Bean and Butternut Tacos

I would dub this recipe the squash recipe for somebody who doesn't like squash. It is yet another crazy-sounding recipe that I went out on a limb and tried and then LOVED. EatingWell, you rock my world. I am so sorry for ever doubting you. For the original recipe, visit www.eatingwell.com.

Basically, you cut up a butternut squash into 1/2 inch dice, toss it with olive oil and some chili/taco type seasonings. Then bake at 400 degrees until tender and starting to brown up a bit 20-25 min. Meanwhile, take 2 cups of cooked pinto beans, drained, toss in some other chili/taco type seasoning and heat it up on a stove for about 10 minutes. Heat up some flour tortillas and throw in the beans, squash, cheese, shredded cabbage and green salsa. But I had neither cabbage nor green salsa, so I just use the picante-style salsa I had in the fridge. I thought about throwing in some thinly sliced raw bell peppers, but I knew I'd probably be the only one eating them, so I decided against it.

They were soft and delicious. They didn't taste at all "squashy". But the recipe made them very flavorful. It also gave me a chance to use the dried red chilies my husband brought back from New Mexico during a work trip.

And, as if I needed to sell this any more, even my 1-year-old seemed to like it. (Of course, he munched on a piece of raw butternut squash and didn't seem to mind that either...go figure.)

how to cook pumpkin seeds

Don't let Cayenne be in charge of the time!!!!! She burns them!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Since the days have turned nice and chilly I've decided to start cooking again. This soup is easy, fast and delicious!

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 medium carrots, diced
1 small/medium onion, chopped up
½ to 1 ½ cups celery, diced (I had let some celery languish in my fridge so I had chopped off the top 1/3 and bottom, and whatever was good I used)
1 chicken breast, cut up (this was from a…um…well endowed chicken so you might need 2 but that depends on your preference)
Noodles (see below)
Oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper
Water
Parsley (opt)
Sage (opt)

Heat the oil in the pot. Throw the veggies into the pot with a little bit of salt. Cook until soft. Throw in the butter and the chicken. Cook for 2 or so minutes. Add water until it reaches the desired level. Then add more salt, pepper and other seasonings. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes then add noodles and cook for another 5 or so minutes. Enjoy!

Noodles
(recipe from Better Homes and Gardens “New Cookbook”)

2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp dried basil, marjoram, or sage (I chose sage)
½ tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp oil (I used olive oil)

Mix the flour, herb of choice, salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Combine egg, water and oil. Add to dry mixture, mix well.
Knead the mixture until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Roll out the dough to the desired thickness and cut into noodles.
This made more than enough dough for the soup. I have over half of the dough leftover.

Nutmeg

Butternut Squash Pasta

I saw this recipe posted at work, and, per my usual, did it slightly differently (although I did follow it pretty darn closely - but then, it's a simple recipe, so there wasn't much I could have changed anyway).

Butternut Squash Pasta

1 butternut squash - roasted
1/2 of a medium onion - diced
about 1 clove garlic - diced
1 cup broth
1 cup light cream (half and half)
olive oil
salt and pepper
nutmeg
parmesan cheese

Roast the squash (I did this by cutting it in half and baking in the oven for a while until it was soft), scoop out the flesh and mash it. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent and soft. You can then puree the squash and onion/garlic together if you want (which is what the original recipe had you doing, actually it also had you roast the onion with the squash first and then puree it together), or just mash it up until it has a consistency you're okay with. Add the broth, light cream, and salt and pepper and let it simmer together for a bit (depends on how thick you want it), but mostly just until it's warm and the flavors have blended. Serve it over pasta (we did fettucine and spaghetti), grate or sprinkle a bit of nutmeg

and parmesan cheese and dig in.



We only used about half the sauce the first night and so I re-purposed it the next night by mixing it with spinach, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and elbow macaroni, putting some bread crumbs on top and baking it at around 375 degrees for 30 minutes or so - nice little pasta bake, though not nearly as rich and yummy as the first night.

-Thyme

Cream O'Somethin' Soup Mix

Just wanted to steer you all towards this recipe for cream o'whatever-you-like soup mix. You can use it in place of a can of cream of mushroom, chicken, etc. soup in casseroles, soups, or whatever else you can think of. It's cheaper, more nutritious, lower in sodium, and to me it tastes a lot better. The recipe I've tried and liked is found at http://southernfood.about.com/od/ingredientsubstitutions/r/bl90911a3.htm . Hopefully they don't take it down any time soon.

My changes to it were omitting the marjoram (I don't have it currently) and adding about 1 tbsp of rubbed sage. The sage was an accident because I thought it called for it but it didn't really. I thought it tasted good, although you could probably get away with less than 1 tbsp. I also almost always forget the butter, but it still tastes great.

Rosemary

I decided to go ahead and show the text here for ease of finding it and in case they do take it down. But check out the link for more ideas.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry milk
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup chicken bouillon granules
• 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes, optional
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 to 3 teaspoons butter
  

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except butter together and store in airtight container. To use, mix 1/2 cup dry soup mix with 1 1/4 cups water and cook until thick; add butter. This is equal to one can cream soup. The mix makes enough to equal 9 to 10 cans. For cream of mushroom or celery soup, add chopped sauteé mushrooms or celery along with the butter while cooking.