Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

½ medium onion

5 T butter

¼ c flour

2 cups milk, half-and-half, or whatever you’ve got

2 cups chicken or veggie broth

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup fresh corn (game-changer)

6 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1.       Chop the onion, then sauté 1 T butter in a pot over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove onion from the pot.

2.       Melt the remaining 4 T butter, and whisk in flour quickly. Add milk and chicken broth, simmer 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.

3.       Add vegetables and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until soft.

4.       Add salt, pepper, and grated cheese, mixing until cheese is melted.

Serves 3-4

Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 embarrassingly huge stalk of Brussels sprouts, purchased at Haymarket

6 slices of bacon

1 T olive oil (if there is not enough bacon grease)

Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Break off the sprouts, throw away the gross-looking leaves but keep the single leaves that still look yummy. Wash and dry, cut in half, put them in a bowl.

3. Cook bacon on the stove, not until entirely crispy, but to get off the bacon fat. Cut slices of bacon into small pieces. Toss sprouts with bacon pieces, bacon grease, extra oil if necessary, and salt and pepper.

4.       Spread sprouts and bacon pieces on a baking sheet in one layer, cut-side down. Cook for 10 minutes, then toss. Cook for 10-20 more minutes, depending on how crispy you want them.

Serves 3 people as a side, with a main dish of cookies.

Caramel Corn

Ingredients:

3 bags microwave popcorn

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup Karo syrup

Directions:

1.       Pop the bags of popcorn in the microwave. Go through the laborious but important process of dumping the bags into a bowl, shaking a little so the unpopped seeds fall to the bottom, and then scooping out the popcorn by handfuls into another huge bowl. You have to do this because a) getting an unpopped kernel covered in caramel is painful and sad and b) no matter how perfect you think your life is, you’ll never get a bag of microwave popcorn that pops every kernel.

2.       Combine the other three ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir continuously over MEDIUM heat until butter is melted, then mix in sugar and syrup. Once the mixture starts bubbling, cook for 3 minutes, continuing to stir. After three minutes, remove from heat and pour over popcorn, tossing immediately to coat.

3.       Enjoy this caramel popcorn that is soft rather than being Crunchtown, USA.

Serves a ton of people if you have a million other treats and no one is hungry for caramel corn.

Note: as long as the proportions are equal, you can make as much or as little of this caramel sauce as you want. ¼ cup of each for a mini bag of popcorn, for example.