Crock Pot Sweet and Spicy Wings

     The first Sunday of the NFL-a day Arnauld has been counting down to since the Superbowl way back in February.  To say that he is obsessed with football is an understatement.  I don't understand the big deal or the draw of fantasy football, but I decided to be a supportive wife, at least to kickoff the season so I made some football inspired wings to celebrate this "big day."

Crock Pot Sweet and Spicy Wings
Recipe from followinginmyshoes.com

Ingredients
1/4-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp Sambal Oelek
2-4 lbs chicken wings
cooking spray

Method
1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray and add the wings.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Pour over the wings and then stir so that all of the wings are coated.
3. Cook on low for 2-4 hours.  The broil for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is crispy.

 In case you also have no idea what Sambal Oelek is, here is a picture.  I had to do a little research before heading out and finally finding this stuff at Target.

Slow Cooker: White Bean and Apple Chili

     This weekend has been such a blur.  I went to the grocery store and completely forgot to even think about lunch for the week.  Luckily it is a short week.  I quickly scoured Pinterest this morning for something easy I could make using ingredients I already had at home...which wasn't much.  This is what I came up with, White Bean and Apple Chili.  Seems an odd combo to me...we shall see!

White Bean and Apple Chili
Ingredients
3 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
2 apples, chopped into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Method
1. Place the butter at the bottom of the crock pot.
2.  Top the butter with two cans of the while beans.
3. Add the apple, onion, garlic, broth, and spices.
4. Stir in the yogurt.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.
6. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup a bit, but not until it is smooth, just a bit chunky.
7. Stir in the third can of soup and heat through.
8. You can add cheddar cheese and sour cream to this chili if you want to.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

     I made this for lunch last week...I was on sort of a buffalo kick!  I never got around to snapping a picture but I thought the recipe was worth sharing.

Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
Two 15.5 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups chopped celery
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup plus 2 1/2 tsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese


Method
1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken and place in the crock pot.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the hot sauce and cheese.  Stir.
3. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
4. Remove the chicken and shred using two forks.  Return to the crock pot along with 1/3 cup of Hot Sauce.  Stir.
5. Serve topped with a splash of hot sauce and crumbled blue cheese.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Dressing

     Skinnytaste.com is a great website for healthy recipes.  I have made several dishes and all have been great.  This weekend I attempted this shredded buffalo chicken in the crock pot with homemade blue cheese dressing.  The shredded chicken could be made into lettuce wraps, as suggested on Skinnytaste.  I plan to use it in salad this week for lunch.  In addition to being delicious and versatile, this recipe was easy-my number one criteria these days. 

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients
1-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 celery stalk
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 celery stalk
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup Red Hot Wing Sauce

Method
1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Add onion, celery stalk (whole), garlic, and broth.  If the broth does not completely cover the chicken, add water.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours.
4. Remove chicken from the crock pot. Reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid and discard the rest.
5. Shred the chicken using 2 forks.  Return to the crock pot.  Add the hot sauce and cook on high for 30 minutes.

Skinny Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 cup blue cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the cheese and yogurt.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

We are our own party whenever we are all together...which is pretty often!

Wren loves Maverick so much she wants to eat him.

Savory Bean and Spinach Soup

     Another week of work beginning means I am that much closer to vacation and spending time with my girl!  We spent the weekend decorating for Christmas.  Wren slept through finding a Christmas tree but now that it is up she is enjoying the lights.  Hopefully all the weekend activity will make her super sleepy tonight.  She hasn't been the best sleeper lately.
     My mom made this soup a while back and sent me the recipe.  I pulled it out since it was very simple to throw together.  Hopefully this soup gives me the energy I'll need to make it through the day!

Savory Bean and Spinach Soup
Ingredients
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 15oz can of tomato puree
2 15 oz cans of white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 cups baby spinach, regular spinach, or kale
Parmesan Cheese

Method
1. Combine vegetable broth, tomato purée, beans, rice, onion, basil, salt and pepper in the crock pot.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 2.5-3.5 hours.
3. Before serving, stir in spinach and sprinkle with cheese.

