Sweet Potato Mash

I read a few recipes online and then concocted this. Everyone loved it!

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes (Sorry, forgot to measure. I used 2 large and 2 small.)
1 stick of butter
1 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2-3/4 cup candied pecans, ground

Peel, cube and boil sweet potatoes until soft. Place in mixing bowl with butter, milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Mix using hand mixer until desired consistency. Top with finely chopped pecans.

Best Apple Pie

From our Thanksgiving 2010 table to yours!

5 cups Granny Smith Apples, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. butter

Mix the apples, brown sugar, water, and lemon juice in a pot, heat to boil, reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender, 7-8 minutes. Mix flour, white sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add to the hot mixture, cook for one minute. Add vanilla and butter. Pour pie filling into the crust and bake for 25-40 minutes at 425. Use pie saver or foil to protect crust. It may be necessary to add an extra half recipe of pie filling to a 9 inch pie.

Tomato-Herb Fritatta

I got this one from Alli's blog and it was scrumptious and simple!

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach
1 (10 oz) can mild Rotel, drained
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
12 large eggs, beaten
1/2 C crumbled garlic-and-herb feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a 10-inch (2-inch deep) ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add garlic & saute 1 minute. Stir in spinach & cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or just until spinach begins to wilt.

Add Rotel, salt & pepper; cook, stirring frequently, 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Add eggs & sprinkle with cheese. Cook 3-5 minutes, gently lifting edges of frittata with a spatula & tilting pan so uncooked portion flows underneath.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until set & lightly browned. Remove from oven & let stand 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

Tomato-Sausage variation:
Brown 1/2 lb ground pork sausage in skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often. Remove from skillet, drain & wipe skillet clean. Proceed with recipe as directed, adding sausage with the Rotel in step 3.

I had to fill in my feta with mozzerella to make a full half-cup and added my own herbs since I didn't have the proper type of feta. I think it would be much easier to have the herbed feta on hand and would go ahead and add some extra mozzerella to it anyway. You can never add enough cheese right? :) I think adding some meat would be good too. Nice weeknight dinner!

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

Oh yum! Made this as an appetizer, sort of, tonight and it was excellent. I tried making couscous crusted tilapia for dinner from Sarah's blog but I didn't do a very good job of it. Probably lack of egg. Anyway, the soup was delightful. :)

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 quart chicken broth
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
ground cinnamon to taste (optional)
fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Scoop the pulp from the skins. Discard skins.
2.Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion until tender.
3.In a blender or food processor, blend the squash pulp, onion, broth, brown sugar, cream cheese, pepper, and cinnamon until smooth. This may be done in several batches.
4.Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Garnish with parsley, and serve warm.

I used about 7 oz of reduced fat cream cheese and thought it was just fine. Only used one tbsp of butter and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Skipped the garnish. Sweet but not too sweet! And very easy!

Golden Chicken and Autumn Vegetables

So, I saw this recipe on a box of chicken broth, thought it sounded good, threw the box away. Oops. Looked it up on the Swanson recipes website and Presto! SO GOOD!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup Swanson® Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen whole green beans

Directions:
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
Stir the stock, garlic, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, potatoes and green beans in the skillet and heat to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.

Here's how it went down. I used butternut squash from the farmers market since I didn't have enough sweet potato and needed to do something with the squash. Same story, asparagus instead of green beans. Cut the breasts into tenderloins basically. (Seriously overcooked the chicken and I don't recommend that.) Added some black beans for color. Used fresh rosemary. I think the chicken needed to be seasoned by itself prior to cooking but this still turned out great and will be made again!

Tomato Spinach and Basil Soup

Oh yeah! Cooler weather inspires the beginning of comfort food season for me!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 cups fresh spinach, torn
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Stir in milk and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato puree and sugar. Mix well, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add spinach, basil, salt and pepper and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

I would recommend chopping the onion up in the blender for sure. Other people had trouble with milk curdling and suggested waiting until the very last to add it, but mine did not curdle. I added a half can of diced tomatoes because I like a chunky tomato soup. :) This was really good but I still love Amy's Organic Soups "Chunky Tomato Bisque" out of all I've ever tried! It just has that extra kick to it that I can't identify.

Weeknight Slow Cooker: Easy Cheesy Chicken

The title of this recipe makes me laugh. Or shudder, not sure which. Julia Child would not be proud. But, this is sooooooo easy and the chicken comes out super tender. I threw it together before bed last night and put it in the crock pot this morning. (Note to self: remember to turn the crock pot ON before you leave for work so that your husband doesn't have to come home and do it.)
Ingredients
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 packet dry Italian dressing seasoning
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of onion soup
1 (11 ounce) can condensed cream of Cheddar cheese soup
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions
1.Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian dressing seasoning, and garlic powder. Place in slow cooker.
2.In a medium bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup and cream of Cheddar cheese soup. Pour over chicken.
3.Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

My usual adjustments include adding fresh baby spinach at the same time as sour cream and cooking a bit more. I added the salad dressing seasoning at the recommendation of another reviewer. I forgot to season the chicken with anything and mixed the salad dressing seasoning in with the soups. Next time, will definitely add some garlic powder and pepper to the chicken. Serve with pasta or rice. Another reviewer recommended adding a bag of frozen veggies, which sounds good too.