Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

 My favorite seasons are Fall and Winter. There are so many wonderful things that happen during this time of year. The holidays are just around the corner. It's a wonderful time to spend with family and friends, giving thanks to God for all His wonderful blessings and faithfulness to us. It's a fabulous time of year!

What's also wonderful is the weather. I love when the weather changes, the fog rolls in and the air is crisp and bright. This type of weather is perfect for  good comforting soups. One of the most delicious of soups is Butternut Squash Soup. It's velvety texture wraps your taste buds in a cozy blanket. Though this soup taste absolutely decadent it's not, unless you add cream then that's a different story. I wanted a very hearty yet healthy soup, so i bypassed the cream.  It's amazing how simple this soup was to make. There is some time involved because you're roasting the sqaush, but it's so worth the time. There is so much flavor in this soup and the color alone is enticing.

This soup is wonderful as an entree or side. If you want a more richer soup add cream. If you want completely vegetarian, use vegetable stock. Make it your own! Slip into those cozy pajamas and find comfort in this beautiful bowl of soup!

Buen Provecho!

Preheat oven 425F. Cut in half & scoop out the seeds.

Place on a lined baking sheet. I forgot to and I paid the cleaning price!

Season with thyme, salt & pepper. Roast for 50-60 minutes. Put carrots in half way through the cooking time, otherwise they will burn. Learned the hard way on that one, had to cut off the burnt parts. :0

Scoot out roasted flesh and set aside.

Add olive oil to a large pot. Add onions and saute until transparent, 5 mins.

Add roasted squash, carrots and sag leaves.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Blend in batches until smooth.  Add more broth if soup is too thick. Your preference. :)

Nice and velvety!

A delicious bowl of goodness! Garnish with parmesan cheese or a splash of cream. I added a sage leaf just for contrast for the photo. : 0

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash (about 3 1/2 lbs)
2 small carrots
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tsp thyme, dried
3-4 fresh sage leaves, whole
4-5 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 Tbsp Olive oil
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese to garnish

Road Map:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds into a bowl. Reserve to roast later for a healthy treat!

2. Place squash cut-side up on baking sheet and drizzle & spread with olive oil. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.  Roast for 50-60 minutes. Add carrots during the last 30 minutes of cooking, otherwise the will burn.

3. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the tender squash and set aside. Add olive oil to a large pan. Add diced onions and saute (5 minutes), season with salt and pepper. Once onions are transparent add squash, carrots, sage leaves and chicken broth.

4. Bring to a boil , reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

5. Use immersion blender to blend soup or pour soup in batches into a blender until smooth. Pour back into pot. If consistency is too thick, add more broth. Season to taste. Add a pinch of nutmeg.

6. Enjoy!

Caramel Popcorn

One of my favorite snacks is popcorn. I love each buttery salty popped kernel.  I love the smell, feel and texture of popcorn. It's one of those foods that just makes you feel like a kid. At least it does for me. There are so many good things associated with popcorn like , Movies, Circuses and Baseball. These nice warm crunchy bites of delight are full of wonderful memories. My favorite flavor combo is sweet and salty. One type of popcorn that satisfies the salt and sweet combo is Caramel Popcorn. It's extra crunchy, sweet and with enough salt to awaken the palate.

Confession, I don't have a candy thermometer so I had to base the readiness of the sugar by sight. You basically looking for thickness and smell. You're looking for the caramel consistency, thick but still fluid an the smell of that slightly burnt sugar. You obviously don't want to burn your sugar but there is a point where the sugar starts to smoke up a bit. All of this happens in a rather rapid pace, so be careful!

This method is very simple and very delicious! I hope you love it and make batches and batches of this fabulous caramel popcorn!


Buen Provecho!

Main Players

Preheat oven 250F. Place popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Melt together 1 cup packed dark brown sugar and 1 stick of butter.

Combine while stirring often to avoiding sticking and burning.

Bring to boil until mixture becomes a thick sauce, less than 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine. Mixture will foam up.

Pour mixture on popcorn.

Mix until it looks like....

this. Make sure each piece to covered with caramel as possible.

Pour on to lined baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer. Separate any clusters.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crispy.

Cool and Enjoy!

Any leftovers can be stored in a airtight container for 1 week.

Look at that beautiful texture! Crispy, sweet and salty! A yummy treat!!!

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

1 bag microwave popcorn (any butter flavor)
1 Stick of butter
1 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Road Map:

1. Preheat oven 250F.  Microwave popcorn according to instructions. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Prepare 2 baking sheets. Line with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium pot melt the stick of butter and the packed cup of dark brown sugar.  Stir sugar until completely moistened by the butter. Bring mixture to boil, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom of the pot to avoid burning. Allow to boil until the sugar has melted with the butter forming a thick sauce, about 1 minute of less. This will happen quickly so be watchful.  

