WINTER COMFORT

Winter Comfort

When it comes to comfort food to warm you during the long winter months, there is nothing quite like hot soup and of course, carbs!  These recipes combine both.  Many soups require lots of chopping and many hours of simmering, but these recipes are ready in under thirty minutes.

Einbrenn Potato Soup

The name of this soup comes from the Yiddish term for roux, as it is created by sautéing vegetables in oil and flour.

Ingredients:

1 medium onions, finely diced

2 Tbsp. oil or butter

2 tbsp. four

2 medium potatoes, diced small

6 cups water

1 tbsp. salt

1 small zucchini, diced into small cubes

1 carrot, diced into small cubes

¼ c. peas (optional)

½  tsp. pepper

¼ cup fine noodles

Directions:

Sauté onions in oil or butter in a medium pot.  Add flour until a paste forms.  Add potatoes, zucchini, carrots, peas, water, and seasonings.  Cook for 25 minutes.  Add the noodles 10 minutes before the end.  

Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

This soup is a favorite of kids and adults alike.  If you prefer to dunk the bread, simply cut the grilled cheese into strips instead of cubes.

Soup:

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. oil

2 cups whole milk

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 28 oz. can tomatoes, chopped (keep liquid)

2 tbsp. flour

1 onion, diced

½ tsp. sugar

1 carrot, diced

Directions:

Heat three tbsp. of oil, and sauté onion and garlic until they begin to soften.  Add flour stirring constantly till smooth.  Add can of tomatoes, two cups of water, bay leaf, and spices.  Simmer for twenty minutes.  Add milk and heat, but do not boil.  Remove bay leaf and blend.  Serve with grilled cheese croutons.

Grilled Cheese Croutons: 

4 slices bread or sourdough

¼ cup shredded muenster cheese

Directions:

Place cheese in between two slices of bread.  Place bread on panini maker until cheese is melted.  When bread has cooled, cut into small squares. 

Korean-Style Garlic Bread

Garlic breads are the ultimate comfort food.  They are rich, delicious, and addictive. If you can’t find dinner rolls, you can substitute mini-slider buns. 

Ingredients:

12 Dinner rolls

Filling:

1 8-ounce cream cheese

½ tbsp. sugar

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 scallion, thinly sliced

½ tsp. kosher salt

Topping:

¼ cup olive oil

4 frozen garlic cubes

1 tbsp. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Make six slits in each roll, almost till the bottom.  Mix filling ingredients and spread evenly into the cut rolls.  

Combine topping ingredients and brush the tops of the rolls.  Bake for twenty minutes till golden and the filling begins to bubble.