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Butternut Squash Soup

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butternut squash

 

 

This is such a delicious recipe and truly a healthy comfort food. Perfect for this time of year. I have always wanted to try this kind of recipe, since I have never cooked with a butternut squash before. Easy peasy. And when I tasted it for the first time I was transported back in time and space to an appetizer soup that I was served at Alejandro’s in El Paso, Texas. I have wanted that recipe FOR.EV.ERRRR. Now I have one!

 

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons chopped onion

4 Tablespoons butter

6 cups cooked butternut squash – cooking instructions below (about 2 squashes)

3 cups of water

4 cubes (or 4 Tablespoons) chicken bouillon (I used 4 t. bouillon powder)

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

Black pepper to taste

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 8-oz package cream cheese

Oregano to taste (about 1 teaspoon)

 

Directions:
1. Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop out all the gunk in the middle, if you have any. Some of mine did not. Here’s a tip: I had a hard time cutting the squash lengthwise so I cut across the middle and then vertically on each half. Place cut-side down on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Add 1-2 cups of water to the pan to help it soften faster. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until soft and collapses to the touch.
 
2. While your squash is cooking, cook your onion in butter until soft.
 
3. Scoop out the cooked squash and put it in a blender along with the cooked onion and all other ingredients. Blend until smooth and well mixed. You can also use an immersion blender if you have mad immersion skills. I am still learning. You should see the printed recipe I had to go from–splatter city!
 

 

4. Return to saucepan and heat through, but don’t allow it to boil. Add more seasonings to taste if desired.
 
5. I served this with brown, wholegrain rolls from Walmart. Yummy! But crusty bread would be good or even a bread bowl…..must try that myself.
 
SOURCE: Jordan Page
 
Butternut Squash Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 6 Tablespoons chopped onion
  2. 4 Tablespoons butter
  3. 6 cups cooked butternut squash – cooking instructions below (about 2 squashes)
  4. 3 cups of water
  5. 4 cubes (or 4 Tablespoons) chicken bouillon (I used 4 t. bouillon powder)
  6. ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
  7. Black pepper to taste
  8. ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  9. 1 8-oz package cream cheese
  10. Oregano to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
Instructions
  1. Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop out all the gunk in the middle, if you have any. Some of mine did not. Here’s a tip: I had a hard time cutting the squash lengthwise so I cut across the middle and then vertically on each half. Place cut-side down on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Add 1-2 cups of water to the pan to help it soften faster. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until soft and collapses to the touch.
  2. While your squash is cooking, cook your onion in butter until soft.
  3. Scoop out the cooked squash and put it in a blender along with the cooked onion and all other ingredients. Blend until smooth and well mixed. You can also use an immersion blender if you have mad immersion skills. I am still learning. You should see the printed recipe I had to go from–splatter city!
  4. Return to saucepan and heat through, but don’t allow it to boil. Add more seasonings to taste if desired.
  5. I served this with brown, wholegrain rolls from Walmart. Yummy! But crusty bread would be good or even a bread bowl…..must try that myself.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Love and Concern for All God’s Children

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Today, we had a wonderful lesson at church about having love and concern for all God’s children
Here are some of my favorite excerpts
 
“I believe it is our solemn duty to love one another, to believe in each other, to have faith in each other, that it is our duty to overlook the faults and the failings of each other, and not to magnify them in our own eyes nor before the eyes of the world. There should be no faultfinding, no back-biting, no evil speaking, one against another, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We should be true to each other and to every principle of our religion and not be envious one of another. We should not be jealous one of another, nor angry with each other, and there should not arise in our hearts a feeling that we will not forgive one another our trespasses. There should be no feeling in the hearts of the children of God of unforgiveness against any man, no matter who he may be. …

… We ought not to harbor feelings one against another, but have a feeling of forgiveness and of brotherly love and sisterly love, one for another. Let each one of us remember his or her own individual failings and weaknesses and endeavor to correct them. We have not reached a condition of perfection yet, it is hardly to be expected that we will in this life, and yet, through the aid of the Holy Ghost, it is possible for us to stand united together seeing eye to eye and overcoming our sins and imperfections. If we will do this, respecting all the commandments of the Lord, we shall be a power in the world for good; we shall overwhelm and overcome all evil, all opposition to the truth, and bring to pass righteousness upon the face of the earth. For the Gospel will be spread and the people in the world will feel the influence which will be shed forth from the people of Zion, and they will be inclined more to repent of their sins and to receive the truth.”

