Fresh Guacamole

I love this Guacamole recipe that my sister-in-law gave me. It's delicious and fresh and so easy. So perfect for a refreshing summer meal. This is delicious served with your favorite Mexican feast. My choices would be: these creamy chicken taquitos, these pork chalupas, this yummy cilantro lime brown rice, these crunchy baked tacos, these black beans, or these refried beans. Or how about all of them. Oh my, can you imagine the deliciousness? We love Mexican feasts! Mmmh!

Fresh Guacamole
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
3 medium ripe avocados
juice of 1/2 lime
1 ripe medium tomato, chopped (we like roma or another variety of plum tomato that's not too juicy)
1/4 Cup red onion, chopped
4 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro, or more or less to taste
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Peel and mash avocados. Add lime juice and mix well. Add chopped tomato, chopped red onion, finely chopped cilantro, and salt. Mix well adding more salt and/or pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Mix well before serving.

Recipe Source: Adapted from a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law Lisa.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes {With Quinoa}

Welcome to another healthy family cookin' post.  I'm getting a bit behind on my posting and I have lots of recipes waiting in the wings to make it on here. I've been discovering so many wonderful recipes that I can't wait to share, but I feel like there's never quite enough time in the day. :) Ever feel that way? Well, anyway. Today I'm so excited to share this one with you. This is another, "I've-been-waiting-a-long-time-for-you" kind of recipe. So happy it came into my life.

Every now and then you need a yummy potato side dish to go with a delicious main dish. Potatoes are cheap and "comfort-foody". I love to pair potatoes with cooked white quinoa in my potato side dishes to increase their nutrition even more. White quinoa is the perfect choice because it's color makes it easy to disguise to unsuspecting persons (a.k.a. kids or other picky eaters). Adding the white quinoa adds a perfect protein to this dish. As well as all kinds of other nutrition that you can read about in quinoa's meet new foods spotlight.

This recipe is perfect to serve as a breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner side dish. It also accompanies meat main dishes very well (we served this with ham on Easter this year). I've served this with this fish and roasted squash dish that I absolutely adore (I used hubbard quash instead of butternut this time - oh my! Yum). Anyway you go, you can't go wrong with this recipe. It's versatile and wonderful. It will appear again and again on our dinner table. I hope your family enjoys it too.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes {With Quinoa}
Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

*Note: I sometimes halve this recipe to serve with my family of 4. Just halve all ingredients and bake in a 9x9 square pan. It works great!

INGREDIENTS:
8-9 medium/large potatoes
1/4 Cup white quinoa
2 Cups shredded cheese of your choice (My choice would be a cheddar/jack blend)
2 Cups milk
4 Tbsp. butter
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash and scrub potatoes. Cook potatoes according to one of the following methods of your choice.

Pressure Cooker Method (My first choice of course):
Add whole, unpeeled potatoes to pressure cooker along with 1-2 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes (for large potatoes cook for 3 minutes). Release pressure naturally.

Boiling Method:
Place whole, unpeeled potatoes in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes, or just until potatoes are starting to get tender.

While potatoes are cooking, cook 1/4 cup quinoa in small pot with 1/2 to 2/3 cup water. Start with 1/2 cup water and add more if needed during the cooking process. Heat quinoa and water to boiling and then turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until quinoa is tender and displays a white curl from the seeds. If you have two pressure cookers, you can also cook quinoa in the pressure cooker. It cooks in 6 minutes on high pressure and I use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water.

When potatoes are done cooking rinse in cold water and peel. The skins should peel easily with a little bit of pressure. Cool and dry the potatoes. Once the potatoes are dry, grate them with a cheese grater so they resemble hashbrowns.

Place shredded potatoes and cooked white quinoa in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and stir lightly to combine. Heat milk, butter, salt, and pepper in a separate pan until butter is melted. Pour over the potato/cheese mixture. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 350 F for 50-60 minutes, or until cheese is browned. You can also broil the top for a couple of minutes if you want the extra burnt cheese flavor (mmmh...burnt cheese...). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Money Saving Mom, added white quinoa, pressure cooker method and pepper. 

