FLYing with Stilton

So I bet you were all expecting this blog to be nothing but cleaning, decluttering and housework? Well, it's not. My quest to become organised extends to other areas of my life too, a philosophy that's shared by FLYlady as she very often talks about menu planning and cooking proper food instead of eating out or living on junk food.

As a full time worker who doesn't get home until 6pm every day, I frequently find myself with very little time to actually cook. This is compounded by the fact I'm vegetarian  (because I just don't like meat and never have done), my husband is an omnivore who loves anything spicy, and my son is a typical kid who only wants to eat kid food. Anyway, cooking for me is like being a short order chef - three separate meals every night, in a 30 minute window between getting home from work and world war 3 breaking out around me because WE'RE DYING FROM HUNGER HERE, WHERE'S OUR DINNER?? Perhaps understandably, dinner in my house is usually more of a 'what can I cook in 20 minutes flat' kind of affair and variety and taste can sometimes fall to the wayside in favour of filling a hole (or three) as quickly as possible. We don't usually do ready meals or TV dinners... but only because we don't really like them. Things could be a LOT better. Enter FLYing in the kitchen. I can do this...

Recently I have been trying a new approach. At the weekend, when I don't have to go to work, I am trying to cook at least one thing which is interesting, tasty, and perhaps takes more than 30 minutes to produce. I make several portions and freeze or refrigerate some of them for later use: my own version of a 'ready meal'. It doesn't solve everything but at least a couple of nights a week, there's something good to eat that wasn't just a quick and brainless 'open freezer, grab first thing you see and shove it in the oven' solution. Here's what I made yesterday... one of my husband's favourites.

Stilton and Broccoli Soup 

(Makes about three pints. If you don't want that much soup, halve all the quantities).

A large head of broccoli (300-400g)
2 medium potatoes
2 medium onions
110g stilton cheese
1.5 pints of stock (whichever kind you prefer; vegetable or chicken)
1 pint milk
A couple of tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon of cream
Salt and pepper

Chop up all the vegetables into smallish pieces, dump them into a saucepan with the oil and fry for about 5 minutes.

Add the flour and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the stock. Cover and simmer for half an hour. You will need to come back and stir it every 5 minutes or so, or it will try to weld itself to the bottom of the pan.

 When everything is soft and cooked, add the milk and warm it through for 10 minutes. Keep the heat low from this point on - only allow it to boil if you actually WANT curdled milk in your soup. (Don't ask me how I know this).

Take the soup off the heat. If you prefer your soups to be smooth, this would be a great time to process it with a stick blender. Otherwise, leave it lumpy.

Add the cream, stir, and serve.

This recipe makes 4-6 bowls depending on the size of bowl. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days. I have no idea if it freezes well because my husband gets through this stuff like lightning and it never lasts long enough for me to try. If I did freeze it, I'd probably do it without adding the milk and cream, and just add them on the day.