Recipes

Debbie’s Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Thanksgiving was a great day. We spent it with some wonderful friends, ate, drank and played bocci ball! Living in Florida has its advantages! Our wonderful host Debbie made a delicious butternut squash soup that I had to have the recipe for. It was spicy but not “hot” spicy. Just enough of a bite to it to make the flavors pop! The main spice blend she used in this is Garam Masala. I had never heard of it before so I looked it up. It’s just a basic blend of ground spices that are common in Indian and South Asian foods. I looked up a recipe about making it myself. Lots of whole seeds and roasting and so on. But then I figured I will just buy it premade, otherwise I will have so many whole spices just hanging around my pantry. The basic mix includes cumin, coriander, cardamom, black peppercorns, cinnamon, whole cloves, nutmeg and saffron. LOTS of different spices! So I will just buy a jar of it already made.

The recipe was originally adapted from a recipe from Ina Garten and then Debbie made her own changes and made it her own! The recipe called for 3 granny smith apples but she only had two. She did have a pear, so she added that! Delish! I brought some of the leftovers home and can’t wait to have another bowl! This recipe makes 8-10 servings so feel free to cut it in half if you don’t want to make so much! And for best results make the soup a day ahead of time for the flavors to blend!

My photo is of the leftovers I brought home. I will swap out the pic once I make it on my own.

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded

2 yellow onions

3 granny smith apples (or 2 apples and 1 pear), peeled and cored

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Garam Masala

½ teaspoon ground ginger

4-6 cups of chicken broth (you can substitute 1-2 cups of Thai Curry flavored broth from College Inn for 1-2 cups of the chicken broth)

4-5 sage leaves, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut the squash, apples/pears, and onions into 1″ chunks and mix in a large bowl with the olive oil until well blended.

2. Spread the squash veggie mixture onto 2 cookie sheets lined with foil (you can spray the foil with cooking spray). There should be a single layer of the mixture.

3. Sprinkle the Garam Masala and ground ginger over the squash mixture; salt and pepper as desired.

4. Roast 40-45 minutes until tender.

5. Heat 4 cups of broth in a large pot. When squash mixture is finished roasting, add it to the pot of broth and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the chopped sage in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

6. Working in batches, purée the veggie/broth mixture using a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Put back in pot and adjust the broth amount to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be served with parmesan cheese as well! (You know we will have it for sure!)

Serves 8-10

How to Carve a Turkey

Today is Thanksgiving. I am sure most people are spending the day with family, friends, or both. As you remember we didn’t usually have turkey in my house therefore, carving it is a challenge to say the least. So I found this video courtesy of the Food Network with Alton Brown demonstrating his technique for carving a turkey. I’ll be watching the Macy’s parade this morning as I do every single year, no matter where I am. To me, as soon as I see Santa at the end of the parade, the Christmas season has begun! Woo hoo! But before we get to all that craziness let’s have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Careful with those knives!

Chinese Chicken Meatball Soup

I’m always looking for a new good soup to try and this is a simple one. Healthy and delicious and fast! This should only take a little more than 30 minutes to prep and cook as long as you have all the ingredients. Soup is always a great “go to” dinner in our house. No matter what time of year it is. Winter or summer soup is a great meal or side dish. This recipe calls for ground chicken breast. If for some reason this turns you off you can always use ground turkey, ground pork or ground beef instead. It also calls for watercress but if you can’t find that or don’t like it you can also substitute kale, bok choy or escarole for it. It will still be delicious! I found this recipe in a Weight Watcher magazine and tweaked it a little, as always.

INGREDIENTS:

48 ounces low-sodium fat-free chicken broth

1 pound ground skinless chicken breast

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch watercress (cleaned and tough stems removed)

6 scallions, thinly sliced (green and white parts)

pinch of kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven bring the broth and salt just to a boil.

2. In the meantime, combine the chicken, hoisin sauce, garlic and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Form into 8 (2″) meatballs or 16 (1″) meatballs.

3. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning often, until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for another 5-6 minutes, till they are cooked through. Shake the skillet occasionally to keep them moving and from sticking.