Slow Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken With Vegetables

     As we await Hurricane Sandy, I am anxious to get done as many tasks and chores that use electricity for fear that we may lose power.  So as I am blogging, the dishwasher and drier are running, a new book has been downloaded to read on my iPad, and meals are in the process of being prepared.  We went to the store last night to pick up some snacks and diapers and many of the shelves were bare.  Who knew that chips were a storm necessity? Here's to the hope that the storm passes quickly and as quietly as possible.

Slow Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken with Vegetables

 Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 inch cube of ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 lb chicken, cut into bit sized pieces
1 can coconut milk, not shaken
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup peas
1 cup corn

1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp salt

Method
1. Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In the food processor, combine the ginger, garlic, and onion.  Pulse until a paste is formed.
3. Place the olive oil and butter in the bottom of your slow cooker.  Place the pot from the slow cooker over your stove burner, on medium high heat.  Add the garlic, onion, ginger paste and cook for a few minutes.  Then add the spice mixture and cook for a few minutes while stirring constantly.
4. Move the contents in the slow cooker pot to one side and then add the chicken to the opposite side.  Cook the chicken slightly on all sides and then stir in with the spices.
5. Open the coconut milk and remove the cream from the top and save it in a small bowl.  Pour the remaining coconut milk over the chicken.
6. Add the corn to the mixture and place the crock pot bowl back in the crock pot.  Set on low and cook for 4 hours.
7. Add the cornstarch to the saved coconut cream and whisk together.   Stir into the crock pot and add any additional vegetables.  Cook for another half hour before serving. 

Falafel in the Crock Pot

     My room mate at work, Tracey, was talking about how her crock pot saved her and her family for dinner last week.  She also mentioned a new blog she was reading for inspiration, A Year of Slow Cooking.  There are tons of interesting recipes here and ideas for using a slow cooker that I never would have dreamed of.  As I write this, the delicious smell of falafel is drifting through the air.  I never would have thought to make falafel in the crock pot.  I plan to add falafel to my salads this week for a much needed change from my usual soup.

Falafel

Ingredients
I can chick peas
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cumin
juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tbsp olive oil

Method
1. Rince and drain chick peas.  Mash with a fork or a potato masher.  Set aside.
2. In the food processor, combine onion, parsley, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture from the food processor over the chick peas.  Slowly stir in the bread crumbs.  The mixture should be wet and able to form into balls.
4.  Pour the olive oil into the crock pot.  Form golf ball sized balls with the falafel mixture.  Squish the balls down a bit.  Dip each side into the olive oil and then place in a single layer (it is ok of they touch).
5. Cook on high for 2.5 hours or until the falafel is golden brown.

*For more flavor add 1 teaspoon or coriander and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to your falafel mix.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Mix plain Greek yogurt with a pinch of dill, salt, pepper and lemon sauce.  For extra flavor, shred a cucumber and add this as well.

The Taste Test
    What a great way to make falafel!  The last time I attempted a falafel recipe, it was challenging because it crumbed every time I tried to flip it in the pan.  There was no flipping in the crock pot.  This was a great lunch and the best part was the dressing!  Definitely take the time to shred the cucumber, it added a great fresh taste and more texture.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

     I've been wishing for a snow day, but unfortunately I've been wishing on the wrong stars!  Tonight we are suppose to get a few inches, but not enough for a snow day.  Oh well.  The bright side of going to work tomorrow is that there is a staff breakfast.  I'm on the list this month to bring something in and I thought hot oatmeal would be the perfect breakfast for a cold wintery morning.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Ingredients
2 cups steel cut oats
8 cups water
2 apples, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

    As you can tell, my New Year's resolution was not to blog more!  I've been slacking lately.  Arnauld has been pretty busy at work, so busy that I was already asleep every night this week before he came home.  Poor guy.  An empty house and the thought of cooking just for me forced me to go begging for dinner from my parents and my Grandma this week.  While at my mom's I even packed leftovers for lunch at work this week.  Today it was my mission to ease my way back into the kitchen and the crock pot seemed like the best way to do just that.  This is a recipe for minestrone soup was one that I saw on Pinterest, a very fun site for those of you who may not have discovered it yet.  A few clicks further, I discovered that the recipe originated from one of my favorite cooking sites, skinnytaste.com , home of many healthy and delicious recipes.

