The Soup is Mocking Me

So there I am in my kitchen, gripped by spring fever, desperately wracking my brain for cooking inspiration, and all I can think about are strawberries, fresh garden greens, summer beer in big orange coolers, the smell of charcoal burning to that perfect gray….but nothing NOTHING came to mind for dinner. Please not another soup, the trademark of cold weather. (Is it possible the soup is mocking me?)Although this week’s weather has been gorgeous, I still had to scrape ice off my truck windows before leaving for work this morning. I am So. Over. Winter. For those of you who are also dancing to this particular song of sorrow: tadah! A recipe that covers both bases, it is simple and fresh but still hearty and bold making it perfect for this time of year. Also, it was husband-approved, which is a mighty feat for an entrée salad. Yes, its a temporary solution but hey, it'll be grilling weather in no time! You just hang in there, sport!

Almost-Spring Spinach Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Fresh Spinach, stems removed and rinsed

Red Onion, thinly sliced

Portobello Mushrooms, thinly sliced

Feta or Cheddar Cheese

Hardboiled Eggs, sliced

Bacon, cooked and diced

Olive Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Sugar

Dijon Mustard

Black Pepper

Chop your spinach into whatever size pleases you. Mix onion, mushrooms, cheese, sliced hardboiled eggs, and spinach. Place your bacon pieces in a separate bowl, preferably when they’re still warm. Drizzle two parts olive oil to one part red wine vinegar over the bacon. Add a squeeze of Dijon mustard, a palmful of sugar, and black pepper to the mix and stir. If you really want to make this bacon-y, you can use some of your bacon grease in the vinaigrette instead of some of the olive oil. I don’t use salt in this vinaigrette because of the saltiness of the bacon. Mix the dressing well and toss with the salad mix. Make sure everything is well-coated and taste, adjust to preference, and enjoy!!

True Story, Real People

This is a conversation I had only moments ago with a friend on email chat. Prepare yourself for the genius! And yes, to answer your inevitable question, this is representative of an average conversation.

Me: “You don’t like guacamole!? How come?”

Him:  “Its green! Haha, no its not bad”

Me:  “Don't you like other green foods?”

Him:  “Green beans are so so…but peas are terrible!!”

Me: “ I like peas! You must've been a hard kid to feed!!”

Him:  “Just not a very big veggie fan. I love fruits tho.”

Me:  “You like corn. Everyone likes corn. Corn is the girl-next-door of vegetables.”

Him:  “Well, duh. And tomatoes n okra.”

Me: “Tomatoes are fruit.”

Him:  “…………..So does that make ketchup a smoothie?”

:)

Beer Cheese: A Tailgating Revelation OR Jordy Nelson is a Pimp

In honor of the most holy of Sundays -- SuperBowl Sunday -- we thought we'd take a beloved tailgating standby and kick it up a notch. What can we possibly do to Little Smokies to take it to the house? Oh yes....you know what's coming. I kid you not, this stuff is incredible and, more importantly incredibly easy to make! (We've got places to go, beer to drink....preferably in that order!) Below is my disjointed and somewhat freeform recipe for you all to try, adapt, and subsequently find your own perfect zen garden of cheesy goodness.

Beer Cheese

Garlic

Shiner Bock (You can use other beers but seriously...why?)

One bag shredded or 16 ounces Swiss Cheese

One bag shredded or 16 ounces Cheddar Cheese

Chicken Broth

Flour

First, chop the garlic and saute lightly in a small amount of butter until soft and beautiful. I only used one clove because my husband, we're pretty sure, is part vampire and extremely sensitive. Left to my own devices I would have probably used three. Add one and a half bottles of Shiner Bock and about a cup of chicken stock to the butter and garlic. Bring up the heat to a nice simmer, do not let it get to a hard boil. Dump your shredded cheeses into a big bowl and throw a handful of flour in with it. Toss to coat. Coat the cheese! This prevents the sauce from getting lumpy when the flour is added and you don’t have to go to all the trouble to babysit a roux. Who knew? Coat the cheese. Brilliant. Now add the cheese by handfuls to the beer, stirring regularly until its all in and it’s nice and smooth. Add a little S&P and you’re done, baby.


This amazing beer cheese sauce can be used for so many applications it will blow your mind. We used it this time to pour into a slow cooker with two packages of Little Smokies and a scoop of sauerkraut for what we call “Ballpark Smokies”. They were delicious! This could easily be adapted into a soup, a dip, a fondue; oh, the possibilities! I plan to employ this novel principle of  “Coating the Cheese” (not to be confused with the less popular “Cutting the Cheese”) the next time I make a cheese sauce of any kind.

On a side note....did anyone see Jordy Nelson (leading SuperBowl receiver and former Kansas State Wildcat) crash into the endzone for the first touchdown of SuperBowl 45?! Congratulations, Jordy! You did the Wildcat Nation proud.