Butternut Apple/Pear Soup...

This is a recipe that I've played with for a while, it's so yummy & just perfect for Fall!!  I like this soup so much that I made it for myself for my Birthday dinner last night.

Ingredients:
  Olive Oil Spray
  1 cup chopped Onion
  1 clove Garlic, chopped
  4 cups peeled & cubed Butternut Squash
  2 cooking Apples (I used Macintosh), cored & cubed (not peeled)
      [variation: use Pears instead of Applies]
  1 tsp Sea Salt
  1/8 tsp ground Cayenne
  2 tsp ground Cumin
  4 cups Vegetable Broth (OR 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable + 4 cups water)
For garnish (optional): Roasted Salted Pumpkin or Sunflower Seeds.

Spray a small soup pot with Olive Oil, sauté the Onions and Garlic.

Once the Onions are translucent add in the Butternut, Apples, and Spices.  Stir and let warm for a few minutes.

Add in the Vegetable Stock, bring to a boil.  Once boiling set temp to lowest setting and cover.

Let simmer until Butternut is nice and squishy.

Blend with an Immersion Blender.

Serve hot garnished with roasted/salted Pumpkin or Sunflower seeds and a slice of fresh bread… Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!!!

Oooo!! Can't Wait!!

I was incredibly excited earlier this week when I discovered that my favorite Fall Outdoor Market was opening… Yippee!!

Here's my stash (stop drooling on the screen & go get some for yourself) from Bergmann's in Stillwater - if you live in the Twin Cities it's worth a trip out… not only do they have an incredible array of (non-chemically grown) squash & pumpkins, they also have a Corn Maze & I heard they're going to have a Hay Ride… so go check them out!  At this point they still have Sweet Corn (not pictured - but we got some) that they are picking fresh daily.

As for me I'm just itching to make some of my old Fall Favorite recipes with these beauties, and perhaps come up with some new recipes to boot… YUM!!

Grow Or Bust Cookies

This recipe is lovingly named after cookies my Grandma used to make, they could also be called "Kitchen Sink Cookies" because… I think you'll get my drift once you read further… Grandma loved putting together healthy ingredients into a tasty treat for her grandkids, these are high in fiber, low in processed sugar & low fat - if Grandma was still here she'd approve!!

I don't normally use boxed mixes, but I do this time… feel free to substitute to your hearts content!

Ingredients:
  1 box Fiber One Apple Muffin Mix
  1 cup Thick Cut Oatmeal
  1/2 cup Sugar
  1/2 cup Egg Beaters
  1 medium apple, skin on , cored & diced small  (I used Macintosh)
  1 cup fresh cooked Pumpkin
  1/2 cup chopped Dates
  1/2 cup roasted/salted Sunflower Seeds
  2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  2 tsp Cinnamon (suggest Penzey's Chinese)
  1 tsp Ground Ginger
  1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg (fresh is more flavorful)
  1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

Set oven to 350F.  Throw it all in a bowl & mix it up.  Line cookie sheets with Parchment Paper (or they'll stick), drop cookies by the Tablespoonful on the paper.  Bake for about 20 minutes, allow to cool completely before carefully removing from the Parchment Paper.

Store in the refrigerator in layers separated by Parchment or Wax Paper.

I didn't have any Pumpkin or Sunflower Seeds when I made these about a week ago, so I substituted Banana for the Pumpkin and finely chopped Walnuts for the Sunflower Seeds… still came out wonderful!
 
 

Lamb Curry...

This was dinner one night when I was in a mood to simply throw things together to see how they worked… so no specific quantities are here, but I'll provide estimates.

I had a 1 pound Lamb Steak (lamb leg steak) that I trimmed and cubed, I mixed up 1/2 cup of cold water with 1/2 cup fat free greek yogurt, I put the steak cubes in the yogurt mix & marinated 2 hours in the refrigerator.

I sprayed a skillet with spray Olive Oil, added a bit of salt, pepper, and curry powder.  I then added and sautéed about 1/2 cup each of Onion & Carrots, with a diced up medium sized McIntosh Apple (this variety gets mushy when cooked).

After the first ingredients had cooked a while (onions translucent) I added about 1/2 cup of Mild Peppers and about 1 cup diced Tomato.  I let that cook for a bit.

I pulled the Lamb Cubes out of the marinade and patted them dry, then added them in to the vegetables with a couple teaspoons of curry.  I let the lamb cubes brown a bit.

I added about a teaspoon of Sriracha (hot chili sauce), 1/2 cup of Fat Free Greek Yogurt, and the juice of 1/2 fresh Lemon.

I let it cook a bit more until the lamb was cooked through and I had a nice mushy mess :)

Shown here served on top of rice with a steamed artichoke on the side… YUM!!

For those who must have a list of ingredients here's what you'll need:
1/2 cup cold Water
1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt, divided
1 pound Lamb Leg Steak
Olive Oil Spray
Salt & Pepper
2+ tsp Curry Powder, divided
1/2 cup diced Onion
1/2 cup diced Carrot
1 medium diced Apple (suggest McIntosh)
1/2 cup Mild Peppers (bell pepper would work)
1 cup diced Tomato
1 tsp Sriracha
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
Cooked Rice & whatever sides you like

Masa Pancakes...

Caution: Experiment follows...

I got an unusual idea the other day… I thought it might be fun to try making some little pancakes with Corn Flour or Corn Meal as a side dish with dinner… then I looked in my pantry, all I could find was Masa… what the heck, I'll try it!!

So I mixed up a batch of my Sour Cream Pancakes, but substituted in Masa for Flour… they came out good!!

This is encouraging as it will be fun to play with other types of flour… :)   I'm always looking for a new twist on things!

I decided to put honey on mine, and they were tasty… but I really want to try Corn Meal next time…

This was only an experiment, but perhaps it will give you ideas of your own experiments to try…

Have fun playing in the kitchen!!