fall favorite: butternut squash soup

It wouldn't be fall in our house if I didn't make Butternut Squash soup.

This is a Goodman family fave and originated in the kitchen of Tammy Goodman.

Yummy seasonal vegetables and fall flavors make this soup a definite fall favorite.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash

1 Acorn Squash

3 TBS Butter

Honey

1/4 C Chopped Sweet Onion

1 Quart Chicken Stock

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1 8oz. Cream Cheese

1 tsp Black Pepper

Nutmeg (to taste)

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Sour Cream

Directions

First, cut your squash in half and remove the seeds. Then brush with melted butter and honey.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes on a baking sheet lined with foil.

During the last several minutes that the squash is cooking,
saute the onion with butter in your stock pot.

Scoop squash from the peel and cut into chunks.

Add squash and broth to the sauteed onion.

Blend.*

*If you do not  have an immersion blender. Get one. Stat.

This is a great one to add to your Christmas wishlist.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer. Add more chicken broth if needed.

Go easy on the cayenne.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
Or make pumpernickel garlic croutons*!

*These croutons really don't require a recipe. But here's how I made them.
Cut up half a loaf of pumpernickel bread into crouton size pieces.
Put in a ziplock bag and add olive oil until all pieces are covered.
Sprinkle with 1 tsp garlic salt then mix well.
Put in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 13-15 mins on 375
or until you reach your desired crunchiness. Store in an airtight container.

I have to say, I almost didn't share this soup recipe because I like to trick first time dinner guests into thinking I'm a gourmet soup chef with this recipe.

Just kidding. But it is that good.

Since the gig is up with my family, you should use this recipe to impress yours this Thanksgiving.

Mini Pumpkin Pies + Pumpkin Recipe Round Up

First of all you guys know how I feel about making cute pies.

But I'm that girl that when I go to the dessert table at a party, I just want a taste of everything. 

(Okay, and then to go back for more of the thing I loved the most.)

These mini pumpkin pies are just perfect for that. And for the person who LOVES pumpkin pie the most, just take 5 with no regrets. You do you. 

These look sorta schmancy, but they're super easy. 

Also, everything is cuter in mini form, am I right?

And here's how the recipe goes down:

Get your canned pumpkin, your store bought pie dough, and your cute cookie cutters out.

(My recipe calls for pumpkin but I accidentally grabbed pumpkin pie mix so just do whatever works for you)

Roll out your dough and grab your circle cutter.

Ideally you need a 3-4" circle. A wide mouth mason jar is a perfect sub if you don't already own one.

Cut out 12 circles.

Spray your muffin tin and fill with your mini doughs.

Whip up your pumpkin mixture (recipe below) and fill each dough 3/4 full.

With the extra dough left over, use your mini cookie cutters to cut out your desired pie garnishes.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

Things I've learned the hard way:

Don't fill them too full or they bake over and do little burnt edges as seen here.

Put your garnishes on half way through baking if you don't want them overdone.

Let cool completely before you plate to serve.

 And they taste best shared with friends. :)

 Mini Pumpkin Pies

 Ingredients

- 1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

- 2 eggs

- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

- 2 store bought pie crusts

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400

-Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, salt, and pumpkin pie spice

- Using a circular cookie cutter or jar lid, cut 12 circles. Ideally you need at 3-4" circle.

- Using mini cookie cutters, cut out cute garnishes 

- Add pie crusts to muffin tin

- Add pie filling to 3/4 full

-Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

- Add garnishes half way through baking for lighter color

Enjoy!

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And because I know you just can't get enough of pumpkin recipes. I've teamed up with some other awesome bloggers to bring you enough pumpkin recipes to last you all season!

Here are 6 more delicious pumpkin recipes!

Pumpkin And Ricotta Stuffed Shells - Motherhood in Stilettos 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies - Lazy Moms Blog

Pumpkin Spice French Toast - Amidst The Chaos

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls - Mom Wife Foodie

Pumpkin Bread With Brown Sugar Topping - Mom Beyond Mom

No-Bake Protein Pumpkin Apple Pie Bites - The Mother Overload

Pork Tacos with Colorful Cilantro Lime Slaw

You guys, I just found a way to take Taco Tuesday to a whole other level.

Three little words...

Cilantro Lime Slaw

I'm so serious, I'm probably never eating tacos without this again.

The recipe is so simple and fresh, too.

Colorful Cilantro Lime Slaw

Ingredients:

Tri color slaw (cabbage, red cabbage, carrots)

Cilantro

EVOO

Lime

Garlic

Fresh cracked pepper

Salt 

Instructions:

Chop your own cabbage and carrots or buy the pre-bagged (you do you) and

put it all in a big bowl.

