butternut squash soup with caramelized onions

I had to check and double check that I hadn’t posted this recipe before. It was one of my favorite soups from last winter, and perfect for a chilly weekend when we needed something light and warm after all of our Thanksgiving feast-ivities.

Based on Ina Garten’s Butternut Squash and Apple Soup recipe, the final product is creamy with a little texture in it, a sweet and savory tug-of-war match of round flavors on your tastebuds. And if you’re like me, you’ll be very liberal with your black pepper grinder for just a bit of bite.

Shall we begin? Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For 2-4 people, peel and chop one butternut squash and one apple in same-size cubes.  Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith, whatever is fresh and tastes good to you. Your cuts don’t have to be perfect, but keep them about the same size and shape. My advice to you is use a really sharp knife because all kinds of squash can be tricky to chop. And make sure you get all the core and seeds from the apple! Mix them with olive oil, salt, and pepper until the pieces are well coated. Then spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for about 20-25 minutes, turning once in the middle. This is standard practice for roasting veggies, and in my opinion, roasting really brings out the optimal flavor.

While your stars of the show roast, heat up a pot that’s wide on the bottom but still tall enough to hold your soup. Peel and thinly slice an onion (mince for less texture) and sauté in about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter on medium-high heat until glossy. Make sure to feed the onions a pinch of salt to help release their natural sugars. Turn down your heat to medium or medium low (watch it carefully) and cook them low and slow until start to brown. I think following Rachael Ray’s method of adding sugar first would work nicely, too.

 

I, however, bypassed the sugar for a drizzle of pure maple syrup. YOM! Stir about a tablespoon in with your already softened onions and let them keep cooking. It’s almost time for the soup to come together.

 

Put your newly roasted goodies in a food processor or blender and pour in enough chicken or veggie broth to almost cover them. They’re about to become something delicious. Give your mix a spin until it’s finely pureed. Pour it into the pot with the onions and give it a stir. At this point, add some broth or water to get the soup to your perfect consistency.

Now’s time to spice it up. Add about a tablespoon of curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. We love lots of black pepper in just about everything. In my version of heaven, black pepper and chocolate will go together perfectly. If you’re iffy about curry powder, don’t be. I, too, once thought curry powder was sketchy, but bought this little jar for this very recipe and didn’t regret it one bit!

At this point your soup is almost finished! Since your veggies were cooked in the oven, you just need to make sure it’s heated through and stays your preferred consistency. Something completely optional, however:

Just a little drink of cream. I don’t even keep it in the house normally, but I think I’m turning over a new leaf. A new leaf that could be very dangerous. It’s not even absolutely necessary with the starchy goodness of pureed butternut squash, sweet apple and onions, and savory curry. But a little drizzle here and there never hurt anyone, really.

Soup’s on!

quick red velvet whoopie pies

 

The other night, JT brought me the box of red velvet cake mix he’d thrown in our grocery cart a few weeks ago. For some reason, I’ve never had the inclination to choose red velvet over my go-to chocolate cakey goodness. My former roomie makes some mean red velvet cake balls, but that might be the only time I’ve tasted it.

Still, the moment that cake box touched my hands, I had devilish plans. Read on if you dare to find out what to do.

 

First, bake some cake batter cookies by mixing a box of cake mix, 2 eggs, and 1/4 cup of oil, spooning equal amounts onto cookie sheets (or the brand new jelly roll pans your husband bought you as an early Christmas present!), and baking in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for eight minutes, and then, you mustn’t forget this very important step: let. them. cool.

In terms of technique – not that I claim to have any – I took equal-size amounts of dough, rolled them into little balls between my palms, and flattened them gently with my fingers so they’d be as even and round as possible. Since they turn out super rich, I’d highly recommend making these much smaller than pictured, using maybe 1 tablespoon of mix at a time so you get cute bite-sized deliciousness.

