Butternut Squash Soup

2 pounds butternut squash, cubed

2 onions, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

1 dash ground nutmeg

1 dash ground cloves

1 dash ground cinnamon

In a large microwave safe dish combine squash, onions and butter. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Peel squash. Stir in broth and cook on high for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until squash is tender. Puree squash, onions and broth in a food processor or blender. Add cream, salt and pepper, and microwave on high for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until heated through. Flavor with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to taste. 

Alternate method: Peel squash and put in slow cooker with onions, butter, and broth. Cook on low until squash is soft.  Puree and return to slow cooker.  Add cream and spices and heat through.

Cauliflower Chowder

This is actually quite good and Steve said is was like the potato soup he had growing up. 

4 slices bacon, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup 2% milk

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cauliflower and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower are tender, about 12-15 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the chowder is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and parsley, if desired.

Pumpkin Pie Yogurt

This is sooo yummy.  I made it for E's after school snack and I tasted it.  It made me wish I was hungry for a snack today so I could have some too!  E was a little unsure about it when I was making it.  But he ended up trying it and asked for it again tomorrow.  I'd say that's a win.  :) I found it here.

 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree

 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1/2 tablespoon honey

 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Hash Brown Egg Nests

We thought this was a fun twist to a hash brown and egg breakfast (or dinner!)

HASH BROWN EGG NESTS WITH AVOCADO

PREP TIME
10 mins

COOK TIME
30 mins

TOTAL TIME
40 mins

Author: The Cooking Jar
Serves: 8 cups

INGREDIENTS
15 oz. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 medium eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese, shredded
½ tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 avocados, sliced and chilled


INSTRUCTIONS
Mix hash browns, salt, pepper, olive oil and 1 cup Cheddar cheese in a mixing bowl
Grease the muffin pan and divide hash brown mixture. Use your fingers to pack them tightly and shape them into nests
Bake at 425 degrees F or until the edges have browned and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes
Crack a medium egg into each nest and season with salt and pepper to taste
Top with crumbled bacon, 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese and parsley
Bake at 350 degrees F until the egg whites set, about 13 to 16 minutes
Let it cool, gently slide a knife along the edges and use a fork to lift it out of the pan
Dish and serve with chilled avocado slices
NOTES
If you don't have frozen shredded hash browns, bake 4-6 russet potatoes. Let them cool off, then peel and grate them to form shreds.

Black Bean Taco

Quick, simple and tasty! Found it at endlesssimmer.com

Ingredients

2 C. black beans, cooked
½ C. red onion, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
4-6 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
Pinch of salt and pepper
8 corn tortillas
Hot sauce
Salsa
Sour cream
Make a Spicy Taco Bake w/ Chips & Sausage

Instructions

1) In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro, and spices. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together. Grate your cheese and have it ready as well.
2) In a large, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.
3) Add one corn tortilla at a time and let each get hot in the oil for a few seconds. Then add about 1?4 cup of the bean filling to one half of the tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.
4) Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
5) As the first tortilla cooks, move it to the side and do a second one. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to get 2 or 3 tacos at once. If you have a griddle you can do even more at once.
6) Cook each taco for about 3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
7) When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.
8) Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.
Note: Corn tortillas are resilent to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy.here

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Energy Bars

These are really good.  Miss A likes them, though Big E didn't want to try them.  All the rest of us like them.  I found the weight and the cup measurements didn't match for mine and so I used the weight ones.  The cup of dates wasn't 220g, even mashed into the cup.  It was a bit more than 1 cup.  The cashews were about 3/4 cup at 100g.  I found the recipe here.

• 1 cup pitted dates (220g)

• ½ cup raw cashews (100g)

• 2 Tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds + 1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds (garnish)

• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

• ¼ cup rolled oats OR ¼ cup vanilla protein powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• ¼ cup pure pumpkin puree 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. This may take some time, but just be patient with it - you can always leave the mixture a little chunky if you like as well!

In an 8x8 baking pan, place parchment paper on the bottom.

Add in the energy bar batter from the food processor - it will be quite sticky, so it's advised to work with wet hands to prevent it sticking to your hands!

Press down the mixture into a pan and use the back of a wet spoon to smooth the top.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds.

Freeze for 2-3 hours or until solid, and cut into 8 bars.

Store in the freezer (if left at room temperature these bars will soften and become mushy, so it's best to enjoy right out of the freezer where they keep a good consistency!) (Rachel's note:  They are much softer out of the freezer, but not so soft that you can't eat them, just have hand wipes available, or eat them between some sweetish type of cracker, not ritz or saltine.) 

Enjoy!

NOTES

If you prefer the bar to be more dense at last longer at room temperature, double the oats or protein powder to make the batter less moist! This will change the nutritional facts however. 

No-bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Since fall doesn't really happen here, I've been looking for recipes to make that taste like fall.  My kids like these and they are so easy to make.  I found the recipe here. 

• 3/4 cup quick oats (60g)
• 1/2 cup oat flour (or make your own by blending oats in a food processor until they become powder. Measure after blending.) (75g)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup xylitol or sugar (or coconut sugar or sucanat) (55g)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional: a pinch pumpkin pie spice as well)
• optional: handful mini chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin (or sweet potato puree) (80g)
• 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk of choice, as needed
• 1 tablespoon oil (omit if you desire, but I can’t vouch for the results)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine all liquid (including pumpkin). Then stir to combine, and form into balls or cookies. Or put in the fridge to firm up a little before forming cookies.