Butternut squash soup

I don’t always love butternut squash.  But this year, for some reason, I’m constantly craving it.  That and sweet potatoes.  Not sure why.  So I set out to find a butternut squash soup recipe that sounded good.  There are a lot.  But I didn’t want a lot of cream and I wanted to add either apples or pears, so that helped me narrow it a bit.  I finally settled on this recipe.  I ended up manipulating it a bit, so I’ve posted the recipe below.  I used a couple of cans of butternut squash (rather than the Williams Sonoma jar) and I used pears instead of apples.  I also left out all the spices by accident because I was so focused on the other parts of the soup.  Oops. :) I really loved it though - it’s very flavorful and creamy.  I love the addition of the pears but I think my pears needed to be a bit riper, I would’ve liked it to be slightly sweeter.  And I think I would play with spices next time.  In the photo below, I actually did a drizzle of maple syrup and that was fabulous!!  I would also like to try it using fresh, roasted squash rather than the can.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Yield 6-8
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cans butternut squash puree
2 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tbsp chicken bouillon
3 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until soft but not browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash puree, apple, broth, water, bouillon and salt and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the heavy cream. Using an immersion blender or food processor and puree the soup.

Based on 6 servings

Spinach, Sausage and Orzo Soup

This is hands down one of the best soups I’ve had.  I love it!  I started here but based on comments from that site, and the desire to make it slightly lower in calories, I changed a few things: I added some chicken bouillon to give more intense flavor; added some smoked sausage because I love it; and lessened the amount of orzo.  I honestly was surprised at how good it came out.  I think it was the bouillon and I will be using that from now on in more soups.  My recipe is below.

Spinach, Sausage and Orzo Soup
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 quart Chicken Broth
2 Bullion Cubes
1 cup Water
1 bag Fresh Spinach
1 pound Smoked Sausage
1 can Diced Tomatoes
¾ cup Orzo
1 small Onion, sliced
2 cloves Garlic
Garlic Powder, Minced Onions, Oregano, And Pepper

Fry sausage and remove.  Add oil if needed and sauté garlic and onions. Add tomatoes, spinach, chicken broth, bouillon and water and cook until spinach is wilted.  Add sausage back in and add any extra spices and stir to combine.  Add the orzo, cover and cook for about 20 min.

Caramel Apple Pull Apart bread

Oh. My. Goodness.  This was amazing!!  I have been waiting for fall to try a bunch of recipes like this and this one was on top of my list.  I was afraid it would be difficult, but it was super easy and worth every amount of effort put into it.  Right out of the oven is was warm and gooey and apple-y.  So comforting.  This would be so perfect for Christmas morning - when it’s cold outside - with some hot chocolate or coffee or egg nog.  I really liked the “pull apart” thing too... I have several other pull apart bread recipes that I now really want to try.  They’re just super fun to eat and you get so much flavor in every bite.

Before Baking

A little extra

Sunday Dinners: Pork Loin with mustard, roasted cauliflower, peach tart

This is the start of several posts.  I got a bit behind because, well, life is busy.  So this dinner was made quite a while ago, but I still wanted to capture my thoughts.

This was a quick, ‘let’s make something for dinner’ meal.  It actually started with the peaches because I had a bunch from the Harry and David box we got.  Then, we had just watched a ‘Giada at Home’ episode where she made this pork loin and put it on a sandwich, but I thought it would be good by itself.  And since cauliflower is in season, I thought the balsamic roasted cauliflower would be a good side.

This was the recipe we used for the pork.  I followed the recipe exactly, but instead of putting it on bread, we just carved it and spooned the mustard sauce on top.  It was fantastic!  The pork loin came out tender and juicy and the mustard sauce is a perfect flavor complement.

I’ve been holding onto the cauliflower recipe for a little while waiting for the fall.  I actually have several cauliflower recipes I want to try.  This one was really easy and tasty.  However I hate chopping up cauliflower!  It gets everywhere!  I find teeny, tiny, little, white pieces for days afterwards.  If anyone has tips on how to chop it without that happening, please share.  The only thing I changed was I used chopped oregano and thyme instead of marjoram.

Finally I made the peach galette.  The hardest part about this recipe was finding a pie crust recipe that i liked.  I’m not afraid of making pie crust, but I wanted something interesting.  I found this one from Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn and it sounded delicious.  And it was!  I will definitely use this as my go to pie dough from now on.  It was perfectly flaky and doughy underneath.  And the cider adds this subtle layer of tartness that makes the crust just slightly more interesting that your normal pie crust.

Here is the total recipe..

Peach Galette
(Filling adapted from Seduction Meals)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ Tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Salt
1 stick Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 cup Cold Water
⅛ cup Cider Vinegar
3-4 Peaches, cut in ¼ inch wedges
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
1 Egg Yolk
1 Tbsp Raw Sugar


For Crust:
Combine 1 cup cold water, ⅛ cup cider vinegar and ice

Add dry ingredients to food processor and pulse 3 times.  Add chopped, cold butter and pulse 5 times until the dough resembles a coarse meal.
Slowly add the ice water and vinegar mixture (8-10 tbsp) until the dough just comes together - being careful not to overwork. Aim to create a marbleized effect, so that the butter is still visible.
Wrap in plastic and shape into round disc.  Chill 1 hour or more before use.

