Golden Winter Soup

This is from a Jan. 2008 Cooking Light issue. It is my favorite winter soup. It's so good that you think there would be cheese in it, but there isn't!!:)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Preheat broiler.
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.

Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Wine note: This is one vegetable soup that can easily handle a lighter red wine. Stick with the French theme and look for bargains from Burgundy.

They put addictive chemicals in that cheese dip - dip

This is a variation on something they serve at a favorite local restaurant. It took a while to get it right, and one of the key things to remember is that you have to buy quality cheese - otherwise it doesn't melt right. I learned that the hard way. This actually makes quite a bit - but because of the addictive nature of the dip, it won't be enough for 15 people:)

Ingredients:

• 32 oz of a quality pepper cheese (we like Hoffman's around these parts) cut in 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
• 1/4 cup of pimentos chopped
• 1 cup spinach chopped
• 14 oz can of Mexican style diced tomatoes drained (green chilies are included - Red Gold is a good brand)
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2-3 tsp (or more!) cumin

Directions:

• Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler. Stir often and taste. Add more cumin if you like more kick!
• Serve warm with tortilla chips, cut up bagels or cut up soft pretzels

Holy Cow They're Good Nutella Roll Ups

Jason got the idea for this - from who knows where - and I think they're going to be a family favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Pillsbury Italian bread sticks (I bet a french loaf or crescent rolls would be good too)
• 1 jar Nutella - if you can't find Nutella at the grocery store you could use chocolate chips
• powdered sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• Unroll the dough and slightly press to flatten - there are twelve bread sticks per can
• To make small roll ups simply leave the strips as they are
• to make 6 larger treats, use your fingers to press two dough strips together side-by-side
• Using a knife, spread a layer of Nutella on each dough strip and roll up
• Bake as directed on the dough can - for larger roll ups, you may need a few extra minutes
• Treats are done when the puff up and are golden brown
• When you pull them out of the oven, spread more Nutella on the top of each treat and sprinkle with powdered sugar
• Eat warm and enjoy!

We were out of butter, but I also thought about brushing the tops with melted butter before baking and topping with cinnamon and sugar

Stuffed Pablano Peppers

When the pablanos started growing this summer in our "garden" I could not remember planting them. Needless to say, I had no idea what to do with a pablano, so I've had to be a little creative because we have more than we can handle. My most recent adventure would be the stuffed pablano - J loved it, so I thought I would post the recipe.

This should serve four

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 taco seasoning pack
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 small can diced green chiles
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 can black beans drained & rinsed
1 cup corn
fresh chopped cilantro chopped
8 pablano peppers
reduced fat mexican cheese blend
sour cream

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425
• Brown the turkey with onions and green chiles as directed on the taco seasoning pack.
• Mix brown rice, black beans, corn, and cilantro (to taste) in a small bowl while turkey is cooking
• Cut pablanos in half long-ways and remove stem and seeds
• Place pablano halves in a baking dish, and when turkey taco meat is done cooking, scoop it into the pepper halves, layer rice/bean mixture on top
• sprinkle with cheese
• cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes - until pablanos are somewhat tender and the filling is warmed through
• Serve with sour cream and salsa

Mema's Spaghetti and Meatballs and variations

This is probably the family favorite, and a great crowd pleaser. You can make as much or as little as you want depending on if you have a big enough pot.

I made it for the first time in college for a gang of friends, and although I thought for sure I would mess it up, once I got started on it, it felt like I had been cooking it for my entire life. Of course, it wouldn't have been worth serving without Mema's stamp of approval. I waited and watched anxiously as she walked in, stirred the pot, smelled, and then took the traditional slurp. To my great relief, she said I had it right.

Over the years, I have added a few ingredients to play with the flavor a little. Below I have the original and my variations. Currently, I'm attempting to use fresh tomatoes, we'll see how that turns out!

