Cream of Spinach Soup

I was recently looking for a good spinach soup recipe and was unimpressed by what I found. I felt I could do better, and came up with this recipe:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

1 pound fresh spinach

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups half-and-half

(or cream or milk, depending on how rich you're feeling...)

In a pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions begin to soften. Add spinach (don't worry, it will cook down!), and about a cup of the chicken stock. Cover the pot with a lid and stir periodically, wilting the spinach. When spinach has cooked down, add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until spinach is soft.

In a saucepan, melt the butter, and then whisk in the flour until smooth. Slowly mix in the half-and-half until smooth.

Pour the half-and-half mixture into the pot with the spinach mixture, and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. For a really smooth product, run an immersion blender through the soup before serving.

Guys, I don't mean to brag, but this stuff is pretty awesome. It even got the coveted Ellie endorsement. She very enthusiastically slurped up her "green soup."

Easy Apple Cider

So easy to make and so perfect for this weather! We've had this a lot around our house lately. (Recipe originally from allrecipes.com)

1 (64 oz) bottle apple cider

3 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon whole allspice

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1/3 cup brown sugar

Combine cider, sugar and cinnamon sticks in a crockpot or in a pan on the stove. Tie allspice and cloves in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to keep warm.

And listen to the former barista on this one--top with whipped cream. Seriously, it tastes like apple pie!

Homemade Marshmallows

Sorry for the really mediocre photograph. It really doesn't do these justice. I got my friend Meghan to try this recipe out for me on her food blog a few months ago, and I finally made them myself a couple of weeks ago. So much fun! This was sure to be just the first installment of homemade marshmallows over the holiday season!

• 3 packets unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice water, divided
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Nonstick cooking spray

1. Pour gelatin into bowl of a stand mixer and add 1/2 of the ice water. Stir gently to combine and then set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, mix the remaining 1/2 cup ice water, corn syrup, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until mixture comes to 245 degrees. This takes about 20 minutes, so stir periodically and watch the temperature.

3. When mixture reaches 245 degrees, remove from heat and slowly pour it into your gelatin mixture while mixer is on low speed.

4. When all of the sugar mixture is incorporated, turn mixer up to medium high and whip for 12-15 more minutes, adding vanilla and any food coloring the last couple minutes of beating.

5. While mixture is beating, combine cornstarch and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Then spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with the cornstarch mixture. Tap out excess and save it for later.

6. When the marshmallow mixture is done, it should be thick and fluffy and lukewarm. It should be similar to jarred marshmallow fluff in texture. With a spatula, scrape mixture into the prepared pan. It can help to run your spatula under warm water first. Spread the mixture out evenly.

7. Let the mixture sit out in the pan for about an hour, until it develops a dry layer on top. Then, sprinkle the top with the the cornstarch mixture and cover with plastic wrap to sit overnight.

8. When they're ready to cut, just pull the marshmallow sheet out of the pan--it should come right out. Cut the marshmallows into the desired size and shape (I used a pizza cutter and it worked great), then dust with the cornstarch mixture to keep them from sticking. Place in an air-tight container and these will last for a few weeks.

I added orange food coloring to mine, then dipped them in white chocolate and yellow sugar to give them a festive candy-corn feel. They were a delicious, beautiful, sugar overload! One other note: make sure to put your marshmallow dishes in hot water right away or clean-up will be a miserable task!

Rosemary Biscuits

This is a super cheater recipe that will make you look like total gourmand. It's awesome. It's adapted from this allrecipes.com recipe. I say adapted because the original recipe is low-fat everything. If you're shooting for low-fat, I say you have no business eating biscuits. ;)

• 3 oz cream cheese, cubed
• 1 3/4 cup baking mix (like Bisquick)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary

Cut cream cheese into baking mix until crumbly, then stir in milk and rosemary until just moistened. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until incorporated (about 10 times). Like all quick breads, do not over mix or it won't rise! Roll dough into a 6" square, then cut into four 3" squares, then cut in half diagonally.

Place on a pan coated with nonstick cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

We've already made these twice in the past week. I recommend going heavy on the rosemary, although one of our friends told me this made it smell like a scented soap, haha!