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped ( I didn't have carrots so I substituted peas)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Cannellini beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 oz of parmesan cheese rind
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cups spinach (fresh or frozen), chopped
2 cups Orzo pasta, cooked
extra parmesan to sprinkle on the soup when serving

Method
1. Combine all ingredients, through the parsley, in your slow cooked.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. 40 minutes before the soup is done, add the zucchini and spinach.
3. 10 minutes before the soup is done, add the pasta.
4. Remove rosemary sprig, bay leaves, and parmesan rind.  Season with salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese.

Three Bean and Barley Soup

     Thanksgiving is over and it's already time to go back to work.  It's time to get back to healthy eating and forget the pie and desserts until Christmas time.  The last thing I wanted to do was spend a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend, so of course I pulled out the slow cooker.  It took 3 minutes to throw everything in and lunch is covered for the week.

Three Bean and Barley Soup

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 can black beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can kidney beans
1/2 cup barley
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt

Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a large crock pot.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Tofu Chili with Butternut Squash

     I should rename my blog The Lazy Cook.  My drive to cook has really fallen lately and I have had little motivation to make anything.  I don't think I made dinner once last week.  Arnauld was working late and I had something to do almost every day after school.  The fact that it is pitch dark at 5:30 doesn't help either.  I have the winter blues already and it's only November!  When searching for something to make for lunch this week, I based my search on ingredients that I had on hand, including a butternut squash.  My other keyword was...crock pot!  I just wanted to throw something in the pot and walk away from the kitchen as fast as I could.  As I threw one ingredient after another in and then lined the top with tofu, I reminded myself that I would actually have to eat this concoction...yikes!

Tofu Chili with Butternut Squash

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 package of mushrooms, watched and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp Cayenne pepper
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cumin
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into slices
2 tbsp cornmeal
shredded cheddar cheese

Method
1. Toss the mushrooms, squash, onion, celery, tomatoes, chickpeas, cayenne pepper, chili paste, chili powder, honey, and cumin into the crock pot.  Stir everything together and press the veggies into an even later with the back of a wooden spoon.
2. Place the tofu slices on top of the vegetables, being careful that none of the pieces touch the sides of the crock pot.
3. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 5 hours.  About 20 minutes before the end of the cook time, stir in the cornmeal to thicken the chili.
4. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese.

The Taste Test
      The crock pot is amazing.  It transformed my random mix of ingredients into a tasty and satisfying lunch.  You would never be able to identify just what is in this lovely chili dish, but the only thing that really matters is that it tastes pretty good.

Vegetable Curry

     It seems we've skipped fall and are jumping head first into winter here on the East Coast.  Mother Nature has decided to bless us with a major snowstorm just two days before Halloween.  Arnauld and I had been aiming to keep our heat off until November but as the temperatures dipped into the low thirties and the snow began to fall, we caved in for the sake of warmth!  Plus our pups were quite cold and were snuggling extra close at night in an effort to keep warm.  The cold weather made it seem like a perfect time to dust off the crock pot.  Since September, Arnauld and I have visited the same Indian restaurant twice.  The dishes we have ordered there are full of amazing flavors.  When I saw this recipe on bhg.com, I was excited to try this ethnic dish out, keeping my fingers crossed that it might taste like something from our new favorite restaurant!

Vegetable Curry
Adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens Recipe

Ingredients
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 (15 oz) can of chick peas
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 (14oz) can of vegetable broth
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes
Hot cooked rice (optional)

Method
1. Combine all of the ingredients up to the vegetable broth in your crock pot.
2. Pour the vegetable broth over the ingredients and stir everything together.
3. Cook on low for 7-9 hours or on high for 3.5-4.5 hours.
4. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and cover for five minutes.
5. Serve over rice.

Trees still full of leaves and snow on the ground. 

Sweet Potato Barley Risotto

     This rainy dreary day made me feel like hiding away inside and breaking out the crock pot.  Since the weather has gotten nicer, I have forgotten about the crock pot.  Yesterday I was reading a book, lent to me by a friend, called The Essential Green You by Deidre Imus.  It had many suggestions and rationals for living a greener life, including eating organically and from local farmer's markets, using more natural personal care products, as well as cleaning products.  It was a quick and interesting read.  The book recommended a website, called localharvest.org, that lists local farmer's markets.  I plan to check some of them out this summer when my schedule opens up a bit. 
     The book also reminded me of some ingredients I haven't used in a while, including barley.  The book talked about all of the fiber that barley contains and how it can be used in place of Arborio rice in risottos. This morning I searched for some recipes because I thought I had a bag of barley in the pantry-which I didn't.  But my quest did turn up this recipe, which incorporated the crock pot, barley in a risotto, and sweet potatoes.  Score!

