Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I have had my eye on this recipe for the past couple of months, but had never gotten around to making it. A couple of months ago, my parents took Emi and I to Zupas. It is a restaurant that serves soups, salads, and sandwiches and they seem to be sprouting up all over the place now. This wasn't my first experience with Zupas, but it was my husband's and he LOVED it.
My dad's favorite soup is the Wisconsin Califlower Soup, so I was really excited when I found this copy cat recipe. I've never tried it so I didn't know whether the taste was right or not, but my family really liked the soup. We had a couple of setbacks since my mom accidently picked up a mild cheddar cheese and monteray jack with jalapenos instead of pepper jack, but it all turned out in the end. :-D
Good thing I made it because *hopefully* (crosses fingers) last night will be one of the last cold days this season, but it is Utah afterall and we all know how Utah's weather can change.

ZUPAS WISCONSIN CAULIFLOWER SOUP
2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup)

Let me tell you, I was SO excited for this recipe that I could hardly wait to make it. The first time I ever tried this soup was actually when someone else made it at a company party about a year ago. I loved the soup then and was actually a little disappointed when I tried it for the first time at Olive Garden. The taste was the same but there was next to no meat in the soup and I am definitely a meat person.
I LOVED this recipe and I mean ABSOLUTELY LOVED it. It was so good! We got together with some friends when I made this and it was definitely a hit and everyone agreed that the taste was right, but it was even better than Olive Garden's because it actually had some substance.
This wasn't a difficult dish at all. The only thing that I did different was that I couldn't find Italian sausage in the sausage form so instead I used ground Italian sausage. The taste was awesome and substantial! Apparently kale can be a little hard to find but I lucked out and found it at Walmart of all places. Yum!

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 large baking potatoes, sliced in halves then in 1/4 inch slices
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt. water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jar bacon bits (or use real bacon)
2 cups kale or Swiss chard, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook sausage, drain on paper towels, and cut into slices. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in a pot. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage and bacon bits. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn heat to low. Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

Chunky Potato Soup & Italian Bread Bowls

I got this here.

I have actually had this recipe before at my sister-in-law, Maria's house for Tayler's birthday. Maria did a WONDERFUL job with this and Emi made me promise that I would make it ASAP. Walmart didn't have any parsley when I went shopping so I will be using dried parsley (boooooh!), which I'm sure will make is less-tasty than Maria's, but here's hoping that it's still good! I am also going to use cheddar cheese instead of swiss because that is what I have in my fridge!

Read my review on this here.

Chunky Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small carrot, chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, onion, carrot, celery and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender; lightly mash.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted.

EDIT: I am going to try and make these with it.

Italian Bread Bowls
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
7 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer), dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition until a soft but not sticky dough is formed (you may not need to use all 7 cups).


When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes (or let knead in an electric mixer). Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Punch dough down, and divide into 6-8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a round ball. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal (or use silpat liners or parchment paper). Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.