Orange You Glad it is Fall?

Pumpkin Carrot Ginger Soup
Tasty Kitchen

1 whole Small Pumpkin Or Butternut Squash
5 whole Carrots
1 clove Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
10 slices Of Fresh Ginger
2 pints Of Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 pinch(es) Nutmeg
4 Tablespoons Cream

First, wash and chop the pumpkin or squash and carrots. Chop into small bite-sized chunks. You can place them in a baking tin with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and roast them for 20 minutes if you have time (to bring out the flavor), but they do just fine without the roasting.

Mince the garlic and fry gently in some olive oil in a soup pot. Then add the root vegetables and stir-fry them gently for 5 minutes. Add the ginger slices and put a lid on the pot and leave them to cook gently on medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add the cinnamon and stock, cover and leave to simmer on low for 35 minutes.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Blend using a stick or hand blender until the soup is smooth and creamy. If you don’t have time, then just skip to the blending, but watch out for those hot splashes!

Taste and add salt as necessary. Serve up with a pinch of nutmeg and a tablespoon of cream drizzled in each bowl.

This soup can easily be made with leftovers if you have an overabundance of root vegetables from last night’s turkey or beef roast. If that is the case, skip step #1.

Yes, more pumpkin. I added more cream than just a garnish bit. Also added a bit more of the spices. Then I left the kitchen and came back to Robin adding stuff - I have no idea what he did. I liked it but it seemed to still need something a little more.


Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X 10

Chilled-Out Squashed Poultry

Pumpkin Turkey Chili
Serious Eats
- serves 6 -

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can red kidney beans
2 cups (1 14.5 ounce can) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste (at least 3 good shakes)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)


1. Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

2. Saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green chiles, and garlic until tender, about 10 minutes. Make room in the center of the skillet, add turkey, and brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans, and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, cumin, pepper, salt, and cayenne.

3. Reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes. Stir in fresh cilantro. If preferred, serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

It is fall and I am on a quest to try lots of new pumpkin dishes for which I'm buying up sugar pumpkins and making lots of puree to put in the freezer. This was a lovely twist on chili. I accidentally bought tomatoes with chipotle added(easy to do down here almost in Mexico) and it worked nicely in this. The pumpkin added just a touch of sweetness and tons of healthy goodness. It was a thick chunky chili so if you like it soupier I'd add in some chicken broth or water. We didn't use the cheddar cheese or sour cream.

No picture due to dead camera battery.

Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X 99

Imported Chicken Nut Soup

African Chicken Peanut Soup
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/

* 2 Tablespoons Peanut Or Vegetable Oil
* 2 whole Onion, Chopped Fine
* 2 whole Large Green Or Red Bell Peppers, Chopped
* 4 cloves Garlic (or To Taste)
* 1 whole Jalapeno, Minced (optional)
* 1 can (28 Oz.) Italian Tomatoes, Undrained
* 8 cups Chicken Stock Or Broth
* ¼ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes (or To Taste)
* ¼ teaspoons Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
* 2 cups Diced, Pre-cooked Chicken
* ½ cups Long-grain Rice OR Couscous
* ⅔ cups Creamy Peanut Butter
* 1 teaspoon Salt, Or To Taste
* ½ cups Chopped Peanuts (optional)

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, cook the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and jalapenos (if using) in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions just begin to brown.
Add the tomatoes with the juice, the stock, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Simmer the soup uncovered for 1 hour. If using rice, add the rice and the chicken and simmer the soup for 10 to 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. If using couscous, add the chicken and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the couscous and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the peanut butter, stirring until the soup is smooth, and stir in salt to taste and the additional red pepper flakes if desired.

Garnish with chopped peanuts.

(You can replace peanut butter/chopped nuts with any nut butter/chopped nuts.)

Makes about 9 cups, serving 8 to 10.

Yumm. I used couscous and added extra peanut butter because I thought it was a tad spicy for the kids. Isaac said it was too peanut buttery. I wanted to add a sprig of cilantro as a garnish, but was in a hurry. Snarky note - the soup won't get smooth - it is full of chunky bits and couscous!



Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	X "a hundred"

Bad Little Children Soup

Brat Soup
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/

1 package Brat Style Sausage (6 To A Pack) Give Or Take Some Dependent On Your Tastes
4 whole Carrots Rough Chopped
2 whole Potatoes Roughly Diced
1 whole Yellow Onion Roughly Chopped
2 quarts Chicken Stock
½ head Cabbage, Shredded
2 cups Swiss Cheese

Slice brats into 1/2 inch rounds. Chop vegetables and add all to a medium crock pot. Feel free to add whatever additional veggies you desire. Green beans would be great, kale instead of cabbage would be wonderful; make this your own. Add chicken stock to fill crock pot until about a 1/2 inch from the top. Turn on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Place 1/4 cup Swiss cheese in the middle of a serving bowl and ladle hot soup over cheese. This is so quick, I throw it together in the morning and have it for dinner when I get home from work. Excellent with crusty bread.