Oven Roasted French Fries

I love to make these French fries in the oven because they are quick, easy, and they taste delicious. The other nice thing about this recipe is that they are a lot healthier than most french fries you buy. They are made from baking (not frying) real potatoes and I keep the skins on because the skins have lots of fiber and vitamins that are healthy for you. I like to use a  slicer to cut up the potatoes because it goes really fast, but you can cut them by hand if you'd like. I've seen (and tried) various recipes for baked french fries and I always come back to this recipe from my Mom. Some recipes I've seen say to soak the fries first and then dry them before baking. I've tried them that way and it does make the fries a bit crunchier, but the extra steps (and extra time) really doesn't add very much to the recipe and really not worth it in my opinion. If you're looking to go even healthier you can substitute olive oil in this recipe for the butter, but I prefer them with the buttery flavor. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted French Fries
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
5 large Potatoes (Russets work great)
1/3 Cup Melted butter
salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Wash potatoes well. Leaving the skins on, cut the potatoes into french fry pieces. I use a slicer for this because it's fast, but you can do it by hand. Make sure that the pieces are an even thickness because they cook best that way. Place the fries on two large greased cookie sheets and spread around until they are close to being in a single layer. Drizzle fries with melted butter and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt, as desired. Place fries in oven (using multiple racks is fine). Bake for a total of 30-40 minutes (depending on how crispy you like them). Every 10 minutes, pull the fries out and turn them so that they cook evenly and don't stick to the pan. Rotate the pans top and bottom each time if your oven doesn't cook evenly like mine. Fries are done when they are tender and slightly crispy.

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from my Mom's recipe

Roasted Winter Squash Cubes

Last week I shared with you some tips on how to peel a winter squash. Today I'm going to share a simple side dish that you can make with those peeled winter squash cubes. This is a simple recipe, but can be adapted to your family's own liking and tastes by changing the seasonings. I love roasted squash. It's simple, healthy, and delicious, and one of my favorite ways to eat squash. A great side dish that can accompany almost any fall or winter meal plan.

I have to be honest and tell you that I haven't always enjoyed eating squash. But I've learned that if you cook it right, it can taste delicious. And this is one of my very most favorite ways to cook it. Something about the roasting process brings out such a wonderful flavor. And the texture is wonderful too. And if you need even more encouragement, read how healthy squash is for you in my previous posts introducing you to Hubbard and Sunshine squash. Learning about how healthy winter squash is, can really motivate you to start including it in your diet.



Roasted Winter Squash Cubes
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
Winter Squash, peeled and cubed (for helpful tips, see blog post on how to peel a winter squash)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Other Seasonings, to taste (for variations on this dish: try adding your choice of Italian Seasoning, Smoked paprika, Garlic powder, or Chile powder)

Place winter squash in a pan or dish large enough so that it lies in a single layer. Sprinkle with olive oil and then stir to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or other seasonings as desired, to taste. Bake 450 F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or until roasted.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com


What's your favorite kind of squash?

Mango Salsa

You know what I love? I love healthy recipes with fresh ingredients that turn out the very first time, with very little tweaking and taste delicious. This is one of those. It speaks for itself.

Mango Salsa
Printable Recipe

*Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
2 Ripe Mangoes, peeled and chopped
1/8 Cup green or red onions, chopped
1 Cup Red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
Cilantro, chopped, to taste (optional)
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
kosher salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss and add salt to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate until just before serving.

I served this with grilled fish atop this yummy coconut rice. It was light and refreshing; a perfect summer dinner. It would also be delicious served with tortilla chips as a side dish.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice {Electric Pressure Cooker Recipe}

We love Mexican food. And I'm always on the lookout for a good Mexican dish that is healthy. So many Mexican recipes use white rice or a lot of meat, both of which we try to use in moderation. Here's a delicious side-dish recipe that we love that uses brown rice. Brown rice is better for you than white rice because it contains the outer hull, making it a whole grain with lots of fiber and nutrition. Cooking brown rice in the pressure cooker is so amazing - it comes out light and fluffy and soft in about half the time it takes to cook on the stove. It really is the best way to do it. We love to serve this as a topping on this yummy Mexican black bean salad. 