4. Add the meatballs, watercress and scallions to the hot broth. Stir until the watercress wilts. Serve hot!

Serves 4

Not Your Usual Green Bean Casserole

For Thanksgiving we are going to a friend’s house and when I asked what I could bring, I was asked: “How about that green bean casserole thingy? Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without it!” I said ok and searched for the usual recipe. Growing up in my house was very different when it came to Thanksgiving. Why? Well it wasn’t until we were all much older that we started to actually have a turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not joking. I never really remember Dad carving a turkey. Ever. I do remember us having a huge tray of lasagna though. Every year. And sometimes a ham. But never a turkey. It was usually lasagna. When we started dating and then had to do the two house thing for the holidays we all discovered how different things were out there! Nobody had lasagna! I was flabbergasted! I don’t know why we didn’t have turkey, maybe Dad hated carving? I don’t know. But once we started experiencing the ‘normal’ Thanksgiving foods I was introduced to the green bean casserole. And for some reason it is rarely served any other time of year! Why? Again, I don’t know. So of course I have never made it before. This is a first. But I also didn’t want to do the same ho-hum basic green bean casserole. So I scoured the magazines and internet. I then took a little bit of each recipe that I found and it’s now something new. I am making it Thursday so I won’t know how it tastes until then. I will report back though for sure. And I will remember to take a picture before we eat it!  And have no fear everyone, I’m still using those french-fried onions. My husband insisted on it. I have to keep remembering, change is good. It will be fine. Thanksgiving will still be a food fest. Happy Eating!

**Ok, the green beans were a hit! Very tasty and full of crunchy goodness! The water chestnuts and almonds are a nice change from the ordinary. I also lowered the oven temp to 350 degrees, because the onions got a little too well done, but still really yummy! I’m also thinking next time maybe a little hot sauce added to it would be good also.


INGREDIENTS:

3 packages (9 ounces or so each) of frozen French-style green beans

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 (10.5-10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I am using the 98% fat-free kind)

3 ounces cream cheese, softened (I am using light cream cheese)

1 cup french-fried onions

1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, chopped

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (I am using 2%)

1 (2½ ounce) package slivered almonds

paprika

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook green beans according to package directions, drain.

2. In a large pot or dutch oven melt the butter. Add the soup and cream cheese and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.

3. Stir in the green beans, 2/3 cup of the french-fried onions, water chestnuts, garlic salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese.

4. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 1¾ quart casserole dish. Top with the almonds and remaining french-fried onions. Sprinkle with paprika.

5. Bake at 350º, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Serves 8

Mulled Wine (or Moldy Wine as my husband calls it)

For years I thought my crockpot was used for heating up wine. No joke. When I got my first crockpot back in 1991 I had used it for years, to heat wine! It was perfect for that! Mulled wine that is! Ever since I tried mulled wine at Pindar Vineyards during their December weekends serving Mulled Wine & Cookies, I was hooked! I figured, how hard could it be to do it at home! It wasn’t hard at all. This recipe is simple. You can even cheat and buy mulling spices in the store already prepared, but I like to know what is in my spice mix. So I make it myself. And the crockpot is perfect for warming it up and keeping it warm without boiling it! You do NOT want boiled wine. Yuck! And what is better on a cold fall or winter day than a nice warm cup of spicy delicious wine, with cookies! Pindar Vineyards is in my opinion the best vineyard/winery in the U.S. Maybe I am biased because my BFF and college roomie Rose works there and we’ve gotten to know the winery and all of their wines quite well over the years. Or maybe they just have fantastic wines! Yes, they are on Long Island in New York. Long Island is loaded with wonderful wineries and everyone should go visit, even in the off-season. But stop in Pindar, in Peconic, out on the north fork of LI and say hello to Rose and the crew there! (Hi Rose! Hi Terry!) We always make a stop in when we go back for a visit. Always!

Ok, now on with the recipe. Simple remember. Don’t over think it, just make it. The weather is perfect for a glass right now!

A great red wine from Pindar!