Sweet Potato Barley Risotto

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp rosemary
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups pearled barley, rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Method
1. Heat oil in a medium skillet.  Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften.
2. Add rosemary and garlic.  Stir and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add barley and vegetable broth.  Bring the mixture to a boil.
4. Place the cubed sweet potatoes in the crock pot.  Cover the potatoes with the barley mixture.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
6. Before serving, stir in 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.

The Taste Test
     Super simple!  The rosemary made the house smell delicious and a quick bite of the risotto was enough to let me know that this dish will be a hit.  The barley really plumped up as it absorbed the vegetable broth and all of it's flavor. 

Southwestern Bean Medley

    In the last few weeks more and more people from work have been chatting with me about things they had seen or tried from this blog.  It's been fun talking about recipes and things I've made with the people I work with.  People are beginning to share their recipes with me, which is great.  Right now I am in a funny spot because all of my monthly magazines have come and I've tried all of the things I wanted from them.  I find when I do random searches for things, I spend way too much time just browsing through recipes.  I'd much rather have limited choices or recommendations.  This recipe came from Tracey.

Southwestern Bean Medley

Ingredients
1 can of vegetable broth
1 tbsp chili powder
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can green chilies
chopped cilantro

Method
1. Combine everything in the crock pot.  Cook for 6-7 hours.
2. Serve over brown rice or couscous.

It doesn't get much easier than that!

Honey Mustard Chicken

     Since I am on vacation this week I wanted to find some new recipes that I could add to my "go to" pile for those nights when I need to pull something together quickly.  Usually I have a pile of recipes that I have ripped from magazines or bookmarked on the computer, but that has not been the case the past few weeks.  So I turned to the internet to find a slow cooker recipe since I haven't pulled the crock pot out in what seems like forever.   I really struggled on this one.  After hitting my favorite websites, nothing really hit me.  I finally settled on a recipe from simpledailyrecipes.com, simply because it was easy and I had all of the ingredients.  

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients
3 Chicken Breast cut in half
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Smart Balance (or butter), melted
1 tsp curry
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard


Method
1. Mix butter, honey, curry, salt, and mustard.  Pour over chicken in the crock pot.
2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

 The Taste Test
     I ran out while this was cooking and came home to a sweet and delicious aroma.  It made me really excited to try this.  I used chicken breast for this recipe even though the original recipe called for a whole chicken cut into pieces.  I used what I had.  I took the chicken out of the crock pot after 6 hours, although I think I should have taken it out earlier.  The chicken was a little dry.  If using a whole chicken, I think it would need more time.  Because I took the chicken out early, I refrigerated it and then we used it over salad for dinner.  The flavor of the chicken was really tasty.  I think next time, I will try to time this a little better so we can eat this dish hot.   This recipe will definitely find it's way into my rotation since it was very easy and tasted great.

Chickpea Soup

     I wasn't going to cook this past weekend.  I was going to take the easy route for lunch this week and throw a frozen veggie burger into my bag.  But then I watched the Food Network for about 7 minutes on Sunday morning and found my crock pot calling my name.  The show I watched featured a recipe for Pureed Chickpea Soup.  It had pancetta, which I didn't have or want to use.  I also did a lot of modifying.  For one thing, the bag of dried chickpeas said that they had to be soaked overnight.  What the heck does that mean exactly?  I guess my experience teaching math and the strive to use precise math language has me analyzing the language on the packaging of the ingredients in the kitchen.  But overnight is so open ended and what if I wanted to soak my chickpeas during the day, how long should they be in water?  I ended up soaking them for about 7 hours, figuring if I had gone to bed at 11pm and got up at 6am, that would have been overnight.  After soaking the chickpeas, I threw the following ingredients into the crockpot, turned it on low, and went to bed.

