Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I had this soup at a friend's dinner party a few weeks back and it was delicious. I asked her for the recipe and she told me she got it from Barefoot Contessa. I made it for dinner one night and was literally licking the bowl :) Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions
Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.
Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

*Tip* Try to find a butternut squash that is already cut up. It's a little more expensive but trust me - cutting up a butternut squash is a nightmare (if anyone has any tips on how to make cutting it up easier please tell me!). It'll save you a lot of time and stress. I almost lost a few fingers my first time making this until I got wise.

Addicting, Fake, Key Lime Pie

1 small box lime jello- Use half the water recommended
2-6oz (Regular single serving size) Key Lime yogurts
8 oz cool whip (Half of a regular sized container)
1 prepared graham cracker crust or 4-6 of the mini sized ones.(Or homemade if you feel up to it.)

Mix the Jello and water, again, only using half of the water that it says on the box. Do not wait for it to set.
Add in the yogurt, blend together until incorporated.
Add cool whip and blend until smooth.
Pour into shells.
Chill 4-5 hours.
Decorate with cool whip or limes, but who has time for that?
Eat them like they are good for you. They are not*. I could eat seven of these without even breaking a sweat. Just saying.

* I've made this with non-fat yogurt and low-fat cool whip and it is still good. The tangy nature of the flavor covers a lot. But it is sooo much better with the regular ingredients.

Holiday treats?

So with Thanksgiving coming up and Christmas right around the corner I was thinking it would be cool to post your fav holiday treat recipe! Don't forget to label your recipe Holiday treats. I'll go first...

I love bite-sized food and I love pumpkin pie. A couple weeks ago I made Mini Pumpkin Pies! It's so simple. Just use your fav pumpkin pie filling recipe. Here's mine:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.

Putting Your Mini Pies Together

Preheat the oven to 425. You will not be baking at this temperature. However, you want to make your oven nice and hot. Line your cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

I use ready-made pie crust to make my life easier. Remove half of the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2 inch diameter circle cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Press the center of your circle into the bottom of a cupcake liner and work the rest into the bottom of the liner and up the sides. It should come about 3/4 of the way up the side.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pie dough cups. Each cup should be slightly more than halfway full.

Lower the oven temp to 375. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pie is set (doesn't wiggle around when you touch it.)

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Brats & Potatoes

These are so simple and will easily be the best brats you've ever eaten!Ingredients:
-Brats
-Potatoes
-Onion

1) Bake brats for 20-30 minutes turning once halfway through.
2) Peel and slice potatoes (however many you want, I've done anywhere from 4 to 8) and onion and place in the bottom of the crock pot. (Or, if you're opposed to eating an actual onion like we are, I just substitute with onion powder.)
3) Place the brats on top of the potatoes and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Seriously, they will just melt in your mouth!

Easy, One-skillet Chicken Pasta- DELISH!

Ok ladies, this one is a total keeper. I've made it twice now and we LOVE it, plus it can all be made in one skillet on the stove. I made it just this week and Dan had 4 helpings!

I got the recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, and the blogger had gotten it from some skillet cookbook. Anyway, I changed a lot of things in the recipe (partly to make it healthier and partly to use what vegetables we had available) so I will post the recipe as I made it. If you want the original go here.

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into squares/chunks

salt/pepper

garlic powder

olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

Mushrooms, chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

8-12 oz. whole wheat penne (if you don't love whole wheat pasta like we do, you can use white, of course)

3 cups water

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Frozen Sugar Snap peas (last time I used broccoli, and that is good too)

1/2 jar of roasted red peppers, chopped

1 to 1 1/2 c. milk

1 cup grated parmesean cheese (more if you like it extra cheesy)

1 lemon (optional)

Use your biggest non-stick skillet. Add a couple of drizzles of olive oil, add your chicken and diced onions, and season with salt/pepper, garlic powder and oregano; cook your chicken until almost all of the pink is gone. Add mushrooms and sautee until cooked. Add your pasta, 3 cups of water, and chicken broth. Bring to boil over high heat, and cook until much of the liquid is absorbed (12-15 minutes?), stirring occasionally. Stir in the snap peas and roasted red peppers. Turn heat to medium-high. Add the milk and the parmesean cheese. Simmer, uncovered for a few minutes until the cheese is melted through and the sauce is thickened. If your sauce is too thin, thicken with cornstarch (add 1-2 TB cornstarch in a small bowl of 1/4 c. milk. Mix until its totally dissolved BEFORE adding to the hot skillet, or else it will clump. Pour into the skillet mixture and stir until sauce is thickened). Once it's done, you can remove from heat and squeeze in a little lemon juice if you like. Season with more salt/pepper if it needs it, and top with a sprinkle of parmesean if you want. (PS, I didn't have any on hand, but I think this would be so pretty garnished with fresh parsley!)

Street Tacos

This isn't so much a recipe, as an assemblage. So, easy, easy, easy. I fell in love with "street tacos" in Tijuana and crave them about once a month. Here is our version.

