Butternut squash soup

Ingredients:

6 T chopped onion

4 T butter

6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 t dried marjoram

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/8 t ground cayenne pepper

2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese

In a large saucepan, sauté onions in butter until tender. Add squash, broth, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil, cook 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Purée squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not boil.

SIMPLE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients:

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 garlic cloves
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Toss squash and garlic with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Roast until squash is tender and lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Squeeze garlic out of its skin and sprinkle evenly over squash. Serve hot or at room temperature

No Potato Salad

I love this low carb version of potato salad made with cauliflower instead of potatoes. There are many similar cauliflower recipes on the internet. This one is from elanaspantry.com

No Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 stalks celery diced
1 small onion chopped (3-4T.)
1 T parsley chopped (optional)
2 large eggs, hard boiled and diced
2 T. mayo (or as much as is needed to make creamy)
1 T. dijon mustard
1/2 sea salt

Chop cauliflower into small florets (1/2) inch

Steam cauliflower on the stove until fork tender (not more or a stronger cauliflower smell develops)

Allow cauliflower to cool then place in a large bowl

Add celery, onion, parsley and eggs

Stir in mayo, mustard and salt

serve

Wild Rice and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

I love squash. And so I’ve been loading up on many varieties at the farmers’ market. Recently, I came across a great recipe for Wild Rice and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash. I found the recipe online atLunds and Byerlys, a Minneapolis specialty gourmet grocery chain. I modified the recipe a bit since I didn’t have the recommended Lunds and Byerlys special seasonings on hand. I think it still turned out great and the bowls looked beautiful. The meal was delicious, filling, and also seemed quite healthy. Always a bonus.

Ingredients

1 (1 lb.) acorn squash, halved, seeds removed

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. bulk Italian sausage

2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tsp. minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 cup cooked wild rice

1 1/2 cups shredded provolone and mozzarella, divided

Directions

Arrange squash halves cut side down in 13X9 microwavable baking dish; add ¼ cup water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, using multiple sheets if necessary. With a knife, make 4 steam vents in plastic wrap. Microwave (HIGH) until tender (15-20 minutes).

While squash is cooking, heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté sausage, Italian herb seasoning, red pepper, onion and garlic until sausage is no longer pink and onions are tender (8-10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in spinach, wild rice and 1 cup provolone/mozzarella.

When squash is tender, carefully remove plastic wrap, starting from side farthest from you. Using tongs, transfer cooked squash to cutting board; discard water.

Place a tablespoon of butter in bottoms of each squash half. Mound sausage mixture into halves. Return to 13X9 dish, cover with foil and bake in preheated 350F oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese over tops, return to oven and bake until cheese melts (5-8 minutes).

Amount: 4 servings

Spicy Sweet potato and coconut soup

One of the good ideas of having Tim cook on Saturday nights is that he will pick recipes that I might pass over. This is one recipe that I would not have given a second thought and I would have missed out on an incredibly delicious soup.

Tim found this recipe on Allrecipes. It was submitted by Lynn. He made the soup exactly as stated but the second time we modified the recipe by putting the cooked sweet potatoes in a food processor before adding to the soup. I didn't care for the chunky sweet potatoes floating in the soup the first time. I felt food processing the potatoes blended the flavors better.

Ingredients:
11/2 pounds orange fleshed sweet potatoes
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, thinly sliced
1 T red or green curry paste
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
3 Cups vegetable broth
3 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t. sea salt
1 T sesame oil
1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes directly on the rack and bake until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and hear for 1 minute, then whisk in the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and cut into bite size chunks. Add to the soup and cook for 5 more minutes so they can soak up the flavor. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil and a little bit of cilantro.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

In our garden we planted some sugar snap peas. For the last week we have begun harvesting them. I wanted to find a recipe that would incorporate the sugar snap peas along with the fresh mint I have planted. Last week I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up the July/August 2008 Vegetarian Times magazine. This recipe had the ingredients that I was looking for and also incorporated some of the pistachios that I had left over from another recipe. Great way to use your abundance of sugar snap peas this summer.

