Cooking Endeavors

I realize it's been quite some time since my last post, but cut me some slack...I've been busy! In addition to new responsibilities and no prep period at work, I have been spending many of my weekends preparing new recipes. 

Butternut Squash Soup

Don’t be fooled by the presentation of this soup! Even Nick’s picky palette agreed that this was one of the most delectable soups he’s ever eaten.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds butternut squash, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• Sour cream (garnish)

Directions

Boil squash, onion, carrot, broth, and salt in a medium sauce pan. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes.  Puree soup in a blender or food processor with the butter. Whisk cream into soup.

Homemade Wheat Bread

 We've also been trying new bread and dough recipes in our new Cuisinart Bread Maker. The photo above is just a standard wheat bread. We've also made sun-dried tomato & herb bread, pizza dough, and plum preserves in our bread maker.

Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Served cold, this salad and makes a great summer dish! This recipe is courtesy of Rachel Ray & Food Network.

Ingredients

• 5 medium plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
• 1 Kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• A generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
• 2 splashes red wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and black pepper

Directions

Dress the tomatoes, onions, and cucumber with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Let stand while you prepare dinner, about 20 minutes. Re-toss and serve salad with crusty bread for mopping up juices and oil.

Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is frequently consumed in our home. It’s really quick, easy, and delicious!

Ingredients

• 3 Chicken Breasts, grilled and cubed
• 1 box rotini pasta
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and cubed
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 1 can whole, pitted black olives
• 1-2 cups Greek dressing
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

Rub chicken breasts with oil, basil, rosemary, thyme, and minced garlic. Grill chicken and cube. Prepare pasta and drain. Allow to cool. Add chicken, tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives, and Greek dressing. Toss and serve.

Bruschetta Pizza

It was a left-over night, so I came up with individual bruschetta pizzas. I used slices of homemade sun-dried tomato & herb bread, added pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, tomato, feta cheese, and spinach. I baked for about 10 minutes @ 375 degrees. The result - delicious!

Poached Pears

This was another Food Network recipe that I adjusted slightly. Click here for the original recipe. My variation is below.

Ingredients

• 1 (750-ml) bottle Moscatto wine ($5 bottle works great!)
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 4 firm Bosc pears, cored and peeled, leaving the stem intact

Directions

Place the wine, water, sugar and vanilla extract into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.

Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.

Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve with vanilla frozen yogurt. Yum!