Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is sweet enough to get a kid to eat it!  Super yummy and sooooo good for you!

*3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded

*2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, sliced

1 leek, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

50 oz chicken broth

2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup sherry wine

1 cup half-and-half cream

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and saute for a few minutes, until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft.  Add the squash, and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.

Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Two Cheese Squash Casserole

This is a great side dish for Thanksgiving!!!  It’s a big hit with my 6 year old!

4 lbs yellow squash, sliced

4 tablespoons butter

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2.5 cups soft breadcrumbs, divided

1 1.4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

1/2 cup fresh minced parsley

8 oz sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly gound pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

1 clove garlic, minced

Cook squash in boiling water to cover in a large skillet 8-10 minutes or just until tender.  Drain well and gently press between paper towels.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat; add onion and garlic, and saute 5-6 minutes or until tender.  Remove skillet from heat; stir in squash, 1 cup breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 7 ingredients.  Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13×9 baking dish.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Stir together melted butter, remaining 1 1/2 cups soft breadcrumbs, 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, and garlic.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over top of casserole.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until set.

Chipotle Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

I didn’t realize the vast difference between ordinary chili powder and chipotle chili powder; when you add more “just because”, it makes this dish VERY spicy!

2 lbs beef stew meat

2 teaspoons dried ground chipotle chili, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 medium size green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

21 oz beef stock

14.5 oz diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Place beef in a bowl; sprinkle with a teaspoon of chili chipotle powder, tossing to coat all meat.  Brown beef in olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.  Remove meat with a slotted spoon.

Add onion and green pepper to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-7 minutes.  Return beef back to pot; stir in remaining 1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder, squash, and next 4 ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook flour in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, 5 minutes or until golden.  Add to stew, stirring well; cook 10 minutes. 

Great topped with goat cheese!!!!!!!!!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

This recipe is a bit spicy for kids, but if you add a dollop of sour cream to the bowl, it takes away some of the bite.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds chopped raw chicken breast

2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 large onion chopped

4 celery ribs, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon paprika

1 bay leaf

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup Franks hot sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 can stewed or crushed tomatoes (fire roasted, if you can find them)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over meduim heat.  Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.  Add carrots, onion, and next 4 ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 7-8 minutes, then add stock and stir to scrape brown bits off bottom of the pot.  Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce, and tomatoes and bring to a gentle bubble.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes more to blend flavors.  Discard bay leaf before serving.  Top with crumbled blue cheese or sour cream.

Famous Chili

Not sure who made this famous, but it’s good and easy.

1/2 lb pinto or kidney beans

2 cans (28oz) whole or crushed tomatoes

2 large green peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 medium onions, coaresly chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

2 lbs ground beef

2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder

salt to taste

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

Wash beans, place in a bowl and add water until about 2 inches above the beans.  Soak overnight.  Simmer until softened.  Drain and place in Crock-pot; add tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, and parsley.

In a large skillet, saute the beef for about 15 minutes to remove excess fat.  Drain and add meat to other ingredients in Crock-pot.   Season with chili powder, salt, pepper, and cumin; mix thoroughly.  Cover and cook on low for 8 to 13 hours or high setting for 4 to 5 hours.

One hour before serving, taste for seasoning and add additional chili powder and salt to taste.

Soup season is upon us!!!

Ok, so I love fall.  The changing leaves, the crisp air, the bounty of sweet root vegetables, the need for sweatshirts (but still being able to wear flipflops)….Be still my heart!

When I woke up this morning, it was chilly outside, so I broke one of the many soup recipes I will be bestowing upon you this fall: Corn and Bacon Chowder. YUM.

2 bacon slices (I used 4 because, well, I love bacon)

1 cup total chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper (any color will work)

2 packages (16oz) frozen sweet white/gold corn, divided

2 cups milk, divided

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup shredded sharp cheese

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan; crumble and set aside. 

Add celery mixture and 1 package corn to drippings in pan; saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile, place remaining 1 package of corn and 1 cup of milk into food processer and process until smooth.  Add pureed mixture to vegetables in pan; stir in remaining 1 cup milk, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Cook over meduim heat (do not boil), stirring constantly, until cheese melts.  Ladel chowder into bowls.  Top each serving with crumbled bacon and sprinkle with a little more black pepper.

Super easy and really quick.  It only took me about 20 minutes to get this all done.

