Butternut Squash Soup

We had a great thanksgiving!  We spent it at my sister's house and her husband's family was in town so it really felt like a big family celebration.

The best thing about the food at thanksgiving is being able to have all your traditional comfort food...and eating lots of it!  We were so stuffed hubby & I both fell asleep on the couch (ironically when dishes were being done...don't know how that happened!). 

I made my homemade Butternut Squash Soup and little french bread loaves.  It was really hard driving all the way to Vivi's house with fresh bread in the car but somehow we survived.  I'll post later my recipe for french bread :)

I love this recipe for the soup.  Its a one-pot easy soup that when you freeze it to store it tastes even better.  I usually this time of year buy up lots of cheap, in-season squash, make a big batch of soup, and freeze it in small containers as a quick meal for months to come.  Trust me, the soup with bread is enough of a filling meal to satisfy even Jeff's appetite.  And even better it's super low in calories.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients: 

• 2 Medium Golden Delicious Apples
• 2 Medium butternut squash
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
• 1 small purple onion
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
  
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup half-n-half or light cream

1. With a large sharp knife peel and slice into chunks the butternut squash.  Chop the onion and peel, core, & chop into medium pieces each apple.

2. In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat; add onion and cook till tender (but not browned)

3. Stir in broth, water, thyme, squash, apples, salt & pepper.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low; cover & simmer, stirring frequency, 20 - 25 minutes until squash is tender. (don't worry when you first add the liquid that it isn't enough - the veggies will cook down into it)

4.  Remove from heat and spoon mixture into a blender (you may want to cool slightly before).  Set blender to puree and blend till very smooth.  Repeat with remaining batch.

5. Return puree mixture to saucepan, stir in half-n-half, and heat through over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Be sure not to let soup come to a boil!

When I reheat this soup from frozen I either place in fridge the day before or I put the frozen container in a  pot of cool water for a couple of hours to help thaw.  When reheating its important not to let soup come to a boil or the cream will separate from the soup.  Use a whisk to mix up the soup when heating.

I had to show a picture of how cute all the bread loaves looked.  I meant for them to be smaller but they got a bit bigger than I planned....no complaints from anyone though.
:)

New Moon Feast!

Wow what a feast last night!  We both felt like stuffed puppies who couldn't stop eating.  I had a lot of fun making this meal & Jeff had a lot of fun eating it so it was a success all around!  Below are the pictures and recipes.  I think we both liked the Jacob meal slightly better but as you can see from the pic there was no problem finishing either.  And yes, Jeff ate blue cheese, unknowingly loving it....sneaky me :)  I had to explain the concept of the meals to him a little.  Jacob's meal is a giant beefsteak for...well...obvious reasons & Bella's blues is the melted blue cheese.  Edwards meal is of course named after his intention of doing the right thing & leaving but really not so smart.  And the pickled cucumbers was just a funny thing to me as vampires are preserved.  
As Jeff would say our food must have layers of stories or it would be just boring :)

If you notice about these recipes they are very short on cook time & preparation....gotta love it!   Thanks to my favorite website for giving me a base to play around with for a couple of these recipes, allrecipes.com.


We finally went to see the film today & I wasn't disappointed though we must of sat right between the Edward vs Jacob lovers.  There was hardly a moment where someone wasn't squealing at the screen.  My favorite part was before the movie started listening to young girls explaining to their mom's & dads why they liked one or the other.  So funny. 

My cute man

No problem finishing it.

Jacob's Entree:

Tender Beefsteak Soothing Bella's Blues

Ingredients:

• 2 beef tenderloin steaks, 1 1/2 in thick ( store was sold out so I substituted a London Broil)
• 3 oz blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 slices bread, cubed & crusts removed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Turn oven to broil.  Place cut steaks on baking sheet & cook in oven for 6-8 minutes on each side until meat is browned about 6 inches from heat.

2. While meat is cooking saute the bread cubes in oil in a skillet till lightly browned.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Combine blue cheese & softened butter in a bowl.

3. Pull steaks out of oven & top with blue cheese mixture & croutons, broil 1 minute longer until cheese is melted.

Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 6-8 small Red potatoes, washed and cut in halves or fourths
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• sea salt & black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.  Arrange in a 9x9 inch baking pan, cover with foil, and place in center rack in heated oven.  

3. Bake for 20 minutes with foil on.  Remove foil & bake for an additional 15 minutes stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.

