Butternut Squash Pumpkin Soup Yummo

 

I got a little talkin' to from my sister last week on how she thinks I should blog more.

 

I don't know if I've ever shared how much I look up to my sister with you before but if I haven't, I should have.

 

Here's the most recent photo I have of Dee, me and Noah.  I'll have to get some pictures of me and Dee when she's up for Thanksgiving in just a few short days (I can't wait).  For the record, we're not always all fancied up when we see each other.

 

We're usually all scummed out in our sweatpants lounging around, which is why we never let anyone take our pictures.

 

In this picture, we were going to a wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

My sister Dee (some say Deej but no one who knows her well calls her by her birth-given name, Diane) is four years older than me; she is my only sibling.

 

My whole life she's been right about just about everything.

 

From the boys I used to date whom she said were dorks (they were)

 to the black lacquer furniture I used to decorate my first apartment that she told me had to go

to how my fashion follows hers five years later . . .

 

So when Dee tells me to do something, I listen.

 

So last week she said I should blog more - even if it's about something small, like a recipe.

 

I could get into all of the excuses on why I don't blog more frequently

 

like how I have two kids who suck up a lot of my time

 

or how I have a stay at home husband who needs a break from all of the home-related stuff

 

or how my company went through a round of job cuts last week and I was stressed out (I kept my job)

 

or how my computer is ancient and makes blogging a giant pain in the tush.

 

 

 

But the truth is, I LOVE to write

 

I love to blog

 

and I love to share my life with all of you

 

(and I hate when my sister proves me wrong).

 

Oh and this little blog was just featured on HGTV's website! 

 

Yup, you read that right.  My winter mantel was featured last week.  If you head over to HGTV (But don't leave this web page until you see what I've got for you)  and click on their winter mantels, my mantel was on slide 16. 

 

Imani wants to know if that means I'm famous . . .

 

 

Anyway, I decided to ease back into this blog thing by giving you a little recipe for Thanksgiving.

 

But first, I need to let you know we didn't dress up this year for Halloween!!  Can you believe it?  It's the first year we haven't dressed up in a long time.

 

Imani choose to be Darth Vader this year simply so that she could dress her little brother as Yoda. I think it was the first time EVER that I purchased costumes and didn't make them myself.

 

Although I was a little sad about these costumes, I gotta say, those moms who drive to Tarjay and swipe their credit cards to get their kid's costumes are onto something good.  This was the easiest Halloween 'evah! 

 

 

Imani had fun as Darth Vader and Noah did make a cute little Yoda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now onto that recipe.  This weekend, I made one of my favorite things to make, SOUP.

 

I love soup so much - I could live on it.  My family . . . not so much.  They all like to have more of a "main course" so I usually end up serving it before dinner.

 

I love soup so much that my sister Dee bought me and Jason a Cuisinart Soup maker for Christmas last year.

 

I'm not really into kitchen gadgets but that soup cooker is one of the best things going.

 

It heats up so you can sautee in it before adding other ingredients. Once all of the ingredients are added, you can turn on the blender portion of the machine and blend everything together to make soup.  Then you just set the timer for how long you want it to cook.

 

It's a little piece of amazing.

 

Here it is if you want to get it for some soup lover like me for Christmas. 

 

 

 

 

It's a bit pricey though - listed as $270 online. I found one on Amazon for $122.36 if you are interested click here.

(I am not receiving anything for this post - this is truly just a gadget I love!)

 

 

 

I only wish it were bigger because I like to make BIG pots of soup.

 

 

Anyway - on to the recipe.

 

Since it's Fall, I've been trying to eat as much squash as possible. I love it and both of my children hate it.  While most moms might be upset that their kids don't like a vegetable, I'm secretly happy because that means more squash for me.

 

shhh. . . don't tell them because I'm forever ACTING like I want them to eat it.

 

Naturally, since I love squash and I love soup, I figured I'd experiment with a butternut squash soup recipe.

 

This one's a keeper. 

 

First off, it's super healthy because there isn't any cream in this soup.

 

It has a rich Fall flavor of butternut squash with a hint of pumpkin.

 

 

 

Butternut Squash Pumpkin Yummo

 

 

 

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into one inch cubes (I started with a 2-3 pound squash)

 

2 tablespoons of butter

 

1 medium onion, chopped

 

1 clove of garlic - chopped

 

4 cups of chicken stock

 

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

 

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

 

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

1. Heat butter in a large pot

2.  Sautee onions until translucent

3. Add the chopped garlic and sautee for a minute more

4. Add the squash cubes and chicken stock

5. Bring to a boil

6. When squash becomes soft, dump into a blender

7. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg and salt and pepper

8. Puree soup

 

9. Serve with a large salad and warm bread (the bread in the picture is homemade . . . I am OBSESSED with this recipe for homemade bread. It's super EASY and delicious.   I discovered it a few weeks ago.  No need to knead this bread - you make the dough on the weekends, throw it in the fridge and make fresh bread in less than five minutes whenever you want it over the course of the next TWO weeks. )

 

I told you it was easy.

