Brr! I know just about everyone is with me when I say it’s freaking cold.

After shoveling out our cars, going sledding on stolen cafeteria trays, and launching snowball wars, the only foods that can possibly satisfy our mad hunger must fulfill the following three adjectives: tasty, fatty, and hot! Today, pull out the stops pots and enjoy my favorite winter recipe.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Recipe (serves 4):

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup instant mashed potato flakes

1 cup half-and-half

2 cans prepared chicken broth

4-6 pieces of cooked bacon (optional)

2 sliced roasted red potatoes (optional)

Instructions:

1.     Put all of your ingredients (except ½ cup of the cheese) in a soup pot and mix them together. Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat and cook for about three minutes or until it thickens up — keep stirring while you cook!

2.     Top your soup with the extra cheese, and the bacon and sliced potatoes if desired.

Dying to learn how to make gazpacho? Want to see vegan, gluten-free, or diabetic recipes? Drop your suggestions in the comment box and I’ll see what I can cook up!

Need more recipes? Get more awesome and yummy Intro to Cooking right here!

So make this easy, delicious (vegetarian) recipe and cuddle up on your couch for a cozy evening in. Stay warm! Happy Autumn!

You’ll’s Be Needing:

6 cups of potaters (diced)

3 cans of vegetable broth

4 cups of whole milk

1/2 tsp of black pepper (ground)

1 cup of onion (chopped)

6 tbsp of butter (melted)

3 stalks of celery (diced)

4 cubes of vegetable bouillon

Here’s How’s Ya Does Its:

(1) Boil the potatoes, onion, and celery in two of the cups of vegetable broth. Cook for fifteen minutes.

(2) Drain the stuff but keep the liquid.

(3) Mix said liquid with the milk and put over medium heat. Stir until it’s thick.

(4) Separately, mix the flour and butter.

(5) Stir every single thing into the broth-and-milk mixture.

(6) Voila! Potato soupski!!

[Image courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com]

Yes, I know it is disgusting. Yes, I know it has 50% of your daily value of saturated fat in it per serving. Yes, I know it looks like dog food. But I still love it, even if I feel pretty nasty after eating it.

That is why I was so excited this week when I discovered a recipe that is even better-tasting than Mary Kitchen hash—not to mention worlds healthier. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, it has four ingredients only, making it the easiest thing ever to prepare. All you need is:

• cabbage

• potato

• ground beef

• onion

Salt and pepper work well for flavoring it, and I like to serve mine with ketchup. But those aren’t technically ingredients. Anyway, here is the recipe. Cook it for a good long time—probably 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe recommends, because you want all the ingredients to be nice and browned at the end.

You can thank me later.

[Image courtesy of ApartmentTherapy.com.]

If you would like to make an awesome curry in your own kitchen with simple ingredients that tastes just like it came from the masala lunch buffet, then look no further. Bread, main dish, AND drink are all outlined here for you—so break out your notepads and get ready!

Chapatis

There’s nothing better to eat with a curry than chapatis, those delicious little flatbreads that you can use like spoons to scoop up large amounts of what you’re eating. For a great recipe, go here. Even though it seems completely bizarre to fry something in a skillet that has no oil or butter in it, it works like a dream for these breads.

Added tip: if you stack them up nicely and wrap them in foil, chapatis can be reheated and eaten again for up to two days after you make them.

Cauliflower Curry

One of my proudest strokes of culinary genius was devising this curry. I feel like I could eat it every day and STILL love every bite. It makes a lot (4-5 medium-sized servings), so have a party when you make it.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons oil (canola, olive, or vegetable will all work)

• 1 head of cauliflower, rinsed and broken into tiny florets

• 1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into small squares

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste, or 2 cloves of chopped garlic plus a little chopped ginger (the ginger is optional but helpful)

• 1 cup of frozen peas

• ¾ cup paneer, cut into cubes (optional)

• ½ tsp turmeric

• ¼ tsp garam masala (an Indian spice you can find in almost all grocery stores)

• ½ tsp cumin

• ½ tsp coriander powder

• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

• fresh cilantro to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Set a big pan on the stove at medium heat. Pour in the oil. When it’s hot, add half the cumin (1/4 tsp) and the cauliflower, potato, diced onion, garlic, and ginger (or ginger-garlic paste). Stir occasionally. Let it cook for a while, until it’s visibly reduced and softened at least a little bit—about 10-15 minutes.

Add the peas, paneer, and all the spices. At this point the dish will need to cook for another 10-15 minutes. If you’re using a nonstick pan, you can cover the pan, turn the heat down to low, and check it every 5 minutes or so. Otherwise, keep it on medium heat and stir it every couple of minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom or burns.

When the cauliflower and potato pieces are tender, the curry is done. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro and serve!

Mango Lassi

Wash your Indian meal down with this refreshing summer drink. To make two glasses of lassi, put one mango (peeled and diced), ¾ cup mango pulp, ¾ cup plain yogurt, 2 crushed ice cubes, and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar in a blender or food processor. Puree, pour into glasses, stick in a straw, and enjoy!

[Photo courtesy of the Better Health Channel]