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Cauliflower Cheeseburger Soup

This recipe is new to me this year and has been a comforting favorite throughout the ups and downs of 2020. We have probably made it at least twice a month for the past 9 months.
It’s hearty, salty, creamy, full of vegetables, and cheesy. What is NOT to love?!

The original recipe came from Stay Snatched blog and we don’t deviate too far off course from their original. I however add a bit more veggies, less meat (and you could totally sub in a vegan beefy crumble for a vegetarian version, not sure about the dairy subs tho haven’t tried yet) and some minor tweaks here and there to make it my own. It is a huge hit and definitely hits a much healthier spot if I am craving that salty pickly cheesiness of a McD burger.

Have you had a go to dish for 2020? what was is? Let me know below!

Cauliflower Cheeseburger Soup

  • 2 bell pepper (finely diced)
  • 2 carrots (finely diced)
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 large onion (finely diced)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large head of cauliflower (chopped)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  1. In a large pot, brown the ground beef on medium high breaking it up as you go, add salt and pepper to taste. I like it on the saltier side.
  2. Cook until no longer pink and remove from pot. Depending on the fat content of your beef drain some of the excess fat away leaving about a half tablespoon ish (if using beef crumbles add a little oil)
  3. Add in the butter, once melted, add in the onions. Saute until translucent add in the carrots and bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add in the tomato paste, stir and incorporate. Add in the cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute, just to give a tiny bit of color.
  5. Deglaze pot by adding in the vegetable broth. Then add in the Worcestershire, garlic powder, italian seasoning, mustard, and pickle relish. Mix everything til well combined.
  6. Bring up to a boil, then cover, reduce to a medium simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until cauliflower is tender.
  7. Add back in the beef, stir in the cream cheese until it all melted.
  8. Once the cream cheese has melted into the soup add in the heavy cream and shredded cheddar.
  9. If you would like the soup to be thicker add in a bit of cornstarch at this point by creating a slurry with 1 tsp of cornstarch and 1 tsp cold water than stirring it to the soup. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Potato Leek Soup with some tears

I had hoped to post this Sunday, y’know Soup Sundays and the first snow mix we had making it perfect soup weather.

Sunday I woke up at 1…pm and felt like I still had not slept. Last week was a struggle, I’ve felt physically sick and my depression has kicked my butt big time. However I had soup to look forward to, right?

Well I was still not feeling great and we had decided to make one of my husband’s go to soups. A take on Alton Brown’s Leek Potato. A party hit every year at our annual soup supper.
I had been in charge of getting the ingredients gathered and then reading the recipe off to him so I could still rest but be involved. A supposed to be relaxing happy end to a trying week.

You know the saying measure twice cut once?
You should also read a recipe twice or three or four times and cook once!

Mike asked me, “Are you sure this is the correct amount of potatoes?”

Yes, yes. I only ordered what we needed!

“It seems like a lot but okay…”

Turns out the recipe said;

5 small gold potatoes.

My not quite there brain when ordering groceries though read;

5 POUNDS gold potatoes

…totally the same thing right?

We ended up with one tiny leek to a whole lot of potato, but that’s okay. We can make it work right? Maybe.

Soften the leek, add the boatload of potatoes and now broth.
We always use the Better Than Bouillon base to make ours (if not using homemade). It’s really simple you simply add 1 teaspoon to 1 cup.
We needed to increase the liquid amount because obviously the original amount was not going to cover the potatoes.
Decided 8 cups would do it…and add the bouillon.

Mike turns to me “You said tablespoons, right?”
…
…
…
1 leek, 5 lbs of potatoes, and 8 TABLESPOONS of concentrated salty vegetable base instead of teaspoons.

My eyes welled up and I just started crying.

“It’s okay, it’s just soup! It will be okay.” My loving husband assured me.

“I know! I know!” and logically yes I knew but it was just the end of a long week. A long year and it spilled out as tears over a messed up soup recipe.

Tears over soup, tears over being in physical pain, tears over being frustrated, tears for the world, tears over not being able to go back to work right now, tears over just being damn tired.

I sniffled and dried my eyes. We left the soup to simmer and went to enjoy some Christmas movies.

The soup came out alright, saltier than normal and we ended up adding more milk to balance it out which made it thin despite all the potatoes with a very vegetable broth flavor.

Sometimes you just salvage a recipe gone awry.

Sometimes you need to cry over soup.

