Cheesy Potato Broccoli Soup with Crispy Proscuitto

I was clicking through the food blog The Craving Chronicles and came across this amazing soup recipe that was cheesy and hearty and full of good stuff. The original recipe didn't have broccoli, but I had some cooked, and leftover so I threw that in and I thought it was perfect. The crispy proscuitto on top, definitely makes the whole dish!! You need that salty bite with the cheese and potatoes, its absolutely delicious! This soup is a gonna be a new fall favorite!

I'm in love with these huge soup mugs!

Cheesy Potato Broccoli Soup with Crispy Proscuitto
(original recipe found here.)

4-6 slices proscuitto
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
1 lb. approx. red potatoes (10-12 small or 4-6 large) peeled and cubed
1 qt. box chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Place slices of proscuitto on a lightly greased or Silpat lined sheet pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool, and then break into crumbles.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onion and carrots and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and enough stock to just cover and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt 3 T butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted add 3 T flour and whisk to form a roux. Allow to cook, 1 minute. Add the milk slowly, whisking constantly to smooth out any lumps. Continue to heat while whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Once it reaches desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in your grated cheese.

Once potatoes are tender, pour the cheese mixture into the potato mixture, stirring to combine. Heat to a simmer and let thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each bowl of soup with crumbled prosciutto and enjoy!

Warm, cheesy goodness for a Fall day

One big, soup mug full of this soup was enough for a good meal! Add some bread to dunk and I'm sure it's even better, and more satisfying! The Hubs added oyster crackers, which are delicious and great with soup as well. This soup of full of hearty potatoes and veggies and feels good in your soul. It was super easy to make...like, incredibly easy! You dirty 2 pots, but its ok cause the soup is so yummy! The potatoes are nice and tender and the carrots still have crunch and the broccoli adds nice color and flavor, all around a great bowl of soup. The best part is the prosciutto on top...so crispy and salty, I am in love! I love prosciutto when its not crispy, and I like this crispy topping rather than bacon, I would choose prosciutto any day!

Hey! Don't take that yet!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry...and warm up with a bowl of soup!

-BellaRosa

Baked Rigatoni with Tiny Meatballs for the In-Laws

We had my in-laws over for dinner last night, and I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen last week and knew I had to make it! So there were a few new things for me in this recipe that I have either never done before or was a different way of me doing something.

I have never done the "piece of white bread soaked in milk and then rung out and put in the meatballs instead of bread crumbs." I don't think I would do this again, I thought it was disgusting to do. I mean the meatballs were great, but that process was kinda gross to me.

And then making a bechamel was new, at least the way they have you do it, but it was delicious! I mean, I have made alfredo sauce before and essentially its like the same, the flour and butter and make a roux and then add the milk, but they way they have you incorporate they milk was new to me.

I felt that this took me way longer to make than I had anticipated. It took me and hour and a half start to finish. But then again I don't always have the best time management when cooking, like it's really bad, and I tend to do a step last that I could have had going while something else was working, but oh well.

The tiny meatballs were fun to make, a little tedious, but so they look so cute! And the bechamel came together quite quickly and then just the pasta to boil and then bake everything, not too shabby. It was so good, my father-in-law had 3 helpings...I kid you not! That means it was amazing!! And he took the leftover with them for his lunch the next day!

I thought this recipe was amazing and delicious and I think everyone should make it, it was so saucy and the meatballs were so tender and just melted in your mouth, this was a great dinner. I served it with a nice salad and some ciabatta bread, and it was great. I suppose you could add veggies or some spinach in for more nutritional value, but I liked it just the way it was.

For the original recipe click here.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry!!

-BellaRosa