Hearty Fall Soups

While I live in a warm climate where it is still in the 80's and 90's out side, I still feel the need for some hearty fall flavors. Here are two soup recipes I recently fell in love with.

Potato Cheese Soup
3 tbsp butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp flour
1 (14.5 oz can) chicken broth - (I always add a little more than this, also depends on how thick you want it!)
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper (I've never used this because I don't have any...)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
dash of Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup half/half
1 1/2 cups shreaded Sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 lb. of bacon cut in squares and cooked in sauce pan


Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon or chopped green onions


Melt butter in a 2-quart sauce pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, basil, tabasco and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half, cheese and bacon; heat through. Serves a generous portion for four people and can easily be doubled or tripled!


Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
2 chicken bouillion cubes
1 cup hot water
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cumin
2 cups half and half
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 (14.75 oz) can creamed corn
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies undrained
1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 medium tomato, chopped (or you can used a can of diced tomatoes, drained)
fresh cilantro


In a saucepan, brown chicken, onion and garlic in butter until chicken is no longer pink. Dissolve the bouillion cubes in hot water. Add to pan along with cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for five minutes. Add half and half, cheese, corn, chilies and tabasco sauce. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Stir in chopped tomatoes and serve immediately. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Whats a Frittata?

I would say a Frittata is like a quiche with out a crust. My mother and sisters prefer them because they are low carb freaks. I just think, either way, they are delicious. I just made this one for a baby shower and I thought it was beautiful and very good.

Artichoke Frittata:6 servings

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 10 oz package frozen spinach
5 large eggs
2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (6 oz)
Slice mushrooms and saute with onions in oil. Thaw spinach and drain well. (Allow 3-4 hours for spinach to thaw and drain). Beat eggs lightly and combine with mushrooms, spinach, artichoke hearts and cheese. Bake covered in buttered 1 1/2 qt. casserole at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

P.S. I am not a huge mushroom fan so I leave these out.

Cinnamon Syrup

maybe i posted this one already? please forgive the repition if i have, but it is worthy of 2 posts.

cinnamon cream syrup

5 T melted butter
1 cup heavy cream
3 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t maple extract (i have done without before)

combine all ingredients in a saucepan. cook, whisking constantly until sugar has dissolved and mixture thickens slightly.

serve warm over your favorite breakfast food, we served this recently with the baked french toast i did a couple days back, it was the favorite!

my lunching ways

sometimes i wonder what all of the stay at home moms in the world eat.

i am a grazer, usually eating this that baby didn't finish or that bread slice that didn't get nabbed at breakfast. this has been what's on me plate as of late...

and that yellow stuff in the bottle?

the dressing from dad's favorite salad i posted a while back.

here it is again:

1 c oil

1/3 c sugar

1/3 c white vinegar

1/2 c onion, chopped

1 T mustard

1 t celery seed (i have used celery salt also)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

blend together in blender.

as you can see here, it went wonderfully with avocados, tomatoes and pickled beets.

Vermont Maple Walnut Bars

These bars are so easy and so yummy. They really make your home smell like the holidays. It calls for a cup of pure maple syrup, which seems like a lot but it makes them so moist and tasty. I buy my maple syrup at Costco. I think this is one of those staple items you need to have on hand.

Bars:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup salted butter, softened (or use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt)
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Maple Frosting:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tlbs light brn sugar, packed
3 Tlbs pure maple syrup
1/4 cup + 2 Tlbs confectioners' sugar
Walnut halves

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and 8-by-8 inch baking pan.
To make bars: In a med bowl combine flour and soda. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer blend sugar and butter to form a grainy paste. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add syrup, egg and vanilla. Beat at med speed until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and walnuts, and blend at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour batter into pan and smooth the top with a spatula. bake 40-45 min. Cool in pan 15 min, then invern onto cooling rack. cool completely before icing.
To make frosting:
In a med bowl cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer at high speed. Add brown sugar and maple syrup, and beat until smooth. Reduce mixer speed to medium and slowly add confectioners' sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, increase speed to high, and mix until smooth. If frosting appears thin, add sugar until thickened.
Frost the bars and top with a walnut.

that reminds me....

about my soup, well not mine, but- you know. when you serve it enough and it gets coined yours?



