Cranberry Salsa

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  Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
  
  
  (Recipe taken from Jamie Cooks It Up - and you should go there to read the whole story - she is a hilarious writer and has quite the story about making this dip....)
  
  
  1  12 oz package fresh cranberries
  1/4 C green onion, chopped
  1/4 C cilantro, chopped
  1 small jalapeno pepper
  1 1/4 C sugar
  1/4 t cumin
  2 T lemon juice
  dash salt
  2  8 oz packages cream cheese
  
  
  
    
  1. Put your cranberries, green onions, cilantro and jalapeno in a food processor and coarsely chop together.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2. When you are ready to serve, place your cream cheese bricks on a plate.
  
  
  
  3. Spread the cream cheese out as evenly as you can.
  
  
  
  4. Pour your cranberry mixture over the cream cheese.
  
  
  
  5. Spread it all around.
  6. Serve immediately with Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers or Tortilla Chips.
    
  
  

Fresh Beet Carrot Apple Salad

Courtesy of Marvel Earnshaw







Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh beets

2 large carrots

2 granny smith apples

1 turnip

1 bunch fresh parsley (chopped)  I only used about 1/2 of the bunch)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

1 large orange

1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Using a food processor, cut the following into a bowl (matchstick) 

First the beets, then the carrots, then the apples and lastly the turnip - you can cover and leave til the next day if needed.

Dressing  - use the zest of the lime and the orange and the juice of both also.  Add the olive oil and the  vinegar.

When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the beet, carrot, apple, turnip mixture and stir  - stir in the chopped fresh parsley.

Beet Soup

Beet Curry Soup

Note: Curry pastes differ, so start with a much smaller amount of curry paste, and add more if needed.

Beet Curry Soup
adapted from The NY Times
serves 6-8

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large beets (2 1/2 pounds total)
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 apples, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth, more if needed
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoons curry paste
salt, to taste
yogurt or sour cream, (optional garnish)

• In a bowl, drizzle oil over beets, and toss to coat. Put beets on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until beets can be pierced easily. When cool enough to handle, peel beets and chop into large chunks.
• In a large pot, melt butter and saute onions until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add apples, broth, ginger, curry paste, salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, or until apples are soft.
• Pour soup into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Adjust seasoning and add more broth if too thick.
• Garnish with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

Buttercup Squash Soup

Last week, I acquired some buttercup squash from a friend.  I don't believe I had ever cooked to buttercup squash, so I decided to give it a try - but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  So, naturally, I "googled" buttercup squash recipes.  Most links led me to recipes for 'butterNUT' squash - apparently a lot of people confuse the two.  But, one link (Dr. Ben Kim) actually led me to a recipe for Buttercup Squash soup.  I tried it - and it was a winner!  Even the kids gobbled it down!  So, it made it to my blog! (Only a fraction of recipes that I try actually make the cut!)  Without further adieu, here it is (courtesy of Dr. Ben Kim):

Here are the main ingredients: one buttercup squash, two sweet potatoes, two leeks, one yellow onion, two carrots, vegetable or chicken broth, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and sea salt and pepper.

Here's a closeup look at buttercup squash - it looks kind of like an acorn squash, but it's tastier than acorn by a country mile.

Chop butternut squash into quarters, the sweet potatoes into one-inch rounds, and roast in a baking pan or casserole dish at 400 F for a good 50 to 60 minutes or until squash and sweet potatoes are tender.

Next, you'll want to give your leeks a good wash to remove dirt that is typically embedded within its deeper layers. An easy way to do this while maintaining enough form to allow for easy chopping is to cut the leeks in half, then slice them lengthwise, and put them under running water for a few seconds. Here's how we do this:

Once your leeks are washed and ready to chop, dice up your leeks, carrots, and yellow onion, and saute in extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until everything is soft.

If garlic and/or ginger get thumbs up in your home, add as much as you'd like while the leeks, carrots, and onion are cooking down. This is also a fine time to season with sea salt and pepper to suit your tastes.

Once your buttercup squash and sweet potatoes are tender, peel their skins and add them to your leeks, carrots, and onions. It's easiest to wait until the squash and sweet potatoes have cooled down some before peeling their skins off.

Next, add three cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Transfer all ingredients to a blender or use a hand-held blender right in the pot to give things a whirl until you have your sweet and savory buttercup squash soup.

Though great as a stand-alone meal, if you want to add extra flavors and textures, try topping with fresh cilantro or avocado slices.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry (with coconut rice)

(Recipe and picture courtesy of Workitmom.com)


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced


Dice onion, chicken and sweet potatoes.  Place in crock pot.  Mix spices into orange juice and pour over chicken/sweet potatoes/onions.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.


Tastes great served with Coconut Rice! (Cook rice as usual, just replace 1/2 of the water with coconut milk.  So, for 2 cups of uncooked rice, cook in 2 cups of coconut milk and 2 cups of water.)

Pumpkin Bean Soup

Pumpkin-Bean Soup (courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens)

ingredients

• 1
  15-oz. can pumpkin
• 1
  14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1
  15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1
  14-oz. can vegetable broth
• 1
  tsp. dried leaf sage, crushed
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Cracked black peppercorns, optional
• Fresh lime slices, optional
  
  
  

Cheesy Zucchini Pizza

Courtesy of EatLiveRun

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough - 1 crust

1 c ricotta cheese

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 med zucchini squash, grated and drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix ricotta cheese, garlic, s and p.

2. In a new bowl, mix drained zucchini and mozzarella cheese.

3. Roll pizza dough out to desired size and thickness.

4. Spread ricotta cheese mixture on crust.

5. Sprinkle zucchini/cheese mixture on top.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 min.

Butternut Squash, Parmesan & Pasta

By: erin, taken from NaturallyElla

Details

• Prep Time:
  10 min
• Cook Time:
  45 min
• Ready In:
  55 min

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups butternut squash 1/2" cubes
• 1 medium onion cubed
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 ounces pasta
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 425˚. Toss butternut squash, onion, rosemary, and olive oil together in a bowl. Spread on a sheet tray and roast until tender-about 25 minutes.
• Cook pasta according to box (or use fresh pasta). In a small skillet over medium heat, toast walnuts for 2-3 minutes. Add butter and let melt. Toss together pasta, butter, walnuts, and roasted veggies together. Place in serving bowls and grate parmesan over pasta mixture.