Chop up fresh cilantro and be generous with it. (If you love it like me then you put a whole lot in).

Pour in 1/4 C EVOO.

Juice in 1 lime.

Mince in some garlic. (I pressed 1 clove)

Crack some fresh pepper and sprinkle some salt.

Give it all a good ol' mix up.

Refrigerate it and then put it on top of your tacos. (I think it's best with pork but chicken or beef are fine too).

Stand amazed at the fresh deliciousness that you've been missing on your tacos.

Think of me the next time you Taco Tuesday and give this slaw a go!

The other way you can take your Taco Tuesday to the next level is these 

cuuuuute vintage brass cactus napkin holders.

One unique set of four up for grabs in my shop.

Best Clean-Out-the-Fridge Recipes

Near the end of the week, I'm always ready to get rid of the little bits and pieces and leftovers that are sitting around my fridge. You know, the 3 pieces of bacon, the handful of almost-bad spinach, the sprinkling of cheese, the half of tomato, the quarter of an onion. Yeah, all those. As someone who hates to waste food, I've perfected a few go-to clean-out-the-fridge recipes. I thought you guys might like them too, in case you find yourself in one of those moments. And the reason I love these recipes so much is because, really anything goes. You can pretty much make almost anything sitting in your fridge work with a little creativity!



Grilled Naan Bread Pizzas
I love to buy the naan bread from Aldi and keep it in my freezer for these very moments.
They're perfect for making creative pizzas. And you guys know about pizza, you can make almost anything go. Don't have pizza sauce, spice up your tomato/spaghetti sauce. Don't have any sauce? Make a white pizza with garlic and olive oil. I almost always have everything I need to make these happen. I just top them with whatever I have in my fridge, put them on some tin foil and pop them on the grill for a bit. Don't feel like grilling? Just bake them until cheese is melted.

Seen here from top to bottom:
- Cherry tomato, basil, mozzarella, feta with olive oil and garlic and a balsamic glaze
- Mozzarella, wilted spinach, olive oil and garlic topped with bacon
- Goat cheese, caramelized onion, chicken and bbq sauce

Quiche or Frittata
Depending on what I'm wanting to get rid of I usually waffle between classic quiche, crustless quiche or frittata. If I have a lot of potatoes I want to get rid of, I opt for the making the frittata.
You can seriously throw almost any meat or veggie combo in these and the more the merrier is usually my rule of thumb. My favorite is classic quiche because who doesn't love pie crust but if I don't have pie crust or am cutting back on carbs, crustless quiche is the best way to go.

Seen here: spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, goat cheese, onion and eggs

Sausage Hash
This recipe is another good one if you want to use up potatoes before they start sprouting a million eyes. Sautéed sausage and potato is my usually base and then I throw in whatever else is hanging out in my fridge. Usually adding in some combo of, green beans, brussel sprouts, apples, onions, and almost always topped with a fried egg!


Hoped this helped give you a few ideas for when you're ready to clean out your fridge!

HelloFresh First Timer + Review

We had our first experience with HelloFresh last week and we loved it! And here's my reasons why.

1. It makes a great at-home date night.

This was the initial reason I wanted to try it. We've been doing weekly dates nights and I thought it'd be fun to do something a little different but still cooking at home together. But it ended up being the perfect break from meal planning and grocery shopping that I needed.

Doing it for our date night was so fun. The meals come with step by step directions and pictures so it was just fun for us to turn on music, get the wine started and divvying up the prep work.

2. Super easy and great ingredients

The other two meals we got, I ended up making by myself but to just go in the pantry and pull out the box of all the stuff I needed for dinner and not have to think about it was such a treat.

I loved that lots of the prep work was already done. Like pre-peeled garlic cloves and de-tailed shrimp!

For me, getting in the kitchen with a new recipe and no kids around my ankles is my happy place. I truly enjoy cooking like this and easy cooking guide is a welcomed relief at the end of a long day.

Also, this meal was our favorite.
Fiesty Shrimp Linguine

3. Generous Portions
The other thing I'll say that I loved is the that the portions for the family pack we got were really generous. Like for this Balsamic Chicken, Josh and I just ate it the first night and later in the week I was able to feed all four of us with the leftover portion.
Our whole family ate the shrimp meal twice. And the left over beef stirfry made quesedillas for the guys and topped a salad for me. We were able to make this 3 meal pack feed us all week.

4. Special ingredients I wouldn't normally have
For me it was fun to use ingredients that I wouldnt' normally have in my pantry.
Like Herbs de Provence for the veggies. So good.
And hoisin sauce for the beef stirfry. We loved it. And it felt like a treat because it's not flavors we have all the time.