 

Since in my kitchen, we don’t discriminate, if one or more turn out with a case of the uglies, and say, look like the earthshake-cracked ground on Land Before Time, just stick them on the bottom of your lovely little pies.

But don’t let me get ahead of myself. Before that can happen, you are going to make a substance that will cause you to reread this post multiple times, searching for one missing word. I can assure you, this is a drug-free zone, and there is no crack involved in this recipe.

 

Even a red velvet novice like me knows that red velvet cake without cream cheese frosting is like peanut butter without jelly. Okay, bad analogy; I eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches every morning for breakfast and somehow survive. Anyway, I decided to go big or go home and went to the expert herself. Ladies and gentleman (since I know at least JT will read this), they’re not kidding when they call it The BEST Cream Cheese frosting. Because it sure is.

Except for one thing. In my experience, I know that I like to be able to taste the cream cheese a little more than most recipes call for, so I only added about 2.5 cups of powdered sugar. But be sure to taste it after you blend in each cup. Everyone’s preferences are different!

Please save a little for the cookies. I know it’s hard, but you’re brave. You can do it.

Spoon a little bit of frosting onto a cookie. Once again, everyone’s tastes are different. I’m more of a “Want a little cookie with your frosting?” kind of girl. (Just in case, you know, you couldn’t tell.)

 

Slap another cookie on and give it a little squeeze. Watch the frosting goodness ooze. Mmmmm.

If you’re like me and couldn’t wait until the cookies were cooled to room temperature, your cookie might crumble. Sad day. But that’s okay because frosting makes the tastiest glue imaginable!

Enjoy!

(with milk, coffee, or by itself, sneaked from the refrigerator and eaten over the sink)

(PS: store in the fridge so the cream cheese will keep;
bring to room temp when you’re ready to eat – if you can wait that long)

cumin grilled chicken with deconstructed salsa salad

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 roughly chopped green onions
1/2 cup arugula
1 diced avocado
the juice of 1 lime
1 drizzle honey
1 T EVOO
salt + pepper + cumin to taste

Directions:

Preheat grill or grill pan to about medium high, but watch to make sure it doesn't get too hot if it takes you forever to prepare like me. (Here I butterfly my chicken to make it thinner and quicker to cook.) Season both sides of chicken with a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of cumin, making sure it's thoroughly covered. Grill chicken on both sides until the middle is no longer pink.

Chop salad ingredients and combine with arugula in a bowl to taste. When I say to taste, I mean if you like lots of onion, add more, etc. Drizzle EVOO, honey, and lime juice to taste, but make sure the salad is not too oily like mine was on the verge of being. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin. After this picture was taken, I added corn to my salad with lots of black pepper just the way I like it!

Last step: don't judge LB's awesome photos from her iPhone, Monique!

Voila! Quick and easy!

Sweet Onion and Mixed Vegetable Stir-fry

Tonight's original plan was cereal for dinner. But as I was driving home, I remembered some vegetables I had in the fridge that were almost past their window of peak freshness, and I decided to seize the day. You can make this really with any vegetables you have, and even add some meat, but I absolutely loved this combination of my classic favs. Let me know what combination works for you!

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
3-4 stalks diced celery (for crunch!)
1 carton of  mushrooms, sliced or whole
1 bunch spinach, stems removed
1 T rice wine vinegar (a splash or two)
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame dressing
2 T honey

Directions

Heat up a wok or big skillet on medium to medium high heat as you chop your vegetables. Add a drizzle of oil to the bottom of the pan when you're almost finished chopping. The pan should be nice and hot.

Add the onions, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and stir to coat in the oil. I thinly sliced my onions instead of diced them because I wanted their caramelized sweetness to be a major star in this dish. When the onions are glossy and translucent, add the minced garlic and stir.

Stir in the vegetables, except for the spinach, adding a few sprinkles of salt and pepper. If the skillet looks dry, splash with a little rice wine vinegar. You can also use chicken stock, dry white wine, or anything that will keep it moist and give it flavor. Just remember: less is more. You want to give your veggies a little drink, not drown them. Add the spinach and coat it with the pan liquids so it will begin to wilt.