Corn tortillas- Corn tortillas instead of flour. Much more flavor! I sprinkle them with water and then heat them in the microwave for about 25 seconds to make them pliable.

Chicken- Cut up into small pieces and sauteed with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. But you can season them however you like. The simpler the better.

OR/ But Not Both!

Hamburger- Browned with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. You could also use actual cuts of meat cut into small pieces and browned.

White Onions- Cut very small. Do not cook these!

Cilantro- Taken off the stems and roughly chopped.

Limes- Cut into wedges to squeeze onto the tacos.

And that is it. Five ingredients. Assemble. You can add avocado or salsa, or get creative, but I find I don't like them as much when we add too many ingredients. A super fast and relatively healthy dinner. Like I said, not exactly a secret recipe handed down from my grandmother, but I get requests every time I've made them for people. I tell them it's just what they see, but they swear there is some trick. No trick. You can double the tortillas for a heftier taco... but ya, no real science to this.

Turkey Bacon Biscuits

Dan made me these one Sunday morning for breakfast (apparently I was asking for them in my sleep LOL). I had to take a pic because they looked beautiful and they were DELICIOUS!

You can use any bacon you want - he substituted Morningstar veg bacon for me :)

Here is the recipe: Turkey Bacon Biscuits

Taco Salad

Layer:

Tortilla chips (I love Snyder of Hanover chips)
Salad- with any kind of salad toppings, usually include red or green onions
Beans- Any kind is yummy
Top with cheese and dressing!

***I usually serve with muffins.
Super easy, and one of my favorites!! Enjoy!

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

To go along with your chili...you've got to have cornbread! I have just the recipe!

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Grease an 8 in square pan. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar (I mixed everything in the same pan that I melted the butter in=less dishes). Quickly add eggs and bet until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 min. (Mine actually only took 25, so check it a little early). It is done when a toothpick comes out clean. Top with butter and honey and enjoy! We had the leftovers for breakfast and I think it was even better the second day!

Chili for Ann :)

The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

I had a pumpkin carving party at my house last night and made a huge batch of this for my entire family - it was a hit! SO hearty that the boys didn't even know it was vegetarian! I did add one can of chili beans and used Morningstar brand veggie crumbles. Just before serving I topped it with shredded cheese, sour cream and green onion and served over spaghetti noodles (sounds weird I know but that's how we do it in my fam - it's good!). YUM! Enjoy!

Chili?

Does anyone have a really good Chili recipe they can post!? I have never made it and I want a good one so that when I do, my husband will want to eat it again! ha :)

Old Fashioned Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth. 

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.  

 

* I like to double the recipe and store 1/2 the pancakes in freezer bags to stick in the toaster or microwave for a quick breakfast! 

 

Recipe found at allrecipes.com -  click here to go to their website.

Potatoes in Sour Cream

Hey everyone. This is my recipe that I didn't have printed out for the recipe swap and have yet to email everyone. Sorry! I'm a slacker. But here it is now!

5-6 Med. Potatoes
2 Tbsp. Butter or margarine
1 Onion, minced
1/4 C. Bread Crumbs
1/2 C. Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1 C. Sour Cream
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Pepper

Scrub potatoes and cook in boiling salted water. Drain, peel and slice into 2 Qt. baking dish. Melt butter in skillet, add onion, and brown slightly. Add onion, bread crumbs, and cheese to potatoes. Beat eggs and stir into sour cream. Add salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until well heated and slightly brown.

Easy Peasy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is one of my most favorite chicken recipes....my mother-in-law has made this for years and I would always request it for my birthday dinner. Her original recipe was called Swiss Cheese Chicken and didn't call for the ham slices - but it's good both ways!

Ingredients:

8 chicken breasts (boneless/skinless & thawed)

8 slices Swiss Cheese (I've used mozzarella and think it tastes great, too)

8 slices ham

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup water (or milk)

2 cups dry stuffing mix (I use chicken flavored - but any would work)

1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

Arrange chicken in shallow baking dish with a slice of cheese and ham over each breast. Stir soup and water together and spoon over chicken. Put dry stuffing mix over chicken and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Note: I usually only cook 4 chicken breasts but I still use the whole can of soup with 1 cup stuffing and 1/4 cup butter.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
(I usually use the whole bag.. but that's just me!)


Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
   

Let's Get Cookin'

Here it is - our very own "Michigan Mormon Mom Cooking Blog"! Now that's a mouthful. You must be added as an author before you can post so I will be sending out e-mails to those whose addresses I have, if you don't get an invite soon,  please e-mail me at brian.lexie@gmail.com so I can add you as an author. I'm not going to bother asking who wants to be added because I'm sure you ALL do! When you post a recipe please make sure to Label it (down in the bottom right hand corner when you are posting there is a space to add a Label for the post. For each recipe just type in what type of dish it is: main course, casserole, soup, salad, dessert, drink.... you get the idea) This way we can keep track of all the recipes and make it easy to look them up later. I am super excited to see all the great recipes.

Now - let's get cookin'