November recipes

photo & recipe from the amazing Cafe Johnsonia

Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Fresh Sage

2 butternut squashes
1 onion
2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith
2 Tbsp. fresh sage
heavy cream (I used 2 cups, but less is fine)
chicken stock (probably a quart--depending on how thick you want the soup)

Cut the butternut squashes in half lengthwise. Remove seeds. Line a
cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place
the butternut squashes cut side down on the foil. Roast at 400
degrees for about an hour--maybe less. A knife tip should easily go
through the squash when it's ready.

Let the squash cool for a few minutes. Remove the skin, or turn the
squash over and scoop out the flesh.

You can do one of two things next:
1. Saute the apples and onion in a couple tablespoons of butter
until everything is soft.
2. You could also roast the apples and the onions with the squash.

Now, some grocery stores sell peeled and cut butternut squash. That eliminates roasting them whole. In that case, toss everything with a little olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven until everything is soft. You could also peel and cube the squash yourself, though roasting it whole is much quicker and easier, in my opinion.

Me? I peel and core the apples and chop them into large chunks. I also roughly chop the onions. It all gets pureed at the end, so it doesn't matter much about how big or small the pieces are.

Once the squash has cooled a bit, I place the squash, the sauteed/roasted apples and onions in my blender or food processor. Add a little chicken stock at this point to thin it out. You will probably have to work in batches.

Pour all of the puree into a large pan and thin it out a bit with more chicken stock. Bring it to a simmer and right before you serve it, add some cream and the fresh sage. Season with salt and pepper. (You may not need salt if the chicken stock is salty.)

I'm not sure exactly how much this makes, but it's enough for a crowd.

My Note; I peel the squash with a sturdy veggie peeler and then cube it (like when I make pumpkin soup.) I use 1 butternut squash, 1/2 an onion, 2 apples and add 2 whole cloves of garlic. I toss it all in olive oil & then roast in a 9x13 pan.



Creamy Italian Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
¼ cup water
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 4oz can mushrooms

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine salad dressing and water & pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Add cream cheese, undiluted soup and mushrooms and cook for 1 hour more or longer – until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice or noodles.

WHITE BEAN AND CHICKEN CHILI

1 large onion, chopped

3 tsp. cumin

3 15oz. cans white beans

½ tsp. oregano

5 cups chicken broth

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 cup sour cream

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (1/2 lb.)

Bring onion, beans, and broth to a boil, reduce to simmer for 10 min.

Add chicken, simmer another 20 minutes.

Add spices and garlic, simmer another 30 minutes.

Just before serving, add sour cream and shredded cheese.

Stir to melt, then serve.

Very good the second day, too. Freezes well.

November

1 - Topped Baked Potatoes
2 - Creamy Italian Chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
3 - Eat Out
4 - Eat Out
5 - Eat Out
6 - Spinach Ravioli, Salad, bread
7 - BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Rick's corn, green beans.
8 - Eat Out

9 - Yogurt Parmesan Chicken, (Pumpkin Pie)
10 - Spaghetti, salad, rolls
11 - Pumpkin Soup, wholewheat bread.
12 - Cauliflower & Celery Pot Pies
13 - Chickpea Curry, rice, cucumber salad.
14 - Golden Winter Soup
15 - Mac-n-cheese for kiddo's - Grown-ups Eat Out (10th anniversary!)

16 - Beef Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, roast carrots (Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake)
17 - Vegetarian Lasagna, salad, rolls.
18 - Butternut Squash Soup with Apples & fresh sage, wholewheat bread.
19 - Chicken Pot Pie
20 - Chicken Enchiladas, spanish rice.
21 - Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese sandwiches.
22 - White Bean Chicken Chili, corn bread.

23 - Thai Ginger Marinated Salmon, wild rice, edamame (Lemon Meringue Pie.)
24 - Spaghetti
25 - Lentil Soup, wholewheat bread.
26 - Homemade Pizza.
27 - Thanksgiving.
28 - Leftovers.
29 - Turkey Soup.
30 -

Chili Cook Off

Just before Halloween each year our ward has a Chili cook-off & trunk or treat. Rick has won the pie, and placed in chili in years past. Rick's chilli's always contain many kinds of meat, and no beans. This year I decided to try a vegetarian one.

I didn't win the cook-off but I did win the people's choice - which I felt pretty good about. Then Rick confessed he put my name in twice. Well, that's OK I told myself, I thought it was pretty good chili. I hadn't voted & I would have totally voted for myself.

As we pulled in the driveway at the end of the day I asked "Babe, you just voted twice right, not 30 times." He promised he had. Then Emily piped up from the back "I voted twice for you too Mom!"

Great! I totally cheated. Well, it was darn good chili anyway.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.


As Rick passed this show of my efforts he said "If only that was beef, veal, pork, bacon..."

Sauteing the onion and peppers in the olive oil. Yum.

OK, no pictures of the rest. I dumped it in the crock-pot & raced off to finish sewing Emily's Halloween costume - forgot to take a picture of the finished product too!

I like lots of beans in chili. I like it to be spicy, but not so much that you can't taste the flavors of the other things in it. This was just about right - the kick hit you after a few mouthfuls & it wasn't too overwhelming. A bit too spicy for my kids, so I won't be making it on a regular basis, but I sure loved it.

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Orange Pepper
1 medium Yellow Onion
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 Can Small Red Beans
2 tbs.. Roasted Pepper Flavored Olive Oil

Seasonings:
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 Dash Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Oregano
dash of Black Pepper
dash of Paprika

Combine all seasonings in a bowl and set aside.
Dice up all the peppers and the onion.
Sauté the vegetables in a large skillet in using the flavored olive oil.
Add the bowl of spices to the skillet, Stir well.
Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally then transfer to a slow cooker.

Add both cans of tomatoes - do not drain.
Drain the cans of beans and add them, mix well.
Cook in crock pot on low for 6 – 8 hours.

Behind ....

This is what our house looked like for the first week in November while we had the dining room and bathroom re-plastered & painted. We had to go out the front door and down the driveway to get to the basement. We turned the kitchen into a makeshift bathroom & bathed / showered at the neighbors.

We ate out. I was late doing the menu.

I'll try and post over the weekend - but it's our 10th anniversary and stake conference, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have....