Having HelloFresh last week was such a treat for us!
And now you can treat your family by using my referral link for $40 off your first box!
Try it and make your week 1000x better!

 
 Have you tried it before? Are you a HelloFresh regular? Let me know your thoughts!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread - on the Healthier Side

I'm always looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth but not make feel super guilty when I eat it. So this moist, chocolatey bread packed with veggies and applesauce instead of a lot of oil is one I love to make!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

2. Use a towel or paper towels to slightly press down on the shredded zucchini to eliminate some of the moisture. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Stir in the zucchini, then fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Let the bread cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before serving. Don’t skip the cooling process – the bread will appear underdone if you slice and serve while it’s still warm.

This bread is excellent as dessert with a glass of milk or in the morning with your cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Fall Cooking: Best of Soups

I so look forward to the change in seasons and new seasonal ingredients to cook with.

When there's a chill in the air, the first thing I want to make is soup.

An afternoon with nothing to do but sip wine and make a big pot of soup is so relaxing to me.

And the end result is always so gratifying.

Looking back in my blog, I've shared a few soup recipes that I love. But my #1 has got to be 

Butternut Squash Soup. It's so creamy and delicious and tastes SO good with 

crusty bread dipped in it.

I shared a step by step recipe for how to make this soup back in 2011 and 

I don't think I've ever missed a year making it. You should definitely try this one.

And here is the rest of my list of soups that I add to my rotation every fall/winter:

Potato Soup

Image via KeyIngredient

Chili

image via Family Fresh Meals

Vegetable Soup

Image via SavorHome

Corn Chowder

Image via DamnDelicious

I hope you'll try some of these and add them to your fall dinner line-up!

Fall Must-Make: Apple Dumplings + Apple Recipe Round-Up

I can't believe I'm doing this but I'm giving up my most prized apple recipe.
Because really, good food is meant to be shared.
This recipe is so nostalgic for me because it's my mom's and she makes
it even better than I do.
So without further ado, I give you:
Apple Dumplings

I love this recipe because there's not much in it but it's so super delicious.
Ingredients:
- Jiffy pie crust mix
- cooking apples (whatever you prefer)
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
-butter

I think the other reason I love it is because there's no measurements for the filling part.
I'm an eyeball it kinda girl. And that's why I usually prefer cooking for the eyeball-it, intuition, non-precise, forgiving nature of it. 

Step 1: Peel and cut apples into small pieces.
I usually do about 4-5 apples depending on the size. Again, eye-balling it.

Step 2: Place apples in a bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Step. 3: In a separate bowl, mix Jiffy pie crust according to box.
You could make your own piece crust or use store bought but I honestly think
this Jiffy crust is what makes it so delicious.

Step 4: Roll pie crust out into a rectangle on a floured surface.

Step 5: Cover pie crust with apples and sprinkle with small pieces of cold butter.

Step 6: Roll into a tight log

Step 7: Cut log into pieces
Sometimes I do 6, sometimes I do 8. Depends on how I'm feeling.

Step 8: Grease an 8x8 pan and place pieces in apple side up

Step 9: Make your sauce.
Boil together:
-2/3 C sugar
- 1 1/2 C water
- 2 TB butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Let boil 3 minutes.

Pour your sauce over your slices.

Step 10: Bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned

Let cool slightly and enjoy!
Best served a la mode. Duh.

And here it is all in one place:
Ingredients:
- Jiffy pie crust mix
- cooking apples (whatever you prefer)
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
-butter
Sauce ingredients:
- 2/3 C sugar
- 1 1/2 C water
-2TB butter
-1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
- Mix Jiffy pie crust dough as directed on box.
-Roll out onto a floured surface into a rectangle
- Use cooking apples; peel and cut into small pieces
- Place apples onto pie dough covering the whole thing. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and small pieces of butter.
- Roll into a tight log.
-Grease an 8x8 pan and cut log into pieces.  Place in pan apple side up.
-Combine sauce ingredients in a pan, stir & bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes, then pour over top of pieces.
-Bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy!


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I've also teamed up with some of my favorite mama bloggers to bring you 7 more amazing recipes
to try with your apples this fall! Be sure to click through and add these to your 
must-make list this fall!

3 Minute Apple Crumble Mug Cake- Lazy Moms Blog

Apple Dumplings- Honeysuckle Blog

Apple Cider Sangria- Mom Wife Foodie

Apple Pumpkin Pie Spice Overnight Oats- The Mother Overload

Apple Brie Arugula Galette- Drafts and Crafts

Tahini Apple and Thyme Toast- Occasionally Perfect Style

Apple Cinnamon Rolls- Nikki Andal

Applesauce Greek Yogurt Parfaits- Kristeena Michelle