Ingredients
1/2 pound dried chickpeas (soaked)
1 cup celery
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup leeks
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
6 cups water

I wasn't really sure what to expect since I had never heard of chickpea soup before and the recipe I referenced didn't even use the crockpot.  But I woke up early enough to pull out the immersion blender and was pleasantly surprised with the results.  Since it was 5:45 when I was blending, I found the texture of the soup a bit lumpy at lunch time but I think that worked for this soup.  I'd say it's a keeper.  You could probably even experiment with adding other vegetable and spices.  The recipe also had directions for making croutons, which sounded delicious.

Vegetarian Chili

    This recipe is perfect for just throwing whatever you may have in your pantry into the crockpot and you just can't mess it up.  I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  This week I just threw the following ingredients in and presto, lunch for the week.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• A handful of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• Half a bag of baby carrots, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, combine black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, corn, shallot,  and carrots. Season with chili powder, parsley, oregano and basil. Cook for at least two hours on High or 6-8 hours on low.

Sunday is Soup Day

    Last week was a doozy and I after all of the cooking I did on Halloween, I was all cooked out!  Needless to say, it was a slow week in my kitchen.  I had to rally today in order to throw something together for lunch this week.  I did a quick google (from my bed, on my phone) in order to find a new soup to try this week.  After a few batches of Butternut Squash Soup, I've been keeping my eye out for something new each week.  Last Sunday I made potato leek soup in the crock pot from a recipe I found online.  It was simple and a bit bland but I liked it.  Here is the recipe:

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

• 4 medium leeks, hairy root end trimmed and thinly sliced, white only to make about 4 cups

• 4 medium to large russet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 4 to 6 cups water, vegetable or chicken broth, to cover I used water

• Salt, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

Place the leeks and potatoes in the cooker.  Add the water or broth to the pot, just to cover.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours, until the potatoes are tender.  Using a hand held immersion blender or transferring to a food processor or blender in batches, purée the soup.  Taste for salt and add the butter.  Ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve immediately with fresh French bread.

    Today's soup was Carrot and Sweet Potato.  Just like the potato leek soup, it had just a handful of ingredients and it was very simple to make.  It also made a lot of soup...12 cups.  That means I have lots to share!

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  butter, divided I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of Smart Balance
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 4 3/4  cups  cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 1/2  cups  water
• 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  cups  chopped carrot (about 1 pound)
• 1/4  cup  half-and-half I used a recommendation from one of the reviews for this recipe and used 1/4 cup of soy milk instead.
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3  cup  reduced-fat sour cream I skipped this...
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and this!

Preparation

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 cups water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Place half of soup 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 soup mixture. Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 teaspoons sour cream and 3/4 teaspoon parsley.

    In other news, my grandma booked a trip to Italy for the week of Thanksgiving.  She always hosts Thanksgiving dinner.  So of course I jumped at the chance to invite both my family and Arnauld's over for turkey day...of course asking everyone to come over and cook together.  Should be interesting.  I'm starting to think of the menu, wanting to stick with some traditional favorites but would love some recommendations and recipes.  If you have something you love, send it my way!  

Happy Halloween!

      I've been looking forward to today for a few weeks now.  When Dee announced that Dan was going to be in Connecticut for the weekend and that she wanted to bring the kids trick-or-treating around my neighborhood, I knew that it would be a great time to get the whole family together.  I've been scouring my magazines, emails, and websites for fun fall dishes to give a try.  Not so easy...I saw so many things that I wanted to make but they all seemed so random.  I wanted a fall themed dinner, that would feed a lot of people (about 10-15), and would also appeal to everyone.  Below you will find the recipes that made the final cut.  My eyes can hardly stay open as I type this...it's been a long day of cooking.  It's a really satisfying feeling making food for the people you love and everyone having a good time together.

Carved by Mackenzie and Annie.

So my mom wanted to help with the cooking so her and my dad worked together to make pulled pork in their crock pot.  I requested that they use apple cider to fit with the fall theme of my dinner party.  The results were delicious although my dad did not stick to the recipe I sent him, which is fine considering I have never made pulled pork and he has.  He'll have to supply the recipe for this one if anyone is interested...although while I need to follow recipes my dad can just throw things in a pot, working with what he has and it usually comes out delicious.

