Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is fantastic. Probably because it has a brick of cream cheese in it. I used "light", though, so clearly it's okay. It's creamy and rich and just a wonderful meal for a February evening. Rumour has it this also makes an excellent pasta sauce.

Adapted from Allrecipes. How could 1,000 people steer me wrong?

Butternut Squash Soup
1 large butternut squash
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons oil

3 cups water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning (or marjoram or oregano)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash liquid smoke
1 8 oz brick light cream cheese*

1. Wash the outside of the squash well. Microwave whole for 3 minutes on high to soften. Slice in half and scoop out and discard the seeds and pulp. Place in a microwavable dish and microwave until soft, 10-15 minutes on high. Let cool for a few minutes.

2. Chop onion. Peel garlic. Put in a large saucepan with the oil. Cook over medium until onion is cooked through and just a little brown. Add the water and bouillon (or, of course, sub real chicken broth). Scoop squash flesh into soup using a large spoon or ice cream scoop. Add seasonings. Simmer 5 minutes to blend the flavours and make sure all parts of the squash are evenly cooked.

3. Add cream cheese. Remove from heat. Blend with immersion blender, or in batches in a normal blender (carefully!). Adjust seasoning to taste.

*If a brick of cream cheese isn't your style, you can add anything you like for a creamy dairy product: 1 cup half and half, 1 cup milk, 1 cup plain yogurt, or 1 cup evaporated skim milk.

Assuming 8 servings: Calories 181, Fat 10.8 g (3.7 saturated), Protein 5.1 g, Carbs 16.3 g (2.9 g fibre), Sodium 95.6 mg

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

The recipe makes enough to feed an army - I'd guess 15 servings, so either make it for a crowd or plan to freeze a bunch. Apologies for the lack of photo - I didn't intent to blog this, but I've been recommending the recipes often so this will give it a home.

Source

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

• 8 cups water
• 2 cup carrot, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I minced in a food processor)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 4 teaspoons salt (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (3 1/2 lb) roasting chicken (frozen utility grade is usually the best value - if prepping the night before, just put frozen into pot)
• 1-2 cups frozen veggies (corn, peas, etc)
• 3 cups noodles, uncooked (egg, bowtie, or whatever you like)

Directions

1. In 4-1/2 to 6-quart slow-cooker bowl, combine water, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, poultry seasoning, 4 t salt, 1/2 t pepper.
2. Place whole chicken on top of vegetables.
3. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs on low setting 8 to 10 hours or on high 4-5 hours.
4. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Add noodles and frozen veggies to slow-cooker; cover with lid and cook (on low or high) 20 minutes.
5. While noodles cook, remove and discard skin, fat and bones from chicken; shred meat.
6. Skim fat from soup and discard. Return half of chicken to soup to serve. (Reserve the rest of the chicken meat for another use.)

Estimated nutrional content per 1 cup serving (14 servings in above recipe, half the chicken meat added back):
Calories: 112
Fat: 1.4 g (0.3 saturated)
Sodium: 711 mg
Carbs: 16 g (2 g fibre)
Protein: 9.3 g

Aloo Paratha (Curry-stuffed flatbread)

The library had a gift for me: Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. I got the original book for Christmas, and love it to death. The sequel is equally fabulous. I haven't actually mixed up a dough recipe yet, but this Indian dish had to be made and eaten as soon as possible.

Aloo Paratha

1 pound bread dough (whole wheat, white, pizza dough, whatever)
2 potatoes, boiled with skin on
1 1/2 tbsp ghee (or butter or margarine), melted, plus a bit for brushing on the top
1 1/2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tsp curry powder (know your curry - mine is mild, so I added a bit of cayenne for kick)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup frozen peas

Preheat oven to 450*. If you have a baking stone, preheat that too.

Boil potatoes, drain, and mash. Add ghee, oil, curry and salt. Mix well. Fold in peas (don't mush the peas).

Roll dough out into large circle, 1/8" thick (use lots of flour to prevent sticking). Put potato mixture on half. Wet edge, fold over, and seal edge. Brush with ghee, sprinkle with curry.

Bake 25 minutes on a stone (or parchment lined cookie sheet).

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

If you were wondering what I did about the other half of my Brioche dough from a few days ago, here is the answer: Cinnamon Rolls. The original recipe had pecans, but I prefer raisins so mine has raisins.

Cinnamon Rolls
1 1/2 pounds brioche dough or other white bread dough (a cantaloupe-sized piece)
For bottom of pan:
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
For rolls:
4 tablespoons butter/margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (or pecans if you prefer)

Melt the 5 T butter and add a half cup of brown sugar. Mix up, put in the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square or round pan. Roll the dough out into a rectangle (about 1/4" thick). Spread with butter, sprinkle on brown sugar, top with cinnamon and raisins. Roll up, slice into 8 pieces. Place into prepared pan.  Let rise an hour, covered with plastic. Preheat oven to 350*, bake 40 minutes until golden brown. Let cool about 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate or into a storage container. Do not cool completely in the pan, or they may never come out.