Let it cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the sauce in a small bowl so you can get the taste just right. I started with equal parts soy sauce and sesame dressing and drizzled in the honey to taste. I ended up adding a little more sesame dressing because I wanted my stir fry to be more savory and I knew my onions would release their natural sugars. But if you want it to be sweeter, honey is your main man!

Once you've perfected the sauce, add it in increments. Once again, less is more. You want there to be just enough extra liquid to drizzle over your rice, but if it starts to look like soup, you've added too much. Stir it around until the vegetables absorb the sauce a little, taste test to see if you need to adjust your seasonings, and serve with brown rice, sesame noodles, Ramen, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Other ideas: try it with bell peppers, snap peas, or pineapple. Sprinkle some crunchy Asian noodles on top for texture. Add some red pepper flakes for a little heat. Add cornstarch or flour to your sauce if you want it to be thick.

Texas Caviar

This is an easy peasy salsa/dip to serve with some blue corn tortilla chips or alongside some chicken or fish. I adapted this recipe from Mckmama, originally found here. The sweetness complements the salty chips so well, though. In as much time as it takes to open a few cans and rinse, you can get this ready in the morning, refrigerate overnight or during the day, drain the salsa and serve.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can garbanzo beans (drained/rinsed)

2 cans corn (drained/rinsed)

1 small carton of cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)

1 small white or yellow onion (diced)

1 bunch cilantro (shredded or finely chopped)

1/3 bottle of Italian dressing

lime juice (1-2 limes' worth)

sugar to taste (I start with 2 T and add more if needed)

salt to taste (I start with 2 T, but remember the salt from the chips)

Directions:

Drain canned ingredients and rinse well (especially the beans). Combine all ingredients, unless you're worried about the tomatoes or cilantro going bad, in which case you can add those right before serving, but I love the cilantro infusion as it marinates and have never gotten sick since it's refrigerated. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours, though I'm sure it would still taste great if you did at least one hour. Excess liquids will accumulate during the marinating process, so drain before serving.

I would recommend serving with Tostidos corn chips or blue corn chips. Mckmama also adds kidney beans and avocado to her recipe, but I don't like either. If you do work with avocado, add it at the end or squirt it with a little lime juice to keep it from browning. Enjoy this easy hit!

Parmesan Chicken

Parmesan Chicken
copyright Food Network
Original Recipe

At first glance, this recipe had two strikes. One, I'm a huge traditional Chicken Parmesan fan and was skeptical about a tomato-less dish. Secondly, I don't normally use Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa recipes, but my mom made this one and JT insisted that I reproduce it the next week. He says it tastes a lot like Wiener schnitzel and it's one of his favorites I have made. But I can guarantee you, it's A LOT easier to make, it just uses a lot of dishes! No big deal. Andrea and Jason also said they liked this recipe.

This is fast, easy, and good for hosting guests. Just make it ahead of time, clean your kitchen, and reheat (just the chicken) in the oven while you're preparing the greens just before serving. I serve the chicken atop the greens and lemon vinaigrette. The lemon cuts the hearty, crunchy chicken nicely.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• Unsalted butter
• Good olive oil
• Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry (buy the bag; makes life easier!)
  
• 1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Directions

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly. (Make sure they are completely coated with each. Also, use one hand to dip in dry ingredients and the other for the eggs and you won't have breadcrumb paste to peel off your fingers.)

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. (I did not measure, just combined this to taste. My mom used these measurements and I thought it was too lemony and not thick enough. Just me, though!)