    My brother loves guacamole, so for an appetizer, I went with a a Tombstone Taco Dip Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.  I made some fresh tortilla chips by cutting Halloween shapes from tortillas.  I received a years worth of cookie cutters at my bridal shower earlier this year but was disappointed to find that there weren't many Halloween shapes in the mix.  That's why I added a Christmas tree to my guacamole grave yard.  I also used scissors to cut my own shapes.  Jaxson got a kick out of my star and pumpkin shaped "chippies".

Ingredients

• 1    16-ounce can refried beans with green chiles
• 1/4  cup  bottled salsa
• 2/3  cup  bottled ranch salad dressing
• 2  teaspoons  taco seasoning
• 1 1/2  cups  finely chopped cooked chicken
• 1    7-ounce pouch refrigerated guacamole I used fresh avocados that I mashed with a little salt and pepper.
• 1/2    of a 2 1/4-ounce can chopped pitted ripe olives, drained
•     shredded lettuce
•     10-inch tortillas

Directions

In a small bowl, combine refried beans and salsa. Spread refried bean mixture in a 2-quart rectangular dish. In a small bowl, combine ranch salad dressing and taco seasoning; stir in chicken.

Spoon on top of the beans in an even layer. Spoon guacamole in small mounds on top of the chicken mixture. Carefully spread to an even layer.

Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours before serving. Just before serving, place tombstone characters into dip. Sprinkle the graves with chopped olives and shredded lettuce.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Tortilla Graveyard Characters: Using cookie cutters or a knife, cut 10-inch tortillas of any flavor into gravestones, cats, owls, bats, fence rails, and a tree. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until firm and crisp. Cool on rack.

     It wouldn't be a complete day without a little baking.  Earlier in the week I googled ideas for what to serve with pulled pork and came up with corn bread.  I did a little online searching and finally settled on a recipe for Golden Sweet Cornbread from allrecipes.com.   This was super yummy.  As you can see from the first picture, one of the pans did not cook all the way through.  So that was an interesting surprise when I turned the pan over.  I just cut around this gooey mess and the results were delicious.  Never make boxed cornbread from a mix again....Mom!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

     Going along with the fall theme, I also chose a pasta dish that had butternut squash in it.  I found a recipe for  Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta.  For all my vegetarian friends, I think this would also be great minus the bacon.  My family consists of a lot of "manly" men who probably would have never given this dish a chance without the bacon. 

  

Ingredients

• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried rosemary
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  cups  (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• Cooking spray
• 6  sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1  cup  thinly sliced shallots
• 8  ounces  uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 1/3  cup  (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

     Annie and my mom both made very pretty Halloween cupcakes that I forgot to snap a picture of.  With all of the cooking I was doing, there was a lot of time management things I needed to think about but I love making dessert.  So I went to one of my slow cooker cookbooks, Crock Pot: Classic Recipes, and found a recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding.  I have never had bread pudding before and it really didn't sound appealing to me but it went with my theme and I could just throw it in the pot for a few hours and hope that it would magically transform into something great. It was interesting and everyone seemed to like it.  Dan said it tasted good but felt like it had been regurgitated.

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 16 slices cinnamon raisin bread torn into small pieces (8 cups total)

Sauce

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp bourbon (optional) Yeah...I didn't use this

1. Lightly coat crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
2. To make pudding, place milk and butter in microwavable bowl.  Heat on high for 2.5-3 minutes or until very hot.
3. Combine eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl.  Whisk until well blended.  Add hot milk; stir until well blended.  Add bread cubes; toss gently to coat completely.
4. Place mixture in crock pot and cover.  Cook on high for 2 hours or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Turn off heat.  Uncover and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. To make sauce, stir butter, sugar, and cream in saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Remove from heat.  Stir in bourbon if desired.  Spoon bread pudding into individual bowls and top with sauce.

Moose and Otis in their Halloween costumes.  Moose is the bat and Otis is the pumpkin.  Needless to say, the hats didn't stay on long! The pups did come along trick-or-treating. 

Buzz wearing his "eyes" and carrying his woobie.  "To Infinity and Beyond!"

Ace the lobster taking a nap before trick-or-treating.

One very tired Halloween-er...who isn't ready to stop being Buzz quite yet.