Pioneer Woman's Carrot and Squash Curry Soup

(Image from Pioneer Woman)

I made PW's Carrot and Squash Curry Soup a few nights ago and my whole family, even my 3- and 1-year-olds, enjoyed it. I had a massive yellow squash from my in-law's garden to use up, and this was a great way to get everyone to eat it.

I think I used 4 cans chicken broth, minus a cup (and no wine). Also, I like curry, but I though 1 Tablespoon of the stuff was a bit heavy in this. I'll add less next time. But really, this is good soup! We ate half of it, and put the other half in the freezer for later.

Ingredients

* 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
* 3 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced Thin
* 4 whole Yellow Squash (sliced)
* Salt To Taste
* 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder (more To Taste!)
* ½ cups Dry White Wine (optional)
* 48 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth
* Heavy Cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and stir to coat. Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, or until they start to get soft. Sprinkle in a little salt.

Add squash. Stir and cook for a few minutes, until squash is soft and tender. After a few minutes, add salt to taste and the curry powder.

Pour in wine if using. Let evaporate for about 30 seconds, then pour in chicken broth. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot, and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off heat.

Puree soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer. Serve hot. If you’re feeling naughty, drizzle heavy cream over the top.

Easy-peasy Stew

This stew is so easy and tasty. Even my husband liked it, and he's not much of a stew person.

HOME-STYLE STEW

serves 5

2 pkgs. (16 oz each) frozen vegetables for stew

1-1/2 lbs. beef stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 can tomato soup (undiluted)

1 envelope reduced-sodium onion soup mix

(Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.) Place vegetables in 5-quart slow cooker. Cook stew meat until browned on all sides, lightly season. Transfer to slow cooker. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over top of meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until beef is tender.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

This is another recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I'm now 2-for-2 with their recipes, and I'm excited to try more.

In a crock pot, add:
1 pound chicken (I used frozen chicken breasts)
1 large can black beans (is that the 28 oz can? I can't remember)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
1 (16oz) jar salsa
1 1/2 tsp cumin

Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

At the very end of cooking, I shredded the chicken and stirred in the 3/4 can of fat free refried black beans that I had taking up space in my fridge. The recipe doesn't call for them, but I couldn't think of another way to use them.....they ended up thickening the soup nicely, so I think I'll add them next time as well.

Serve with:
shredded cheese
avocado
sour cream
chopped cilantro

Sooooooooooooo delicious. (And also with minimal effort. Which, for me, is a necessary bonus).

Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken

This sauce for the chicken is so yummy. I served it with a veggie stir fry and it was a big hit.

Recipe from Mrs. Harding Cooks.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
⅓ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ cup water
⅓ cup soy sauce

Directions:

- Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

- Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned.

- Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients.

- Pour into wok and bring to a boil.

- Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Serve over rice, or by itself.

Crockpot Applesauce Chicken

I made this last night, and it was a hit with my family! We served it with mashed sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. applesauce
1 T. dried onion flakes, or 1/4 yellow onion, chopped finely
1 T. Apple cider vinegar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Put chicken breasts in the bottom off a 3-4 quart crock pot and add chopped onions on top. (If you're using dried onion, add that to the applesauce first).

2. In a bowl, mix applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken.

3. Cover and cook for 5-7 hours on low, or on high for 3-4.

(This recipe came from A Year of Slow Cooking....LOTS of good recipes on there).

Banana Bread

I've been trying to alter my recipes to be a bit healthier (emphasis on "bit"). Today, I worked on making over my banana bread recipe, and I found it to be pretty satisfying....

Mix together thoroughly:
2 eggs, well-beaten
3/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

In another bowl, combine:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix wet and dry ingredients together well and add:
3 bananas, mashed.

Divide evenly between 2 greased/floured bread pans and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

(Confession: I added chocolate chips...but don't tell).

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Another relatively healthy dessert (made with whole wheat flour, fresh blueberries, and very little butter/oil). This one's from Ellie Krieger. Yum.

Ingredients

* Cooking spray
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
* 1 cup fresh blueberries, or frozen and thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray.

Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and oil until fluffy. If necessary, use the back of a spoon to press out any lumps in the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla and yogurt.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, stirring until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the batter and top with the blueberries, gently pressing them into the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then unmold and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut the cake into 2-inch squares.


Note: I used lemon yogurt instead of plain, and tossed some lemon zest into the batter. It tasted great. I labeled it with breakfast because I know a lot of people eat coffee cake for breakfast (and I probably will tomorrow!)

Healthy Bob's Red Mill Cookies

I don't know if you've ever bought Bob's Red Mill full-grain food products, but they're the best. I get them at my grocery store, but if they're not available in your area you can order them online too. I got this cookie recipe off the back of their 5-Grain Rolled Cereal, and they are delicious and pretty healthy. I actually feel like I could eat them for breakfast, they're so wholesome-tasting.

1-1/2 cups 5-Grain Rolled Cereal (if you can't find the Bob's Red Mill stuff, you can probably just substitute regular old oats)
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 cup Butter**
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Water
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Pecan Halves (I used slivered almonds instead)
1/2 cup Coconut Flakes
1/2 cup Cranberries
1/2 cup Raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two cookie sheets and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Chop pecans into coarse pieces and set aside.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth, then blend in water and vanilla. Beat eggs and add to butter mixture. Stir flour mixture into the egg and butter mixture. Add cereal and all remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. When done, edges should be lightly brown.

Yield 24 cookies.

**Lately I've been using Sunsweet's Lighter Bake product, and I love it. In some recipes it seems to change the taste/color a bit, but it's worth it to me to cut out the butter or oil completely. I substituted it for the butter in this recipe, and it tasted delicious.

Recipe Review

Thank you, thank you to Missy for her Lentils and Potatoes with Curry. I've been retaining a lot of water lately (TMI, I know...sorry) and I know lentils are a good diuretic. So, in my search for good lentil recipes, I found Missy's. It was so, so, so delicious.

And do you know what's also delicious??? Missy's Apple-Raisin Muffins. Wow.

Tasty Salsa

This salsa is so tasty, you can eat it with a spoon!

1 can black beans
1 can white shoepeg corn
3 roma tomatoes, diced
3 avacados, diced
green onions, to taste
1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
4T vinegar
3T water
2T oil

Mix and enjoy!!!