Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I have many a favorite restaurant that I enjoy visiting and partaking of their  fabulous food. One of my favorites that I find myself frequenting with the Girlfriends is Zupas. If you are not familiar with Zupas, it is a restaurant that specializes in delicious Soups, Salads and Sandwiches. Another perk is that with your order, you get a delectable chocolate covered strawberry...YUM!

I have several favorite soups at Zupas, but my all-time favorite is their Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup! I have looked for recipes but could never really find one that seemed worth trying. One day, while I was pinning away on Pinterest, I came across one that was featured on Utah Deal Diva. I decided to give it a go and have made it several times since. My family loves it! Even my two little ones enjoy it; especially when I make homemade rolls to dip into it!

Try making this soup next time the weather is a bit chilly, for it is the perfect cure to help you warm up on those cold winter/spring evenings!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk**
1 1/2 cups water**
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

**Can substitute 1 can {12 oz} evaporated milk and 2 cups water for the 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water.

In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.

Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!}Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Fancy Fruit Pizza Tart

I know I have been MIA for a couple of months now!! To my faithful followers, I apologize for the lack of recipes posted over the past few months. I appreciate and love all my Culinary Queen Bee followers!!! I truly do! I love getting emails from my readers asking me cooking questions and giving me feedback! It makes me so happy to hear from all of you! 

I won't make any excuses for my absence or lack of blogging, however, let me just say that life has been crazy busy. And To be honest, I was getting overwhelmed with finding recipes, cooking and editing pictures. I needed a break from all the hard work that goes into blogging. I was also feeling like my love of cooking and blogging became a chore and I didn't want that to happen!! We all need breaks from time to time....So from now on, my recipe posts may be sporadic but I will still continue to share/post some of my favorite delicious recipes that I come across from time to time!

I hope you will bear with me and continue to follow my Culinary Adventures! 

I love having you stop by!

I wanted to share one recipe that I tried over the holidays, that I think has become a family favorite. It is a Fruit Pizza Recipe. I know some of you maybe thinking to yourself, "I have tried fruit pizza before and it isn't something to get that excited about!" Well, when I came across this recipe and read the ingredients, I decided to give this one a try! This recipe is different from all the other fruit pizza's you may have tried in your past! The ingredients that made me want to give this pizza a try was orange peel and orange extract in the crust and frosting. It also recommended drizzling the pizza with milk chocolate before serving!! Now, anything drizzled in Chocolate makes my mouth water and my heart go pitter patter!! I knew I had a winning recipe on my hands and so I made this pizza and low and behold it was a WINNER/KEEPER!!

Give this Fancy Fruit Pizza Tart a Try! You won't be disappointed!

Fancy Fruit Pizza Tart

Crust:

1 c. Real Butter ( No Substitutions!!!)

1 c. white sugar

1 Large egg

1 tsp. almond extract

3 c. all-purpose flour

11/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Zest of 1 orange

Cream Topping:

1- 8 oz. Package Cream Cheese

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. orange extract

1 c. Whipping Cream

1/2 c. Powdered Sugar

Pizza Toppings

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, sliced and patted dry

1 pint blueberries, washed and patted dry

2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and extract and mix to incorporate.In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Add the orange zest and mix until well combined. Spray a round pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and using your hands and a rolling pin, spread the dough out to the edges of the pan. If desired, you can add a decorative finish by smashing down with a fork (think finishing off a crust for a pie) or fluting the edges. Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

When ready to bake the crust- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown around edges and completely baked in the center. Allow to cool completely!

When the crust is almost cool, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese,  orange extract and brown sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whip the cream and powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and combine well. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust. 

Arrange the berries as desired over the cream cheese topping. Place the chocolate chips in a heavy duty ziploc baggie and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted and smooth. Massage bag in between 20 second intervals. Cut off a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 12 Large Servings or 24 smaller servings!

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen