Recipe #209: Thai Butternut Soup

It's been too long since my last post!  Lately, I've been making my old standby meals for the most part.  I had time today to look through my neglected issues of Cooking Light magazine, and I knew I had to make this!  Very rich and filling, and I'm glad I have plenty of leftovers.  I used fresh squash instead of frozen, which required five more minutes of simmering.

Ingredients

• 
  1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 (12-ounce) packages frozen pureed butternut squash  (OR 4 cups cubed fresh butternut squash)
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

• Preparation

  1. 1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add curry paste, garlic, and ginger; sauté 45 seconds, stirring constantly.
  2. 2. Add broth and next 5 ingredients (through salt); cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (Simmer an additional 5 minutes if using fresh squash)  Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Spoon about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top with 2 tablespoons peanuts and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Recipe #208: Lasagna Soup

A soup that tastes like, well, lasagna!  Easy to make one-pot meal that's really hearty and I bet makes for delicious leftovers!  Recipe recommended by a friend from spoonful.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
• 8 ounces ricotta
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS

1. 2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
      
      
   3. 
      
      Add the pasta, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil the soup until the pasta is tender to the bite, following the time recommendations on the pasta package. Discard the bay leaves, then stir in the basil. If desired, season with salt and black pepper to taste.
      
      
      
      
      
      
   4. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pinch of pepper. To serve, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella, and ladle the soup on top. Makes about 13 cups.
      
      

Recipe #207: Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Cavatappi

I only had to read the title to this one in my Cooking Light magazine to know that I'd make this and like it.  And I did.  Very hearty and filling but still very fresh tasting.  I think some chicken would be good with this as a tweak to the recipe.  It would be nice as a side dish too.  I needed more walnuts than the recipe used.  I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients

• 
  Cooking spray
• 8 ounces uncooked cavatappi
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, divided 
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 
• 2 large egg yolks 
• 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Combine squash, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 24 minutes or until tender, stirring once.
3. 3. Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta; keep warm.
4. 4. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, and yolks in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently with a whisk.
5. 5. Combine squash, pasta, and milk mixture in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Recipe #206: Sausage and Rice-Stuffed Acorn Squash

I was so disappointed when I finished eating this meal because I wanted more.  DELICIOUS!!  The combination of flavors and textures was perfect, and this was fun to make, too.  From Cooking Light magazine...  Note, the original recipe called for 4 squashes, but I only used two and kept the same amount of filling.  If you want to make 4 squashes, DOUBLE the rest of the ingredients.

• INGREDIENTS

• 2 small acorn or sweet dumpling squashes (about 10 ounces each)
• 2 (4-ounce) links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1/3 cup chopped celery 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 ounce Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup) 

DIRECTIONS

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Place whole squashes in a roasting pan. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until just tender. Let stand for 15 minutes. Halve squashes. Scoop out seeds; discard.
3. 3. Preheat broiler to high.
4. 4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan; drain on paper towels. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel.
5. 5. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add celery; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, rice, and next 5 ingredients (through Parmesan). Divide rice mixture evenly among squash halves. Sprinkle evenly with Swiss cheese. Arrange squash halves on a baking sheet; broil 4 minutes or until golden and cheese is melted.
6. 
   

The filling before being piled into the squashes

Recipe #205: Chicken and Leek Soup

I was a bit liberal on amounts in this recipe (mostly adding stuff, but probably not enough broth, so it was more of a stew than a soup).... the leeks seemed to vanish into the soup once they cooked, so it was more like a chicken veggie soup instead.  I thought about not posting this one because it didn't turn out quite how I wanted, but I couldn't deny that it tasted good and hearty.  Maybe next time I'll have less chicken in it and cut the leeks thicker.  Great base recipe.  I added a little bit of dill to it too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 lbs frying chickens, cut up (I used a mix of boneless/skinless thighs and breast tenders)
4 cups water (One of these I replaced with chicken broth)
1 medium carrot, sliced (I used 3 smallish ones)
1 stalk celery, sliced (I used 2)
1/2 cup barley (I used 3/4c)
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (I had cubes, and used 2)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups leeks, with tops (sliced and cleaned very well) (I didn't use the tops as much)
DIRECTIONS:

Heat all ingredients except leeks to boiling in large stockpot or Dutch oven.Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Add leeks.
Bring back to a boil; reduce heat.
Cover and simmer until thickest pieces of chicken are done, about 15 minutes.
Remove chicken from broth and cool slightly; remove chicken from bones and skin.
Skim fat from both and remove bay leaf.  (I didn't find any fat to skim...)
Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces and return to broth.
Heat about 5 minutes; serve.

Recipe #204: Lamb Stew

I was beside myself with excitement over this one.  I love lamb, and stew is perfect for winter.  It was fantastic!

My changes:
1.  I halved the recipe.  Well, minus the bacon- can't have enough bacon- I used a one-pound package.
2.  I didn't have flour.  This is because of an incident where only the previous day, I had to throw away all my flour.  I didn't notice anything lacking- not a big deal.  Definitely less of a mess, too.  I have bad luck with flour.
3.  I added peas.  Stews should have peas.
4.  I cooked the bacon in the big pot, removed it, browned the meat in that same pot, removed it, and did the rest before combining everything in that same pot.  No reason to dirty more dishes.
5.  I used a 3lb lamb leg (boneless) because shoulder was not available

Don't mind my laziness- I'm on vacation, after all.  I'm just going to copy and paste from allrecipes.com.  (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irish-Lamb-Stew/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced 6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup water

4 cups beef stock 2 teaspoons white sugar 4 cups diced carrots 2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces 3 potatoes 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2.	Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3.	Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
4.	Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Recipe #203: Baked Cornish Game Hens