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice {Electric Pressure Cooker Recipe}
Printable Recipe

*Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice
1-2/3 Cups Chicken Broth
1 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided
1-1/2 tsp. white sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped finely

DIRECTIONS:
In an electric pressure cooker combine the long grain brown rice, chicken broth, butter, garlic and 1 tsp. fresh lime juice and mix until combined. Bring to high pressure and cook for 21 minutes. Naturally release the pressure. While rice is cooking, mix in a small bowl 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, white sugar and finely chopped cilantro. When rice is done cooking, fluff with a fork and mix in the lime/sugar/cilantro mixture. Serve immediately or keep on warm setting until ready to serve.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Today I'm sharing a delicious recipe for garlic roasted smashed potatoes. You can make these potatoes easily in either a pressure cooker or on the stove top and I'll be sharing with you both methods. My preferred method to make these is the pressure cooker simply because it's faster, but if you don't have a pressure cooker you can still enjoy these savory, flavor-packed potatoes.

I realized that it's been a while since I've posted a pressure cooker recipe. Now let it be known that that is in no way an indicator of how often I cook meals with my pressure cooker. I love my pressure cooker and use it religiously to cook at least two or three (usually more) meals a week. The reason I haven't posted any pressure cooker recipes for a while is because of the learning curve. I'm still not a pro at determining cooking times and it usually takes me several times to get a recipe right. Since my family balks at eating the same meal two or three or four times a week (I guess most folks do...). I have to wait a while until I cook the same meal again. But I have several recipes that are really close to perfect and I hope that in the next month or two I'll be able to share them with you.

That being said, this is a great pressure cooker recipe that I really enjoy. The original recipe that I used actually comes from a recipe from Chef Brad's Pressure Cooker Cookbook. I've modified it slightly in a few ways. First, I've left the skins on the make them garlic smashed potatoes. Smashed potatoes are great because potato skins have lots of vital nutrients and vitamins that our body's need. Plus, I don't have to sit and peal potatoes. Call me lazy, but I don't like to peal potatoes. 

Also in this recipe, I modified a method that was shared by hippressurecooking.com to roast garlic. I cooked the garlic in the pressure cooker a little longer than she suggested, simply because I wanted to cook the garlic together with the potatoes. Because I only needed 6 cloves of roasted garlic, I wrapped the cloves in a piece of tin foil and steamed and then roasted just what I needed rather than roasting the entire head. It worked great. 

Pressure Cooker Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
6 Large Potatoes, washed and quartered  *See Note 1 below
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp. olive oil
1-12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cube butter
Salt & Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In the pressure cooker, place the potatoes and 2 Cups of water. Place whole garlic cloves in a piece of aluminum foil with 1 tsp. olive oil and wrap tightly. Place the garlic tin foil ball on top of the potatoes. Heat pressure cooker to high pressure for 8 minutes. After the cooking time is up, use a quick release method to release the pressure. Open the tin foil ball with the steamed garlic cloves and place the open foil under a hot broiler for about 5 minutes to caramelize and turn golden (*See Note 2 Below). Then remove garlic skins, and crush. Drain off the water from the potatoes. In a large bowl (I use a large Bosch mixer) add the cooked potatoes, the crushed, roasted garlic cloves, the evaporated milk, 1 cube of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potatoes until smooth (I use the whips on the Bosch). Serve immediately or keep warm in the pressure cooker until serving.

*Note 1: You can peel the potatoes before cooking them if you prefer mashed potatoes. I usually keep the skins on to add nutrition and save a little time. Just make sure you scrub the potatoes really well if you leave the skins on.

*Note 2: You can also skip this step of caramelizing the garlic if you're in a hurry and still get a strong, delicious garlic-y flavor in the smashed potatoes.

