Tomato Basil Slow Cooker Soup

I hope your fall is treating you well so far, and you're staying warm with delicious soups and fall foods!

I have started doing a lot with my croc pot because its so easy for me to get up and put the food in and then come home to a hot dinner after class!  I found this recipe for tomato basil soup and it sounded great!  I think with all that is in it that it wold be a better vegetable soup but overall it was pretty good!

Here is the original link, but I will tell you what tweaks I made.

What you need:

2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup of finely diced celery

1 cup of finely diced carrots

1 cup of finely diced onions

1 tsp dried oregano or 1T fresh

1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh

4 cups veggie broth

1/2 bay leaf

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 cups warmed half and half

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Roux:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

Lets Cook:

Add all the veggies, broth, and spices into the slow cooker for 5-7 hours on low

30 min before serving prepare roux:

melt butter in skillet on low heat and add flour

whisk constantly for 5-7 min

slowly stir in 1 cup of  hot soup

add another 3 cups until smooth

put roux into slow cooker with soup, cheese, and half and half

cook another 30 min and then enjoy

I used all the ingredients called for and I thought it was a lot of extra veggies for a tomato soup.  The veggie base reminded me of a chili.  I am not opposed to making a roux but I have never really done it and considering my busy day and unlucky week I decided to skip the roux.  I added the cheese about half way through the day.  I couldn't get much of a cheesy taste after it was cooked and I think the soup overall needed more flavor.  I used a veggie broth instead of chicken and I didn't use quite as much butter.  Even with cutting down on the broth and butter I still ended up with some oily separation on top of the soup.  I don't know how you feel about that but it is not something I am a fan of.  The site with the original recipe mentions that after cooking in a slow cooker for a few hours the spices can get a little bland.  I never thought of that but now I know that before I eat maybe I should add a little more spice.  Let me know if you make it! I would love to know how it turns out with the roux :)

Happy fall bloggers, and happy munching!

Butternut Squash Soup!

Now that the weather is changing and fall is finally setting in its time to transition to more soups and heart warming meals for the cold months ahead.

This past week there was a great sale on squash at my local store and of course being the squash lover I am I jumped right in and picked up some big squash to cook up.  I have never cooked a butternut squash so I had no idea where to start.  I found a soup recipe that finally caught my tastebuds so I thought I would give it a try.  As I looked over it and thought about my busy school week ahead I knew that there was not time or patience to cook and dirty up all the dishes I needed for that recipe.  In talking with my mom about it we devised a plan to cook it in a crock pot which made it much more simple!

I used the same ingredients so here is what you will need:

1.5 pound butternut squash

salt and pepper (add to taste)

4 large shallots peeled and diced

1/2 ginger root peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbs chives

2.5 cups of veggie broth

1tbs garlic minced

Lets cook:

poke squash all over with fork or knife to make holes in its skin

place on baking sheet

cook for 45min on 350 (make sure it can be easily pierced before you pull it out)

cut squash in half and let cool (if its still too hard to cut put it back in the over for a little longer)

once cool scoop out seeds and take off squash peel

dice the squash up and put into croc pot

add all over ingredients and cook on high for 6 hours

I loved the soup! It was light but filling at the same time.  I totally winged the croc pot part of the recipe.  It seemed to have worked out perfectly so if I go to cook this again I wouldn't change it.  I had trouble getting the squash to a good texture.  I tried to stir it and squish it up every time I went to the kitchen.  It worked but maybe I should have thrown it in the food processor for a little spin first. When I served it up I added just a little bit of sour cream and some crackers and it was perfect!

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!  Happy munching :)

Baked Spaghetti Squash

Hello food friends,
For some strange reason I have been dying to have spaghetti squash for months.  I finally decided to get a squash and look for a good recipe! I found a great post on another blog for a simple way to cook it!
Most sites said that you should cut the squash first and then cook it.  With as large and cumbersome as the squash it that seems like bad news to me.  I choose this recipe because you cooked it and then cut it.  It was so simple to cut after that.  Scooping out the seeds were hard though.  I was not sure where the seeds ended and the spaghetti ended.  I choose not to use "loads of butter" as it was called for because I wanted to keep the recipe vegan.  Overall it was pretty good.  I think I really built it up because I had been wanting it for so long so it was a little bit of a let down.  When I heated up the left overs for lunch the next day I added a little bit of butter and salt and that improved it.  Other recipes I found talk about adding peas with it or some other veggies.  In general I was really pleased with it!  It was a good switch up from some of the usual veggies I normally eat.