I refuse to buy these cute little cornish game hens if they're frozen, which is unfortunate, since I have a hard time finding ones that aren't.  Luckily, my last trip to Giant Eagle resulted in buying my first hens in a long time.  I found this easy recipe on allrecipes.com and followed it exactly.  Depending on how much you want to eat, a hen will feed 1-2 people.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cornish game hens 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 stalk celery, chopped 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained

and chopped    2 cloves garlic, minced    1 tablespoon dried basil    1 teaspoon dried oregano    1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley    1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS:

	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
	In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup melted butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano and parsley.
	Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper to taste, then stuff with equal amounts butter/vegetable mixture. Place stuffed birds in a 9x13 inch baking dish, breast side up. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter.
	Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover and brown at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Recipe #202: Nutella Truffles

I'm not a big sweets person, but when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make these.... since Nutella AND truffles are both exceptions to my sweets rule.  I had to adapt this recipe a little since the chocolate mixture wasn't firming up as quickly as I needed it to, as well as using more hazelnut than the recipe calls for... but I think we have a winner!  Credit to www.mybakingaddiction.com!

INGREDIENTS:

10 ounces semi chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate morsels)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Frangelico liqueur 

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped (I used almost twice this amount)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter, heavy cream and Nutella. Heat until chocolate is melted. Stir until you have a smooth mixture.  (If you don't have a double boiler, Google some home options.  I used a glass Pyrex bowl over a pot, with a knife allowing some of the steam to vent)

2. Remove from chocolate mixture from heat and allow it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and Frangelico. Pour mixture into a shallow dish (example: 8x8 pyrex dish) and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you refrigerate longer than two hours, the mixture will be too hard to work with. If this occurs, allow the mixture to sit at room temperature until they are pliable enough to work with.  (Note, I had to put them in the freezer for a bit since they weren't firming up fast enough.)

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop (2 teaspoons) or a melon baller, scoop out chocolate mixture, roll into one inch balls, and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining chocolate mixture. Roll balls in chopped hazelnuts. Refrigerate truffles until ready to serve.  (Note- I used a scooping tool to scoop out a ball and drop it into the hazelnuts, roll that around and then put it in a little baking cup.  I then put them in the freezer to harden more)

Recipe #201: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I have no idea why it took me this long to make stuffed cabbage, but here it is.  This is a very simple recipe, but that doesn't matter- it came out exactly how I want cabbage rolls to taste!

Simmering...

Potatoes made with cream, cheddar cheese, dried chives, and butter

INGREDIENTS:

1-1.5 cups cooked white rice (I used Uncle Ben's instant rice)

8 cabbage leaves

1lb lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

2 (10.75oz) can condensed tomato soup (a third if you want even more sauce)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2-4 minutes or until softened; drain.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup.  Mix thoroughly.

Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves.  Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.  (Or piece together broken pieces of leaves to imitate a wrapping, as I had to do for some)

In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.

Recipe #200: Beef Wellington (Individual)

Welcome to recipe 200!  I've been searching for the perfect recipe for such an event... something different, special, and a little more involved than usual.  Wow, what rich amazing flavors!!  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com... it seems that beef wellingtons are often a larger tenderloin that is cut up, but I liked how this one used individual steaks.  I am posting the recipe exactly as allrecipes.com has it listed, with my comments in red (as I did a bit of adapting and changes).

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 (6oz) beef tenderloin filets (I just used two 6oz filet mignons!)
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (Cut them pretty small...)
3/4 cup red wine
2 cups beef consomme (less than 2 cans)
1 (3oz) jar foie gras pate (I completely skipped this- see my changes how I made up for it)
1 (17.25 oz) package frozen puff pastry, thawed (Thawing takes 30-40 minutes, keep this in mind)
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (More if you skip the foie gras- read on)
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the filets with salt and pepper, then fry on each side until browned to lock in the juices.  Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool slightly.

Add the mushrooms, wine and 1c beef consomme to the skillet; cook and stir over medium heat until mushrooms are tender.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms to a small bowl, reserving the consomme.  Mix the pate with the mushrooms, adding a little consomme if needed to achieve a spreadable texture.  Divide the mushrooms among the filets and spread on the top.  Refrigerate about 30 minutes.  (MY CHANGES!!  Instead of adding pate, I left the mushrooms and consomme in the pan, and added flour slowly, stirring, until the sauce thickened enough to hold somewhat of a form that I could top on the filets.  I covered both filets with this topping and put them in the fridge, then added the rest of the can of consomme to the pan.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Lay the puff pastry out on a clean surface and cut out two 5-6 inch rounds for each steak.  Place a steak with its topping onto a round and bring the edges up around the sides.  Cover the top with a second piece of dough, overlapping the edges and pressing to seal into a package.  Repeat for other steak(s).  Place the Wellingtons onto a baking sheet, and brush the tops with beaten egg.  (NOTE:  The Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets I bought came as a package of two.  I finagled them to fit around the steaks with enough left over to drape some over the top.  I don't see how one box of this stuff could cover 6 6-oz steaks, so keep that in mind.)

Make for about 12 minutes, for rare, 16 minutes for medium, or 20 minutes for well done.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

While the steaks are cooking, make the sauce.  Melt 3tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until browned.  Stir in the green onions, and cook for about a minute.  Gradually stir in another cup of consomme; continue to cook and stir until the sauce thickens.  Reduce heat and stir in the wine.  Continue to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and parsley.  Season with pepper to taste.

To serve, cut each Wellington in half and spoon some sauce onto the plate.  (I probably overdid the sauce, since I kept the same sauce amount for 1/3 of the steaks, but it's too good to not pile it on!)