“In other words, all that has been revealed for the salvation of man from the beginning to our own time is circumscribed, included in, and a part of these two great laws. If we love the Lord with all the heart, with all the soul, and with all the mind, and our neighbors as ourselves, then there is nothing more to be desired. Then we will be in harmony with the total of sacred law. If we were willing to live in harmony with these two great commandments—and we must do so eventually if we are worthy to live in the presence of God—then wickedness, jealousy, ambition, covetousness, bloodshed, and all sin of every nature would be banished from the earth. Then would come a day of eternal peace and happiness. What a glorious day that would be! We have been endowed with sufficient reason to know that such a state is most desirable and would establish among men the Fatherhood of God and the perfect brotherhood of man.”

I could not put it better. As one woman said during our lesson today, “LIFE IS HARD, LET’S HOLD HANDS!”

I love that. We all need to show more love, more concern, more kindness to everyone. Those in and out of our faith, those that we agree with and those we disagree with. The world needs more love!
Let’s try to be more Christlike and love all of God’s children.

Roasted Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

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You gotta know that roasting veggies (and nuts) makes your recipes taste SO much better!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 T. oil
  • salt and pepper to taste 
  • 1 T. oil 
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 t. thyme, chopped
  • 3 cups veggie or chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 c. aged cheddar, shredded
  • 1 cup milk or cream
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 T. grainy mustard (optional)

Directions:

  1. Toss the broccoli florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
  2. Roast the broccoli in a preheated 400 degree oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
  3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
  4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
  6. Add the broth and broccoli, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
  7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
  8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
  9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat.
Source:  Closet Cooking

Creamy & Cheesy Potato Soup

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Every once in a great while I will pull out my THRIVE Cookbook so that I can make something with food storage items–really important when you want to “store what you eat and eat what you store.”  I highlight them in the book if they turn out really tasty.  Today was a soup kind of day so I thought I would try this recipe and it did not disappoint.  Yum, yum.  There are no leftovers.  Just sayin’.
Ingredients: (I will note THRIVE if I used the dehydrated or freeze dried item)

3 cups THRIVE chicken broth 
1 T chopped onions
1 cup THRIVE Potato Dices
2 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper (I am using less next time–yikes!)
1 cup THRIVE Instant Milk, re-hydrated
1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

1.  In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth, onion and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2.  Remove from heat and ladle 1/2 the soup mixture into blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth.  Repeat with rest of soup and set soup aside.  I used an immersion blender right in the pot and blended all of the soup at the same time, then poured it into another container and set it aside.
3.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour, salt and pepper.  Slowly add the milk while whisking.  Cook and stir the mixture until it is thickened and bubbly.  Stir in the blended potato mixture and the cheese.  Cook and stir until soup is heated through.
TIP:  You could serve this with a variety of drop-ins.  We tried fresh cilantro this time.  Next time maybe bacon pieces, or chopped green chilies.
Source:  THRIVE Cookbook, p. 62.

(I am only highlighting THRIVE foods because that is the brand that I store in my pantry. I am not a paid spokesperson for the company.)

Gratitude

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Today was a special Sunday for those that belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Every six months, we have what is called General Conference. A two day event with 5 sessions, each lasting 2 hours. We hear from the prophet of God and the twelve apostles and other church leaders. I took some notes and really loved President Uchtdorf’s talk on gratitude. Here are some bullet points from the notes I took. The quote above is from a previous Conference, but fits well with these ideas.

