Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup

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Last week was our final CSA pick-up for the season, so I had some autumn veggies to use up (and I don't usually like cauliflower!). I took a little bit of inspiration from this recipe by Soup Addict, but I'm happy to report that my many edits turned out excellent!

So, here it is, my Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower soup (with a few secret ingredients) :)
The Recipe:
1 medium size butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 large cauliflower head, or one medium, cut into florets
olive oil
salt and pepper
onion
garlic
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup-1 cup apple cider
3 or 4 slices good quality sandwich bread, crusts removed and cubed
blender (immersion or counter)
optional bread and feta cheese for toppings

Preheat oven to 400. Fill a large baking sheet with the cut up squash and cauliflower. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, flip and test, bake for an additional 20-30 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, saute onion and garlic in a large stock pot. Add chicken stock and apple cider. Transfer cooked veggies to stock pot and let simmer for 10-30 minutes (however much time you have!).
Add cubed bread and allow to soak into the broth. Then use an immersion blender (or work in batches in a counter blender) to puree as finely as desired. This creates a dense, textured, and uniform soup that is hearty and tastes like autumn!

Serve topped with additional cubes of bread and feta cheese, if desired. I loved how rich and thick this turned out. The squash and cauliflower flavors melded together perfectly, and the hint of apple cider was really nice. I'm totally not a cauliflower person and my husband doesn't usually do squash, but we thought this was amazing. Enjoy!

Hot Dog Challenge: Pretzel Dog

Last summer we had a lot of fun with our "hot dog challenge" - going beyond ketchup and mustard to make speciality hot dogs at home. Recently I tried a new recipe that is quite possibly our favorite way to have hot dogs now....Pretzel dogs!

These tasty hot dogs are amazing! The pretzel is fantastic and takes hot dogs to a whole new level. Seriously, these are a must try. The pretzel dough is simple to make, and a quick baking soda bath before baking gives the outside a crispy pretzel finish. The original dough calls for beer, but I've also used water and both ways tasted great.

Mix the pretzel dough and let it rise for about an hour. The dough will make 8 very large pretzel dogs. The first time I made these I thought that the pretzel was actually a little too much compared to the hot dogs, so this last time I made some pretzel bite appetizers ahead of time while we waited for the dogs. I just decreased the bake time to 10 minutes.

After the dough has risen, put a large pot of water on to boil and add baking soda. Watch it carefully! Boil overs can happen quickly with baking soda in the water. 

Divide the remaining dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 12 inches long. Starting at one end of the hot dog, wrap the dough around, covering the entire hot dog. Use your fingers to pinch the dough at each end to seal it.

Once all the hot dogs are wrapped and the water is boiling, place the hot dogs into the boiling water for about 30 seconds each. They will sink initially and then float to the surface. Depending on the size of your pot, you may be able to do 2-4 at a time. Here you see how large I roll out the dough, a wrapped dog, and a boiled dog (on the right).

 Remove from the water and let sit on a wire rack or cutting board for a minute to dry. Place on a stone or baking sheet (I use our pizza stone), brush with olive oil, and top with salt if desired. 

Bake for 15 minutes at which point the pretzel dogs will be golden brown and crispy on top.

Serve with ketchup and mustard! These are even fantastic reheated in the oven for lunch the next day.

Pretzel Dogs (via Karla's Veggie Noms)

For the dough:

1/2 c. warm water

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 c. warm beer (or water)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

2 Tablespoons oil

4 1/2 c. flour

Put water, brown sugar, salt, beer (or additional water), and yeast in the mixing bowl. Gradually add flour and oil to make a smooth dough. Remove from bowl with floured hands and form dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Let it rise in a warm place for an hour.

When the dough has risen, boil a large pot of water, adding 1/2-2/3 cup baking soda. I just eyeballed it. While the water is boiling, cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 12 inches long. Starting at one end of the hot dog, wrap the dough around, covering the entire hot dog. Use your fingers to pinch the dough at each end to seal it.

Once all the hot dogs are wrapped and the water is boiling, place the hot dogs into the boiling water for about 30 seconds each. They will sink initially and then float to the surface. Depending on the size of your pot, you may be able to do 2-4 at a time.

Remove from the water and let sit on a wire rack or cutting board for a minute to dry. Place on a stone or baking sheet (I use our pizza stone), brush with olive oil, and top with salt if desired. Bake for 15 minutes at which point the pretzel dogs will be golden brown and crispy on top.

Serve with ketchup and mustard! Also great heated up the next day for lunch :-)

Thankful

It was a long week here in Delaware...I'm finally on the mend from a nasty cold, though still losing my voice by the end of each day. We're still nebulizing (I think I just made up that word!) my son 3 times a day, but he's much improved. And the weather has been dreary all week, which has just made things feel a little off.

