Meal Making Monday: Broccoli Cheese Soup and Sliders

This weekend some friends came down to stay with us and we had a BLAST!   it was the first time Mr. TSL and I have been out without kiddos since Audrey was born! Super fun!

Anywho, while they were here i decided to try out some recipes from Pinterest that I had been drooling over!
I kind of figure what's the point of pinning if I'm not doing anything with said pins :)

These recipes ARE NOT mine, I take no credit for them.  The pictures are of the ones from Pinterest.  The food was so good, I totally forgot to take pics.  Plus, what fun am I if I pause a conversation with a friend to take pics for my blog?!?  It's bad enough I do that to my family, they have to love me...my friends choose too.

The first item on our menu was Broccoli Cheese Soup, I LOOOOOVE Broccoli Cheese Soup and this one ranks up there with restaurant soup!

The second item on the menu was Ham and Cheese Sliders....so cute and delicious!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

adapted from Mangia Da Sola who adapted it from  Sugarcrafter

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes + boiling water)
• 1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped (I may have used more broccoli, I just started throwing it in)
• 1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped (mine was grated)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (forgot to put this in)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (don't know what this is and I hate recipes that call for stuff, so I buy it and never use it again)
• 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces grated Colby jack cheese (I used mozzarella)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hot Sauce (I used cayenne pepper)

Sauté the onion (and garlic) in the butter over medium heat. Remove the onions (you can actually leave the onions in there) and add in the flour, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.

Add the onions back in, along with the broccoli and carrots. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Season the soup with the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. Stir in the cheeses (and you can play around with the amounts; use however much or little you like) and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

This recipe sounds superb, but I got side tracked and was running out of time, so I skipped the sauce on the top...next time I will try it with the sauce!

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything adapted slightly from the Recipe Club

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip (I just used mayo, I hate miracle whip)

Poppy seed sauce 
1/2 T poppyseeds
3/4 T yellow mustard
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 T minced onion
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.




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