Creamy Mexican Bliss Soup (i made that name up)



1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken cut up in little cubes (you could also use rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 minced garlic clove about 1 TB, or 1 t of garlic powder
1 T olive oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz. each) great northern beans {drained and rinsed}
1 can {14 1/2 oz} chicken broth
2 cans {4 oz. each} chopped green chilies ( i use 1 can if the kidlets are eating it)
1 t salt
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
1/2 t pepper {white pepper is best in this one but black will work too}
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c whipping cream

in a large sauce pan, saute chicken, onion, oil and garlic until chicken is no longer pink. {you could also use a rotisserie chicken and warm the meat in a saucepan with the onion and garlic}

Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream and cream, serve immediately.

{commentary}
i would say this would satisfy 4 adults. double it for a crowd. also, one day, a very good thing happened. that is when i had a beautiful tomato from the garden at the height of ripeness. i sliced it up and tossed it in at the very end after i had done everything else. i served it to a crowd of women and it had them all a buzz as to what the red things were. it added the right amount of saltiness.

ENJOY!

baked french toast

now, there is a thing i have about soggy french toast. i cringe as i type it. just "say no to the sog" in your early morning. i think this recipes concept is a bread pudding, but that is what rescues it from the sogginess.

baked french toast

10 slices bread (i use a french loaf, it think it avoids sogginess and soaks in liquid with style)
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
1 orange
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 dozen eggs
2 c milk (of course i use cream)
1/3 c maple syrup (i used mrs butterworths regular, my maple was gone)

cube bread. place half of the bread in a 11X14. (this recipe calls for a 9X13 but i find with a bread pudding if you use a larger pan you get the most wonderful crispiness to your dish)

mix cream cheese, juice and zest from your orange along with your powdered sugar until smooth. taste your concoction. i like it on the sweet side because that sweetness will diffuse as all the ingredients sit overnight.

pour evenly over first layer of cubed bread.

then, add the rest of the bread atop that.

in a bowl, mix eggs, milk (opt. cream) and syrup.
pour over the top of french toast.

put it in the fridge overnight or about 10 hours.

cook at 375 for 45 minutes uncovered.
serve with buttermilk syrup over the top, ENJOY!

i've been feeling morning love lately...

we have been indulging in some lovely breakfasts as of late. i love cold weather, it makes us focus on indoor things and at this house that means good food. the next few days will be posts of some things we have been eating to enjoy the time together in the house~

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cube butter
3/4 c sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

over medium heat melt butter, sugar and buttermilk in a saucepan. i like to let it all dissolve and get a little bubbly.
remove from heat and add vanilla and soda. keep stirring until incorporated. it will foam and froth up when you do this, so be sure to call all the kids around for the "magic" show.

serve hot.

or you can store for 2 weeks in the fridge

{commentary}
this is so savory. it doesn't rock your world with sweetness, rather accents a fruit or a dollop of cream. i will also post more on how we have eaten this lately.

the best mac and cheese...

this recipe came from a childhood favorite. it came from the mormon cooking book.
as always, i added my own twist too.



2 1/2 c. elbow macaroni (measure before you cook it)
4 TB flour
4 TB butter
2-3 TB chopped onion
1/2 t salt
dash of pepper
2 c cream (or milk, it called for milk but i had some cream ready to expire and i tell you, it was a beautiful thing...)
2 c cubed american ( i didn't want to resort to kraft singles so i found this in my deli and i used a half pound)





topping (my addition and oh so YUMMY)
1 c panko bread crumbs (you can also use regular, panko rock tho)
3 TB butter, melted.
1/2 t basil
1/2 t oregano
2 TB parmesan cheese


cook elbow macaroni according to directions.


in a saucepan melt butter. add onions and flour. stir together until it takes a paste shape. add cream slowly whisking. let flour and butter paste incorporate with cream and add cheese last.


whisk until all incorporated.


toss cheese sauce with cooked macaroni into a 9X13 dish. mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle over top of mac and cheese.



bake at 350 for 30 minutes uncovered.

{thanks for the pretty photo martha}

*commentary*

i've made a lot of mac and crack (as kristy calls it) and this is hands down the best, most simple recipe. we like to eat it with a piece of ham with applesauce adorning the ham. i also doubled this recipe and froze the rest so next week when i feel lazy my kids will think i'm cool.

other entertaining ideas:
did you see jordan's post on how she served her mac and cheese? i used it and scooped out 2 individual servings and put them in some cute ramekins. they were a perfect lunch for a mom and a sick baby. and i do think this is company worthy, just so you know. i have a christmas party brewing in my head with this lovely and a beautifully dressed ham.....