It’s okay.

Now if you would like the non awry recipe, check it out below.

Potato Leek

modified from Alton Brown's Leek Potato

  • 1 pound leeks (cleaned and dark parts removed, chopped into small pieces.)
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter (*dairy free notes)
  • Kosher Salt
  • 5 small Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and diced)
  • 1 quart vegetable broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream (*dairy free notes)
  • 1 cup buttermilk (*dairy free notes)
  • 2 tsp white pepper
  • optional topping: snipped chives
  • optional topping: shredded cheddar cheese

  1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped cleaned leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes.

  2. Decrease the heat to low and cook until the leeks are tender, stirring occasionally. About 20 minutes.

  3. Add the potatoes and broth, increase the heat and bring to a boil.

  4. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

  5. Remove from the heat and puree with an immersion blender or carefully blend in batches in blender until completely smooth.

  6. Mix the heavy cream and buttermilk* and white pepper together, slowly incorporate into the hot soup.

    Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve with optional toppings!

*I have made this completely dairy free before when I was eliminating dairy from my diet and it was still very delicious! 
I used vegan butter, coconut cream (unsweetened) and made a coconut milk buttermilk by mixing 1 TABLESPOON of lemon juice to 1 cup of coconut milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes. 

Kickin’ Butternut or Chicken Cacciatore

Kickin’ Butternut Squash

Yesterday was Sunday, which means more soup!

Over here we have a battle of the bowl. More so we have a battle of the carnivore vs plant based life.
I asked you all which soup you would rather see on Instagram and Facebook and it seems y’all are a divided lot as well!

Chicken Cacciatore



While I could happily go forth without another meat product, my husband is very much the opposite. Whenever I make a strictly plant based dish and ask him what he thinks his go to response is “It’s good! Could use some meat…” oy!

He is very gracious in trying all my experiments though. With it also just being the two of us we also compromise nicely on our meat dishes, by limiting how often we consume them and using less meat than the dish would normally call for and loading up more hearty veggies. If I can’t convince him to cut it out I can at least get him to cut back greatly! lol.

Now since you all requested both recipes I decided to appease both our camps and make a double dinner last night and have plenty of leftovers for our lunches this week.

The Kickin’ Butternut Squash is a crowd favorite at our annual soup supper party. A creamy sweet blend of butternut squash turned up a notch with jalapeno, curry powder, and a touch of chilis. Sweet and Spicy perfect for a chilly evening or to clear some sinuses! I love butternut squash soup but I wanted to make something different and that’s when this came about.


The Chicken Cacciatore soup or Hunter’s Stew is a take on the classic dish turned into a brothy warm bowl of comfort. This is completely adaptable and flexible to whats in your kitchen, got a different poultry? no problem! More mushrooms? Different veggies? Want to toss in some olives? Make it your own wintery blend in a savory tomato broth.

Check out the full recipes below, and let me know are you a carnivore or a plant based eater? Which one of the soups will be a hit in your house?

Kickin’ Butternut Squash Soup

Sweet & Spicy squash soup

  • 1 Small Butternut Squash (Chopped into cubes)
  • 2 TBSP Coconut oil
  • 1 medium Yellow Onion (Chopped)
  • 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
  • 1 Jalapeno (diced)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk (14 oz)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1-3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2-4 tsp Chili Garlic Paste (sambal oelek works too)
  • optional toppings: toasted pumpkin seeds, coconut cream, toasted walnuts

  1. Preheat oven to 425. Chop up butternut squash into cubes and toss in 1 TBSP of oil.

  2. Roast squash for 30 minutes or until they start to wrinkle/darken a little.

  3. Saute onion and garlic in stock pot with the other tablespoon of oil. Medium heat

  4. Once translucent, Add jalapeno and cook for a minute

  5. Add in roasted squash and all spices. Another 5 minutes to meld everything

  6. Add in broth, coconut milk, maple syrup, and chili garlic paste. The amounts of maple syrup and chili garlic paste will depend on the size of your squash AND how sweet vs spicy you want it – use your best judgment you can always add a little more later.

  7. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.

  8. Blend! Either with an immersion blender or in careful batches in the blender. You want it nice and smooth. Don't forget to Taste test and adjust seasonings to your liking.

