Butternut Squash Soup

Picture by me

Recipe by Alton Brown here

This is so good.  I made it for my birthday dinner because I love it so much!

• 6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
• Melted butter, for brushing
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (I like it better with black pepper)
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger (I used powdered ginger once and it was just fine too)
• 4 ounces milk
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

This is what The Sage Cafe is famous for. Well, as famous as you get in McMinnville, OR. I loved this comfort soup on a rainy or cold day, which was almost every day during the winter I worked there between college in 1999. It's heavenly and addicting.

Soup base:
7 cups water
1 1/2 tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt (No MSG)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups green cabbage, chopped
4 cups broccoli, chopped
1+ cups carrots, peeled and chopped (or the pre-shredded kind in a bag if in a hurry)
1 cup light sour cream
2 cups grated cheddar, or monterey jack/cheddar blend cheese

Reux: (French name for thickening agent to make the soup thick)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/a cups flour

Whisk together until all the little lumpies are gone.

Combine all but the sour cream and cheese soup base ingredients into a large pot and bring to a boil. Make sure there is enough water to cover 2" over the top of the vegetables, adding more water if needed. Cook on high heat, until vegetables are lightly done and tender. Turn heat to the lowest setting.

Making sure soup is on lowest setting, slowing mix in the Reux. S.L.O.W.L.Y. mix in the Reux, stirring soup constantly.

Add sour cream, stir until smooth. Add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and serve with fresh bread. YUM!

Feeds a small crowd.

Wendy's Chili

This is a great chili recipe that I've been making for over 4 years. I found it off Top Secret Recipes, back when they would give away a free recipe of the week. It actually tastes better than the restaurants version too!

We love to serve it with fresh cornbread and top it off with cheese, of course! We find that the cornbread helps the chili not be as spicy for the girls, and we give them milk with their dinner to help cut out any remaining burn. It's slightly hotter than a mild chili recipe, but kids just don't have that high of a tolerance as adults do.

Wendy’s Chili

1 lb ground beef (I use ground turkey)
29 oz can tomato sauce
29 oz can kidney beans (with liquid)
29 oz can pinto beans (with liquid)
1 med. onion, diced
½ cup diced green chilies
2-3 stalks celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (I peel them, but it isn’t necessary to do so unless you hate the skins or you can use 1 can diced tomatoes)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder (or to desired spiciness)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2-3 cups water (to desired thickness)

1. Brown the meat with the onion in a skillet. Using a colander, drain fat and rinse with water. (This will remove excess fat).

2. In a large pot (8 quart), combine meat and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. If you are in a rush, then bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 hour.

*Leftovers can be frozen! Let cool first before freezing or storing in the fridge.

Wonton Soup

We love this recipe by Kraft.

Again, I've modified it a little.

4-6 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups pre-shredded carrots

1-2 cups chopped cabbage

1 bag frozen pork dumplings (or vegetable/chicken/seafood)

1/2 cup carrot puree

2 tbls low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp Asian Seasoning Mix from The Pampered Chef, optional

In a large pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil so that the dumplings won't fall apart. Continue to cook until dumplings are heated through.

*The original recipe from Kraft calls for 2 cups of thinly shredded rotisserie chicken added to the soup. This is yummy, but sometimes too much time for me to do, so I don't always add it in.

Athough it wasn't in the original recipe, I also added the Asian Seasoning Mix from The Pampered Chef because I thought it would make this soup perfect. And it did!

Adding the carrot puree is just a sneaky way to make sure the family eats their vegetables, even if they try to "pick" at their food. The puree disappears into the broth, so no one knows!

Meatball Stew

Recipe from Trader Joe's sample during our shopping trip!

The girl's loved it so much I bought all the exact ingredients on the spot

and made it that night for dinner!

I couldn't believe the meatballs, were actually "Meat-LESS". It was a HIT!

1 bag Meatless Meatballs (or real meatballs)

8-12 cups of beef broth

8 oz of "O" shaped pasta

3 chives chopped

1/2 cup carrots, finely diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Serves 6

In a large pot, add all ingredients, including frozen meatballs. Bring to a low boil and continue cooking until pasta is tender. Serve to hungry family!

Isn't that easy? Our girls kept asking for more.

It's so nice to hear, "Mmmm, thank you Mommy!"

*This is a great vegetarian recipe Becks! (the beef broth can change to vegetable broth if you want)

Comforting Potato & Ham Soup

This is truely a "warm you up" or "cuddle with someone you love" soup. You can be very approximate with the veggies, adding more or less depending on what you have in stock or love to eat.

Potato & Ham Soup
3 cups diced potatoes (you can peel them if you want, but I leave the peel on for more vitamins)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 onion
1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 cup Ham, fully cooked, chopped into small bite size pieces
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1-2 cups mozarella or cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, combine first 6 ingredients. Add water into the pan until it just barely becomes level with the veggies. Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and reduce to simmer, stirring occasionally until tender.

Meanwhile, add butter to a large saucepan and melt over med-high heat. Stir/whisk in flour until smooth. The flour mixture will start to bubble. Slowly add the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk each addition of milk into the the flour until smooth and becomes thicker from bubbling. Stir in cheese until melted. Add to the soup and stir until completely incorporated.

*This tastes great with corn bread or with some homemade bread! We usually add pepper to our individual bowls since the girl's don't like things too spicy.