Butternut Squash Soup

Jake has been intrigued by squash lately, especially butternut. He had been watching Food Network Canada and asked me if I would whip up a butternut squash soup. Hmm. Having never made, much less eaten, butternut squash soup before, I thought this could get interesting.

Recipe adapted From Food Network Canada

You need:

1 butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (they are a bit tricky to peel-be careful!)
1/2 onion
salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 apples peeled, cored, and chopped into chunks
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup cream
nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Toss butternut squash chunks in a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking dish and bake until tender. (I don't think it took forever, maybe around 20 minutes. I'll be honest-I didn't time it, sorry).

In a stock pot, melt the butter and saute your onions over medium heat until they are soft and translucent. Add the apples and continue to cook, turning the heat down if you need to, until they are soft and cooked through.

When the squash is tender , transfer it to a blender. Add the apple/onion mixture and about 1 cup of chicken stock.

This is where you get to decide how thick/thin you want your soup. I didn't use the whole six cups of stock, but rather more like 3 1/2. It might be a bit stubborn to blend, and I had to stop occasionally to give it a stir, add more stock, etc until the soup was smooth.

Transfer back to the pot and add 1/3 cup of cream. Re-heat over low until it is warmed through, adding more stock to thin it if you need to. Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg on top.

Serves 2-3

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Classic Roasted Chicken

I love roast chicken on a fall or winter day. It's so easy, and the rewards are always delicious. They somehow seem so much simpler than turkey-maybe it's because you aren't wrangling with a massive bird, or have the pressure of a lot of other side dishes to go with it.

The other day I roasted up a bird and our dinner was simply salad, roasted chicken, and a bit of rice pilaf-nothing fancy or complicated, but just downright homey and delicious.

You will need:

3 lb chicken
olive oil
salt/pepper
paprika
4 cloves of garlic (leave the skin on, but smash them a bit)
1 lemon, cut into 4 pieces (you can leave the skin on)
3 stalks celery, cut in 1/2
1 carrot, cut into 3 pieces
1 onion, cut into 4 pieces
sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley (experiment with this-you don't have to have them all, you can use 1 or two, or throw in something of your own like marjoram)
white wine or chicken broth

Clean out your chicken, then pat it dry all over. Rub the skin all over with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Stuff the cavity with 2 pieces of onion, some lemon, a couple pieces of celery, garlic, and the herbs. Truss up the bird so the legs stay closed.

Since I don't have a roasting pan, I use the remaining veggies to create a "nest" for my bird to sit on. Arrange the celery, lemon, onion, carrot and garlic in the middle of the pan for the bird to sit on. Pour about 3/4 cup of wine or chicken stock into the pan. Stick your meat thermometer into your bird, cover it up with aluminum foil, and put it in a 350 F oven.

If you like to eat the skin and want it crispy, then don't cover the bird up. We never eat the skin so I do cover it for most of the time it's roasting.

Roast for about 2 hours, or until your thermometer says it's done. I always slice wiggle a leg and then slice it to see if the juices run clear or if they're still bloody. When they are clear, the bird is done! Let it sit for a good 15 minutes or so to rest before you carve the baby up.

Here's a great video for how to carve a chicken.

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Breakfast Sandwiches

Want a fast food option without the cost, or the grease? Why not make it at home? These are a delicious way to start the day and you can vary the ingredients to suit your taste. I love these on a Saturday or make them for a special holiday breakfast. You can serve them with hashbrowns and fruit, or for dinner I add a salad. Yum!

For 4 sandwiches you need:

4 English Muffins, split
4 eggs
slices of cheese (you can use Cheddar, Swiss, or whatever suits you)
slices of ham, cooked bacon, or in the picture I used peppercorn turkey lunch meat

Poach your eggs. Now, if you've never poached eggs, don't worry about it. It's not really that hard. Check out this video for directions. One thing they don't mention is that if your egg sticks to the bottom of the pot, you can use a spatula to gently dislodge it. You can also poach more than one egg at a time, so don't think you have to stand by your stove forever, waiting for eggs.

In the meantime, split and butter the English muffins. Turn your oven onto broil and toast them until they are nicely browned.

Top 1/2 of the English muffins with a slice of cheese, and the other half with some ham, bacon, or turkey. Put back under the broiler until the cheese melts and is bubbling. Remove from oven and plate them-one piece with cheese, one with ham, and then top the ham side with the egg.

Here's a trick I've learned-if the yolk of your egg is soft, you'll bite into it and yolk will squirt everywhere. Before sandwiching the whole thing together, I often get a fork and mush up the yolk a bit so that the liquidy yolk just runs inside the sandwich and makes it all delicious.

Makes four sandwiches!

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Roasted Garlic Beef Stew

When the wind is blowing and it's pouring rain outside, nothing is better then a good thick stew to warm you up. This one has lots of hunks of roasted garlic, which adds a ton of flavor! We not only polished off our bowls but the leftovers make wonderful school lunches. I found that I kept the tetra pack of beef stock close by, because I didn't find that there was enough "juice" for my liking. That way I could eyeball it a bit and just add more if I felt we needed some! It's equally as good with just beef broth instead of the red wine.

Original recipe from Canadian Living Comfort Cooking 2007

12 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 each carrots, parsnips, and Yukon gold potatoes (all peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes)
1 pound of stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme and sage
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine or beef stock (if you are sensitive to Sulphites, just use beef stock)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup frozen peas

Fry the garlic in a small amount of olive oil over low heat until soft and golden, shaking occasionally to move it around. Remove the garlic to a plate and keep the oil.

Saute the stewing beef in a Dutch oven over medium heat with some of the garlic oil until browned. Remove beef to a plate and set aside. Add more of the garlic oil and saute the onions until soft and browned. Stir in the salt, pepper, 1 tsp of thyme and sage, stirring and cooking for about 2 minutes longer.

Add the stock, wine, tomato and paste, bringing it to a boil and the stirring to bring up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the beef and it's juices to the pan, with the reserved garlic. Add the chopped vegetables, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender (about 1 1/2 hours)

Stir in the peas, remaining thyme and sage, then heat through.

Makes 8 servings

Slow cooker directions:

Follow recipe up to browning the stewing beef.

Put the garlic, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and meat in the slow cooker. Continue with recipe above by frying up the onions until soft, then adding the salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme, sage, beef stock, wine, and tomato paste; stirring and scraping up the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the beef is tender.

Increase the heat to high. Add peas, remaining thyme and sage, then let heat through.

Serves 8.

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Apple Oatmeal Crumble Topped Muffins

After the massive sugar overload that is Halloween, I made these in hopes of having something other than mini chocolate bars to toss in Jake's lunch box. They are supposed to have a buttery, sugary crumble topping but I wanted Hubs to be able to eat them so I left it out. Since the muffin itself isn't very sweet at all, I imagine a topping of brown sugar, pecans and flour would have made it over the top delicious. Try them! They are a great way to use up some apples you might have rolling around in the fridge.

1 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven to 375 F, and line your muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk the milk, vegetable oil, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Stir in the apple pieces. Pour it all into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir together just until everything is moist and blended. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir the topping ingredients together. Set aside.

Spoon the muffin batter into the paper lined cups and sprinkle with topping. Bake in the center of your oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12.

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