Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is so simple, and only requires 3 ingredients!!  Do you believe it??  You should!!  I've made this soup for a long time now...I think it's my friend's favorite soup that I make.  You can bet that if they know I have just made a batch I can expect a few people to schlep all the way to the Upper East Side of NYC to have some.  It's really healthy and low in calories.  I figured out the calorie count per cup, and it came out to about 243 calories.  This recipe makes about 11 cups of soup.

Butternut Squash Soup
(makes about 11 cups)

1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 (20 oz.) packages of peeled and cut up butternut squash or 2-3 whole butternut squashes, cut into large chunks
4 tablespoons of Osem Chicken Consomme or 4 chicken flavored bouillon cubes
water (enough to cover the squash in the pot)

Saute the chopped onion and salt with the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat, about 10 minutes or until soft.  Add the two packages of butternut squash and then fill the pot with water until the squash is just covered.  Add the 4 tablespoons of chicken consomme and stir.  Let pot come to a boil and then simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes.  When the squash becomes soft and mushy, turn the heat off and use an immersion hand blender to puree the soup in the pot.  Sprinkle with chopped chives, cilantro, or parsley (if you desire some greens) and serve. Enjoy!!

NOTE: If you want a thinner soup, add more water to the pot after it has been pureed. You might need to adjust the amount of salt to taste.  If you want a thicker soup, add another package of squash to the pot and let boil with the rest of it. Also you might need to adjust the salt.

I was able to fill all these containers and then still have a good portion for lunch tomorrow!

Standing Chicken

Standing chicken is what I call this.  It's something my family loves!!  All you need to have to make this recipe is a vertical chicken roaster.  I bought mine over the weekend at Sur La Table.  It's not expensive and it will make cooking chicken super easy and not scary!!  This is the first time I ever handled a full chicken.  It was super easy.  You don't have to mess with it at all, just stick it on the roaster and that's it!

Place your vertical chicken roaster in a deep pan.  Pour kosher salt all around the vertical roaster, as shown, about 1/4 inch deep.  Spray the vertical raoster with non-stick cooking spray.

Place the chicken, legs down, onto the vertical roaster. Place in the oven at 400 degrees, cook for about  1 hour and 15 minutes.

This is what it looks like when it's in the oven.  I had to place my rack all the way to the bottom and remove all the other ones.

When you take it out of the over, let it sit for about 15 minutes, tent the chick with aluminum foil to keep warm.  You see all the gross chicken fat that dripped into the bottom??  YUCK!

 Now start carving.  It's not easy if you don't have a good pair of kitchen sheers or a good carving knife!  

The chicken comes out juicy, tender, and delicious.  And it's full of flavor from the salt that it was standing on. Not sure how it all works, but trust me it's amazing!  I made two chickens and ate one and saved the other for making chicken pot pie!!  Yummy!!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

It's finally November and Thanksgiving is approaching us!!  Halloween was yesterday and pumpkins are everywhere!  Even though it's over pumpkins are still here to stay for a while... I always love this time of year, pumpkin pie, squash of all varieties, pumpkin pancakes, and even pumpkin bread pudding! This recipe is a great brunch dessert, or make it on thanksgiving instead of pie.  I pretty much was experimenting when I made this recipe but I tested it out with my family and it was a huge success!!  Even my dad who claims he doesn't like pumpkin and cinnamon, enjoyed!  I think you will enjoy too!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

(serves 12)

1 loaf of challah, broken into large chunks

4 eggs

1 (15 oz.) can on pumpkin puree

2 cups non-dairy vanilla soy milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

(You can also use pumpkin pie spice)

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or good vanilla extract

Combine eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and spices in a bowl and whisk until combined.  Pour mixture over chunks of challah and let soak for a 2-8 hours.  

When you are ready to bake the bread pudding, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a rectangular baking sheet.  I used Pam non-stick spray.  If you would like to add chocolate chips (or non-dairy carob chips) you can add that into the challah mixture now, and mix to incorporate the chips.  About 1/2 cup.  Place pudding mixture into the baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until golden around the edges. Serve warm with spiced whipped cream (see recipe below).

Spiced Whipped Cream

1 cup non-dairy whipping cream (or regular whipping cream)

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a glass bowl.  Using a hand mixer, mix the cream until soft peaks form.  Place in the fridge until serving.