Butternut Tortellini with Veggies

 Butternut Tortellini with Veggies

Yield: 6-7 servings

Adapted from Mel

2 tsp olive oil

½ c dried chopped onion (if using fresh onion, saute before adding to slow cooker)

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

¼ tsp minced dried rosemary

¼ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp dried sage (optional)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 lbs butternut squash, about 4 cups (peeled and cubed)

3 c low-sodium chicken broth

4 to 8 oz fat free cream cheese

1 lb refrigerated tortellini 

Additional veggies: cooked broccoli, cooked cauliflower, cooked green beans, etc, or meat such as rotisserie chicken

Place the butternut squash in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Add onion and spices, then pour the chicken broth over butternut. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Add the cubes of cream cheese to the slow cooker. Stir until mostly melted. Using an immersion blender in the crockpot, blend the mixture until smooth. Stir in the tortellini. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until the tortellini are tender (with time constraint, you can cook these on the stove as indicated on the package then just add them to the butternut sauce and serve). Add any additional cooked veggies as noted above.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Parmesan cheese as topping.

Whipped Cream - Homemade

 Whipped Cream - Homemade

yield: 4 cups whipped cream

2 c. heavy whipping cream (cold)

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

You can put your mixing bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes prior to mixing if you want the whipped cream to be a little more firm or keep its texture longer. If you forget, it'll still work!

Add all ingredients to a mixer. Use the whisk attachment (or handheld) and beat the ingredients starting low/medium, then you can increase speed as it starts to firm a little. Otherwise it'll spray everywhere. Beat 60-90 second until stiff peaks form. Stop and scrape sides of bowl halfway through. Enjoy!

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.