Saturday, October 29, 2011

Butternut Squash and Smoked Turkey Sausage Soup

I made this soup the other night. It was a combination of leftovers and wanting to use a butternut squash I had bought. By the way, butternut squash in soups are AMAZING!!!! The flavor is so sweet and delicious. Not overly sweet, but perfectly sweet like nature intended. So here's how I made it...

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a sweet onion, sweetly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped and sitting at room temp for 10 min for the cancer-fighting agents to come out (I read that in Real Simple's Magazine.)
1 package of smoked turkey sausage, cut in quarters (usually in the isle with the hot dogs)
6 cups of chicken broth, low sodium if you can (the sausage is very salty)
1 large zucchini cut in quarters
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 butternut squash, chopped
1/2 lb cooked pasta of your choice, I used left over penne and cut it into thirds.

1.  To prepare a butternut squash, simply peel the outer skin with a peeler. Cut off the top and the bottom of the squash. Stand the squash on its bottom and cut it in half length wise. Scoop out the inside pulp with a spoon. Cut the squash into smaller pieces.
2. In a large stock pot heat olive oil. Once heated add onion, garlic and sausage. Saute for 5-7 minutes until sausage is slightly browned. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiled add zucchini, carrots, and squash. Simmer with a lid for approx 20 minutes, until squash is tender. Add cooked pasta about 10 minutes before serving just to warm it and for it to soak in the flavor.



Pumpkin Cake/Bread

This recipe is tried and true. It's from my mother-in-law. It's so yummy and it makes 2 loaves; one for you and one for a neighbor! Plus it's easy and you have most of the ingredients in your pantry already!

INGREDIENTS:
3 c flour
2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 c canned pumpkin
1 1/2 c oil
4 eggs
3/4 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in pumpkin, oil and eggs. Mix until blended.
2. Grease 2 bread loaf pans. Spread mixture evenly into both bread pans and bake for 45 min.