Thursday, January 14, 2010

Butternut Squash Soup

My 7 year old loves my belly. He says it's soft and bouncy like a trampoline. I, on the other hand, do NOT love my belly. Because it IS soft and bouncy like a trampline. So in an effort to make it less bouncy, I've gone through my sister's old Cooking Light magazines and collected around 15 recipes that I would like to give a try this year.

Butternut Squash Soup, the first on my list, was a success! It's thick and creamy, slightly sweet, and chock full of vitamin A. You'll definitely want to double this recipe.

Butternut Squash Soup (from Cooking Light)

1 tablespoon butter
3 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare soup, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, carrot, and onion; sauté for 12 minutes. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in half-and-half and salt.

Place squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth.

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Questions And Comments To Confuse And Befuddle

I started blogging because I'm awful at scrapbooking. Blogging seemed like a much better way for me to have a journal of my memories. I love that people are interested reading about my favorite recipes and my favorite poems and my favorite boys. I appreciate all the kind words you leave in the comment section, it means a lot to me that you take time out of your day in order to brighten mine. It's easy to forget that I'm putting this thing out there where all the world can see instead of just talking to friends.

But sometimes I get a comment that jolts me back to reality and makes me crawl under my desk with a roll of cookie dough.

Exhibit A: In response to a picture I posted from a grocery store ad of Elliott Sadler (a NASCAR driver) selling fabric softener, Tyler said: what is this? I don't even...

Of course Tyler has his profile set to private and his email isn't enabled. It was the only comment I got for that post so maybe he just felt sorry for me.

Exhibit B: In response to the Toscana Soup recipe I posted, Mark said: thanks for the recipe. however, I've just made this and the salt content suggested is WAAYWAYYY too much. 2-3 tablespoons? Wow.

I could've done without the "Waaywayyy" and the "wow" and if only Mark's email was enabled or if his profile wasn't private I could let him know that a couple tablespoons of salt in a pot of boiling water with 3 of those jumbo baking potatoes isn't so bad.

Exhibit C: In response to the Honey Chicken Stir Fry recipe I posted, Anonymous said: please where can I buy a unicorn?

Okay, so this one actually put a smile on my face and brought me back up from under the desk. Thank you Anonymous!

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Thursday, January 7, 2010

Best Recipes Of 2009

Last week I had the difficult task of choosing only one book that I had read last year as the Best Book of '09. But it's impossible to choose only one recipe as the Best of '09. I posted over 30 recipes--some were new and some were already family favorites-and they were all good so I decided to pick 10 recipes that really stood out from the bunch. Still, not an easy task but with some input from WD I came up with a list of the Top 10 Recipes of 2009.

Pesto: I could eat this stuff with a spoon. And in a box. And with a fox...in a house...with a mouse...anywhere! (vague, mangled reference to Green Eggs and Ham with all credit, devotion and honor to Dr. Seuss for inspiration. Please don't sue me.)

Banana Pudding: Leave it to Paula Deen to put cream cheese in banana pudding. Yum.

Sugar Cookies: This is Big Pup's great-grandmother's recipe and it's his favorite. Mine too.

Triple Chocolate Trifle: Do I even need to explain why this made it in the top 10? Oreos, chocolate mousse, brownies, hello?!

Praline Cheesecake: In all fairness, I have never made this. But I have devoured it on numerous occasions. It's my mom's signature dessert.

Sweet Potato Chips: Forget french fries, this has become our go to side for burgers and sandwiches.

Cabernet Sauvignon Hot Fudge Sauce: I could eat this stuff with a spoon. And on a boat. And with a goat...in the rain...on a train...anywhere! (vague, mangled reference to Green Eggs and Ham with all credit, devotion and honor to Dr. Seuss for inspiration. Please don't sue me.)

French Dip Sandwiches: It's meaty and cheesy and messy and easy and delicious-y.

Chicken Tacos: I'm pretty sure I can eat 20 of these.

Taco Soup: Another recipe from mom. It's a great slow cooker recipe that can feed a crowd.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A Bloggy Look At '09


January: My theory on alien life. WD thought I was crazy for posting it but I think it's a pretty good theory.

February: I have butter containers spilling out of my kitchen cabinets but I can't seem to throw them away!

March: My baby turned 7 and I ate too many cupcakes.

April: My other baby turned 5 and again, I ate too many cupcakes.

May: I celebrated National Police Week with a poem from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

June: Vacation! We took the boys to Memphis for a NASCAR truck race and had a great time.

July: A border collie mix showed up on our doorstep and has never left. We named her Indie and gave her ham hocks.

August: Back to school! Big pup started 2nd grade and Little pup started Kindergarten and man is it quiet around the house during the day now.

September: I complained about all the rain we were getting because I had a ton of outside chores to do. I still haven't completed that list:(

October: Ahhh, my Monday morning routine--McD's latte and grocery shopping. I've missed that routine the past few weeks because of the Christmas break and I've been looking forward to everyone going back to work and school so it won't be so crowded in town.

November: You can tell the busy-ness of the holidays got to me. I only posted 12 times in November and almost half were Wordless Wednesdays.

December: T'is the season for giving and I gave over $400 to my van in hopes that it will keep running for another year.

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Friday, January 1, 2010

Best Book Of 2009

Happy New Year!

The past few days I've been working on my my reading journal. Not only does it help me keep track of the books that I read, but it's nice to be able to read back through my reviews to remind me of whether I liked a particular book or not. My memory. Pffft.

So out of the 13 books I read in 2009:

The Associate by John Grisham
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
This Just In by Bob Schieffer
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (4 books in the series)

...the Twilight series was my favorite! And now I need to start my list for 2010 and I need some ideas. What was your favorite book that you read during 2009?

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