Creamy Potato Soup with BACON!!!

As the weather turns colder, it's time to look into soups. I've always wanted to make a really good potato soup, but I never knew where to start. I knew I wanted something creamy with chunks of potato in it. I searched the Internet, and found a recipe for Delicious Ham and Potato Soup. Ham didn't sound very good to me, but bacon did. :) So I altered the recipe to what sounded good to me. I've written the recipe a little different than normal because there are some things I would change about my soup tonight. For example, I felt it was too thick. I've added all changes into the recipe below. 

Creamy Potato Soup with BACON!!! 

2 large gold/white potatoes, diced (you could also use 4 to 6 small ones)
2 stalks celery
1/2 large white onion 
2 cups water (probably should have used a little more)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 t salt 
1/2 t pepper (wasn't enough for me so I put more in my bowl)
3-4 pieces of bacon
2 T butter
2 T olive oil (alternatively you could probably use bacon grease in place of some of the oil)
5 T flour
1-3/4 cups milk (I probably should have used 2 cups milk)
Cheese
Green onions, sliced (I didn't actually put these in, but I think they'd be really good in it)

Place the potatoes, celery, onion, water, and chicken bouillon cubes in a sauce pan. Boil for 15+ minutes, stirring occasionally (mine cooked for about 30 minutes because I didn't plan things out well, so that might be why I felt it could use more liquid--too much might have boiled off). Season with the salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook bacon. Crumble or dice. Either after the bacon is done or while the it is cooking, heat butter and olive oil in a small sauce pan. Whisk in flour. When mixture starts to boil, slowly add in milk. Bring to a boil. Pour into potato mixture.

You can either stir in the bacon (but I felt this made it a little soggy) or top to soup with it in each bowl. Also top with cheese and green onions, if desired.

Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

When your [appreciative] vegan friends come into town, you're forced to make new recipes or go out for all meals. So cooking one meal out of six isn't bad, right? After asking my coworker for a recipe, we came up with an almost vegan dish: Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries. Technically the recipe isn't vegan since it has goat cheese in it, but vegan cheese could be substituted, so I thought it was a winner. I bought the recipe home to show H, who made the best horrified face I've ever seen! I realized quickly that the recipe was too sweet for the guy. After thinking about it, I decided to alter it a little to make it a little more savory sounding. Here's what I came up with:

Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad

1 medium (2 1/2 - 3 lb) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup uncooked couscous

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chili-infused olive oil

1 teaspoon chipotle tabasco hot sauce

Zest of one orange

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon Albanian-rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon cumin

2-4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

3 oz goat cheese (or vegan cheese)

Pre-heat oven to 425° F. Toss the squash and onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the onions are starting to crisp at the tips, about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring 1 teaspoon salt, the water, and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes until the couscous has absorbed all the water. Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, orange zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Combine squash, onions, couscous, garbanzo beans, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Gently fold the cheese into the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

The original recipe says to serve the salad cold or at room temperature. Personally, I think this version is better served warm (so I heated mine up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds). 

Breakfast Cups

A few months ago, my friend invited me to join Pinterest. I didn't really see the reason for bookmarking images (or that's how I explain Pinterest to people anyway), so I didn't use it for months. About a month ago, I had a craft night and another friend showed me a scarf she wanted to recreate on Pinterest. Naturally, Pinterest had a new purpose for me...recreation of awesome things! I mostly pin recipes and craft ideas. As I was searching others' pins, I found a recipe for Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups by Martha Stewart. They looked so cute, I just had to make them! I don't really eat butter, so I changed the recipe up just slightly. Here's my version:

Breakfast Cups

• Cooking Spray (I like the oil olive kind personally)
• 6 slices of wheat bread
• 6 slices of turkey bacon, cut in half
• 6 large eggs (although medium might actually be better, large almost didn't fit in the cups)
• Salt and pepper

Preheat over to 375. Spray each cup in a muffin pan with cooking spray. If using a 12 cup muffin pan, spray every other one.

Cook the bacon till almost done (it will cook more in the oven). Cut the crusts off of the bread. Then smash them down with a rolling pin or your palms. Cut the smashed bread in half and place in the muffin cups. Place the bacon in the cups. I placed mine so a little was sticking up. Then crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the whites are set. We baked ours for about 27 minutes because H doesn't like his yokes runny at all. I probably would have liked them better around 20 minutes, but I like runny yokes. :)

Other Variations: 
I'm really excited to try some other versions of these cups. Browned sausage sounds amazing to me. As does chopped ham. I think when I do those, I'll scramble the eggs and pour on top of the sausage or ham. I also would like to try putting some bell peppers in them.

Creamy Potato Soup

For dinner last night, I really wanted potato soup. I've been craving it like crazy, but I've never made it from scratch before. I don't even have a recipe (that I know of) for it. I decided to take my chances and use the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup recipe as a base. And I even remembered to take a picture! I halved the recipe, and instead of using a butternut squash, I used about 2 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes. Instead of cilantro I added two green onions, sliced, and 1 teaspoon of dried chives. To make it easier for you, here's the recipe:

Creamy Potato Soup
1 T olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed (we love our garlic!)
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 lb potatoes, cubed (I used Yukon gold)
one 14-15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cans coconut milk
1 can vegetable stock
2 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon dried chives
2 t sea salt, plus more to taste


In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute for five minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute or two, stirring frequently to reduce burning.


Add the cubed potatoes, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (till you can stick a fork in them easily).


When everything is cooked, ladle some of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a clean pot or bowl. Continue to blend the soup in batches until all soup has been pureed. If you like your soup more chunky, only puree half of the soup. Add the sea salt, green onions, and chives. Enjoy!

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This might just be my new favorite soup recipe. I've made it twice now, and neither time I got a picture of it. Just picture a bowl of yummy, creamy, yellow soup! :) The original recipe says that it serves 6-8 people. Either my family isn't big on soup or it's more like 10-12 people. We do usually eat something along with the soup, so maybe that's why. It makes great leftovers and freezes well, so I'm okay with the large batch. Mm-Mmmm. Okay, here's the recipe:

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed (we love our garlic!)

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

one 4-5 lb butternut squash, peeled and cube*

one 28 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cans coconut milk

4 c vegetable stock

1/2 c chopped cilantro

2 t sea salt, plus more to taste

*Instead of peeling and cubing the squash, you can split it in half and bake it at 350 in the oven until tender. I think this takes about 20-30 minutes. Scoop out the cooked flesh and add it with the tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock. 

In a large stock pot (about 8 quarts), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for five minutes. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute or two, stirring frequently to reduce burning. 

Add the squash, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. If you added the squash raw, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until the squash is very tender. If you added the squash pre-baked, just cook until all the ingredients are heated through. 

When everything is cooked/heated, stir in the cilantro. Ladle some of the soup into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a clean pot or bowl. Continue to blend the soup in batches until all soup has been pureed. If you like your soup more chunky, only puree half of the soup. Add the sea salt to taste. Enjoy!

Hummus

I know I've posted a recipe for hummus before, but I think this one is better.


Hummus:
1 can (15-16oz) garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained, but reserve 3 tablespoons of the liquid

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice (more can be added if you desire)

1/2 teaspoon salt

If using a food processor, add everything except the reserved liquid together and blend. If using a blender, I recommend blending it into two mixtures and then combining them. Add the reserved liquid a little at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.

Optional additions: 

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin and sprinkle with coarsely ground pepper

1/3 cup chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

1/3 cup chopped and drained roasted red peppers (packed in oil)