Pumpkin Soup 2.0

If you hang around my house for very long you will soon discover that I can never leave a recipe alone. Even after we have declared that a recipe can't get any better I am still adding this or that or taking out something or just adjusting it in general. This Pumpkin Soup is a prime example. We love this soup and have ever since the first time I made it. It is fantastic but I had to play with it this week to make it just a bit better and that is what I am sharing today.

One of the small changes I made was to subsitute some fresh sage for the dry sage in the original recipe. You see the sage plant on my back porch is threatening to take over the pot from the other herbs. I love to use fresh herbs whenever I can and the flavor of the fresh combines so nicely with the other flavors in this soup. If you don't have fresh simply use a teaspoon of dry and it will still taste fantastic.

The other minor change I made on this version was that I had just purchased some nice fresh ginger. I love the bite of fresh ginger in soups so I added a Tablespoon to the pot. Oh my, it is so delicious in there! On this on dry just won't cut it so if you don't have any fresh ginger I would say leave it out. However, it is so worth having that you really should pick up some ginger next time you go through the produce department. (it freezes really well and is actually easier to grate frozen than not)

Pumpkin Soup (2.0)

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 oz) can vegetable broth

1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (or 1 teaspoon dry)

1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger

½ Tablespoon soy sauce

dash hot sauce

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Lime wedges (1 per person)

Combine everything except the lime wedges in a medium to large saucepan. Heat through over medium heat.

Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze into the soup at the table.

Ranch Pretzels

I love to have this handy snack on hand it's great to grab to go when you are on the run or just sitting around and need something to nibble on. With only 4 ingredients and such a short prep time it is easy to throw together last minute too. Just be sure to allow time for the mixture to cool before you package it up.

As for the shape of pretzels you use the sourdough nuggets make up the majority of the mixture. For the smaller pretzels my preference is the checkerboard shape (they hold onto more of the coating because of the shape) but feel free to use whatever smaller pretzel shape you prefer.

The pretzels will keep for up to a month as long as they are stored in an airtight container. My mom used to make this and freeze it so it would keep longer.

Ranch Pretzels

1 (14 oz) bag sourdough pretzel nuggets (about 5 cups)

3 cups checkerboard shaped pretzels (or other small shape)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 envelope ranch dressing mix (¾ oz to 1 oz depending on brand)

Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

In a 13” x 9” baking pan combine the pretzels and mix well.

In a small jar with a lid combine the oil and dressing mix and shake to thoroughly combine.

Pour the oil mixture over the pretzels and mix to coat all the pretzels evenly

Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes, stir thoroughly

Bake another 5 minutes, stir again

Allow to cool to room temperature

Store in an airtight container for up to a month or freeze for longer storage.

Peanut Butter Pasta

If you ask my youngest son what his very favorite meal is he will tell you he actually has three very favorite meals. One of them is Peanut Butte Pasta which I suspect is actually his favorite because he requests it the most. I think he loves it because he loves peanut butter. I love it because it is so quick and easy to make. It really takes more time to cook the pasta than to make the sauce. How is that for a quick meal.

I usually serve this sauce over something like a a ziti or corkscrew pasta, I love how those shapes hold onto the sauce. It is equally good with a long noodle shape or a spaghetti. I do try to serve this (and most of my pasta recipes) with whole wheat pasta but again it goes with everything.

Peanut Butter Pasta

2/3 cup apple juice (I have also used chicken broth and it works well too)

½ cup peanut butter (creamy is best but crunchy will be fine, use what you have on hand)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

Tabasco sauce to taste (start with a tiny bit and work up to what you like)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

chopped peanuts to garnish

Combine juice, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, and Tabasco in a small saucepan and stir together. Heat over medium heat stirring frequently until mixture melts and becomes smooth.

Stir in cilantro.

Toss with hot pasta and garnish with chopped peanuts.

Spiced Peanut Chicken

We love this recipe and it is so fun to use things we have in the kitchen in a new combination. I have been told by a friend that this is inspired by North African cooking but I am not sure. All I know it is fantastic.

Also I am always on the lookout for wonderful dishes that can be cooked in my slow cooker. There is nothing like walking into the kitchen at the end of the day to find dinner practically ready. This one does need a bit of finishing at the end and you will need to cook the rice or couscous.

I have served this over rice and couscous and both are really good. We had brown rice the time I made this to take the photo, but if you want to serve it over white rice or couscous go for it. It is wonderful over any of these.

All the ingredients really are things I always have on hand. I mean who doesn't keep some canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, honey , cumin, cinnamon and peanut butter on hand. I also usually have some chicken thighs in my freezer since they are one of the things I stock up on whenever they come on sale.

I almost always leave the skin on the thighs, you can remove it before browning if you wish. I love the extra richness it gives the dish but if you want to cut the calories down leave it off. Just be sure to leave the bone in the thighs, it imparts so much flavor when the meat is cooked on the bone that it would be a shame to loose that.

The only caution I can give is to make sure that your slow cooker is big enough. You will need at least a 4 qt to get everything in. I usually cook this in my 6 qt just to be safe.

