aren’t swimming in butter but it does kinda look that way.

Add the Marsala to the browned mushrooms. You should smell how good this smells. Seriously.

Add the chicken back in to the mushrooms. Cook a little longer till cooked through.

Sprinkle chicken marsala with chopped Italian parsley. Doesn’t that look divine? You can’t even imagine!

Perfect dinner!

Chicken Marsala – Ingredients

• 2 six to eight ounce boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts sliced in half and pounded thin
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups sliced, fresh mushrooms
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine
• 1 cup organic chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• Fresh, chopped Italian parsley for garnish

Chicken Marsala –  Methond

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour. Tap off excess.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet until hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and saute the chicken breasts for about 3 minutes on each side. They will be golden brown.
3. Put the chicken breasts on a plate and set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan and add the sliced mushrooms.
5. Cook the mushrooms until they have given up their liquid and are beginning to brown around the edges.
6. Add the Marsala wine and cook until the wine is reduced by half, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and cook about 3 minutes more. The sauce will thicken slightly.
7. Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken breasts back to the pan. Cook a few minutes more until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
8. Swirl in the 2 remaining tablespoons of butter and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Serve with pasta, rice or potatoes.

Princess Tips

• You want your chicken breasts thin, so when you take them out of the package, slice them in half the long way to make each breast half it’s thickness.
• If you don’t have a mallet to pound them, try using a rolling pin. Pound to less than 1/4 inch thickness.
• If you can’t get Marsala wine, use a sweet sherry.
• You can use any kind of fresh mushrooms you like.
• Use chicken breasts or veal scaloppine.
• To clean mushrooms, don’t wash them but use a damp paper towel to wipe off any debris.

I discovered the recipe years ago in my Shepherd’s Garden Seeds cookbook called “Recipes From A Kitchen Garden.”  The recipe was simply ‘Golden Brown Chive Roasted Potatoes’, which didn’t really convey their fabulousness at all. But hey, call anything ‘golden brown’ and I’m in! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, stuffed with cheese, breadcrumbs and parsley (or chives)  and bathed in butter. Pure potato heaven. A little labor intensive but when they open up into that lovely accordion shape you

will be thrilled and won’t mind a little slicing at all. The original recipe says, “serve immediately and expect diners to ignore everything else on their plate.” And it’s true, they will. So, here’s my potato love gift to you. Let me know if you think they are as fabulous as I do!

Slice peeled potatoes vertically, about 1/4 inch apart. Take care not to slice all the way through.

Dip each potato in butter and place on a foil wrapped baking sheet.

Baste with butter. What’s not to love about that?

They are starting to open up, after about 45 minutes of baking.

Bread crumbs, parsley and parmesan cheese for the stuffing.

Grate cheese, chop parsley and measure breadcrumbs. Blend it all together.

After about an hour and a half, potatoes are ready to be stuffed. See how golden and gorgeous they are?

Here’s a closeup.

Stuffed with parsley, cheese and breadcrumbs.

Gorgeous, Hasselback potatoes!

Hasselback Potatoes – Ingredients

• 6 large baking potatoes
• bowl of cold water
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons freshly chopped chives or parsley
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated cheese (I use parmesan)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Hasselback Potatoes – Method

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Peel potatoes and place in a bowl of cold water until ready to use. Dry thoroughly and cut a thin slice off the long side of each potato so it can sit flat.
3. With a sharp knife, cut vertical slits from the top almost to the bottom of each potato, being careful not to cut it through.
4. Dip the cut potatoes in melted butter and sprinkle with salt.
5. Bake on a foil covered baking sheet for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with more butter.
6. The potatoes will turn a crisp golden brown and the slits will open in accordion fashion as they bake.
7. In the last 15 minutes, combine the chives or parsley, cheese and bread crumbs and stuff them into the slits in the potatoes to form a delicious topping.
8. Serve immediately and expect diners to ignore everything else on their plate.

Princess Tips

• If you don’t want to stuff the potatoes, just bake them for an hour and a half until brown and serve.
• Use whatever kind of cheese you like. I love Reggiano Parmigiano and I use it a lot. Cheddar or Jack would be good.
• Chives are wonderful and I use them sometimes but parsley is what I usually have in my fridge. I think a little chopped rosemary would be really good too,  especially with a roast.

One reason – they are delicious -  light, crispy and to top it all off, healthy!  Oh,and did I mention only 3 ingredients???? If you have picky eaters or those who swear they don’t like kale, give these I try. I promise they will be a hit. Mike and I eat an entire bowl whenever I make some. I use a large bunch of kale, cook on 2 baking sheets and we eat. every. single. bite. Absolutely the hit at any party. People rave over them. Seriously!

Beautiful Organic Kale.

Drizzle raw kale with olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Place bite size pieces of kale on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

Kale chips! Light and crispy and oh so addicting!

Kitchen Princess Kale Chips – Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale – organic if possible
• 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil or grape-seed oil
• 2 0r 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese. I use Reggianno Parmigiano.

Please let me know how you like them. I love to hear your comments!

I’ve dubbed them Tomato Crack because they are that good. A deep, rich, tomatoey flavor that flat out makes salads and sandwiches sing! Give them a try and let me know what you think.

I dried one batch drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a little sugar and another batch sprinkled with salt. I store in the fridge with fresh basil and garlic, covered with olive oil. Yum!

Beautiful, oven dried tomatoes in olive oil with fresh basil and garlic.

Beautiful Roma tomatoes, about 2 pounds.

Sliced Roma or paste tomatoes.

In one method, you sprinkle the tomatoes with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar.

Sprinkled with balsamic and ready to go in the oven.

After a few hours, they are nice and shriveled, chewy and intense.

Finished, covered with olive oil, and in the jar.

You can also salt them for 15 minutes before you roast them. It helps remove some of the excess liquid.

I did this batch on parchment paper to absorb some of the liquid.

So beautiful, so delicious and so good for you!

Yummy Tomato deliciousness!

Kitchen Princess Oven Dried Tomatoes – Ingredients

• 2 pounds roma tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar or organic raw honey