Remove dough from fridge and roll disc of crust out to fit about a 10-12 inch diameter, about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.  Place back in fridge till ready to use.

Meanwhile...
Place sliced peaches in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of sugar and toss.

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Gently lift crust and place this onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment.

Starting about 1 ½ inches from the edge, place peach slices on the dough from the outside to the center.  Dot butter throughout.  Fold over the edge of the dough, overlapping the fruit.

Whisk the egg yolk and brush this mixture over the rim of the galette. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the galette and the rim.

Bake until browned, about 20 - 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Loosen the edges and center with a spatula. Lift the parchment to a cooling rack and carefully slide off onto the cooling rack or platter.

Cheesy Veggie Soup

I know, another soup recipe.  What can I say, I like soup!  I’ve been trying out several recipes that remind me of fall.  I wanted a cheesy, broccoli soup and there are so many recipes out there for this.  But so many of them use a lot of cream and honestly, besides the calories and fat, I don’t actually like it to be too cheesy.  So I looked and looked and finally settled on adapting a recipe from this one at Lulu the Baker.  As you can see, it’s mostly the same, but I used almond milk and less cheese.  I think next time I would do as her recipe suggests and add a little chicken bouillon. (I’ve recently discovered how yummy that addition can be - more to come in a later blog).  But I felt the cheesiness was just right for my taste.  Also, it doesn’t freeze all that well - I find most cheesy soups don’t - but it’ll do.

6 Servings
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
½ cup Chopped Onion
1 cup diced Carrot
2 stalks Celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 cups Chicken Broth
2 large Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp Flour
½ cup Water
⅔ cup Almond Milk
2 cups Chopped Broccoli
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Russian Cabbage Soup

Several weeks ago, Elena at Eat Cake and Lose Weight posted this yummy sounding recipe for Russian Meat and Cabbage Pie.  I love cabbage and I love turkey and I love anything in a pie shell, so I definitely want to try this recipe.  However, when she posted it, I was really looking for a soup recipe to try, so I decided to turn it into a soup.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  I took out the egg and pie shell (obviously) and added chicken stock.  It made a lot of soup, which I love because I can freeze it and I don’t have to think about soup for awhile.  I think when I make it again I will try adding some more herbs (oregano and bay and sage come to mind) and chicken bouillon to bump up the flavor a bit since the addition of the stock kind of waters the flavors down a bit.  Also, I may try smoked sausage.  I’m in love with smoked sausage right now and I think it would go well with the cabbage.  And the addition of yummy croutons on top would not be a bad thing either!  :)

Yield: 8 Cups

Ingredients:
1 pound Lean Ground Turkey
1 head Cabbage, finely chopped
1 Sweet Onion, finely chopped
4 cups Chicken Stock
6 ounces No-Sodium Added Tomato Sauce

Directions:
Thoroughly brown turkey meat.  Add the cabbage and onion in small bunches at a time in order to fit everything in the pot.  Cook until everything is soft - about 15-20 minutes

Add chicken stock and tomato sauce.  Bring to boil and then turn down to simmer for about 20 more min until all flavors have combined.

Add dollop of greek yogurt right before serving if desired.

Nutrition Facts for Cabbage Soup

Turkey Chili

Each fall we have a chili cook-off at work.  Last year I came up with what I termed an “Italian Chili” - bacon, ground pork, italian sausage, chili beans, tomatoes, italian spices, and some other yummy ingredients.  Our team didn’t win, but I was pretty happy with my recipe and have since made it a couple of times.  However, I know it’s not low-cal, so I recently decided to adjust it to make it a little more healthy.  I started out by sauteing the onions and garlic in water because I didn’t need the extra oil.  I took out the bacon and changed the meat to ground turkey thigh.  I also decreased the amount of meat a bit.  I used Azuki Beans because that’s what I had on hand and I ended up loving the flavor they added to the dish - they are meaty and taste a bit like a pinto bean which I think worked well with the Italian flavors.  I ended up with something that is about 220 cals per serving and I really love the flavor!  It’s perfect for fall - warm and cozy and rich.  I like to turn mine into a frito pie, but I think it would be good by itself, as a sandwich, or to use with lettuce wraps.

Italian Turkey Chili
Servings: 4-8 (I had 8 servings)

Ingredients:
¼ cup Water
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped (1 ½ tablespoons)
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Bay Leaf
1 ½ tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 ¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
1 pound Ground Turkey Thigh
1 cup Water
1 can Beans, undrained
1 can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (Low Sodium), undrained
4 Tbsp Fine Cornmeal, or masa harina
2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, or other vinegar

Directions:
Add ¼ cup of water to dutch oven and heat on high.  Once hot, add onion and cook for 3-4 mins.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add paprika, bay leaf, oregano, cayenne, salt, pepper, and ground turkey. Cook, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the meat with the side of the spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, cornmeal, and vinegar, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid thickens and flavors blend, about 45 minutes. It may be necessary to add a little water to thin the chili. Serve hot, garnished with desired toppings.