Meatballs
1 lb ground chuck
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
¼ cup parmesan (could use the powder kind, but try freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano)
1 tsp salt
Parsley (could use dry or fresh Italian flat leaf)

Directions
- Mix all ingredients together and form meat into 1 inch balls
- To make ahead: brown in heated skillet prepped with cooking spray or small amount of olive oil
- To make with sauce: drop raw meatballs directly into sauce and let simmer until cooked all the way through

Sauce
(original ingredients)
15 oz can diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes peeled* and diced)
15 oz tomato sauce
6 oz can paste
1 sauce can and 1 paste can of chicken broth
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp basil
1 tsp sea salt or kosher
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp sugar
Pepper to taste


Directions
· In a large pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
· Reduce heat and let simmer for about 1 hour – until sauce thickens.
· If cooking meatballs in sauce, add after bringing to a boil.
· Be sure to taste the sauce after it boils and adjust seasonings to taste.

Variation
Use all of the above ingredients and…
Olive oil
1 small yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk finely chopped
2 tbls Fresh Italian leaf parsley
3 cloves garlic minced
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp marjoram
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf

Directions
· In a large pot heat 2 tbls olive oil.
· Sauté garlic and onion until onion is translucent.
· Add carrot and celery with salt and pepper and sauté until tender (about 10 minutes)
· Add the rest of the ingredients (including those from the original recipe!) to the pot and simmer uncovered until sauce thickens.
· Discard bay leaf before serving

*To peel fresh tomatoes
· Cut the stem off of each tomato in a “v” shape (this will allow the skins to “slip” off later”
· Bring a large pot of water to boil and prepare a bowl of cold water and ice
· Using a slotted spoon, drop tomatoes into boiling water and let them boil until skins begin to look bubbly and loose
· Using the slotted spoon remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and drop them into the cold water bath to stop the cooking process and to cool tomatoes quickly
· Skins should just slip off at this point
· For the sauce, slice tomatoes into 1 inch pieces

Broccoli & Pineapple Salad

I came up with this recipe after having something very similar at a catered event. I like the combination of colors, textures, and of course flavors. It's great for a summer picnic.

Ingredients

• 2 heads broccoli - cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 large cans chopped pineapple - drained
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 large red onion diced
• 1 cup light mayo
• 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine mayo, tarragon vinegar, sugar, mustard, celery and salt and pepper. Stir ingredients until combined (taste and adjust flavors as desired). Add broccoli, pineapple, onion, almonds and golden raisins to the bowl and toss with dressing until well coated. Before serving, refrigerate for a few hours so that flavors combine.

I have considered cutting back or cutting out the sugar and using some of the juice from the pineapple cans, but I haven't tried that yet. I would suggest maybe buying the pineapple in thier own juice for this option, instead of pineapple in syrup.

Italian Wedding Soup

Aunt Deb asked me to post this one after our Sunday night Italianfest at Uncle John and Aunt Kate's. It's pretty easy, but the meatballs take forever to make! This will make about 14 cups.

Soup Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of escarole - washed and ends removed
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped - include leaves
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium size white onion chopped
• 1 tbls olive oil (or cooking spray)
• 12 cups chicken stock
• 4 oz macaroni pasta (I use whole wheat)

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (this can be kind of pricey - you could substitute Kraft Shredded Parmesan, Romano and Asiago Cheese blend)
• 1/4 cup grated onion
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 tbls fresh Italian flat leaf parsley - chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

• In a large pot heat olive oil.
• Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic - season with pepper and saute
• While vegetables are sauteing, chiffonade escarole by stacking the leaves, rolling it and then cutting it into tiny strips
• When vegetables are tender, add the chicken stock and escarole - bring to a boil, then simmer until escarole is tender - about 30 minutes -Stir occasionally
• Begin making meatballs by combining meat, bread crumbs, cheese, onion, egg, salt, pepper, parsley, and Italian seasoning
• Shape the meat into tiny balls - no bigger than 1 inch - I used a melonballer to help keep them small
• When escarole is tender - drop meatballs into soup one at a time and add pasta
• Cook for another 20 minutes stirring occasionally