Even Sluggo loves Pindar & Rose!

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 bottle red wine (any kind you wish but a dry one is best)

2 cinnamon sticks

2 whole cloves

1 whole nutmeg

4 (2-3″) strips orange peel

4 (2-3″) strips lemon peel

3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS:

In a crockpot or saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a simmer, about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm in mugs or heat-resistant glassware. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or slice of orange!

Creamy Tomato Soup

Now that the weather is finally cooling down a little bit here I am starting to think of soups more. Yes, even in sunny and warm south Florida our winter’s get cooler and soup is a welcome meal. Now, I was never a big fan of tomato soup but my husband likes it but I am willing to give it a try. This recipe sounds very  good and is pretty easy to make. It makes 10 cups and serves 6. If you want to freeze it for later or make a double batch freeze it before you add the half-and-half. Just add it when you defrost it to use again. When you reheat the soup don’t let it boil either or the half-and-half will curdle. I love sweet things so this soup is great for me. But if you don’t want it too sweet just reduce the sugar in it. This soup is great with a nice crusty loaf of bread or crackers. Make it a delicious meal for dinner or lunch. Top it off with some parmesan cheese also if you like, you know we will! You can also cut the garlic in half as well if you don’t like too much garlic. I of course added more than the recipe originally called for.

Photo is for illustrative purposes only!

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute)

Pinch of ground cloves

3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth

2 (28- ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup half-and-half (you can also use fat-free to save some calories)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and bay leaf and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cloves. Stir until vegetables are well coated.

2. Add the vegetable broth and tomatoes, bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a regular blender until smooth. You may have to do it in batches until it’s all blended.

4. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly pour in half-and-half, stirring constantly. Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to serve. Remember not to let the soup boil when reheating or the cream will curdle!

Enjoy!
Makes 10 cups: Serves 6.

Charleston Cocktail

I am going to be in Charleston, SC for a few days and thought I’d look into a drink associated with the city. I found the Charleston Cocktail. It uses Mandarin Napoleon Orange Liqueur. I had never heard of this so I did some research. It is a Belgian orange liqueur made from cognac and flavored with essential oils that are extracted from fresh Sicilian tangerines. If you can’t find the Mandarin Napoleon Orange Liqueur you can substitute Grand Marnier or Cointreau for it. This cocktail is a great drink for sipping while sitting on the porch on a nice warm day. I am looking forward to trying it while there or making it on my own when I return! Cheers!

INGREDIENTS:

3.5 ounces Mandarin Napoleon Orange Liqueur

3.5 ounces cherry brandy

6 ounces lemonade

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the Mandarin Napoleon and cherry brandy into a Collins glass half-filled with ice cubes. Top with lemonade, to taste, and serve.

Makes 2 drinks

She-Crab Soup

Keeping with the Charleston recipes today’s is She-Crab Soup. I have had this soup here in Florida and it was delicious. So creamy and rich and just plain scrumptious! It is not a low-calorie soup but you can lighten it up a bit by substituting some ingredients with their lighter counterparts. But for now I’m leaving the recipe as is. I won’t put in the calories I found on this either. No need. We know it’s high and we’ll leave it at that. Now what is a “she-crab” and why is it in a soup?

The soup is a regional specialty from the South Carolina Lowcountry. It is considered to be the signature dish of Charleston, SC and is featured on the menus of many of the city’s restaurants.

The soup is named for the “She-Crab”, or female crab, originally a gravid crab, heavy with the flavorful orange crab roe that is typically a main ingredient in traditional she-crab soup. You can leave the roe out of this recipe if you wish, nobody will know! I definitely plan on having this while on our little visit and I will be making a lighter version of my own when I get home. I looked through many recipes and formed my own version for this recipe.

If you want to learn a little more on the history of  She-Crab Soup, just click on the link for more information and another version of the recipe. I will add my substitutions after some ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

5 tablespoons butter (or butter substitute)

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or soy flour)

1 small sweet onion, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 quarts half-and-half (or fat-free half-and-half)

1 pint heavy cream (or light cream)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chicken broth (fat-free)

1 pound lump crabmeat

3 tablespoons crab roe (optional)

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (my husband would want more I am sure!)

