Cheese Sauce

The original recipe called for serving this on English muffins. It’s also good with English muffins, Canadian bacon and eggs. (Like a cheese sauce eggs Benedict) It’s good with leftover brown rice and chicken and spinach, baked in an oven. I’d guess 350 for 30-45 minutes. Or with pasta, broccoli, and chicken, baked in the oven with bread crumbs. Or just over veggies. I’ve mixed this with lots of leftovers to make a meal seem new. This recipe is from the "Frugal Gourmet cooks American."

CHEESE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup milk

½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (or Swiss)

1 ½ Tbsp each butter and flour roux

Worcestershire sauce to taste

Salt and Pepper

2 tsp white wine

Tabasco to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook, stirring to make a roux. This takes a few minutes. Whisk in milk slowly (a silicon coated whisk is great), allowing to thicken between additions. Whisk in cheese, and additional ingredients, being careful not to burn on the bottom.

Black bean soup

This one is popular in my house too. I’ve never actually made it with the ham (vegetarian sisters), but I’m sure it’s good. I always make the chipotle recipe. Chipotles in adobo sauce are sold in a can in the Mexican food section of the supermarket. Chipotles are smoked jalapeños. You can freeze leftover chipotles. On a waxed paper lined cookie sheet, place the chipotles, separate from each other with a bit of sauce added to each pepper and freeze. When frozen, wrap excess waxed paper around each one and put in a Ziploc bag to freeze. I freeze this soup single serving Ziploc containers. If you make this with mixed beans, collard greens (or other greens) are good with it. But, collards turn to mush in the freezer. The black bean soup recipes are from America's Test Kitchen.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

INGREDIENTS

BEANS

1 lb (2 c) dried black beans, rinsed and picked over

4 oz ham steak, trimmed of rind

2 dried bay leaves

5 c water

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp table salt

SOUP

3 T olive oil

2 large onions, chopped fine (about 3 cups)

1 large carrot, chopped fine (about ½ c)

3 medium celery ribs, chopped fine ( about 1 c)

½ tsp salt

5-6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 ½ T cumin

6 c low sodium chicken broth

2 T cornstarch

2 T water

2 T juice from 1 to 2 limes

GARNISHES

lime wedges

minces fresh cilantro leaves

finely diced red onion

diced avocado

sour cream

1. For the beans: Place beans, ham, bay leaves, water, and baking soda in a large saucepan with tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; using large spoon, skim scum as it rises to surface. Stir in salt, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer briskly until beans are tender, 1 1/4 to 1 ½ hours (if necessary, add another 1 cup water and continue to simmer until beans are tender); do not drain beans. Discard bay. Remove ham steak (ham steak darkens to color of beans), cut into 1/4-inch cubes, and set aside.

2. For the soup: Heat oil in 8-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking; add onions, carrot, celery, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, pepper flakes, and cumin; cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in beans, bean cooking liquid, and chicken broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors, about 30 minutes.

3. Finish the soup: Ladle 1 ½ cups beans and 2 cups liquid into food processor or blender, process until smooth, and return to pot. Stir together cornstarch and water in small bowl until combined, then gradually stir in about ½ of the cornstarch mixture into soup; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to fully thicken. If soup is still thinner than desired once boiling, stir in remaining mixture into soup; return to a boil to fully thicken. Off heat, stir in lime juice and reserved ham; ladle soup into bowls and serve immediately, passing garnishes separately.

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH CHIPOTLE CHILES

The addition of chipoltle chiles in adobo-smoked jalapeños packed in a seasoned tomato-vinegar sauce-makes this a spicier, smokier variation on black bean soup.

Follow the recipe for black bean soup, omitting red pepper flakes and adding 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chilies in adobe plus 2 tsp adobo sauce along with chicken broth in step 2.

12(or however many) BEAN SOUP

Use a bag of mixed beans in place of black beans. If not freezing can add collard greens or other greens.

Potato Soup

This is a real crowd pleaser. From Epicurious.

POTATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (about 4)

3 1/2 cups chicken broth (2 cans)

6 slices of bacon

1 onion, chopped coarse

12 mushrooms, chopped coarse

2 cup milk

8 oz cream cheese, cut into bits and softened

In a kettle combine the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch Pieces, with the broth and simmer the mixture, covered for 20 Minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the kettle from the heat and in the kettle mash the potatoes with the potato masher. Whlie the potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp and transfer it to paper towels and drain. Crumble the bacon into ½ inch pieces and reserve it. Add the onion and mushrooms to the fat remaining in the skillet and cook mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the onion is softened. Add the reserved bacon and the onion mixture to the potato mixture. Stir in the milk, the cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste, and heat the soup over moderate heat, stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is combined well (do not let the soup boil).

Makes 4 ½ cups, serving 4 to 5.