Little Owls

I bought this magazine last fall because I thought these cupcakes were adorable. There are lots of other fun and festive recipe ideas in the magazine, too. If you are interested, you can purchase it here. I made these cupcakes a couple weeks ago. The cupcakes themselves weren't great, but I do love these little owls. The cupcake recipe included for these was a white cake with shredded coconut (this says spring to me...not fall) and cream cheese frosting. When I make them again, I'll probably use a spice cake or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Anyway, here's what you need for the decorations if you want to try them.

Eyes: place two butterscotch candies for the eyes. Dip chocolate chips in a little frosting and place in the center of the butterscotch candies.

Nose: whole cashew

Feathers: slivered almonds placed around the eyes.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lighter Lasagna

I have been inspired by my friend Jill to try cooking more vegetarian meals. For some reason cooking vegetarian is a little intimidating to me. I think it is because I don't have many vegetarian recipes, nor have I tried too many vegetarian main dishes. I typically think pasta and soup when I think about vegetarian main dishes...but I know there are many options out there and I'm on a quest to find some good recipes to incorporate into our weekly menus. To start off, I tried a lighter lasagna recipe that Jill posted on her blog. This lasagna is delicious and simple to make. I love lasagna where you don't have to precook the noodles! What's your favorite vegetarian dish and where do you get your best vegetarian recipes? Please share your favorites...and try this recipe- you'll like it.

Lighter Lasagna, from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
This lasagna is so rich with vegetables, herbs, and wine that you'll never miss the extra cheese and fat that we're accustomed to finding in standard recipes. Serves 6-8, preparation time 40 minutes, baking time 60-70 minutes.

2 cups cubed zucchini
1 cup cubed bell peppers
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 cups sliced mushrooms (about 12 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dry red wine (I used chicken stock)
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
10 ounces fresh spinach, rinsed
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 recipe Tomato Wine sauce (page 350) or 3 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce
1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles (uncooked)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, salt, and wine in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, and then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender and juicy. Stir in the basil and set aside.

Cover and cook the spinach on high heat in just the water clinging to the leaves for 3 minutes, until wilted but still bright green. Drain and chop coarsely. Combine with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan and set aside.

Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 3-inch deep nonreactive 8 x 12-inch baking dish. Layer with 5 or 6 noodles, 1 generous cup of undrained veggies, and 1 cup of the spinach-cheese mixture. Cover with a second layer of noodles, 1 cup of sauce, 1 heaping cup of veggies, 1 cup of the spinach-cheese mixture, and a third layer of noodles. Finally, add the rest of the veggies, the remaining spinach-cheese mixture, a fourth layer of noodles, and the rest of the sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the noodles are tender, about 60 minutes. Let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Baked French Toast with Apples and Caramel Sauce

Last weekend I decided to make something special for Sunday morning breakfast. We had recently been to the apple orchard and so I wanted to use up some of the apples we had picked. We decided to try this baked french toast recipe that a friend gave me a while ago. It was delicious. Now, the ingredients in this make it seem a little more like a dessert than breakfast, but it's okay to indulge every now and then. This recipe is absolutely worth the indulgence. It is really good.
Baked French Toast with Apples and Caramel Sauce
A glass baking pan will help prevent the toast from sticking. This recipe must refrigerate overnight, so work that into your planning and prep time.

Ingredients
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread sliced
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
4-6 apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
1) Cut bread into 1 1/2 inch thick slices and place in a lightly greased 9 X 13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, beat eggs with 1 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/3 cup white sugar, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla. Pour egg mixture over bread slices. Make sure all the bread gets soaked so it doesn't leave any dry spots. The liquid left in the bottom will all be soaked up by morning.

2) Arrange apple slices on top of bread. Mix together cinnamon, nutmeg and 2 Tbsp. white sugar then sprinkle over the apples. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3) After mixture has refrigerated overnight, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4) Bake toast in preheated oven until golden brown, about 1 hour.

5) While toast is baking, prepare caramel sauce by combining 1/2 cup white sugar, flour and melted margarine in a small sauce pan. Stir in brown sugar, 1/2 cup skim milk and 2 tsp. vanilla. Cook until thick, stirring often.

Serve French toast hot with warm caramel sauce.