Indian-Spiced Potatoes and Cauliflower

Inspired by my recent trip with my friend Ruth to have Indian food for lunch, I decided to try this recipe this weekend.   It’s very yummy, but too spicy for my 6 year old.

1 pound potatoes, washed and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1 small to medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

pinch cayanne

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for 4 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and cook until tender, about another 5 minutes.  Drain.

In a large frying pan, heat the butter over low heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until limp, about 5 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and potatoes and cook over moderate heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.

Add the spices, salt, and water and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the water evaporates, 3 to 5 minutes.  The potato chunks will begin to fall apart.

Stuffed Pepper Sunday!

Hey.  Sorry I’ve been gone so long.  I know.  Obviously, I do not know how to run a successful blog.  Life gets in the way and sitting at the computer typing about cooking just doesn’t sound like fun sometimes, ya know?

My whole life, I have been surrounded by stuffed peppers.  My aunt makes a variation with rice.  My paternal grandmother makes some that are more like “meatloaf stuffed” peppers, making due without the added carbs of rice.   This week at the farmers market, peppers were plentiful and I decided to not only stuff some green peppers, but some jalapeno peppers as well. 

Stuffed Green Peppers

3 large green peppers, halved and seeded

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried

salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 cup freshly made bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a shallow baking dish.  Cook the peppers in boiling water for 2 minutes; drain and set aside.  Heat the oil in a skillet and add the chopped onion.  Cook, stirring, until soft.  If using uncooked meat, add it and cook lightly for 5-10 minutes.  Otherwise, mix the onion and meat together, then add the tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt to taste, and pepper, combining thoroughly.  Lightly fill each pepper half with some of the meat mixture.  Sprinkle tops with bread crumbs.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.

I also added a little bit of marinara sauce on top of each pepper before I put them into the oven, and added about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese into the meat mixture.  Both variations are delicious.  If you are wanting a more “meatloaf-like” texture, I would recommend adding a half cup of bread crumbs to the meat mixture before putting it into the peppers.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

Note to all: Wear gloves when handling fresh jalapenos. That is all.

My jalapenos have been done for over an hour now AND I have taken a shower, and my hands still burn like I decided to set them on fire or something.  Please, wear gloves. Consider yourself warned.

12-20 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 1/2 cups cream cheese

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons finely diced onion

2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

4-5 slices of bacon

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice peppers in half.  Take out the ribs and the seeds.  Mix together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parsley, onion, chives, salt, and pepper.  Stuff half of each pepper with cheese mixture and then put the other half on top, wiping off excess cheese mixture.  Slice bacon into 1-2 inch pieces and wrap each piece around the stuffed peppers, securing with a toothpick.  Place peppers on broiler pan and bake for 30-45 mintues and serve hot or cold.

Fresh Cauliflower-Tomato Scallop

This is the first ever dish with all fresh, local whole foods that I made for anyone other than myself and my daughter.  It went over fabulously, and my mom often requests it throughout the summer. It’s also really easy and reheats nicely.

1 large head cauliflower

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or any cheese, really)

3 large firm ripe tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (I usually omit these)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Seperate the cauliflower into flowerets. Cook, covered in 1 inch boiling water for about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender, lifting cover occasionally to release steam.  Drain. Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the celery, onion and green pepper and saute until onion is limp and transparent.  Blend in the salt, pepper, and flour.  Add the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Add cheese and stir until heated.  Remove from heat.  Arrange half the cauliflower in a shallow baking dish or casserole and top with 1/3 of the cheese sauce. Cover with sliced tomatoes and half the remaining sauce.  Top with remaining cauliflower and sauce and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.  Bake for 25 mintues or until brown. 

I usually top this with Parmesean cheese instead of bread crumbs.  I forgot to tell you, I LOVE CHEESE.

Saucy Green Beans

I LOVE GREEN BEAN SEASON!!!!!  Ok, now that that’s out of my system…

My family has been raving about this recipe for a week now.  It’s super easy and it feeds 4 people easily, especially if it’s a side dish instead of a main part of the meal. 

1 pound fresh green beans

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 green pepper, chopped

1/4 cup butter

2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 cup sour cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Wash beans; trim ends and remove strings.  Cut into 1-inch pieces.  Cook beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling water 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain and set aside.

Saute onion and green pepper in butter in a skillet until tender.  Stir in beans and tomatoes.  Combine remaining 4 ingredients; add to bean mixture, stirring gently.  Cook until heated.

See?? Super easy! A great way to make use of in-season green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and onions!