Edward's Entree:

Sweet Crimson Intentions Gone Fowl

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3-4 chicken breasts cut in half
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup dry red wine
• dash of salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook garlic in oil on med/med high heat in a large skillet about 1 minute.  Place chicken in skillet and cook for about 5 minutes each side until no longer pink inside.  Lightly sprinkle chicken with paprika & salt while cooking.
2. Mix red wine & brown sugar in separate bowl & add to the skillet.  Add rest of paprika and simmer covered for about 10 minutes turning & lightly basting chicken during.  Uncover & cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Add little pepper to taste.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 Medium cucumbers
• 1/4 cup sour cream

1. Peel & thinly slice cucumbers. Set inside bowl
2. Combine sugar, vinegar, water, dill, and salt in saucepan & bring to boil.  While still hot pour over cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. Before serving drain liquid from cucumbers and mix in sour cream.

Volturi's Velvet Red as Blood, Smooth as Marble cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened but not melted
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• few drops red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with mixer until light & fluffy.  Add eggs, buttermilk, food coloring, and vanilla and beat well (it will look lumpy). Stir in the baking soda & vinegar
3. In separate bowl sift together the cocoa powder and salt.  Stir into the batter until just blended.
4. Sppon batter in muffin tins lined with paper baking cups or lightly greased.  Make sure you  fill only halfway with batter as it will rise.
5. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.  Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In medium bowl cream together the cream cheese & butter until creamy.  All vanilla and gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Refrigerate after use.

New Moon Menu

Yea!  New Moon has arrived!  We are going to go see it Sunday afternoon (avoiding the crowds at our tiny 2 screen theater here).   I'm going to make my New Moon Dinner tonight & I wanted to post real quick what's on the menu.  I had to go with two entrees for the dueling love interests  :)     I know, I'm such a dork. 
Since this meal is a work-in progress I'll post the recipes after we taste it,  my clever ideas sometimes don't work as well in real life as they do in my head.

-There is no appetizer cause honestly I dont think we will be able to pile in anymore food.  

Jacob's Entree:

Tender Beefsteak Soothing Bella's Blues  
- large beef tenderloins smothered in a blue cheese sauce with a side of roasted red potatoes (they are definitely the meat & potatoes type of werewolves ;)

Edwards Entree:

Sweet Crimson Intentions Gone Fowl   
- Chicken simmered in brown sugar and red wine with a side of cucumber salad (cucumbers pickled to preserve their youth - I wanna be a vampire just for that reason!)

Dessert:

Volturi's Velvet Red as Blood, Smooth as Marble cupcakes   
- Red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting (mmmmm delicious vampire snacks)

So thats the feast!  Hope the slightly obscure references come across.
Ok now I'm getting hungry.

Spinach Artichoke Calzones

Today I have been trying to organize and write down my favorite recipes & I came across what I entered in the Pillsbury Bake Off contest this summer.  Sadly I didn't get chosen to fly all the way to Orlando **cough cough** to participate, but I did make one friend of mine a big fan :) 


The ingredients are brand specific because of the requirements for the contest but you can substitute anything (like use fresh spinach). If you like onions you can finely chop some in with it (I like it that way but Jeff turned his nose up at that idea).  Even if you are not a big artichoke lover the combination is terrific.  The main idea I had for this recipe was to make it few ingredients, few steps, and taste good.

Enjoy!

Easy Spinach Artichoke Calzones

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 11-13 minutes
Serves 4 (2 each)

Ingredients:
2 packages Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 box (9oz) Green Giant Frozen Spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain, chopped to separate 
22 Slices of Turkey Pepperoni, Chopped
1 Jar Artichoke Hearts (6 oz), drained & finely chopped
1 cup firmly packed shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine in a medium bowl the prepared spinach, turkey pepperoni, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Mix well.

3.  Unroll a can of crescent dough and separate to form 4 rectangles (keeping the perforated triangles together). Lay out one of the rectangles on an ungreased cookie sheet and pinch the seam together.  Put two spoonfuls of the spinach artichoke mixture on the dough.  Fold dough over lengthwise and using a fork press the edges together (you may wet edges if not sticking together).  Repeat with remaining dough.

4.  Bake in oven for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan while still hot.


 

Twilight Tweens

Twilight is not just a teens obsession, both me and hubby are big fans. And with the new movie coming out this Friday I just have to do a themed meal to celebrate the occasion.
Ok i know, kinda goofy, but I just love creating dinners around fun things we look forward to. Brain is working on something delish and relevant so hopefully inspiration will strike.
Better go read New Moon again...

First entry!

Welcome family & friends to my new blog all about me and my obsession with feeding everyone who enters my house. My sister-in-law Stacy came up with the great idea of posting about my cooking (the yummy and the sometimes not so yummy attempts).
Enjoy!