But I've found that it is usually on these harder weeks that I am able to whittle things down to what is most important and be thankful for the things that I'm quick to overlook when life is easy. So here's a list, in no particular order, of a few things I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful I learned how to roast chicken. Talk about an easy and delicious meal. My husband wanted to order pizza yesterday with our free coupon and I turned him down (turned down free pizza) for this chicken. Love it, love it, love it. 

I'm thankful for Goodwill and new shorts from The Limited for $3.50. I always seem to find some great shorts around this time of year.

I'm thankful we finished up our foyer project last week. It was a ton of work but I love it and its making little things like getting our of the house so much easier.

I'm thankful for the Acme kids card. Good for a free bag of apples or a banana for each kid each trip. I love how smooth check out is now that they are so excited to have their bag of apples. Thank you, Acme!

I'm thankful for our public library. I requested about 15 children's books the other day and nearly all are ready for me to go pick up this afternoon. We just love the sweet librarians and a trip to the library is one of the fastest ways I know to turn my kids grumpy day around. And there's nothing I like better than the smell and the feel and the anticipation of cracking open a new book.

I'm thankful for tomato seedlings. My kids are so excited about our tomato plants and they want to check them literally every hour. It's been a blast seeing my children learn about plants and gardening each year.

I'm thankful for my memory. I recently memorized a verse in 1 Thessalonians that says "He who called you is faithful; he will surely do it." And when I'm up to my elbows in chicken juice and kiddos are going nuts because they want to see Daddy and I know I have laundry to fold and a poopy diaper to empty...I can grab those words floating through my brain...He is faithful, he will do it.

I'm thankful for milestones. My 3-year-old had a lightbulb phonics moment this week. She's learned to match letters with the sounds they make. I love the excitement in her eyes and how she laughs when I tell her she got it right.

I'm thankful for pizza. Friday is pizza night around here and I couldn't be happier to have dinner already planned each Friday night. And this family loves pizza :-)

I'm thankful for Star Wars day. Yeah, I'm a total Star Wars nerd and every year May 4th just makes me smile! May the fourth be with you, always.

What little thing are you thankful for this week?

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I'm always looking for ways to make connivence foods at home. Not only is it healthier and cheaper, but there is something so satisfying about walking past items on the grocery store shelf that I used to consider pantry staples. I love not having to rely on having a can of soup, a box of cake mix, or a container of yogurt on hand. If I need it, I can make it!

I had never thought much about condensed cooking soups. They have always been a pantry staple for me, especially for a quick dinner. Thanks to Pinterest I found a recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup via Mindfully Frugal Mom. I love how easy it was to make and how great it tasted!

You will need:
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup milk

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock (I used 4 cubes of frozen homemade stock) and 1/2 cup milk. Add the liquid slowly while stirring to prevent lumps. Allow to cook for a few minutes until it beings to thicken.

How easy is that?

I used the homemade cream of chicken soup for Cheesy Baked Chicken (I made it in the crockpot instead of the oven too) and it was fabulous.

Next time, I will plan to make a larger portion and freeze the soup in 1 cup portions, about the size of a can from the store. I'm so excited to have this recipe and no longer need to buy cream soups for cooking!

Pop Top Cans 2.0 - through the mail!

Remember the pop top can treats I made last year? Recently I started thinking about sending them through the mail. What a fun way to get a surprise! 

The best cans have fruit in them, because they are easy to get clean inside (not something that sticks like beans!). Remember...open your can from the bottom leaving the pop top intact! Carefully cut the label from the can and use it as a template. I used scrapbook paper, but you could keep things really simple and just use construction paper.

Next you need to assemble your goodies! Since Easter is right around the corner, we decided to send some Easter treats to a friend. We put stickers and candy in some eggs and found a few other fun things from our Tot School bin to add as well.

We also added pretty paper to both ends of the can...trace around the end, then trim to fit!

I added instructions,

and we made an address label out of more scrapbook paper.

Who do you know that would love to get one of these in the mail?

Since we put light things inside it only weighed about 5 oz, which put shipping just over $2. And the post office workers didn't even look at me funny when I stuck my can treat on the scale. Easter was the perfect time to send one of these, but I know I'll be doing more for things like birthdays in the future!

Thanks to Our Best Bites for the original inspiration!

Linking up with these parties:

Take a look Tuesday

Handmade Tuesday

Tuesday Time Out

Show and Tell

Show me what ya got

Tuesday Glam

Fiesta Lime Rice

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? It's such a great way to find new recipes, and I knew as soon as I saw this one for Fiesta Lime Rice that I just had to try it. The original recipe comes from Skinny Taste, and this was a winner for our whole family!