I doubled the lemon-mint vinaigrette to use on a salad for a later date.

Surgar Snap Pea Salad With Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

To keep sugar snap peas bright green, add the vinaigrette just before serving.

1/4 cup olive oil (I didn't use that much)
3 TBS chopped fresh mint
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS minced shallot
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar

1 lb. sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/3 cup chopped pistachios

1. To make Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette: Whisk together all ingredients.

2. To make Salad: Cook sugar snap peas in boiling water 2 minutes, or until bright green. Drain. Toss peas with 3 TBS Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette. Stir in pistachios.

Eggplant Parmesan

This is the first time we have had eggplant parmesan so we have nothing to compare to. The site we found this recipe on had 550 thumbs up so we thought it warranted a try. Once again, my meat loving husband thought it was great enough to go back for seconds. We modified the recipe from the original recipe to meet our tastes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 C egg beaters or 2 eggs
  
• 2-2/3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
  
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided we used Smart Balance
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sweat the 1/4" slices by sprinkling with sea salt and letting sit for 30 min. Rinse, pat dry with paper towel (get good & dry)
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 6-7 minutes on each side. While eggplant is baking saute onions and mushrooms. Stir sauted vegetables into the spaghetti sauce.
   
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

For a healthier alternative to saute onions and mushrooms, heat up a little wine or vegetable broth in a fry pan and saute the vegetables until done.

Sweet Potato and lima beans

This is an unusual vegetable side dish that I saw on the today show. This is the original recipe below. I would modify it next time I make it. I did not like the ginger taste so would omit that from the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1⁄2 pounds sweet potatoes

• 1 pound frozen lima beans

• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 dried whole red chili

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

• Salt

• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice
• 1⁄2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Boil sweet potatoes, in enough water to just cover them, until tender, about 25 minutes. At the same time, in another saucepan, boil the lima beans in just enough water to cover them, about 15 to 20 minutes. Peel and dice the potatoes once they are cool enough to touch. Drain the lima beans.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds; when they pop and start to crackle out of the pan, add the cumin, red chili, onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir well and mix. Let the onion turn golden brown; then add the reserved lima beans and stir. Add the sweet potatoes. Mix all the ingredients well, and sauté for just a few minutes more to mingle tastes evenly. Salt to taste. Add lemon juice and stir. Garnish by sprinkling cilantro over the top. Serve warm.

Acorn squash with apples

This is one of those recipe you have to try especially if you shy away from squash. Squash has so many health benefits for you. The combination of squash, apples and walnuts makes this a real treat. My husband use to hate squash not anymore. On one of the recipe sites, a couple reviews compared this recipe to eating apple pie with no crust.....

INGREDIENTS

• 1 acorn squash
• 2 apples, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. To easily peel the acorn squash without losing a lot of vegetable, gently drop the squash in a large pot of boiling water, and boil for 15 minutes. Pour off the boiling water and fill with cold water and let sit 5 minutes to cool. When cool enough to handle, use a knife to slice off the peel on the ridges and use a teaspoon to dig out the peel in the valleys. Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and stem. Then slice the halves into sections and finally cut into 1 inch chunks.
2. Place the squash chunks into a large microwave-safe bowl along with the apples. Dot with pieces of butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar, walnuts, salt and cinnamon over the top. Cover with plastic wrap, and poke a few holes in it for ventilation.
3. Cook in the microwave for 7 1/2 minutes on full power. Remove, uncover, and stir. Return to the microwave, and cook for another 7 1/2 minutes on full power, until tender. Serve hot.

Variations

You could use butternut squash for variety. Pecans work well in this recipe instead of walnuts. Honey or maple syrup can used with or instead of the brown sugar.

If you prefer roasted squash, you can place this (uncovered) in the oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for just under an hour. But be sure to add 1/4 cup of water to the recipe before baking.