Have a good weekend fellow foodies! Happy munching!

Huevos Rancheros Enchiladas

I often go to making stir fry if I don't know what I want to cook.  While I was browsing around for a new spin on my usual fajita stir fry I found an egg enchilada.  I thought this would be a fun new thing to try!.... This recipe turned into chaos so quickly.  It is not as simple as some of my normal ventures.  I almost threw the whole thing out and gave up.  After I cooked it all it was honestly really good but getting there was a huge mess.  

Here is what you need:

10 medium eggs

6 Tbs. water

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 tsp minced garlic

1 cup veggie broth

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 1/2 cups salsa

1/2 shredded cheese (I used monterey jack)

Lets cook:

Whisk your eggs and water in a bowl.  Heat a skillet to medium heat. You will need a plate and paper towels ready while cooking this section.  You will pour just enough egg in your pan to make an egg crêpe.  The best way to do that is just to lower the heat a little, spray the pan with non stick spray and have a butter knife handy.  Spread the egg out and let it cook, slide the knife under the edges and try to slide the egg around.  Once cooked lay it on a plate with a paper towel over it.  You will repeat this until you have used all of your egg mixture (you should make like 9-12 depending on how thick you pour them).  Now in a skillet (it could be the same one it doesnt mater) cook the onion and cumin.  Cover them and cook for approx 3 min.  Add veggie broth, garlic, and pinto beans.  Cover and simmer 5 min, after that use a fork to mash up some of the pinto beans.  Finally add rice and  1 cup of salsa, cover this again and cook for 5 more min or until little liquid remains.  Preheat oven to 350 and coat a large baking dish with cooking spray.  Once the sauce is cooked its time to make the enchiladas.  I found the best way to roll them is to set the egg pancake in the dish, put as little or as much sauce in it as youd like and then roll. As the dish becomes more full you wont have to chase the eggs around and you can use the other enchiladas to roll them up easier.  Pour the remaining salsa on the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 15 min.

For starters I forgot the rice.  By the time I left campus and came home to cook it was around 7, I was hungry and on a mission.  I also did not have any cumin.  I have curry powder and thought that it was my cumin.  I forgot I had the curry honestly! So with those things added in my food would have been even better but that made my cooking process a little more crazy as I noticed that I was missing some key things.  Lets talk eggs.... my eggs became a hot mess.  The picture below show a beautiful enchilada that I am very proud of, an enchilada that ended up being a sandwich, and finally a scrambled enchilada.  Let the last two be an example of what you don't want.  

I would have to have the time to try this again, cook the rice, better my egg crêpe'ing skills, and generally be less chaotic.  I loved the food though.  I am glad I didn't just chuck it and go eat cereal.  I poured some hot sauce and sour cream on top and really enjoyed it.  Lesson learned: don't rush the egg crêpe.

Couscous Broccoli Bowl

Hello bloggers!

As you all know I really enjoy couscous.  I have been stealing the Vegetarian magazine from my mom and in it I found this great dish.  I was so excited to try it and it turned out beautifully!

What You Need:

Sauce:

1 1/2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Tomato paste

1 Small Onion, Finely Chopped

1 Pinch Salt

2 Jarred Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1/2 Cup Loosely Packed Parsley Leaves

1/4 Cup Blanched Almonds

1/2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

Couscous and Broccoli:

1 1/2 Cups Whole-wheat Israeli Couscous

1 lb. Broccoli, Chopped

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Lemon Juice

Lets Cook:

To make the sauce: heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat-high heat. Add tomato paste, and sauté 30 seconds.  Add onion and salt, and sauté 10 min.  Add red peppers, garlic, and paprika; cook 5 min.  Transfer to food processor, and puree with parsley, almonds, and vinegar.  To make broccoli bowl: cook couscous according to package directions.  Steam broccoli 5 min or until tender. Toss with oil and lemon juice in bowl.  Divide couscous among bowls. Top with broccoli and then add 3 Tbs. sauce.