We opted to serve the rice with chicken, avocado, and sour cream on top, instead of just as a side. We also enjoyed it in a tortilla wrap with chicken like a burrito. This rice is so great that there are tons of possibilities.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (use leftovers or make it fresh! 2 cups of water and 1 cup rice)
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and heated (about 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed and heated
1 large tomato, diced
1 large scallion, diced
2-4 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice from 1/2 lime (about 1 Tablespoon)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice. Heat beans and corn. Combine rice, beans, corn, tomato, and scallion in a large bowl. Add cilantro and lime juice as desired, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side dish, with tacos, or pile chicken, avocado, cheese, sour cream on top as preferred. A great way for each family member to add what they like to dinner!

Favorite Warmer weather recipes

This week is shaping up to be very mild, especially for February. The changes in the weather always make me think of certain foods and drinks that we usually have seasonally. Here are a few of my favorites.

Cherry Limeade - one of my favorites! I think my recipe takes just like Sonic!

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade - a refreshing mix of sweet and tangy.

Smoothies - all varieties. Recently we've been adding oatmeal to ours inspired by Full Measure of Happiness. I use 1 c. milk, 1/2 c. oatmeal, 5-6 whole strawberries, 4-5 cubes frozen pineapple juice.

I'm also looking forward to trying out a few new recipes. I just spied this one for homemade fruit roll ups from Joy of Jello. Don't they look fantastic?

 (Image)

Any recipes to share?

Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Braided Crescent Recipe

This is our new favorite meal!

This beautiful braided crescent is easy and quick - as in the whole thing is prepped while your oven preheats! That's my kind of dinner. I saw this recipe on Food Family Finds, and knew I had to try it.

Mix together chicken (I've used canned chicken as well as Cousin Darlene's chicken), broccoli, cheese, egg, and mayo together in a bowl. When I used leftover chicken I didn't add the mayo.

Spread your crescent rolls out to form a rectangle. You can use store-bought crescents, but I've been making my own and they are fantastic! I think I've actually cured myself of the urge to buy Pillsbury crescent rolls! (recipe below)

Add the chicken mixture to the middle of the crescent roll rectangle. Then use kitchen shears or a knife to make strips along each side. (this looks like the braided calzone, doesn't it?!?)

Beginning from one end, alternate sides, pulling the dough across at an angle. Each strip should be close to the one before it, but it certainly does not need to be perfect.

This part actually goes quickly...

and yet the final result is awesome!

Brush the braid with a wash of egg white mixed with a tablespoon of water. Top with more cheese if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven at 375 for 30 minutes...golden, cheesy, and delicious!

Homemade Crescent Roll Recipe (adapted from food.com)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

Beat eggs and sugar until well combined. Add sugar, Crisco, water, yeast, salt, and 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining 2 cups of flour. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead in enough additional flour so the dough is no longer sticky. I usually do not have to add much additional flour. Divide the dough in half - each half makes about 12 crescent rolls or one broccoli chicken braid.

To make immediately, let dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. Then shape dough into crescent rolls and bake or flatten on a cookie sheet for the braid.

To make later, store in the refrigerator without rising. As long as you let it sit for about 4 hours, that will be sufficient rise time in the fridge. Or store for up to 4 days and use as above. 

Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Braided Crescent Recipe (adapted from Food Family Finds)

2 cups chicken, cooked and chunked - use canned or leftover chicken for minimal prep
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
1 egg yolk (reserve egg white for wash)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
rosemary (or other preferred herb)
crescent roll recipe (above) or 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375. Combine chopped chicken, cheese, broccoli, egg yolk, mayo, and rosemary in a bowl. Spread crescent roll dough onto a large cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Add the chicken mixture to the middle of the dough. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut strips along each side of the chicken. Start from one end and alternate sides, pulling a strip of dough across to the opposite side. When the whole braid is finished, add about 1 Tablespoon of water to the reserved egg white and brush the top of the braid with the wash. Sprinkle additional cheese if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!

Homemade Valentines: Brown paper candy pouches

I was trying to come up with a cute homemade valentine that wouldn't be too labor intensive, and I remembered how much fun I had with the sewn paper candy pouches for Christmas. So with just a few adjustments, I ended up with this:

I used a cookie cutter to trace a heart shape on a Trader Joe's paper bag. After I cut out the hearts, we decorated them with stickers and stamps.

I filled a few with little lollipops, which ended up working way better when I hand-stitched around the edges instead of using my sewing machine.

I filled the rest with pink M&Ms.

Super simple, and minimal time involved. You don't even need a sewing machine! (although I will add that my fingers were a bit sore after stitching a few of these by hand)

Aren't they cute?

Let me know if you make them!