Hot Recipes to Beat the Chill

With the holidays over, the cold and snow seems a little less romantic and a lot more daunting.  Though we cannot do anything about the cold and snow, we can help you warm your soul and your bellies with delicious dinner ideas!

Soup’s On

Nothing warms the belly better than soup.  In the cold January weather, we could eat soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Okay, maybe not breakfast, but definitely lunch and dinner.

Get out the crockpot for the first two recipes.  One of our favorites is French Onion Soup.  This recipe from Southern Living is a lovely crockpot version of the classic French Onion Soup, and we love to broil our St. Helga’s Swiss-style cheese on top of the soup and croutons.  It gets brown, bubbly, and delicious.  Another classic wintertime soup is a loaded baked potato soup. However, we put our own “Caves of Faribault” spin on it in our recipe for Loaded Potato, Celeriac and Cauliflower Soup.  This bowl of goodness is comfort food at its finest!  When topped with a healthy amount of our Cherubic Gouda, it creates a rich, fat-filled soup that will definitely warm you up from the inside out.

Another soup that we love that can be made sans crockpot is the Mushroom Thyme Blue Cheese Soup from Little Sugar Snaps.  This earthy, herbaceous soup is an excellent way to temper January’s chill. We love the piquant kick that our St. Pete’s Select cheese adds to this recipe. St. Pete’s Select “plays well with others” so you don’t need to worry about the cheese overpowering the other ingredients in this well thought-out recipe.

Cozy Casseroles

One stereotype that people love to think about Midwesterners is that we love casseroles.  Another stereotype is that we think cheese is a main food group.  We can report that both of these stereotypes are 100% true.  Well, maybe not 100% true for all Midwesterners, but definitely true for us at Caves of Faribault!

Like spice?  Then you’ll love this Buffalo Chicken Casserole from Southern Living.  This filling casserole will not only turn up the proverbial heat, but it will heat up your taste buds as well. We substitute our Cherubic Gouda for the Cheddar, and use our AmaBlu to help cut the heat.  As per usual, we add more Blue than recommended.  Instead of 1 ounce, try 3-4 ounces.

If spice is not your thing, fear not.  We have two more recipes that are light on spice but will still warm you up!  Tuna Casserole is the epitome of the 1950s casserole.  Bon Appetit’s BA’s Best Tuna Casserole with Dill and Potato Chips is our favorite version of this dish.  Tuna, potato chips, dill, some mushrooms, a touch of hot sauce and our St. Helga’s Swiss (instead of Cheddar) are the perfect combo to create this exquisite version of a classic.

Abiding by Meatless Monday does not exclude you from partaking in one of our cozy casseroles.  This Broccoli Blue Cheese Bake from The Girl Who Ate Everything is the perfect MM casserole.  This delectable dish is not only jam-packed with nutrients from the broccoli, but its rich texture created by the cream cheese, butter, Ritz crackers and Blue cheese will keep you full and will melt that cold chill away.  Though this is traditionally made with Blue cheese, we much prefer to use our AmaGorg.  The sweet, milder flavor melds well with the broccoli and buttery crackers.

Savory Semi-Homemade Hand Pies

Between shoveling snow and trying to stay warm in sub-zero weather, there isn’t always time to prepare a huge dinner.  We are a huge fan of “semi-homemade” recipes that rely on some store-bought ingredients, some prep work and of course, cheese!  All of these are quick recipes that do not require a fork and knife.

We always love a great burger, and these Mini Blue Cheeseburger Pies from Betty Crocker are a great way to get all the burger-flavor you love in mini pies.  Using a pancake mix for the pastry dough helps speed things up in the kitchen, talking about 20 minutes to prepare before you bake.  We love using our AmaBlu, and tend to throw in a couple extra ounces of cheese in the mix.  These delicious bites will warm you up, and much like burgers, are best served with French fries!

If burgers aren’t your thing, no worries; we have a couple more semi-homemade recipes for you.  The first one is for Chicken and Wild Rice Strudels from Taste of Home.  These homemade entrees are made with ready-to-serve wild rice and phyllo dough to help cut down on preparation time.  Use our St. Helga’s Swiss cheese and serve with a side salad or your favorite quick and easy side dish.  Another handheld fave of ours is the Bavarian Meatball Hoagies also from Taste of Home.  Essentially, all you need for these are your favorite hoagie buns, pre-made (and fully cooked) meatballs, a packet of onion soup mix and either our St. Helga’s Swiss or Cherubic Gouda.  The melty, gooey cheese will melt away any cold that is lingering in the air!