*Recipe Sources: Recipe adapted from Chef Brad's Pressure Cooker Cookbook and roasted garlic method adapted from hippressurecooking.com

No Pressure Cooker? No problem! You can still make this recipe using the following method.

Garlic Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
6 Large Potatoes, washed and quartered  *See Note 1 below
6 whole garlic cloves
1 tsp. olive oil
1-12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cube butter
Salt & Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Place quartered potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Heat to boiling, turn down heat to simmer and then cover potatoes and cook until tender. Meanwhile place the whole garlic cloves in a piece of aluminum foil with 1 tsp. olive oil and wrap tightly with foil. Place the garlic tin foil ball in the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until garlic is golden brown and tender. Then remove garlic skins, and crush. When potatoes are tender, drain off the water from the potatoes. In a large bowl (I use a large Bosch mixer) add the cooked potatoes, the crushed, roasted garlic cloves, the evaporated milk, 1 cube of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potatoes until smooth (I use the whips on the Bosch). Serve immediately or keep warm until serving.

*Note 1: You can peel the potatoes before cooking them if you prefer mashed potatoes. I usually keep the skins on to add nutrition and save a little time. Just make sure you scrub the potatoes really well if you leave the skins on.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

I used a Bosch Mixer to whip up the Smashed Potatoes until creamy

For more pressure cooker recipes, please see my pressure cooker recipes page or follow my pressure cooker recipes board on pinterest. 

This week I'll be linking to some of these link parties.

Tomato Bruschetta

This is the first year that we have successfully grown basil and boy have we been missing out! I love fresh basil. To me it is one of those herbs that is completely changed from it's fresh to dried state. And the marriage of tomato and basil is a perfect match made in heaven! Here's a light and delicious summer recipe that spotlights this amazing match. Enjoy!

Tomato Bruschetta

Printable Recipe

*Serves 4

*This recipe is delicious with Homemade French Bread!

2 Large vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2+ Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 sprigs of fresh basil, chopped (about 2-3 tsp.)

1 clove of garlic, cut in half

¼ Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 loaf of crusty bread (Baguette, French bread, or Italian Bread), sliced to 1/2” thick

Salt & Pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. oil and basil. Set aside and let marinate. Preheat the broiler to low broil and adjust the oven rack to the middle of the oven. Place the sliced bread on a cookie sheet and put it under the broiler. Toast the bread on both sides until it is lightly browned. Watch closely so the bread doesn’t burn. When bread is toasted on both sides, remove the pan from the oven and rub the cut side of garlic over one side of each slice of bread. Brush a small amount of olive oil over each slice. Then spread the tomato mixture evenly over the bread and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil again just until the cheese is melted and the tomato mixture is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Recipe Source: Recipe slightly adapted from The Food Nanny

Mexican Black Beans

I love Mexican Food! Well, I should clarify...I love unauthentic American Mexican Food! :) And these beans are my favorite! They are one of my tried and true recipes that even my kids love - which is saying something in my family of picky eaters... They are perfect to make for a vegetarian or meatless meal: quick, easy, and delicious! Our family's favorite way to eat them is in this Mexican Black Bean salad. Today I'll share the pressure cooker instructions as well as the recipe using canned beans in case you don't have a pressure cooker.


Mexican Black Beans {Pressure Cooker}
Printable Recipe

*NOTE: The Pressure cooker is my favorite way to make these beans! It enhances the flavors and it's so simple!

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups dry black beans, rinsed and sorted
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
3-1/2 Cups water
1 regular onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cumin powder (or less if you want it less spicy)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Heat to high pressure and then cook for 50 minutes. Then release the pressure naturally. Serve plain, over rice, in a burrito or taco shell, or with chips in a salad.

Recipe Source: adapted from greenereating.com


Mexican Black Beans {Stove Top}
Printable Recipe

*NOTE: The Stove top method is a great option for when you're in a real hurry!

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 regular onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 14-oz. cans undrained black beans with lower sodium*
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp. salt*
2 Tbsp. cumin powder (or less if you want it less spicy)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in medium saucepan on medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Then add to the saucepan the undrained beans, tomato sauce, salt and cumin powder. Heat until mixture is bubbly, then turn down the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring often. Cook about 20 minutes or until flavors develop. Serve plain, over rice, in a burrito or taco shell, or with chips in a salad.