Spiced Peanut Chicken

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

8 chicken thighs (about 3 lbs)

1 large onion chopped

2 (14 ½ oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons honey

1 ½ teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup creamy peanut butter

In a large skillet heat oil and add chicken, cook turning over once until well browned on both sides. You aren't cooking them through just getting the outside nice and brown and crispy. (it is better to do this in 2 batches than to over crowd your pan)

Meanwhile in your slow cooker combine the onion, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, honey, cumin and cinnamon. Mix well. Add the chicken and spoon the sauce over to coat.

Cover and cook over low heat for at least 8 hours.

Just before serving remove chicken, cover and keep warm. Add peanut butter to sauce in slow cooker. Stir to combine and cover to heat through.

Serve chicken and sauce over either rice or couscous.

Strawberry Cracker Snack

I absolutely love strawberries with fresh basil the two flavors are really made to go together. If you haven't tried the combination be sure to give it a try. I even sometimes add basil to my strawberries in strawberry shortcake too.

The spread for this snack can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a few days. Just spread as many crackers as you need at a time and top with the fresh strawberry halves.

These make a great little snack for adults or kids or would go wonderfully on an appetizer tray too. They are savory but slightly sweet at the same time because of the fresh berry. And they are so pretty too, as you can see from the photo.

I usually get about enough spread for 18 crackers but that will vary depending on how generous you are when you spread the crackers.

Although I have only tried this with strawberries, I am thinking it would be really good with blue berries too. I'll have try that next time. 

 

Strawberry Cracker Snack

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 Tablespoon honey

¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil

pinch of salt

Fresh strawberries, cut cleaned and cut in half (About 9)

Crackers of your choice (about 18)

Beat the cream cheese and honey together with an electric mixer until well combined and there are no more lumps. Carefully fold in the fresh basil and salt.

When ready to eat, spread about a Tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on a cracker and top with a half strawberry.

Tropical Chicken Salad Sandwiches

We love the combination of flavors in this sandwich filling. The pineapple gives this slight hint of sweet along with a marvelous texture. The sesame oil along with ground ginger gives just a hint of Asian flavor too which is a really popular flavor profile at our house. And then there is the lovely crunch of the sliced almonds. I really love these.

Tropical Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, juice pack

1 teaspoon cornstarch

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

¼ cup chopped green pepper

¼ cup  sliced almonds (toasted)

2 sliced green onions

bread

lettuce

In a small saucepan combine the canned pineapple (with the juice) and the cornstarch, heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 more minutes.

Transfer to a medium bowl and allow to cool to room temperature

When pineapple is cooled to room temperature add the mayonnaise, sesame oil, ginger and salt and stir to combine.

Add chicken, green pepper, almonds and green onions.

At this point the mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I like to add lettuce to these sandwiches when serving.

Makes 3 to 4 sandwiches.

Greek Chicken Pasta

I have made an observation this last month or so while posting recipes to this blog. We eat a lot of foods that are inspired by the flavors of Greece and the Mediterranean, at least in the summer. I love the flavor profile of that area: olive oil, olives, Feta cheese,tomatoes all of these flavors are so wonderful especially in the summer months.

This pasta dish is great anytime of year and works equally well with either chicken or turkey. Most of the ingredients are things that are always on hand at my house so I can make this when I don't want to make a trip to the store. Also it is just impressive enough to serve to guests so it is a perfect dish to pull out when you get unexpected guests around meal time.

The only down side to this dish in my opinion is that some of the ingredients are a bit on the pricy side (sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts) I do try to watch for sales on these ingredients so I can get them for less and just have them when I need them. I do admit to a bit of sticker shock when I went to make this for the blog picture. I had run out of sun-dried tomatoes and had to buy them at regular price but that got me to thinking how do I use these ingredients to really make them stand out. First off don't chop them up too finely! I know there is a school of thought that if you chop them up really finely then you get a little bit in every bit. I say NO! cut them in larger pieces so they really show up. I would rather see fewer large pieces of these ingredients than to have tiny bits of stuff I can't identify in every bite. So I just cut the olives each in half they show up so much better that way. Then I cut the rest of the expensive stuff into about the same size pieces.

Also I used the marinade from the artichokes as the base for my vinaigrette for our salad. I simply added some extra virgin olive oil, a bit of balsamic vinegar and some dry herbs. After all you paid for both the artichokes and the marinade they come in.

Also in this recipe (like in many of my recipes) I make the white sauce in the microwave. I do this all the time, it is practically fool proof and really pretty fast.

Greek Chicken Pasta

½ pound uncooked dry penne pasta

¼ cup butte

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup flour

1 (14 0z) can chicken broth

1 cup (about 4 oz) crumbled Feta cheese

3 cups (approximately, use what you have) chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 (6 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

½ sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed) drained and chopped

1/3 halved kalamata olives

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Grease an 11”x7” casserole dish

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile melt butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave (about 30 seconds to a minute)

Add onion to butter and heat in microwave on high for about 2 minutes at a time until soft and starting to cook through.

Add flour, stir well and heat in microwave for 30 seconds.

Stir in chicken broth. Microwave on high at 1 minute, stir and repeat until mixture starts to bubble and thicken.

Combine all ingredients and put in prepared casserole dish.

Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes until hot.

Garnish with additional parsley and oregano if desired.