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons fresh dill (2 tsp. dried)

2 tablespoons scallions, chopped

½ cup sherry wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a large stockpot/dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste (a roux) and cook for about 3 minutes, making sure you stir constantly! Stir in the onion and garlic and season with the salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring for about 4 more minutes.

2. Gradually whisk in the half-and-half making sure no lumps form. Stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring this to a simmer and pour in half of the sherry. Add the dill, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the soup has reduced by a third. Add the crabmeat (and roe if you decide to use it), stir carefully. Simmer for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Serve the soup and top each bowl off with a splash of the rest of the sherry and a sprinkle of the scallions!

Serves 8 (cut the recipe in half if this will be too much for your family)


Garlic Cheese Grits and Shrimp

So for the next four days my husband and I are heading to Charleston, SC. I thought I’d look up some local recipes and adapt them to my cooking style. I have heard so much about their shrimp and grits so I figured I’d start there. My husband loves grits (he should marry them!) and I like them. We both like shrimp and garlic so this recipe seemed like a no-brainer. I haven’t made it yet but I do plan to once we get back from our trip. I am going to definitely try it while up there though! The original recipe called for 6 ounces of garlic flavored processed cheese. I am going to be using 8 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese. Fewer calories for sure and still with all the flavor. I would also use fat-free chicken broth instead of water when cooking the grits. Again, more flavor!


INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup uncooked grits

6 ounces Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese (8 wedges)

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons butter (or butter substitute)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ lemon, juiced

salt to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook grits according to package directions. Stir in the Laughing Cow cheese and cayenne pepper. Keep warm over low heat.

2. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and tomato until tomato begins to soften. Stir in shrimp and lemon juice. Saute until shrimp are pink. Season with salt to taste.

3. Spread warm grits on a serving platter and pour shrimp mixture on top.

Serves 4

Mussels in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

Well I am back from the Wine and Food Festival at EPCOT in Walt Disney World. We ate, we drank, we walked and sweated! A great time was had by all! This recipe was actually posted on Disney’s blog before the festival because it was going to be a new dish from a new country at the festival. Belgium. But before I made it or wrote about it I at least wanted to taste it. It was delicious! I would have gotten it again but we were so full we were happy to have tasted it at least once. The recipe looks long and difficult but it’s pretty straight forward. They actually call for fresh mussels that you have to scrub and “de-beard”, which is fine, but I have lots of frozen cooked mussels in my freezer so I will just cook them according to the package. Which is really just heating them up. So either way you want to do this will be fine. I can’t wait to make them at home. Maybe this weekend! If you like garlic and mussels then you will love this recipe.

Mussels in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce at Belgium in EPCOT

INGREDIENTS:

ROASTED GARLIC PUREE:

2 large heads garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM SAUCE:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, minced

½ cup white wine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic Puree

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

MUSSELS:

4 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

4 thick slices sourdough bread, toasted

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:

ROASTED GARLIC PUREE:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove excess papery skin from garlic, keeping head intact. Cut about ¼ off of garlic head, exposing the cloves.

2. Place each head of garlic cut side up on an individual square of aluminum foil. Drizzle each with oil. Wrap in foil, sealing edges.

3. Place pouch in oven and roast for 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

4. Squeeze garlic from skins into small bowl. Discard skins. Mash garlic with a fork until smooth.

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM SAUCE:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice, stirring to combine. Cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

2. Add cream, roasted garlic purée, salt and pepper, whisking to combine. Simmer (DO NOT BOIL) until sauce is slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside.

MUSSELS:

1. Place mussels, wine and water into a large stockpot over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until mussels open, about 4 minutes. Remove and discard any mussels that do not open. Strain cooking liquid from mussels and discard liquid.

2. Place mussels in a large serving bowl or individual shallow bowls. Pour roasted garlic cream sauce over mussels and garnish with parsley, dill and chives. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

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