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  I forgot to get almonds but the sauce seemed fine to me with out it. I also forgot to toss the broccoli with the lemon juice and oil.  I wish I had done that because it probably would have helped balance the sauce with the broccoli.  Overall I loved the sauce!  When initially preparing it spilled some balsamic vinegar into the food processor.  That ended up making the sauce way too sour.  I added some extra spices and garlic.  After that it ended up tasting so good!  Overall I loved the recipe and  plan to make it again.  It was simple and light.  The sauce and broccoli worked so well together.  With that combo and the fluffy couscous the meal was great!

Gnocchi With Squash And Basil

Happy Thursday! Here is a great dish for a quick Thursday dinner or a lazy Sunday lunch
I had no clue what 'gnocchi' was until I came across it in a magazine.  The recipe sounded great so I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try it.  The recipe was simple and quick.  The food was amazing!

What You Need:

1lb of Gnocchi (fresh or frozen)

3 Yellow Squash (diced)

4tbs of Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves (chopped)

Salt and Pepper

4oz Feta (crumbled)

1/3 cup Basil Leaves (fresh if possible)

Lets Cook:

Cook the gnocchi according to package, drain and return to pot

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet.  Cook garlic, squash, and some salt and pepper until tender

After both of those are cooked put the squash and garlic into the pot with cooked gnocchi.  Toss them together.

While hot serve with torn basil leaves and feta sprinkled on top

(this came from the Real Simple magazine recipe I used)

Overall the dish was so quick and simple which was perfect for me now that my days are filled with classes again.  I was a little hesitant about the dish since I have never had gnocchi.  Overall my roommates and I loved it! I think I would have used more garlic and less feta.  I put the feta and basil in the pot and we served from there so maybe the feta didn't get stirred in well enough with the other ingredients.  Too much feta can make a dish taste strange in my opinion.  I hope you all get a chance to make this wonderful dish.  Its a light and 'summery' type meal.

Happy munching fellow foodies!

Magazine Food Looks So Beautiful

I love (zucchini) squash.  Yellow or green, acorn or spaghetti.  I love it cooked, baked, roasted, and even as fries! When I was looking through "Real Simple" magazine I fell in love with a recipe for linguine with summer vegetables and goat cheese.  I looked at the small ingredient list and decided I had to make it.

Here is what you need:

3/4 pound of linguine

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cups of fresh corn (from 2 ears)

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

salt and pepper

2 pints of cherry or grape tomatoes

2 small zucchini cut into thin ribbons

2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leavs

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Lets get cooking:

Cook pasta according to package, but when you drain save 1/2 cup of water for later

Heat oven to 350 and spread walnuts out on pan to toast, tossing occasionally.  Toast until fragrant or 8-10 min

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add the corn, garlic and salt/pepper.  Cook until the corn is tender

Add the 1/2cup water, corn , tomatoes, zucchini to the pasta.  Cook over medium heat, gently stir until the liquid is thicken and coats pasta (add more cooking water as needed).

Serve sprinkle with oregano, walnuts, and goat cheese

I was really excited about this dish, but honestly it let me down.  It ended up tasting very bland.  I added some extra pasta because we had a 4 people eating dinner instead of 3.  I think that adding the extra pasta and not compensating with more oregano and more garlic might have made this dish seem plain.  I decided not to use the goat cheese to try and keep it vegan.  The goat cheese would have helped with the flavor too.  I would like to go back and the tomatoes and goat cheese.  My poor tomato plants did not fair well in the wet summer we had so I didn't have enough to put in my recipe and I don't use tomatoes regularly so I didn't want to buy any.  I loved having the toasted walnuts! They were a great touch on the pasta.  I think I need to give this dish another try some time.  I wasn't as careful paying attention to the instructions as I should have been and I put the squash in the skillet.  That might not have made any difference but thats something else I want to go back and fix.  The picture in the magazine is so beautiful and I was let down by it :(

I hope you all can try the dish and make it work for you.  Overall I give it a poor rating because it ended up so blah... but again I think I could make improvements and make the dish more flavorful.  I am not sure it was all me though, I think this is a plain dish.  Best of love food friends!

Happy Munching!