  9. Enjoy!

Chicken Cacciatore Soup

  • 1 lbs chicken thighs (boneless/skinless) (cut into bite size pieces)
  • 1 tbsp flour (easily sub with all purpose GF flour for GF)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 large bell pepper (diced)
  • 2 medium carrots (diced)
  • 1 medium squash (diced, zuchinni works well!)
  • 8 oz mushrooms (chopped)
  • 14 oz crushed or diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes diced)
  • 1 tbsp Tomato sauce
  • 28 oz Quality Tomato Sauce (homemade pasta sauce, quality jarred sauce, this is the basis of your broth so you want a nice quality flavor. I like using a red pepper tomato sauce)
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 3 cups chicken stock (+ more if you want it more "brothy")
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups pre-cooked small shaped pasta Al Dente! (macaroni or such)

  1. Pre-cook pasta to Al Dente and set aside. Things move fast in the first steps so its good idea to have everything chopped and measured ready to go.

  2. Toss chicken in flour to coat. Heat butter in a heavy bottomed pot. Once melted turn heat up to medium high and put chicken in.

  3. Cook chicken quickly browning in the flour/butter. Once browned removed promptly from pot and set aside and immediately put onions, peppers, carrots, and other veggies in. Including the mushrooms and tomatoes.

  4. Saute for couple minutes then Add in tomato paste and spices and everything will start to caramelize a little bit.

  5. Saute for a several minutes, then deglaze the pot with the white. Making sure to scrap up all the yummy brown bits from the pan.

  6. Let the wine cook down for a couple minutes, once the sizzling calms down. Add in stock and tomato sauce.

  7. Bring to a boil and add back in chicken.

  8. Turn down heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes

  9. Add pasta 5 minutes before serving (it will swell in the broth)

  10. Enjoy!

Sundays are for Soup

If you have been around me a little while, you know, I LOVE soups. Like really love soups. So much that my husband and I hold an annual Christmas Soup Supper every year where where we make 6-8 different kinds of soups to share with friends and family in a night of community and food.
This tradition came around from my husband’s family making soup for Christmas eve and my soup loving soul fell in love with the idea and over the years we have expanded upon it.

This year, like so many things, will be different. As we won’t be able to host and warm bellies together like normal.
However, in the spirit of sharing and making a bowl of comfort of love and love for my community I still wanted to do something.


Sundays are for Soup


I got this idea recently, and thought I would start in December but I made this soup with our Thanksgiving leftovers and decided now was the perfect time to start sharing! Although I got a late start on this whole posting thing (looks at clock 11:29 p.m.)

Each Sunday leading up to the Christmas I will be making and sharing one of our soup recipes, with the hope that you will bring it into your own home this season.
Depending on the Instagram poll I may even go live while I do the prep work on Sundays to hang out.

Have you read this far and are thinking wait wait wait why is this Hairdresser talking food? Well! Whole and well rounded nutrition is the best way to have healthy hair, if you ask me how to have healthier hair, grow it faster, etc, etc. My first answer is always going to be internal. Nourish your body, nourish your hair.

So without further ado here is the recipe for this Soup Supper!

This is an extremely easy recipe. It takes a little time but the amazing nutritious bone and vegetable broth is worth it, plus your house will smell so yummy. It’s easy to adapt for most diet needs. Don’t have a turkey? Chicken works too! Vegan/vegetarian? Skip the bones + meat and add more veggies! You could even bulk it up with some kidney beans. Yum!

Leftover Turkey Day Soup

Using leftover turkey bones + scraps to make a delicious soup

  • 8 cups water (more or less, enough to cover bones)
  • 1 Turkey Carcass (picked over and able to fit in large stock pot)
  • 1-2 large chopped onions (and scraps)
  • 1-2 lbs chopped carrots (and scraps)
  • 5ish stalks celery (and scraps)
  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1.5 cup brown rice (or other favorite kind)
  • leftover turkey meat
  • .5 cup leftover mashed potatoes
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp sage
  • salt and pepper to taste

  1. Add bones + veggies SCRAPS (peels/skins/tops, not chopped pieces!) to a large stock pot along with the 1 tbsp ACV. Fill with water to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 2 hours.

  2. Remove large pieces from the pot and discard (or pick off extra meat if any) and then strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Return broth to stove.

  3. Add in all the chopped veggies and the rice to the broth. Bring to a boil again.

  4. Simmer for 30 minutes.

  5. Add in leftover chopped turkey, mashed potatoes and spices. Return to a simmer.

  6. Cook for 10 minutes and serve!

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