*NOTE: if you use regular canned beans, you will have to decrease the amount of salt. Just adjust the amount to taste.

Don't forget dessert! How about yummy fruit salsa and baked cinnamon chips? It goes perfect with the Mexican Black Beans!

How about some fresh garden lettuce for that salad? 

Isn't it beautiful? I love this time of year when the garden is growing! We've almost got it all planted now...and...we're harvesting lettuce, spinach, chard, radishes, turnips, and green onions (from the onions we left in the ground last year). And more to come!! :)

Food Favorites from England & Wales

We just got back from a 10-day trip to England and Wales and it was wonderful and the food was fantastic. Not totally healthy, but it was good break and so very tasty. We had the best fish 'n chips on the planet in a little town called Criccieth, Wales which is right on the coast. If you ever go there, check out the Castle fish and chips shop right near Criccieth Castle. They were fantastic! And only cost 4 pounds. We went there both night we were there. The second night they had a line about 20 people long - I guess the place has a reputation. Here's a picture after about 30 minutes and the line had died out quite a bit.

Last night I tried to make some fish & chips for our boys to try. They didn't turn out as good because the fish wasn't fresh (it was frozen cod), but it was a good recipe. I think it would have been perfect if you could get your hands on some fresh fish. I had a hard time figuring out how hot to get my oil on the stove because I don't have a fryer. I had it too hot at first and that made the batter just fall right off the fish, but when I finally got it right, they turned out really good. I thought the batter on this recipe that I used was amazing. When our fish was done we had some leftover batter and we stuck some of the chips (already fried) in it and fried them up - yum! Another trick that we found was to coat the fish in flour before dipping it in the batter. That made the batter stick to the fish a lot better. When it was time to serve them, we sprinkle the fish and chips with some popcorn salt (very very finely ground salt) and malt vinegar. If you let the malt vinegar soak into the fish & chips it gives it the most wonderful flavor - yum yum! Is your mouth watering yet? :)

In London we also had some yummy corn from a street vendor that we made last night. This is all it was:

Chili corn
Frozen corn
butter
salt
Chili powder (or other flavors would be good too - experiment!)

Just cook up the corn and then mix in the other ingredients. It gave the corn the most delicious flavor. Really good. More recipes to come...we had a lot of good food!! :)

Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Potatoes

These were awesome. Easy, fast and delicious! Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes

Printable Recipe

*Makes about 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. red potatoes (4-5 large), unpeeled

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ C. fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. dried rosemary, crushed

¼ tsp. salt

¼ C. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; cut each half into 4 wedges, each about 1 inch wide. Place wedges in a large bowl. Add minced garlic to potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese, rosemary and salt. Drizzle potatoes with oil tossing to coat evenly. Stir well. Spread potatoes in single layer over bottom of pan (I use a stoneware pan, but you can use any flat baking sheet with a lip). Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Turn potatoes. Continue baking 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown and tender.

Recipe source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

Fresh Homemade Salsa

We love growing our own tomatoes every summer and one of the best parts of homegrown tomatoes is homemade salsa! My mother-in-law shared this recipe with me several years ago and I've been using it ever since. This year I added the freshly squeezed lime juice and it immediately went from good to excellent. I love the colors of this salsa. So vibrant and lovely. To me, they are the colors of summer. We like our salsa chunky, but if you prefer yours blended, that works for this recipe too. It's a very versatile recipe and you can change it to your hearts content. Just make sure you eat it. And enjoy every lovely, delicious bite.