I chose this soup simple because I had leftover bratwursts and half a head of cabbage to use up. Of course I had to add in some herbs(thyme, parsley and bay), salt and pepper. Fairly basic quickie soup. Oh and yes my kids do eat cabbage this way. It is cooked, but since I put it in at the end there isn't time for it to get slimy.




Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette

Chicken 'n Dumplings Experiment

Chicken 'n Dumplings sounded like a good thing for dinner. I searched for some recipes, but kept running into cream of chicken soup, or Bisquick. I don't buy Bisquick and I try not to use canned condensed soups. I've made alternatives for both in the past, but didn't have them made up now and didn't want to make them. So I figured I could wing it - Robin does it all the time, surely I can too.

So I took two boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer along with chicken stock Robin made over the weekend and put them in the skillet on low. As that thawed and cooked, I chopped up a medium onion, a couple carrots, a couple celery stalks, and a couple cloves of garlic. These all went in the dutch oven in which I had melted a stick of butter. Ta-Da - Mirepoix! I then turned the mirepoix into a roux by adding about 1/2 cup of flour. I poured in the broth from cooking the chicken along with another bag from the freezer. This broth was looking a little weak (sorry Robin) so I added some chicken bullion, and then some water. Yes, I'm slightly aware of the contradictions there. I shredded the chicken and added it to the pot. Then it was time to throw open the herbs and spices cabinet. *think evil genius cook rubbing hands together* But I was tame, I only added pepper, parsley, and thyme (refraining the salt until the bullion had done it's thing). Simmer and bubble waiting on the husband.

It wasn't getting as thick as I wanted it so I added more flour, in a paste of course. Simmer and bubble waiting on the husband. Still not the consistency I was looking for so I checked to see if I just happened to still have a cream soup hanging out in the pantry. I did, so in that went and finally got what I was wanting. Simmer and bubble waiting on the husband.

For the dumplings I found this recipe on allrecipes.com that did look good:
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon margarine
* 1/2 cup milk

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium size bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough.
Drop by spoonfuls into boiling stew. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid.
To make parsley dumplings, add 1 tablespoon parsley flakes to the dry ingredients.

I did add the parsley. They were yummy. The soup part was yummy. I made good chicken 'n dumplings.

I didn't get a picture, nor ask for rating because for some reason I wasn't thinking this was a soup. Robin said it was a little too chicken-y. Isaac gave it 5 stars.

Lots of Pretty Colors

Confetti Chowder
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Confetti-Chowder/Detail.aspx

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup whole kernel corn
1 cup diced fully cooked ham
1/2 cup peas
1 (2 ounce) jar sliced pimentos, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a Dutch oven. Add carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onion and celery; cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper and sugar over vegetables; mix well. Stir in milk and chicken broth; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add corn, ham, peas and pimiento; cook and stir until heated through. Remove from the heat; add cheese and stir until melted. Serve hot.

This weekend I made my menu, wrote the grocery list, went the the grocery and the next day messed it all up. I forgot the soak the beans yet again and I didn't know what to do with the chuck steak so I had to find something new and fast to make. This soup sounded good for a rainy spring day. I started making it thinking I had everything except the zucchini. Turns out I also didn't have the whole kernel corn, peas, pimentos and cheddar cheese. Oh well, I'd make it work with what I had. I did use half a can of creamed corn, and swiss cheese as just a garnish. I also added a couple cloves of garlic - because garlic goes is everything, right?



Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette	x one hundred and one

Lentil, Barley and Ham Soup

We've had this soup a few times before so not a new one. I'm so happy my kids like it because it is so healthy and cheap. To help make it cheap I buy big hams when they are on sale and cut them up to keep in the freezer.

Lentil, Barley and Ham Soup
Better Homes and Gardens Big Book of Healthy Family Dinners

1/2 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cups chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups water
1 1/2 tsp snipped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano crushed
1 1/2 tsp snipped from basil, or 1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
3/4 tsp snipped fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried rosemary crushed
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups diced reduced-fat and reduced-sodium cooked ham
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
1 14 1/2 oz can tomatoes, undrained and cut up

Rinse and drain lentils; set aside. In large saucepan cook the onion, celery, and garlic in hot butter until tender. Stir in the lentils, water, oregano, basil, rosemary, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the ham, carrots, and uncooked barley. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes more of just until carrots are tender. Stir in the tomatoes. Heat through. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving:
211 calories
6 g total fat
1 g saturated fat
16mg cholesterol
602 mg sodium
28 g carbohydrate
3 g fiber
13 g protein

Tonight's soup ended up being a bit off because even though I thought I had barley in the pantry I couldn't find it. I also just left out the tomatoes because I felt like it. The ultra-white super fluffy bread came from the Fiesta Bakery. The kids kept talking about how squishy it was.



Kid Ratings:

Christopher Robin
Collin
Isaac
Annette