Butternut Squash And Chick Pea Stew

Wow, have I been busy or what? Sometimes life just runs away with you and when it does, it is crazy! But my absence has been a result of a good thing!

At the end of January I found myself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a Rockapella concert! Rockapella is my favorite group of all time and I was excited to go! My best friend and my boyfriend went with me as well. My boyfriend proposed to me at the Rockapella concert so since the end of January I have been planning a wedding that will take place this summer.

Anywho, last night for dinner I was craving a soup like dish because it snowed yesterday and soup is one of my favorite things to eat on a cold day. I found a recipe online for a Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew. I reviewed the recipe and realized I had everything on hand. I didn't have any harissa but I did have a different kind of hot sauce (Chipotle Tabasco), so I used it instead, but everything else was a go.

The recipe suggested serving the stew with rice or couscous. This recipe definitely has Indian influences, so it was easy to see why it suggested rice and couscous. Well, I didn't have any rice and because I can't have gluten, couscous was out. I then remembered I had some quinoa in the pantry. So, I cooked some of that up instead. It turned out very well and quinoa has all nine essential amino acids which makes up protein so it was much healthier too.

The recipe also called for a fresh butternut squash. Whole squash is very affordable, but butternut squashes can be very time consuming in terms of peeling, cleaning, and slicing. I was very lazy last night and a few weeks ago I had purchased some frozen butternut squash at the grocery store, so I just used that. The flavor was the same only I didn't have to clean a squash.

My fiance has decided that this recipe is definitely a keeper! Full of flavor this dish was and neither one of us missed the meat! And it was very friendly on my diet as well! Happy eating people!


Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew With Quinoa:

Grilling Some Cheese And Making Soup

Happy New Year! As I mentioned in an earlier post I received an indoor grill (think George Foreman) for Christmas. So I decided to use it for tonight's recipe. It has been awhile since I have actually cooked something, but I have been crazy busy with the holidays. Now that they are over I can focus on my cooking once again.

For tonight I made Grilled Cheese and Kale Sandwiches with Tomato Soup! You wouldn't think this would be good, but I was wrong! The tomato soup in this recipe is homemade! And it was very easy to make and very tasty! I don't like canned tomato soup, which is weird because I love tomatoes, but this tomato soup was actually quite tasty! This soup has carrots in it, so it adds a little bit of sweetness but it so good. I enjoyed blending the soup with the stick blender -- that was kind of fun!

The sandwiches were easy to make and very tasty! I am always looking for new ways to kick up my grilled cheese sandwiches and this definitely kicked it up! The cheese in this sandwich is havarti cheese, which is a white cheese. It is a little saltier and heartier than your typical monterey jack cheese. Each sandwich has two slices of cheese with the kale (which you cook prior to putting on the sandwich) in between. Two slices is more than enough because it is strong cheese. The bread is also a multi-grain bread which is healthier than your standard white. I must say I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this sandwich! I am not a fan of wheat bread, but I love it in this. I also loved my grill because I used it like a panini press. I didn't have to babysit the sandwich and flip it -- I put on the grill, waited three minutes, and pulled it off and ate it! I also got the nice grill marks in the bread too!

The best part of this meal was dipping the sandwich into the soup! The combination of all the flavors really make it! This dish is a great way to introduce kids to a different kind of cheese and veggies while maintaining the classic grilled cheese sandwich and soup fare!

Vegetarians and carnivores will like this dish! It is very hearty and perfect for cold winter day!

This recipe and the ones coming up all come from the February 2011 "Everyday With Rachael Ray" magazine. There will be somethings that I cook this week that I have never cooked on my own such as flank steak and tilapia! Stay tuned for this month's culinary adventures!

Grilled Cheese and Kale Sandwich With Tomato Soup:

Excuse Me, Sir, There Is A Fish In My Soup

So tonight's menu was a Salmon and Leek Chowder. I am not sure how I feel about this one.

As I stated earlier today, I don't typically like fish in things, with maybe the exception of tuna fish sandwiches. But this didn't deter me from trying this recipe. The recipe was quite simple in terms of preparation and very quick soup. Most soups take all day to cook, but this one took less than a half hour to cook.

The broth and the vegetables were quite flavorful in this recipe. I tried a new vegetable in this recipe. I tried leeks for this first time. For those of you that don't know what a leek is, it is basically a giant green onion. The leeks taste a lot like green onions and the smell like onions too. And just like onions, they got sweeter as they cooked.

The potatoes were good too. If you make this recipe, it is essential the potatoes be sliced very thinly or they will not cook in less than a half hour.

Now onto the fish -- not my favorite part. It had nothing to do with the fish itself. As the daughter of an avid fisherman, I essentially grew up on fish. The salmon itself was very good and very flavorful, but its texture did not match with the rest of the elements of the soup. I feel if I were to do this recipe again and were to use the salmon, I would serve the salmon on the side instead of putting it in the soup. The soup can definitely hold its own without the fish, so to anyone who is a vegetarian that might be reading this, this is a great soup for you!

On the side the recipe called for baguette slices toasted and rubbed with olive oil. If I hadn't forgotten the bread, the bread would have been great. The bread is toasted by broiling it and I put the bread in the oven and did not babysit it, so it burnt a little. . .but it tasted alright so long as I dipped it in the soup.

Please, don't misunderstand me this recipe would be good for anyone who likes fish in things, and I would imagine without the fish, I would have loved the soup!

So, tonight's meal wasn't as good as I had hoped but I am glad I learned how to cook with leeks. All I have to do now is figure out what to do with a put full of soup.

Salmon and Leek Chowder:



I would like to mention there will be no recipe for tomorrow evening. I am going to be taking my mother out for her birthday! More recipes to come Sunday or Monday.