Fresh Salsa

Printable Recipe

*Note: I like my salsa chunky so I always hand chop the tomatoes because food processors make them too mushy. Everything else is okay to be chopped with a food processor or by hand. If you don't like chunky salsa, blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

INGREDIENTS:

6 large tomatoes, chopped (For less runny salsa I use 8-10 Roma Tomatoes)

1 med. onion (I use different kinds - Purple, Spanish, yellow, sweet, etc)

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2 T. fresh squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime's worth)

2 tsp. sugar

1 jalapeno or Anaheim Chile pepper, chopped fine

bunch of cilantro (how much depends on your liking to it)

½ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

Salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Mix it all ingredients together. Add salt & pepper to taste and dig in! Great served with chips or on Mexican food.

*Variations: Try different varieties of peppers whatever you like. For very mild salsa leave out the jalapeno or take out the seeds first. For hotter salsa add more hot peppers. Sometimes we add a tomatillo or two and it’s yummy. We also love “lemon boy” tomatoes in this salsa (they’re yellow and make things beautiful).

Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe given to me by my mother-in-law Jenny

My youngest son LOVES fresh salsa!

Fresh Peach Jam

I know it's been forever since I've posted. Between our vacations, Curious George starting school, gardening, canning, Soccer starting, Jesse Bear breaking his arm, etc, we have had quite a month!

It's peach season here where we live! mmmh! We love peaches. We have 10 ripe peaches on our tree this year (or we er...had ten :). They were delicious. I bought a bunch more at an orchard near our house. Here's the recipe for a delicious fresh peach jam that I got out of the friend magazine a few years ago.

Sunshine Squash - My Favorite Squash!

Sunshine Squash has got to be the best squash that I've ever tasted! It's time to order your seed's for next year's garden - be sure to order these! They are so sweet and flavorful that you don't need butter or salt. They are the perfect size - just right for 4-6 servings. The texture is perfect, smooth, melt in your mouth. Not stringy like a lot of squash. They're easy to grow - we've grown them for 3 years now with relative ease. They store well. We ate our last one last year in March or April. We still have one or two left this year and they are still firm as can be. If you don't like squash, try these - they are easy to learn to like! Make sure you read up on the health benefits so you know how good they are for you. They have lots of vitamins and fiber that are good for your heart and help fight against cancer. We order our seeds from stokes seeds, but park seed also has them. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

We went over to a friend's house for dinner a few weeks ago and he cooked up this mouth-watering amazing butternut squash soup. I loved it so much. I thought for sure when I tasted it that it was full of cream and other fatty-no-good-for-you-stuff. I was shocked when I saw the recipe - simple, healthy ingredients. I made it last week for dinner - mmmh! The red pepper puree adds a wonderful little zip that is sooo yummy! This recipe's going down in my book of favorites - especially in fall and winter. We have so many squash still down in our basement that I'm sure I'll be making it again soon. Next time maybe I'll try it with a different kind of squash...

Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Red Pepper Purée

Printable Recipe

Butternut Squash Soup

*This Soup can be made a day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and chill. Re-warm before serving, thinning with more broth if desired.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2¼ Cups chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 2½-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces

5½ Cups (or more) chicken or vegetable broth

3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon grated orange peel (or 1/4 cup of orange juice)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring 1 minute. Add squash and 5 ½ cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until squash is soft, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Add 1 teaspoon thyme and orange peel. Thin soup with more broth if desired. Simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls. Swirl 1 tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Puree (see recipe below) into soup in each bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and serve.

Roasted Red Pepper Purée

*This red pepper puree can be made a day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup coarsely chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar (or roast fresh red peppers to use)

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Salt and Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Puree all ingredients in processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe Source: Adapted from a recipe given to me by my friend Colin

Black Bean Corn Salsa

This is such a great recipe, it is so fresh and yummy. We've tried it with banana peppers (and more of them) instead of the jalepeno. This is really good with freshly picked corn (just cut it off the cob) - yum!. Enjoy.

Black Bean Corn Salsa

Printable Recipe

*Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups Black beans, drained (1 14.5-oz. can)
½ Cup sliced green onions
1 Cup chopped fresh tomatoes (*see Note)
2 Cups whole kernel corn, drained
½-1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. chopped jalapeno peppers
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with corn chips.

*Note: Fresh tomatoes are best but if you don't have them, you can use 1 cup diced tomatoes (canned)