* Sometimes we feel like the fabric of our lives is torn at the seams
* One thing we can do to make life sweeter and even joyous (even during difficult times) is to give thanks
* We are commanded to give thanks
* The commandments are opportunities for us to practice our agency and receive the promised blessings that come from obedience 
* We should be thankful for our circumstances, whatever they may be
* We can choose to be like Job who suffered immensely but continued to praise God
* We can experience joy in difficult circumstances
* We can feel the warmth of heaven’s embrace
* Being grateful in our circumstances is an act of faith. 
* We should show Thanksgiving daily! 
I hope we can all CHOOSE joy! Choose gratitude, even during difficult times in our lives. We will be much more happy and content. 

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

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This is a great and easy recipe to use up your left over ham!  Enjoy

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I like to use dried onions because lets face it chopping onions is no fun)
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 cup cooked ham (I use ham steak)
3 1/4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
5 tbls. butter
5 tbls. flour
2 cups milk

Combine potatoes, celery, onion, carrot, ham and chicken broth together in stockpot.  Bring to a boil then turn down heat to simmer until vegetables are tender.  Add salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly until think (about 1 min).  Slowly stir in the milk and continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick (4-5 min).

Add the milk mixture to the stockpot.

Serve with grated cheese, chives, bacon etc.

SOURCE: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

The Educated Woman

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    We are taught in the LDS church that education is very important, both for men and for women. We are also taught that our primary responsibility as women is to our home and family life. I feel we are bombarded with mixed messages from many different sources that tell us that women should be able to have it all and have it all right now…a fulfilling and ambitious career, a PhD, and a family. As we know, the reality of it is that there is not enough time in our lives to have everything we think we should have right now. Something will suffer. One of the many balls we juggle will eventually fall.
    However, I do not share the world view of the housewife as a woman tied to screaming children with a load of laundry in one arm and a mop in the other (although some days that is definitely not far from the truth). The women I know who choose to stay home to raise their children are much more than that. They are largely educated women who choose to spend their time using that education to enrich their homes and create an atmosphere conducive to learning in their own children. What is more noble than that?

 “The meaning of education is often assumed to be somehow related to “going to school” or learning as an external experience, related only to acquiring knowledge or skills helpful toward work productivity in society. All too often, when a woman makes the conscious effort to become “educated,” she perceives her alternatives as the following: (1) to seek fulfillment outside her home, (2) to sacrifice her education in order to raise a family, or (3) to try to balance career and family in some “superwoman” fashion. But I submit that the education of a woman is much broader, comprehensive, and perhaps more personal. Let us begin by considering the term “education.” Education is seen here, in its most idealistic sense, as an unveiling of the natural thirst of the mind and soul, and subsequently their replenishment, refreshment, and expansion. Considered in its broadest sense, education may occur at school, at home, with family, at church, or even with an enlightening thought in a moment of solitude. Education is more than learning. It is a complex interactive teaching and learning process.” — Elaine Shaw
 
  I consider myself a stay-at-home mom, even though I work part time as a nurse doing a few night shifts a month. I am lucky to be able to use the education I received to contribute to the family income while not having to find childcare for my kids. I realize how lucky I am. I have also come to realize while my job can be challenging, it is not nearly as mentally and emotionally challenging/rewarding as raising children. I think it is easy to lose sight of that as women and to feel that what we are doing is unimportant or menial.
    I also have come to realize that being a stay-at-home mom in no way means that we must stop progressing and learning. What a wonderful world we live in where we have so much information at our fingertips! We can learn about anything we want to in our spare time. The moms I know are well-read, well-balanced, and happy. Isn’t that the goal?

Chicken Noodle Soup

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My friend brought over lunch the other day and this is what she made.  My husband loved it.  It is easy and goes well with biscuits!

2 tsp. Chicken soup base
3 cups Chicken soup stock or broth
2 cups Carrots, chopped
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
2 cups Celery, chopped
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 cup Evaporate Milk or 1/2 cup Milk
2 cups Chicken, cooked
4 cups Country Style Egg Noodles, cooked
Salt and Pepper

Cook the vegetables in chicken broth, not too done.  Add the soup, milk, chicken and noodles.  Heat through.  Salt and pepper to taste.  If you want it thinner just add milk.

Source: Cheryl Harris