Broccoli Cheddar Pockets

I found these on a whim last week while desperately searching for something new and easy to try for dinner. We grabbed ingredients on the way home (thank you, premade bread dough), and within an hour were pulling these out of the oven. A few bites later, Dan the Man declared these broccoli-cheddar pockets had made it to his top ten list of favorite meals.

Of course if you had time you could certainly make your own dough from scratch, but I was pleased with these results. We brainstormed future fillings like pepperoni and mozzarella, ham and cheddar, or spinach and feta.

Based on a recipe from LaurasSweetSpot.com.

Ingredients (makes 8 pockets)

• 3-4 small broccoli crowns, chopped into small pieces (about 4 cups)
• 8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 Tbsp sour cream
• small handful fresh chives, chopped
• Vegetable oil, for brushing (vegetable oil spray works fine too)
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 2 (11-ounce) tubes refrigerated French bread dough
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool; pat very dry. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush or spray baking sheet with vegetable oil.
3. Mix broccoli, cheddar, sour cream, and chives in a bowl until combined. Squeeze the mixture together to compact it.
4. Use a little bit of flour to lightly dust your work surface.
5. Cut each tube of dough into four pieces. Roll each piece out and fill with broccoli mixture. Fold and secure each pocket, then place seam-side down on the baking sheet.(Check out these excellent step-by-step photos if you have never made these before!)
6. Beat egg in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbsp water and mix well.
7. Brush each pocket with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

Did you miss out on green food for St. Patrick's Day? Look no further: this broccoli cauliflower soup has the perfect amount of green in it to sass up your month. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is easily altered for people with special diets, whether they are vegetarian, vegan, or just on a gluten-free or dairy-free restriction.

The secret of this soup is that it uses pureed vegetables as a thickener so there is no need for a roux. It is very creamy in texture, but without the use of cream. If my roasted red pepper soup hasn't convinced you to purchase an immersion blender, this soup might do the trick!



Ingredients

• olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1 head fresh cauliflower, chopped
  
• 1 head fresh broccoli, chopped
  
• 2 bay leaves
• big pinch of parsley
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth **
  
• up to 1 cup milk or more broth (for thinning soup) ****
  
• up to 1 cup cheddar cheese (optional) ** / ****
  
• salt and pepper to taste

**for gluten-free diets, use broth made from gluten-free bouillon, as well as a brand of cheese that uses gluten-free caking agents, such as Cabot cheese.
****for dairy-free diets, use broth instead of milk, and omit the cheese.

Directions

1. Heat stockpot on medium-low. Add oil, then garlic. Cook for about 1 minute.
2. Add carrot, celery, bay leaves, and parsley. Cook for about 1 minute.
3. Add broccoli, cauliflower, and 2 cups of broth. Put top on pot and cook for about 15 minutes until veggies are tender.
4. Remove soup from heat. Remove both bay leaves and discard.
5. If you wish to have some chunks of veggies in your soup, remove about 1 cup of veggies and put off to side.
6. With immersion blender or regular blender, puree soup until smooth. Add enough milk or broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Stir well.
7. If using cheese, add now and stir well so heat from the soup can melt the cheese.
8. If you removed some veggies for texture, add them back in now.
9. Salt and pepper as desired.

Comments
I enjoyed this for a light dinner. We paired it with a loaf of roasted garlic bread and I still felt satiated even a few hours after the meal. The texture I ended up with is not like broccoli cheddar soup you might find at a cafe - it has much more of a body to it. However, you could get it to be thinner by adding more liquid if you wanted.

Dan the Man's feedback: "It looks like baby food, but it tastes a lot better." You can't get more honest than that, I suppose. :)