#44

Butternut Squash Soup

I used this recipe from the Foodnetwork website as a guide for the soup.  I skipped the whole olive oil and shallots, and stuck the cut and seeded butternut squash with olive oil rubbed on it in the oven at 350° for about 50 minutes, cut side down.  Once that was done, I used a quart of organic low-sodium vegetable broth and heated that with the cooled butternut squash.  I didn't have curry powder so I mixed up my own: ground cumin, red chili powder, nutmeg and cardamom powder.  I added the spices to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or so.  Since I started this late, I poured the soup into containers and stuck them in the fridge until I was able to blend the soup (as the butternut squash was still somewhat chunky). 

I had the soup for dinner tonight and it's not that filling; I think I need to make some grilled cheese to fill myself up. 

#43

Pumpkin Muffins

What does a vegetarian who can't eat eggs unless its in baked goods do, when her "best buy" date on her eggs reads May 2012 and they fail the sink test?  Look up how to substitute eggs in baked goods.  Tonight's recipe called for one egg, so I used 2 tablespoons of avocado in place of the egg after reading about different substitutes vegan's use.  I think this might be the first vegan dish I've ever made.  Hey, at least I can't get sick from eating the batter :)

Ingredients in this recipe: flour, sugars, salt, spices, oil, vanilla extract, baking powder, soy milk, pumpkin and avocado.

I'm not really sure about these.  I may have undercooked them, it's really hard to tell...they aren't gooey in the center, so maybe they're just really moist from the avocado fat and the canola oil.  I used paper cupcake cups instead of greasing the cupcake tin, and the muffins really stuck to the paper and are pretty heavy.   They don''t taste all that pumpkin-y and would probably taste really good with apple butter...hmm, perhaps the next recipe will be apple butter.

#42

Pumpkin Risotto

I have forgotten how messy making risotto is!  My stove is such a mess b/c the biggest pan I have isn't big enough to make a dish of risotto, unless I cut the recipe in half.  Note for next time.

vegetable broth warmed with a cinnamon stick
margarine
olive oil
onions
canned pumpkin
sauvignon blanc
arborio rice

I followed this recipe and did not do the walnut part.  When I dished it out, I mixed in some parmesan cheese and then sprinkled some cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Very tasty and perfect with my Shipyard Pumpkinhead.

#41

 Apple Cheddar Soup

With all the apples from apple picking this weekend I had to make some apple dishes.  Tonight I made apple cheddar soup using a BHG recipe.  It took about an hour to cook, turned out a bit too chunky for my liking (I wish I had a hand masher thingy) but is very tasty and went perfectly with my apple, avocado grilled cheese sandwich.

Melted margarine in a pot and added onions.  Used 2 cups of apple juice, a few small potatoes, thyme, salt and cayenne pepper, 2 apples, some milk and flour and sharp cheddar cheese.

#40

 

Buttercup Squash and Apple

I took this from Betty Crocker.  Halved a buttercup squash.  Diced up 1.5 apples and mixed with half tbsp margarine nutmeg, brown sugar and lemon juice.  Tossed the apple mix into the center of the buttercup halves and baked for about 40 minutes b/c I forgot to cover it when I put it in the oven. 

I've never had buttercup squash before and while I'm counting calories, each half is 125 calories.  Healthy, tasty and super easy to make.  I'm a fan.

Buttercup Squash with Apples recipe from Betty Crocker

#38 and 39

 Parsnip Tomato Soup and Summer Veggie Tart

Two dishes tonight.  The first was the parsnip tomato soup.  Margarine and chopped onion and minced garlic sauteed with a little over two cups of chopped parsnips.  Cooking in a pot for 5-10 minutes before I added some flour with some thyme.  Next, I added low sodium vegetable stock, 2% milk and a can of whole cherry tomatoes.  I covered and simmered with a couple bay leaves for about 40 minutes before cooling a little and blending.  I'm not sure how I like it.  I feel like I needed more tomatoes or that if I didn't blend it so much, it would make for a nice pasta sauce with a couple of artichoke hearts.

While I was letting the soup simmer I started the summer squash tart.  First, in a pan, I added olive oil and a clove of pressed garlic and a chopped red pepper.  I added a little bit of salt and pepper, sauteed for about 5-10 minutes.  I let it cool to room temperature while I took out the refrigerated pie crust (I didn't have the energy to make my own) and placed it on a pan.  Meanwhile, I had half a brick of Neufchâtel cheese thawing at room temperature and mixed some salt and pepper with a handful of basil leaves from my garden, which I chopped. I spread the mixture onto the pie crust, smeared the red peppers onto the cheese and topped with sliced zucchini and summer squash.  I folded the pie dough over the edge, wiped the veggies with olive oil and baked at 425° for about 30 minutes.  After baking, I added a few more basil leaves as garnish.  This was really tasty and I could see myself adding more veggies next time around.

#37

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I kind of made this up after looking through pages and pages of spaghetti squash recipes. I baked the spaghetti squash after cutting in half length wise with water in the pan for 40 minutes covered in foil with the oven at 375°.

I then sauteed onions, pressed garlic cloves and some grape tomatoes and grated 1/2 of monterey jack cheese. I also picked a bunch of basil from my garden and snipped it up.

When the squash was done, I let it cool a little bit before using tongs to scrape the inside. Since it was just me, I only used one half of the cut squash. I tossed the spaghetti squash in with the shredded cheese and onion mixture in a casserole dish and topped it with basil and 1.5 tbsp of breadcrumbs before sticking it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I put some parmesan cheese on it after serving.

While I crave carbs and love my pasta, this was a great, low-cal alternative that was pretty darn flavorful.