Rachael's Lemon Chicken

This is one of JT and my favorite recipes. The first time I made it, I was at the store, in the CHECKOUT line, when JT called and asked if I could make it. I was very hesitant. (Hey, the lines were long!) But am I ever glad I did? This is an Undomestic Kitchen staple now. JT even asked for it twice in one week once, which if you know him, means it's GOOD!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into (Bitesize) chunks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons wok or vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan (Rachael's preferred brand: House of Tsang)
• 1 tablespoon (a splash) white or rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
• 8 ounces (1 cup) prepared lemon curd
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced or 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions

Coat the chunked chicken lightly in flour, seasoned with a little salt. Heat a large skillet or a wok-shaped nonstick pan over high heat. (I used EVOO because I wanted the chicken to stick a little bit to my pan. It's the best flavor in the dish!) Stir fry chicken until golden, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium.

Add a splash of vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add stock or broth to the pan and scrape up any drippings with a whisk. (Like I said, this is the best taste in the whole dish.) Thin curd by stirring in a little hot water. (I whisked mine with a fork to thin it up) Add curd to broth and whisk to combine. Add chicken back to the pan and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken sauce and finish cooking chicken pieces through. Remove the pan from heat, add the scallions or chives and zest, and toss chicken pieces well to combine zest and scallions or chives evenly throughout the sauce.

Rachael's Notes: Wok oil infused with ginger and garlic is usually available on the International Foods aisle in many markets.

Chicken broths and stocks are available in resealable paper containers, making storage of remaining product easy and on hand in the refrigerator; they are found in the soup aisle.

Lemon curd is a sweet lemon spread available in most markets. It is on the jam/jelly aisle. (I wouldn't have known!)

I serve this over brown rice or couscous that I've added some chopped scallions to. With each bite, you get a punch of sweet lemony flavor rounded off nicely by the chicken flavor and topped with an greenoniony zing. I love it!

Mushroom Ragout

JT says this is one of his favorite dishes I've ever made! I'm pretty sure it was inspired by the classic Italian sauce starter (onion, garlic, tomatoes), but I absolutely love mushrooms. Even though it has heavy Italian influences, I call it a Mushroom Ragout because French names sound fancy. It's vegetarian, takes less than 20 minutes but JT says serving it with grilled tilapia or chicken would taste delicious, too!

Ingredients

Pasta (I used orecchiette, but penne or linguine would work great, too!)
EVOO, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 cups spinach leaves
Parmesan cheese
white wine (optional)

Directions

Bring a pot of cold water to a boil, add salt to the boiling water, and cook pasta according to package directions.

In the meantime, drizzle EVOO on the bottom of your saute pan, and once heated at medium high heat, add onions and stir frequently until almost transparent. When the onions are pretty much cooked, add garlic and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes later, add the mushrooms, plus a little salt and pepper, and stir until they darken and release their natural juices.

Add spinach leaves (about three handfuls or more: they will wilt down severely) and pour tomatoes over it with about half of their juices. I've added about 1/2 cup white wine at this time before for flavor, but it tasted much better this time without it, we thought. Maybe it's because I was using dry wine, and I am not a huge fan of that flavor. If you choose to add white wine, don't add any of the tomato juices. You may wish to salt and pepper again, or add red pepper flakes for a little kick. With red pepper flakes, it's best to start very small and add to taste, depending on how spicy you like your cuisine.

Stir until spinach has wilted and pan liquids are simmering (and hopefully reducing). Dial heat down to medium or medium low and add parmesan cheese about 1/4th cup at a time until your ragout has thickened. If it becomes too thick and difficult to stir, simply add a little pasta water.

Drain pasta and toss with sauce, but make sure your ragout is proportionate to your noodles. JT likes to have 1.5:1 ratio of noodles to sauce, but I like mine to be about 1:2 with more ragout than noodles.

Enjoy!

Ellie's Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick
• 3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (check the int'l aisle)
  
• 1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions

Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. JT likes his more medium, so I cooked mine for about 7 on each side. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain. Be patient; it's worth it!

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. I went light on the shallot, a bit heavier on the cilantro and added corn to it. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots. JT said next time he would love crunchy Asian noodles with it. Sounds good to me!

Original recipe can be found here.

