Recipes for August 5, 2008

By Rhonda Shelley
Published: August 5, 2008

Corrie’s Kentucky pie
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels, melted
1 cup sifted self-rising flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans
2 (9-inch) deep dish unbaked pie shells or 3 (9-inch) unbaked regular pie shells
ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine eggs, sugar, and melted chocolate in large bowl. Add flour and mix well, stirring in remaining ingredients except for pie shells.
Bake 30 -40 minutes.
Serve warm with ice cream. Freezes well.

Broccoli, cheese soup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup yellow onions or sliced leeks (white parts only, well rinsed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock or canned, low-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed and separated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups shredded medium Cheddar

In a medium pot, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat.
Add the onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring until fragrant, for 20 seconds.
Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, for 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender.
(Alternatively, in batches, puree in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.)
Add the cream and bring to bare simmer to heat through. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter, stirring to blend.
Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle croutons over the top of the soup and serve immediately.

Broccoli and cheese soup with rice
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp.  Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed chicken broth
2   broth cans water
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup instant white rice, uncooked
1 cup Cheddar Cheese
COOK onion in dressing in large saucepan until tender.

ADD broth, water and broccoli. Bring to boil; cook 8 to 10 min. or until broccoli is tender. Stir in milk and rice. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 min. POUR into blender or food processor container in batches; cover. Blend until smooth. Return to saucepan; cook on low heat until heated through. Top each serving with cheese.