Winter Squash Soup

 Winter Squash Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings 

Adapted from Danielle W

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. carrots, peeled and diced

2 c. butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 yellow onion, quartered

2 TB olive oil

5 c. chicken or veggie stock

2-3 c. shredded chicken (1-2 chicken breasts)

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1 c. water

Preheat oven to 425. Toss diced veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20 mins, until the vegetables are tender.

Combine the chicken stock, herbs, salt and pepper and bring to a boil in a large pot. 

Once veggies are done, add half the veggies to the soup, and place the other half in a blender. Make sure to put all the onions in the blender. Don't use an immersion blender, it won't get it fine enough. Puree the veggies with the 1 cup of water.

Add the veggie puree to the soup, and heat evenly through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with dipping bread or rolls!

 **We have served this meatless, with shredded chicken and bacon as topping options

**You can bake the veggies beforehand, then refrigerate until ready to heat soup. Blend the veggies and add to the soup while heating.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

 Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Adapted from Pioneer woman

Yield: 1.5 cups syrup

2/3 c. brown sugar 

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. pumpkin puree

• Place 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Add both sugars, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. Let simmer for 2 minutes to let all of the sugar dissolve and the spice work its way in.

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• Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the pumpkin puree until smooth (do not let boil). Remove from the heat and let stand for a minute or two. 

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• Strain the mixture (pressing what you can as well) through a fine mesh strainer into a storage container. Once cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month. You can also keep the strained leftovers for ice cream topping!

Caramel Toffee Chocolate Cake (BTS)

Caramel Toffee Chocolate Cake (BTS)

yield: 9x13 cake

1 box devil's food cake (and ingredients listed on box to prepare it)

10-14 oz sweetened condensed milk (partial or all of a can)

1 c. caramel sauce (like ice cream topping stuff)

***

2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

***

1 bag Toffee bits/Heath bits/Skor bits (you can find these by the chocolate chips at the store)

Make the cake in a 9x13 dish according to the box directions. Let cool 10 mins. 

Poke holes all over the cake using a skewer or the handle end of a spoon or something that will make holes no larger than the size of a pea. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, making sure to get it over all the holes. Refrigerate cake for at least an hour, preferably 4 hours. 

Make the whipped cream, and top the cake with it. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the whole cake or on individual pieces as they are cut.

Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Rods (HP wands)

 Chocolate Caramel Pretzel rods

large pretzel rods

bag of caramels

water

chocolate chips

To make soft caramel, add a bag of unwrapped caramels to a sauce pan and add 2 TB water. Stir over medium heat until melted but not bubbling. Use within 5 mins or starts hardening. Will be similar to caramel apple consistency. You can use any other recipe for caramel apple caramel.

Dip pretzel rods in caramel (or use a spoon to drizzle caramel over the whole thing, minus the part you are holding.) Scrape off any excess caramel. Lay on a silicone baking sheet to cool and harden up a little. 

Melt chocolate chips however you want - I like putting a silver mixing bowl that is slightly bigger than a sauce pan on top of the sauce pan while water boils in the sauce pan.

When caramel has hardened enough to pick up the pretzel rod from the baking sheet and not leave any caramel behind:

hold the caramel rod over the chocolate bowl. Drizzle chocolate over the caramel rod and twist the rod while removing excess chocolate with your fingers or a spoon. (If you want sprinkles, or to roll in a topping, add now!) Place to harden on the silicone baking sheet. If you are drizzle coating a different color over the top, do it now.

Once rods are all drizzle dipped, place baking sheet in a cool basement etc. to harden up.

Enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

 Lasagna Soup

yield: 8-10 servings
Kristen W

1 lb. ground sausage/beef/turkey (turkey Italian sausage recipe works great here)

1/2 c. chopped onion

2 c. diced carrots

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 30-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 c. broth (chicken, beef, veggie, or a combo)

1 16-oz box bowtie pasta

Topping:

1 c. cottage cheese

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. dried basil

pinch of pepper

Cook sausage, onion, carrots, and garlic for a few mins until meat is cooked and carrots start to soften. (If using already cooked sausage, saute the rest and then add the sausage.) Add remaining soup ingredients (not topping) and stir well to combine. Allow soup to cook until pasta is soft and carrots are cooked through. 

Serve with topping sprinkled on top, option to top with thin sliced fresh mozzarella. 

Great for breadsticks!

**You can also cook with sliced zucchini, or toss in cut spinach at the end.

Chocolate Frogs (HP style)

 Chocolate Frogs

yield: depends on your mold

**Find a plastic chocolate mold of frog shapes (silicone is harder to get out)

Depending on your chocolate mold, melt enough chocolate for one round of frogs at a time.

We have used semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips and both have been great. You can also use more expensive chocolate. The chocolate chip version tastes just great for about 2 days, and then the taste changes a little. Ours don't last longer than that, so chips are great!

Melt your chocolate - you can do the microwave, but I have never had chocolate seize up while using a diy double boiler on the stove: a metal mixing bowl that is slightly larger than a sauce pan. It sits on top of the sauce pan while the water in the saucepan boils and nicely melts the chocolate. Stir continually near the point of being melts so it doesn't get too hot. I take it off the heat right before all the chips are melted and stir-melt the remaining few. 

*Whichever method, don't let even a drop of water get into your melting chocolate. 

Put one layer of chocolate in the molds, enough to cover the bottom. Then pull that chocolate up the sides so most of the mold is covered in the first layer. Use a toothpick if you have to get the bubbles outs of any spots (the eyes!) 

Put in the freezer for 5 min.

Remove and put any fun filling in -

*peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar

*melted caramel about the softness needed for caramel apples

*marshmallow fluff

*nuts

*caramel and sea salt

* potato chip pieces

* cookie dough (egg free if you don't want to refrigerate)

*more??

Cover the filling and the remaining mold with melted chocolate. Tap the tray to get bubbles out and even the bottom. Remove extra chocolate. 

Place in the freezer for 10 mins. but don't leave in the freezer.

Take the mold out and gently bend it while holding upside down to pop the frogs out. 

Enjoy! Store in a cool place.

Pumpkin Juice (HP style)

 Pumpkin Juice

yield: about a half gallon
adapted from a lot of recipes by Kristen

10 c. apple juice or cider

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

2 c. white grape peach juice (Welch's) or a half quart of home canned peaches

1/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

pinch of allspice

2 tsp vanilla (added after cooking)

Place all ingredients except vanilla in a stock pot on the stove (use an immersion blender to blend peaches if using home canned.) Heat until just about to boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 mins. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve warm, or chill and serve cold. You can also add a dollop of home-whipped cream like you would for hot chocolate. Refrigerate any leftovers.