Carbonara

Ingredients:

• pasta - I use spaghetti or linguine
• bacon or pancetta - about 4 strips, chopped
• ham, Canadian bacon, or prosciutto
• 3-4 eggs, whisked
  
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• chopped basil
  

Bring a pot of water up to a boil, salt water, and cook pasta according to package directions.

In a separate skillet, cook bacon to desired crispness. If you want to make this dish more calorie-friendly, use ham instead of bacon or cook bacon in a separate pan to avoid the excess fat.

Add hot pasta to the skillet and stir in cheese until melted and pasta becomes creamy. Quickly add the whisked eggs and stir vigorously for about 4-5 minutes until the pasta is creamy and glossy. This "gentle cooking" is an art form because you don't want to scramble the eggs with the heat of the pasta, but you want to make sure the eggs are cooked and edible, so use discretion. In order to avoid scrambling, I added a spoonful of the hot pasta water to the eggs beforehand to warm them up a little.

Top with basil and cheese and serve warm.

Perfect Weeknight Salad

Here's a quick, easy salad we love! I always keep a bag of pre-washed, prechopped lettuce on hand because it's easy and encourages me to make more salad. I can use half the bag, reseal, and store in my crisper drawer for quite awhile.

My favorite bag variety is Dole's Hearts Delight and my favorite carton variety is Organic Girl's good clean greens. For this salad, I toss some Asian sesame dressing (Kraft has a great one) with crunchy noodles and a little white cheese. The sweet, crunchy flavor makes it pretty much universal for any meal!

Portabella Parmesan

I got this baked mushroom recipe from Natalie Mikles, the Tulsa World food writer. You can check out her blog here. It's a great and inexpensive substitute for chicken parm!

2 large Portabella mushrooms (you may wish to gently remove gills with a spoon)
Olive oil
1 cup tomato pasta sauce, divided (I make this sugar-free sauce.)
4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers flakes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to broil, with top rack about 4 inches from broiler. Brush both sides of mushrooms with oil. Place mushrooms, gill side down, in a 9-inch baking dish. Broil for 4 minutes, remove and turn gill side up, broil 4 minutes.

Remove mushrooms from baking dish, drain excess liquid. Reduce oven to 400 degrees.

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce on bottom of baking dish, then place mushrooms, gill side up. Sprinkle with basil, red pepper flakes and the remainder of the pasta sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan; bake 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown. Remove and serve. Note: use at least part-skim mozzarella. Fat-free mozzarella is very rubbery when baked!

Giada's Potatoes and Onions

Ingredients

• 2 pounds new potatoes (white, red, or Yukon gold), scrubbed and halved
• 1 pound cippolini onions, peeled
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss together all of the ingredients. Spread the mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the potatoes and onions are golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately or cool and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, reheating the next day in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Refrigerator Pasta

I call this Refrigerator Pasta because it's a great way to revitalize leftovers and veggies that will otherwise go bad. The combinations are pretty much endless!

• Pasta - leftover, uncooked or cooked
  
• Diced Mushrooms (leftover cooked meat would also work well)
  
• Sprinkle of sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 finely chopped shallot or a bit of leftover onion
  
• Dry white wine or chicken stock
• Leftover salad greens (I used the spinach and arugula I didn't use in last night's salad)
  
• Pecorino or parmesan cheese
  

If pasta is uncooked, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt once the water reaches a boil and cook according to package directions. When finished, drain and return to pot.

In a separate skillet, heat some oil and cook the shallots until fragrant and transparent. Add the mushrooms, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and cook until they release their juices. If your salad greens are undressed and raw, add them at this time. (I used arugula and spinach.) Remember that greens will wilt when cooked, so be very liberal with them!

Pour about 1/2 cup of white wine or chicken stock evenly over the mixture and stir until visibly reduced. Sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes and stir until heated through.

Combine mixture with pasta and stir. I served this with pecorino cheese because it complements the peppery flavor of arugula. JT added red pepper flakes to give his a little spice.