Butternut Squash Soup

Erin makes this soup every Fall and I love it so much! I look forward to it every year. She taught me how to make it last night and I wanted to share this yummy goodness with you.


2 medium-sized Butternut squash
milk/half-and-half/cream (it depends on how healthy you want to be)
small onion (or onion powder...I didn't have one last night)
salt
pepper
cumin
coriander 
cardamom

Chop squash into medium-large pieces and steam for about 30 minutes. Remove from pot and peel off the skin. (Note: you could peel it before, but this way is much easier even if your working with boiling hot squash. Or if you're smart,  you'll let it cool off first...but we were in a hurry.) Cut the squash into smaller pieces and return to pot and boil until squash is tender. (A chopped onion can be added sometime during this boiling process...)

Drain the water from the pot and set aside. Place everything else into the blender and puree. Return it to the pot. Use milk, and the water set aside from before, to thin out the soup to your desired consistency. 

Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom or whatever you have. The squash is very flavorful so it's easy to play around with different spices. 

Serve with cranberry sauce and/or cream.

Favorite Pizza Dough

2 1/4 tsp Yeast (Active Dry)

2 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

4 1/4 cup Flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Gently stir in yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

In separate bowl, combine 3 cups flour and salt. Mix well and add yeast mixture. Add more flour as needed. Knead for 7-8 minutes.  Divide dough into two balls and let it rise for about 2 hours in a covered bowl. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 2 crusts.

Banana Cream Pie

Not the most healthy pie.... but it sure is good!

Banana(s)

2 - 3.5 oz boxes instant vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup cool whip

Pastry shell

Bake pastry shell as directed and let cool. Pour milk into a large bowl and add pudding mix. Stir until combined. Fold in 1/2 cup of cool whip. 

Slice banana and arrange on cooled pie shell. (I like a thin layer of banana, but it's whatever you like). Pour the mix over the bananas and let it chill for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, garnish with cool whip. 

Arroz Con Leche

I apologize for the vague measurements again. But it all depends on how you like it.

white rice

water

1/2 tsp salt

cinnamon

sugar

Cook rice in water with cinnamon and salt. Once the rice is cooked, heat up with milk and sugar.

Cauliflower Soup

I'm actually posting a recipe! I haven't gotten around to it for a while, but I love drooling over your recipes. I've marked quite a few to try out for myself in the near future. Here's one I just made and I really loved it, although Scott wouldn't try it. I didn't have the half-and-half, so I used whole milk, but it would have made it less runny and tastier I'm sure (and fatter). Evan actually loved it. Usually the kids don't eat whatever I make for dinner, just decide to go without. The recipe is from the pioneer woman blog.

Cauliflower Soup

Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter, Divided
• ½ whole Onion, Finely Diced
• 1 whole Carrot Finely Diced
• 1 stalk Celery, Finely Diced
• 1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley (chopped)
• 2 quarts Low-sodium Chicken Broth Or Stock
• 6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons To 4 Teaspoons Salt, To Taste
• 1 cup (heaping) Sour Cream, Room Temperature

Preparation Instructions

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Serve immediately.

Horchata

This tastes best on a hot, summer day. It's not for everyone, but I grew up drinking it... The porportions are very vague so you can easily alter it to your own preferences. Some people like it really watery, while others like it very sweet.

2 cups rice

water

cinnamon (sticks are preferred, but not necessary)

sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

lots of ice

Place rice in pitcher and add water until it completely covers the rice. Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon and let it soak for at least an hour. It's best if you can do this the night before and let it soak overnight.

When you're ready to make the drink, pour everything into a blender and blend away. Then run it all through a strainer to eliminate as much as the rice pulp as you can. My mom doesn't bother with this step, but I think it's worth it. Otherwise it's very grainy at the bottom. I just use a normal strainer, but I've heard cheese cloth works really well. I'll get back to you if I try it that way...

Once your water is strained and in the pitcher, add some vanilla extract. Now the water that you've got now is concentrated horchata. You will need to dilute this AND add sugar. How much sugar and how much water is up to you and what you like. I wish I could be more specific but I just eyeball it and every pitcher is different.

Refrigerate and serve with ice. The drink will go sour after a couple of days so drink as much as you can while it's fresh.

If my directions are confusing, let me know....

Spicy Pot Roast

Despite the name, it's not actually spicy (I promise), just tasty! I have a crock-pot recipe book and was looking for a good pot roast recipe that's not your typical throw-in-potatoes-and-carrots. Those haven't been turning out well for me lately. This new recipe is great! I recommend it:

3-4 lb beef pot roast

salt & pepper to taste

0.75-oz. pkg. brown gravy mix

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1/8-tsp. garlic powder

1 cup water

Directions:

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper to taste (which means nothing to me, because how to you taste test a raw meat?!). Place in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over meat. Cover. Cook for 8-10 hrs on low or 4-5 hrs on high. Enjoy!