Acorn Squash Soup with Parmesean Cheese

Dinner tonight was AMAZING! Really. I'm trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals in our dinner routine both for health and for expense. I've encountered resistance from just about everyone in the family except the baby - she's happy to eat anything. My darling husband, Mr MacGuyver on the other hand insists on meat - protein for him he says. I think he might be finally softening after a few really good meatless meals we've had.

Tonight was one of them. Acorn Squash Soup that was delicious...creamy, tangy, sweet. So many flavors, it was hard to pin down and perfect for a cold night after everyone had played outside all afternoon. The recipe is pretty easy too, which always makes me happy on weekends when I really want/need to do other things besides cook. I'm guessing I'm the odd-ball there because most of you probably want fast dinners on weeknights. With homeschooling and really limiting what are kids are in involved in, weeknights are actually easier for me. I can start dinner anytime after 4pm when the baby wakes up, so I have plenty of time.

Weekends are are another story. There is NEVER enough time on the weekend. I want to play games with the kids, work in the yard, work on the computer, go on adventures, everything gets done on weekends around here. Whichever night you choose, this soup is one you should pin, stumble, or bookmark for an easy dinner meal.

Acorn Squash Soup with a Lime Twist
Adapted from Sargento's Website

Ingredients
2 large acorn squash
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
1 can chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. nutmeg 
1/4 tsp. salt  
4 slices Parmesan cheese

Place whole squash on paper towel in microwave oven; cook on HIGH 5 minutes. Turn over; continue cooking 4 minutes more or until squash is barely tender when pierced with a knife. Let stand 5 minutes. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 8 minutes or until onion is soft, stirring occasionally. Cut squash in half; scoop out and discard seeds and membrane. Keeping squash shell intact, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell. Add squash pulp to onion mixture; cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth, nutmeg and, if desired, cayenne pepper and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until squash is very tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer squash mixture to food processor or blender; process until smooth. Reheat soup until very hot. Arrange squash shells, cut sides up, in ovenproof bowls; place bowls on baking sheet; fill with hot soup. Top with toast and cheese. Place under preheated broiler 5 inches from heat; broil 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Eggplant, Roasted Tomato, Polenta Stacks

When this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment arrived, I went straight to the blog of A Couple in the Kitchen. I was jealous you see. 

Oh, how I wish I could be part of "a couple in the kitchen". I wish my wonderful husband cared just a little about cooking, but that is just, not how he rolls. I mean, he REALLY enjoys the eating, and definitely helps with the cleaning, but he is never gonna join me in the cooking. It's just not his deal. With all of his other wonderful MacGuyver traits, I suppose that is okay. I guess I've come to terms with it. 

It's just, when I read the title of my new friends Amy and Chris's blog, I couldn't help but be a little jealous. I wanna be a couple in the kitchen...waaah. I know, I know. You are saying, "get over it Aimee"!

After I looked through Chris and Amy's blog, I came upon Slow Roasted Tomatoes and I knew this was the recipe I wanted to make. We have tomatoes coming out our ears. I canned some, sliced some for sandwiches, eat some right from the bush, gave away some, and even tossed a few rotten ones to the Girls in their coop. (Yes, until recently, they were still trapped in their coop so they didn't eat my hard work.) Roasting some tomatoes and storing them in oil, seemed like a perfect way to prolong our season.

Once I had some roasted lovelies, I had to think what to do with them. I froze several half pints for presents later in the year. Hee hee, I'm getting ready for Christmas already and I love it! I served some with my Roasted Chicken and saved some for Eggplant, Tomato, Polenta Stacks.

This easy vegetarian dinner was a product of what was laying around....lots and lots of Japanese eggplants! My one bush has given us a ton of these purple beauties. This dinner was fabulous!!! Course, if you don't have any eggplant laying around, you could always substitute zucchini for the eggplant or make orzo (small rice shaped pasta) dish also from A Couple in the Kitchen.

Eggplant, Roasted Tomato and Polenta Stacks

Ingredients

1 lg Japanese eggplant (or zucchini can be used)

salt and pepper to taste

3 c water

1 c polenta

1/4 c butter

1/2 tsp salt

olive oil

roasted tomatoes

1/4 c greek yogurt

2 tsp honey

chopped nuts for garnish (I just used an assortment we had from the pantry)

Slice eggplant into thin disks. Lay on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 15 minutes or so.

Bring water to a boil in saucepan, add salt. Slowly add polenta and whisk into water. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted and polenta is thick. Pour into a greased pan or bowl. Set aside.

Rinse eggplant with water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat a little olive oil in a saute pan or skillet. When hot, carefully put eggplant slices in pan and cook for a 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute until golden brown. Cook in small batches until all the eggplant is done.

Mix honey and yogurt in a small dish.

Slice polenta into squares like you would brownies. Put a slice of polenta on each plate and then stack the eggplant on top. Sprinkle with roasted tomatoes. Add a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Serve.

Roasted Tomatoes

from A Couple in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade (which is a fancy way of saying slice small strips)
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil for storage

Preheat oven to 200 F. In a large bowl, place the halved tomatoes and basil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently mix well with your hands. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats (you know how I love these). Then line sheets with tomatoes in one layer, place garlic cloves in different areas on the baking sheet. Bake for 2-3 hours, until tomatoes look mostly dry. If storing, place them in canning jars, packing them in well and using a metal knife, get the air bubbles out. Cover completely with olive oil and seal with airtight lid. Store in refrigerator for up to six weeks or freezer for several months.

Carrot Orange Muffins

We are back from vacation and settled into the routine of school. For the first time ever we have an actual schoolroom to have our homeschool class. We ended up bunking the boys together and the girls together and that gave us an extra bedroom to finally dedicate to homeschooling. It's wonderful to finally have all of our books, supplies, art stuff and science kits all in one place!! Before, we forever carting things around the house and trying to keep the baby from getting into them. There have been plenty of times when scribble magically appeared on someone's workbook. That baby is so smart, she can already operate my cell phone and the dvd player!

Back to school or back to homeschooling, however you roll in your house, you are gonna need to eat. These are the BEST snack, breakfast or lunchbox muffins going. My kids loved them and I'm sure yours will too. They have lots of good stuff in them including nuts for protein. I used pecans, but you could use walnuts, cashews, whatever you like. 

These freeze well. Do what I do and wrap each one a plastic wrap and then throw them all in a freezer bag. When you need one, just pull it out. They thaw very quickly and it's such a timesaver!

Carrot Orange Muffins

from Grow It Cook It

Ingredients

1 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 c grated carrots

3/4 c oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c buttermilk

3 tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 oz roasted nuts, chopped

1/2 c dried apricots, chopped finely

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 lg orange, zest and juice

1 egg

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 c granola cereal

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add nuts, carrot, apricots, poppy seeds, oats and orange zest. Mix well.

In a medium sized bowl, mix buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and orange juice. Pour this wet mixture into the dry mixture bowl and stir together lightly with a spoon. Leave lumps. Lumps are good when making muffins or quick (non-yeast) breads.

Spoon mixture into greased or lined muffin pan. Bake for 15 minutes.