Black Bean Soup with homemade breadsticks

Sorry for another soup recipe, but like Becca says, I embrace Fall too and all I want to eat during the cool, fall/winter months is yummy soup with some sort of bread! This one is one of my family favs. Not only is it good, but healthy.

Black Bean Soup
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 T. veggie oil
1 can chicken broth
3 cans black beans, undrained
1 medium jar of salsa (I used my homemade recipe because I am not a fan of store bought-recipe below)
3 T. lime juice

In a 4 qt. sauce pan, heat oil and put garlic, onion, cumin and red pepper flakes in. Then in a blender, blend 1 can black beans with 1/2 of the chicken broth and then add to the garlic and onion mix. Add the other 2 cans of black beans and broth to mix and then add salsa and lime juice.

Homemade Salsa (we all have our own salsa recipe, but I thought I would list my brother's rendition.)
This was the perfect way to use up the rest of my garden tomatoes!
5-6 tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-4 jalapenos, remove seeds and finely chop
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 large limes juiced
1-2 T. olive oil
salt to taste
I am not a huge fan of chunky salsa, so what I do is chop my tomatoes and onion, then throw them in the blender to sort of puree them.

Thirty-Minute breadsticks (I know we all have our own breadstick recipe too, but I just thought I would add this one from my Pinch of Salt Lake cook book)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 T. honey
1 1/2 C. warm water
1 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 C. flour
1 egg, beaten

In a large mixing bowl soften yeast and honey in warm water. Add salt; blend. Add flour gradually, blending in until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and forms a ball. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece between hands to make sticks about 10 inches long. Place crosswise on 2 large greased baking sheets. (dough can be divided into 12 pieces and placed on one pan to make thicker and softer sticks). Brush with beaten egg; sprinkle with desired seasonings (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, Parmesan cheese, salad supreme).
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Fall, I embrace you! While we don't have the summer days at the beach anymore, we now have pumpkin picking and brisk morning runs. There is something about fall breezes that makes me excited! We can't wait for school to start (even though it always starts in the hot humid August days...but, isn't it much more fun keep pretending that it starts in the fall?), we can't wait for the harvest time of apples, pears, peaches, squash and the smells of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg that accompany these foods and, admit it--we can't wait for Christmas. All the good times are ahead of us in the autumn season, and I'm totally not thinking about that January/February/March stretch. Just put that right out of my mind.

To get in the mood, I made some butternut squash soup. It was delicious--my husband said "this is perfect." um, wow, I felt like a rock star. I like this recipe, because I only needed to make one cut down the length of the squash prior to roasting. I like this because cutting up butternut squash, to me, is risky business, and I'd like to keep all of my fingers intact, thank you very much. There is quite a bit of handling in this recipe--roasting and stewing and blending. At one point, I was ladling boiling squashy liquid into my blender, half of it dripping all over everything, while Pete was pulling at my pants and yelling "MAMA! Mama, I need that" and everything was spilling all around and life seemed pretty nutso for about 15 minutes. One of these definitely would have come in handy. But, the beauty of this soup is it tastes even better a day or two later, so, today, when the boys were out playing, I sat down by myself to a beautiful bowl of homemade soup and read a magazine and felt really, really happy.

Here's the recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking:

Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large leeks, cleaned thoroughly and chopped

4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup whipping cream

chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

croutons

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash cut side down on oiled baking sheet. Bake until the squash can easily be pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool, then scoop the pulp from the squash skin and discard the skin.
2. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks and ginger and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir in 4 cups of stock and the squash pulp. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon, for 20 minutes. Puree until smooth. Return soup to the pot.
4. Stir in cream, and thin with stock, a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency of soup. Heat soup through and ladle into warmed bowls. Garnish with herbs and/or croutons.

Bagels and Schmears

I'm trying to make my breakfasts a bit more respectable. It has proven quite the challenge to break my college routine of cold cereal for days and months and years in a row. So, we're exploring many *quick* morning meals and this veggie spread just made our breakfast list!

From the November 2007 Everyday Food:

Creamy Vegetable Spread on Whole-Wheat Bagel

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

1 medium carrot, grated or finely chopped

1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), finely chopped

1 scallion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

coarse salt and pepper

small whole-wheat bagels, split and toasted for serving

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, carrot, bell pepper, scallion, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spread bagel halves with vegetable spread, and serve. (Store remaining spread in an airtight container, up to 5 days.)