Fall Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Servings: 4-6 good size bowls.

Ingredients

28 oz. chicken broth

1 butternut squash, baked at 350 degrees for 1 hr., scraped out of skin and pureed.

1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. garlic

1 T. canola oil

1 c. carrots, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. oregano

2 T. honey

1/4 tsp. cumin

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat in a stockpot. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft but not brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the pureed butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes and carrots are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano, honey, and cumin. Serve topped with Sour Cream.

*This is actually a recipe that I made up! I have made it twice now to verify my measurements and that I really did like it. I actually made this with my little 14 month old daughter in mind. I wanted to find a way to get her to eat her squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes that she used to eat so well and she didn't seem to care for anymore. This definitely worked! It is a sweeter soup with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey added to it so it is one that both kids and adults like.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 leek, thinly sliced, or 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper
• fresh chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, cook leek or onions in butter over medium-low heat until tender. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Add chicken broth, chopped asparagus, and parsley. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until asparagus is tender.
Carefully, working with about 1 to 2 cups at a time, blend or process until smooth; return to the saucepan and add cream. Heat through. Add a dash of pepper and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.

*This is a very simple and yummy soup. It says that it makes 4 servings but in my opinion, those are small servings so I would definitely double the recipe if you are wanting to serve more than 3 people with this. Also, I didn't think that it called for enough chicken broth so I added some extra (actually beef broth I had) to the chicken broth and just a bit more cream. Definitely a keeper on those cold nights. Because this is a cream soup, it isn't as filling as one that has some substance inside of it, I would recommend serving this with bread or biscuits to help fill you up.

Empanadas

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, beaten

Salsa

Shredded lettuce

Shredded cheese

Sour Cream

Chopped Tomatoes

Directions

Brown meat with onion, garlic, red onion, and green pepper. (Drain fat.) Add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 5 minutes. Unfold one pie crust. Place on nonstick cookie sheet. Place half the meat mixture on one side of pastry crust to within one inch of edge. Dampen edges with a finger dipped in water. Fold crust over filling and press edges together with a fork to seal. Cut slits in top of crust to allow steam to vent. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or golden brown. Cut empanada into four wedges and serve with lettuce, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream.

*This was a very fun and good take on the empanada. My husband and I think that it tastes like a tostada kind of. Because there are 2 pie crusts in a box, I baked one with half of the filling and saved the other half and pie crust for another night. Instead of using water to seal the edges, I actually use the egg that is already beaten for the top and use a brush to brush it on.

Chicken Roll-Ups

Ingredients

3 oz. cream cheese

2 T. melted butter

1/3 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. Ranch

1 can crescent rolls

1 T chopped onion

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large can cooked chicken

1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Fine Bread crumbs or crushed chips.

Gravy:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. sour cream

Directions

Mix everything, except crescent rolls and bread crumbs, in a large bowl. Unroll crescent rolls onto a baking sheet and put a spoonful of the mixture in the middle of each roll. Fold up the ends of each roll and seal the best you can. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

For Gravy, heat the 3 ingredients together in a sauce pan. Serve drizzled over roll-ups

*This is good recipe and I think it is kind of fun for kids. I know my daughter really liked these when I made them. Instead of using canned chicken, I actually boiled a chicken breast and shredded it. And instead of sprinkling the top with bread crumbs, I roll the entire roll-up in the bread crumbs.

Ritz Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)

Ritz crackers, crushed

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. Ranch

1/2 c. melted butter (to drizzle)

Directions

In bowl, mix 1/2 cup melted butter and Ranch. Dip thawed chicken in mixture until coated well. Next, dip chicken into the crushed crackers and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

*This recipe is from my friend Sara Hunsaker and it is so yummy. I made this last week and my husband basically drooled over it :) For the ranch dressing, I made the ranch from the packet and I think that was a huge part of the flavor, so I do recommend doing that. Also, we like ours a bit crispy so we cooked ours about 10-15 minutes longer.