Thursday, September 22, 2011

Chunky Vegetable Soup & Roasted Butternut Squash


Chunky Vegetable Soup

  • Couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 medium/large carrots, chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
  • few pinches thyme
  • 2 cans stewed tomatoes (I puree mine for the tomato hater in my house)
  • few cups chicken stock
  • handful pasta (whatever you want. I used spinach spaghetti, broken into small pieces)
In a stock pot over medium heat, add oil and heat. Add and cook the onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add garlic and thyme. After 3 minutes, add tomatoes and water and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the pasta and cook until done. I let mine sit on low, covered, for a half hour prior to serving. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.


Roasted Butternut Squash

I LOVE THIS. I am not a fan of squash cooked with sugar or anything sweet- I am a hater of sweet when it should be savory. I never, ever let my syrup touch my eggs or bacon. Ack! But this side is amazing. It's not my recipe. I found one and tweaked it until it was just right, so it's sort of mine?

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika (please buy good paprika. Paprika rules the spice rack.)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil (the amount will vary. Use until you have a runny paste)
Preheat oven to 375. Peel the squash and cube into 1 inch pieces. (Google how to peel and cut a butternut if you don't know how)

Mix the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt and balsamic in a small bowl. Slowly stream in olive oil and whisk quickly until you have a runny paste. Don't add too much, it's not salad dressing.

Dump mixture over squash pieces in a large bowl and mix until it's evenly coated. Arrange on a baking sheet covered by Silpat (or parchment or some kind of protective layer. Silicone is best) and bake until done, about 30-40 minutes. You'll want to check and turn about halfway through cooking time.

Greek Hummus & Pesto Pizza



From the bottom to the top:
  • whole wheat pita
  • hummus
  • pesto
  • low fat feta
  • roasted red peppers
  • red onions, thinly sliced
  • rotisserie chicken
  • olives
  • drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • chopped romaine lettuce, tossed in homemade (or whatever you want) Greek dressing
Bake at 400 for 5-7 minutes. Top with the cold romaine lettuce before serving. I served it last night with a side of pesto parmesan quinoa. Easy and nutritious.