Eating healthy can get very boring sometimes because you feel like you are in a rut with options but luckily these Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers are not only great for you, they are delicious! I used my Spicy Bean and Corn Salad as the filling for this and it worked perfectly! If you have another version you like, feel free to use that one. This is also full of brown rice so you have tons of healthy carbs. This is a great way to eat healthy! They also re-heat well so you can make a bunch ahead of time so you can have plenty to last your throughout the week! [Read more…]
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Vegetarian Lasagna
There are times when you want to cut out on meat, whether it’s for financial or health reasons, and it can be hard sometimes to find recipes that don’t get boring. This Vegetarian Lasagna is far from boring! It’s packed with flavor and stuffed with veggies so you will definitely not feel like it’s the same ole, same ole! [Read more…]
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Today we have a wholesome homemade soup. Roasted butternut squash forms the basis of this delicious appetizer or light main course meal. The best part about making soup at home is that you can generally use whatever you have on hand. For that reason, substitutions in this recipe are encouraged. Go ahead and try new combinations, have fun with it! One note in particular, you can use vegetable broth as a substitute to make this in a vegan/vegetarian version.
Before we get started let’s chat a bit about squash. It is a vegetable that has been cultivated for at least 12,000 years. Part of a trio, squash, beans and corn, that provided key nutritional value for Native Americans. Butternut squash was actually bred in Massachusetts in the 1940’s by Charles Leggett. He was looking to create a squash that would be tasty, the right size and easy to prepare for a family dinner. Every fall, when these start showing up in the grocery store in numbers, we certainly appreciate all of Mr. Leggett’s hard work.
Soups are not just for winter but are also an excellent way for single cooks to prepare fresh wholesome meals. Eating a portion that evening and saving the remainder in the freezer without sacrificing too much flavor. For other soup ideas on this site, check out our Mexican Chicken Soup or this Ham Bone Soup that you might enjoy after that traditional Easter Ham dinner.
Let’s get to creating this delicious dish!
Preparation:
The day before starting the soup, roast the butternut squash by smearing it with olive oil and baking it on a broiler pan in a 350° oven for an hour. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
Ingredients:
Olive oil (to sauté onion and celery)
White part of 2 leeks (or 1/2 large onion) diced
1 or 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (optional)
3 cups chicken broth (or ham broth – I use 3 cups water with 2-1/2 Tbsp ham base, you can also substitute this for vegetable broth for vegan/vegetarian version)
1/3 cup dry sherry – (or red wine)
2 tart apples peeled and diced (granny smith or braeburn), you can also use a sweeter apple like gala or fuji but be mindful the sweet taste when adding the orange juice later
Butternut squash (the roasted squash peels easily) peeled & diced into large chunks
2 medium peeled and chopped russet potatoes
1 cup fresh orange juice – (if you used sweet apples, then substitute with a 1/2 cup lemon juice)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1-1/2 Tbsp curry powder to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1-1/4 cups half & half
A dollop of sour cream at serving
Method:
First into the 5-quart soup pot, sauté leek (or onion) with the celery until translucent. Add sherry and broth, squash, potatoes and apples. Bring to boil and cook until the apples and potatoes are very tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.
After the first ingredients have cooked through, Add orange juice (or lemon juice), honey, salt, curry and pepper. Reduce heat to simmer and continuing cooking, stirring every 15 minutes or so until everything is “smooth”, about hour.
Remove from heat and use immersible blender to purée any remaining vegetable chunks. Finally, gently blend in the half & half.
To serve, sprinkle pepper on top and add a dollop of sour cream.
Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen into convenient serving size containers. When ready for use, thoroughly heat before serving but do not boil. For example you can use the defrost settings in your microwave to gently reheat by weight or if refrigerated and using stove top, gradually reheat on low or low medium setting while closely supervised.
As a small bowl of soup before the main course of dinner, this recipe has 8 to 10 servings or for the main meal, it will satisfy about 6 people with crackers or bread on the side.
Ingredients
- Olive oil (to sauté onion and celery)
- White part of 2 leeks (or 1/2 large onion) diced
- 1 or 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (optional)
- 3 cups chicken broth (or ham broth - I use 3 cups water with 2-1/2 Tbsp ham base, you can also substitute this for vegetable broth for vegan/vegetarian version)
- 1/3 cup dry sherry – (or red wine)
- 2 tart apples peeled and diced (granny smith or braeburn), you can also use a sweeter apple like gala or fuji but be mindful the sweet taste when adding the orange juice later
- Butternut squash (the roasted squash peels easily) peeled & diced into large chunks
- 2 medium peeled and chopped russet potatoes
- 1 cup fresh orange juice – (if you used sweet apples, then substitute with a 1/2 cup lemon juice)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1-1/2 Tbsp curry powder to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1-1/4 cups half & half
- A dollop of sour cream at serving
Method
- First into the 5-quart soup pot, sauté leek (or onion) with the celery until translucent.
- Add sherry and broth, squash, potatoes and apples.
- Bring to boil and cook until the apples and potatoes are very tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- After the first ingredients have cooked through,
- Add orange juice (or lemon juice), honey, salt, curry and pepper.
- Reduce heat to simmer and continuing cooking, stirring every 15 minutes or so until everything is “smooth”, about hour.
- Remove from heat and use immersible blender to purée any remaining vegetable chunks.
- Finally, gently blend in the half & half.
- To serve, sprinkle pepper on top and add a dollop of sour cream.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen into convenient serving size containers.
- When ready for use, thoroughly heat before serving but do not boil.
- For example you can use the defrost settings in your microwave to gently reheat by weight or if refrigerated and using stove top, gradually reheat on low or low medium setting while closely supervised.
- As a small bowl of soup before the main course of dinner, this recipe has 8 to 10 servings or for the main meal, it will satisfy about 6 people with crackers or bread on the side.
Hearty Beef Chili
There are some foods that can go with anything. Chili is a great dish because you can always mix it up however you want! You can have chicken, vegetarian, etc. This Hearty Beef Chili is a great version because you can prep it easily and let it cook all day while you do other stuff and it will be ready to chow down when you are! If you want to let this simmer on the stove instead, just follow the instructions and put it in a soup pot on low to cook nice and thick for you. I prefer to top with cheddar cheese and sour cream but you can use whatever you want; jalapeños, use a piece of Honey Cornbread for dipping, anything goes! [Read more…]
Italian Sausage Lasagna
Lasagna is a great comfort food. It’s also great because you can make it to your liking, if you are a vegetarian or a meat lover, lasagna has got you covered. This version is full of Italian sausage along with peppers and onions for a meal that’s full of flavor and absolutely delicious! [Read more…]