 

Apparently, there are additional books out on different versions of this bread.  You can bet those books are going on my Christmas list.

 

If you try the soup, let me know what you think.  I was thinking it might be good to put applesauce in it too!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Salsa Party

This weekend I was invited to my friend Hallie's salsa party. Before you start to conjure images of me swinging my hips and having fancy foot moves, this wasn't a dance party. (Have I mentioned I have no rhythm and can't dance AT ALL?)

Every year Hallie gets a group of people together to make salsa and can it. Originally it started with just Hallie, her husband, our friend Claire and Claire's two kids. But each year Hallie has invited more people and she's increased the number of jars she makes.

I've wanted to go to her party for several years but every year there is a conflict. I've had the pleasure of eating Hallie's famous salsa at several parties but this was the first year I was finally able to attend the party and see the production.

This year there were about 14 people. Hallie asks you only to bring hands willing to work. She supplies all of the ingredients, canning supplies, pizza and drinks.

She set out this year to make 120 pints of salsa but we ended up making 164 pints!

First, we were all assigned jobs. There were buckets and buckets of tomatoes to be gutted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomatillos to be peeled and cored

 

 

 

 

 

 

onions to be peeled and chopped

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

garlic to be peeled and chopped

 

 

 

 

and limes to be juiced

 

 

 

Everyone set to work on their assigned jobs, taking breaks where needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

Imani moved to a few different jobs. She started out juicing limes and then moved on to coring tomatillos and finally, gutting tomatoes.  She was one fantastic little worker!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I was one of the only people who doesn't get watery eyes from peeling onions, I spent most of my time peeling and chopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I was happy to see lots of buckets for composting (especially after finishing "Garbology.")

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once everything was prepared, the tomatoes and tomatillos would be grilled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After they were grilled, the would be placed in a measuring bowl and delivered to the food processing area

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here, they would be chopped up in the food processor and placed in a pot, along with the onions, garlic, chipotle, lime juice, and salt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the pot would be cooked and placed in sterilized jars, lidded and sealed in boiling water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite a production but Imani and I had so much fun helping out (even Noah joined us later and helped by pushing the button on the food processor to grind up the grilled tomatoes and tomatillos).

And I could do a whole blog post on how awesome Hallie's house is. She lives in a log cabin in the woods about 10 minutes outside of town. It's like a little retreat . . . Fully equipped with a giant aquarium that had Noah mesmerized for hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until he discovered a little something he found even more fascinating

 

 

 

The party's was a fun way to reconnect with old friends, meet some new friends and learn a new recipe! Hallie gives everyone several jars of salsa as a 'thank you' for their hard work.

Here's the recipe in case you want to have a little salsa get together of your own (or if you want to make a batch without the socializing, I won't judge you - even though I am a very social person).

Hallie's Grilled Salsa

1/2 gallon of tomatoes

1/2 gallon of tomatillos

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1/4 c pureed chipotle in adobo

3 Tbsp chopped garlic

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup lime juice

This recipe yields 7 pints

(we canned 164 pints!!)

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

 

And here is my little Instagram vignette of the party.  Are you following me?  If not, join in the fun.  I'm participating in FatMumSlim's photo a day challenge, and you'll get to see lots more pics of Imani and Noah! 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and in case you're wondering where Jason was - as much as he LOVES salsa (anybody remember the Mexican Fiesta party I threw for his birthday?!), he is busy at work on this project at our house. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

Best Summer Salad

I don't usually post a lot of recipes but I mentioned a great summertime salad a couple of weeks ago and promised I'd share the recipe.

I like to keep my promises.

So here you go -- just in time for your Memorial Day picnic. Here is the recipe for a salad I always make in the summer. Every time we have guests, they ask for the recipe so I figured I'd post it here.

It is a very forgiving salad, so feel free to substitute if you don't have something! I always make sure to use fresh mint though - it is the secret ingredient that gives the salad a unique flavor. I also never leave out the fresh garlic or chives.



Ingredients:
1 cup barley
Grape tomatoes, halved
Cucumbers, chopped
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
Fresh spinach, finely chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped (about a handful)
Fresh basil, chopped
Fresh mint, chopped
Fresh chives, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
Feta cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Directions:
Cook barley and rinse off in cool water, drain

Add to big salad bowl with all the above ingredients

Mix well.

Enjoy!