3.  Remove from heat and add vanilla, baking soda and salt. The caramel will become foamy. Stir to combine. Pour sauce over popcorn in bowl. Mix to combine completely. Pour popcorn into the prepared baking sheets. Arrange in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until crispy. Carefully not to burn.

4. Allow to cool and enjoy.  Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Corn Bacon Casserole

One of my favorite potluck dishes that's always a big hit is my Corn Casserole. It has been requested on several family gathering. It is a very very simple casserole. It is a 5 ingredient dish; can of corn, creamed corn, sour cream, butter and Jiffy corn mix. You drop it in a bowl and mix, pour into a 9x13 dish, bake at 350F for 45 minutes & you're done! It's a no-brainer! The outcome is this creamy delicate corn delight.

The casserole is delicious as is, but I was thinking what if I add bacon to the mix. Bacon can only enhance this deliciousness. So that's what I did and boy does it work! The salty bacon plays well with the sweet corn. It's a balanced bite of salt & sweet.

I've made both versions, one with bacon and without. Both are a hit! You can't go wrong!!

Buen Provecho!

The Yummy Suspects!

Delicious crisp bacon, divided into 2 piles.

Into a medium bowl pour can of drained corn,

can of creamed corn,

8oz of sour cream, 

 2 oz of melted butter (1/2 a stick)

and then Jiffy corn mix.

Stir until it looks like....

...this.

Add 1/2 of the bacon and

stir to combine.

Pour into a 9x13 casserole, smooth out with spoon and gently shake and tap casserole to settle and even out mixture.

Crumble and sprinkle the other half of bacon. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Put toothpick in and if it comes out clean it's ready.

Put oven to broil and brown casserole for 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully don't let it burn! Take it out when golden brown.

Let it set for 5 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Delicious creamy, sweet and salty! So good!!!

Corn Bacon Casserole - 5-7 servings

1- 15.25 oz can whole corn kernels, drain
1- 14.75 oz can creamed corn
8 oz sour cream
2 oz butter, melted (1/2 a stick)
1- 8.5ox box of favorite corn mix (Jiffy is my brand)
4-5 thick cut bacon, chopped (I use applewood bacon)

Note: If you cook in a smaller casserole your cooking time will be longer, 50-60 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick. It comes out clean your casserole is ready. Then broil until golden brown for 1-2 minutes.


Road Map:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop bacon and place in a dry skillet on medium heat. Crisp up bacon bits and drain on a paper towel. Divide bacon in half.

2. Place drained corn kernels, creamed corn, sour cream, butter and corn mix in a medium bowl and mix until well combined. Add half of the bacon and mix until combined.

3. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan. Smooth out with the back of a wooden spoon. Gently shake and tap the casserole dish to help the mixture settle and even out. Crumble and sprinkle the half of bacon over casserole.

4. Place casserole into the oven, cook for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Turn oven to Broil and cook until brown, 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully, will brown rapidly you don't want it to burn.

5. Once golden brown, place casserole on a trivet to rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

6. Enjoy! 

French Fries

I love potatoes! Baked, mashed or fried. Pretty much anyway you can cook the potato I love! There something about this everyday vegetable that just has a special place in my heart. On it's own its not really flavorful, but you add a few things here and there and WOW what a delicious mouthful! 

One of the best ways to enjoy the simplicity of the potato is French Fries. They are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and kissed with salt! Oh so good!!! I eat fries with ketchup and sometimes I eat ketchup with fries, as my husband would say! :) You can dip these delicious golden sticks into any kind of dip. Ranch, bbq, honey mustard, sweet & sour sauce, mayo and so on. I love Campfire Sauce (this is a  dipping sauce from Red Robin), it's a mix of bbq sauce and ranch. It's is so good! I make my own at home, you just need to adjust to your taste. A little more bbq or a little more ranch, up to you.

How ever you like to dip, these fries will be just perfect!

Buen Provecho! 

Clean & Cut into sticks.

Soak for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Can also soak overnight.

Drain and blot fries dry.

1st fry- 5-6 minutes, until soft, par-cooked

The fries should still look pale & soft.

2nd Fry - Cook until golden brown.

Crispy goodness.

Season with salt.

Dip & Eat!!

French Fries: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2-3 large Russet Potatoes, scrubbed

Oil for frying

Salt for seasoning

Road Map:

1. Rinse the potatoes. Leave skin on, cut them into stick. 

2. Place them in a large bowl cover them with cold water. Soak 30 mins to 1 hour at least. You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak overnight.

3. Drain off water and lay the potatoes on 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Blot with paper towels to dry them.

4. Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 325 degrees F. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes until soft, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Remove each batch and drain on rack lined with paper towels.

5. Once all the potatoes have been fried once, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F. When the oil's hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp. Remove the potatoes from the oil and drain on paper towels.

6. Season with salt and enjoy!