Ganache-filled Brioche

Here you have it: Ganache-filled Brioche. It's like heaven, if heaven were a donut-like bread treat with chocolate inside. This is my latest foray into the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book that I got for Christmas after hogging the library copy for weeks at a time.

The base for this bread is the Brioche Dough. I made a half recipe, as there is a limit to how many sweet treats I can bake in the five day life of this dough (I plan to make cinnamon rolls with the other half). The dough does freeze if you'd rather space out your butter intake. I bought real butter for this, and while I haven't tried it with margarine, I'm willing to say it was worth it to get the butter.

From there, I took my pound of dough (half of my half batch), rolled it into a nice-sized rectangle as wide as my loaf pan and as long as it would happily stretch (1/2"-1/4" thick, depending on your rolling pin skills), and covered with ganache (recipe follows). The dough was spread with a 1/2 cup of ganache, then rolled up into a loaf and put into a greased, non-stick medium sized bread pan. It's a sticky dough, so yes, you need the non-stick and the extra butter. Seal the edges well, and put the pan on something when you bake it so you don't have to chip chocolate off the bottom of your oven. Rise about 2 hours, bake 45 minutes at 350*, and then taste something so delicious it can't possibly be made so easily at home - but it is! It did cross my mind after all this work that Nutella would also be a superb filling and much less effort. Anyway, bake it and then drizzle with the leftover 1/4 cup of ganache. Let cool well before slicing or you'll have chocolate everywhere.

Ganache
1/4 lb good chocolate (I used PC Decadent Chocolate Chips, a generous 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon Kahlua (original recipe uses rum)
5 tablespoons corn syrup

Put butter and chocolate in microwavable cup. Microwave in short intervals, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. (You may use a double boiler if you prefer.) In another cup, mix the cocoa, liquor, and corn syrup. Add this to the chocolate, heating a little if needed to get it smooth.

Spread over dough as described above. The leftover 1/4 cup for topping will need to be remelted after the loaf is baked - microwave 20-30 seconds on high. This varies from my usual cream and chocolate ganache, but I think the lack of cream makes it more shelf-stable so it doesn't sour on the counter.

I am thrilled with the results of this recipe. It was so easy to whip up the dough, and so very impressive as a final product. I can't wait to try another brioche-based recipe in a day or two to finish up my dough!

Gingerbread Coffee

I like coffee, and I like flavoured coffee, but only if it still tastes like coffee. This is a simple recipe to jazz up the morning java and deliciously Christmassy. I make it in my French press mug, as no one else in my house drinks coffee, but it could also be made drip style if you like.

Gingerbread Coffee
3 tbsp medium grind coffee
1 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger)
2 cups boiling water
cream/milk to taste

Put coffee, molasses, and spices in French press. Cover with boiling water. Steep 5 minutes, enjoy with milk or cream to your liking.

Or: In drip coffee maker, place usual amount of grounds in basket. Top with spices (increase amount to make larger pot) and molasses. Brew and serve.

Homemade Gift Round-Up

This is a little off-topic for the blog, but it's coming up to Christmas and I figure everyone can use some new ideas. The following is a list of anything I've come across and said "that's kind of neat". Lots of edibles, a bit of alcohol, a few "well duh" ideas you've seen before.

And so:

Personalized and Homemade Gift Ideas

photo calendar (pics of family events, like birthdays, anniversaries/weddings, etc.)

body scrubs

oreo truffles

salted caramels

espresso bark

photography cards

kid's book-on-cd or tape read by you (with book) (use Audacity )

chai tea mix (or mexican hot chocolate )

jalepeno jelly

wine jelly

chutney or salsa

homemade Kahlua or Limoncello or Skittles Vodka or Blood Orange Vodka or Coffee Infused Vodka

rosemary plants (get now, grow bigger)

homemade pasta sauces (canned or frozen?) w/ pasta

"best of" personal recipe book / Family cookbook

homemade dog treats

embroidered/stamped pillow cases or tea towels

homemade biscotti w/ small gourmet coffee

homemade greeting cards

beer bread mix

prepped scrapbook (ready for the recipient to just plop in photos)

cookie mix in a jar

cake in a mug (microwavable)

Seasoning mixes / Meat rubs

personalized stationery

vanilla sugar

caramel, chocolate and/or white chocolate popcorn

homemade pancake/waffle mix with syrup

Snuggie/ Slanket knock-off

Apple Butter (Crock pot recipe)

Lotion Bars

Bed Caddy

Silk Lavender Eye Pillows

Eyeglasses or Camera Case

Cupcakes in Mason Jars (suitable for mailing)

Felt Sphere Ornament