Foolproof butternut squash soup

Seriously though, this soup is amazeballs and smells like Autumn.  I love it.  I love soups like this, equal parts creamy, rich, filling, and HEALTHY!  Yay!  Plus, pureed soups just scream out to have some nice fresh crusty bread dunked into them.  *Mouth watering now*.

You can't really mess up this soup, plus it can be ready in an hour (most of that time is roasting in hte oven).  Easy peasy.  Plus, it really doesn't require that many ingredients.  In fact, I first made this soup on one of those nights where I just tossed in whatever I had on hand and hoped it would turn out well.  Experimental soups always turn out yummy.  So far anyway.


Foolproof Butternut Squash Soup
serves 6
total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 shallots, peeled
• 6 garlic cloves
• 4 yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Roast the squash, shallots, garlic, and potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper sprinkled on top on a parchment lined baking sheet for 40 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the oven and scoop the contents into a large pot.  Add the broth, chili powder, and thyme and turn on to medium heat.  Stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup thoroughly.  Slowly stir in the white wine.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in the milk.  Serve immediately

Note:  This reheats in the microwave really well after being refrigerated up to a week.

pasta and garbanzo bean soup

I totally love this soup!  Not only is it really easy and healthy, but its super kid friendly (Liam's favorite soups all have pasta and beans), but you can make part of it ahead of time!

I made the first half of the recipe while the kids were napping and I had some free time.  Then the boys and I went swimming, and when we got home I only had about 15 minutes of cooking before it was all ready.  No fuss, little mess, healthy and filling.  Jeff and the boys loved this soup, and one bowl (plus a few pieces of obligatory "soup bread" to dip) was very filling.

If you're looking at the soup and wondering how it could be so healthy, look no further.  The soup is full of veggies!  I roasted and pureed them before stirring them into the chicken broth (low-sodium of course).  That made the broth thick, flavorful, and creamy.

I roasted a pan of carrots, red bell pepper, and cauliflower with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper until the tops were golden and fragrant, then I pureed the veggies with some of the chicken broth.  I did all this ahead of time and then stuck the liquid in the fridge until I was ready the finish the soup.  You could make the soup all in one go if you want to though.

I just love the bright orange color!  The cauliflower and bit of olive oil really help thicken the soup and make the broth creamy.  I swear, it tasted so luscious, like I was eating some super fatty, but HA-HA!  I was only eating veggies. Yay for taste bud deception.  :)

I wanted a mostly pureed soup because I was going for simplicity.  A lot of my soups are massively chunky and busy, and I wanted something simple.  Plus, Liam loves veggies, but he doesn't always enjoy them in large chunks in his soup.  He'd rather have the flavor of them, and actually be able to see the pasta in the soup.

I like my soup to be pretty thick, and this soup thickens more the next day (looking almost like a very cheddar-y mac and cheese), so feel free to adjust the amount of broth used accordingly.

pasta and garbanzo bean soup
serves 6

ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
• 8 carrots, sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into large pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (add more if you prefer thinner soup)
• 2 15 oz. cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups small pasta
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cut up cauliflower, carrots, and bell pepper and place as flat as possible on a parchment lined baking sheet with the garlic.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Bake for 40 minutes.  
2. Slide veggies off the parchment and into a blender.  Add chicken broth and puree.  At this point you can store the puree in the fridge for later use, or pour the puree start into a pot on the stove.
3. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the pasta, garbanzo beans, basil, oregano, and chili powder.  Stir occasionally.  As soon as the pasta is al dente the soup is ready.  Serve with french bread to dip.

note: feel free to add more chicken broth if you prefer a thinner soup.  You might want to have some extra broth on hand for leftover soup, as it will thicken the next day in the fridge.

white bean chicken chili soup

I kind of love those nights where I realize I have an hour or less until dinner needs to be ready, and I'm in need of a grocery store trip.  I almost always end up figuring out a new recipe that I really like.  If the perimeters change, I get too comfortable and lazy and tend to stick with what I know.

The goal was to make something for dinner that would be large enough to last for Jeff's lunch the next day.  If I could make it healthy and protein-rich too, then bonus!

This turned out perfectly and I wouldn't change a thing.  My house smelled amazing!  Jeff commented that it was delicious, he was just confused eating it because "it tasted like chili, but acted like soup".  I'll take it.

white bean chicken chili soup

serves 3-4

ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2 chicken breasts
• 4 cups chicken broth (preferably low-sodium)
• 2 15 oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder

directions:

1. Add olive oil, garlic, onion, and salt to pot on medium heat.  Stir often and cook for several minutes until soft.
2. Add in chicken breasts.  Flip occasionally and let cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-30 minutes.  
5. Remove chicken and cut up, return to the pot.
6. Taste, adjust seasonings if needed, and enjoy!

Rapunzel's favorite parsnip and hazelnut soup

With two kids I see A LOT of cartoons, especially Disney movies.  One of Liam's favorites is Tangled.  Every time I see it I wonder about Rapunzel's favorite soup, which supposedly contains parsnips and hazelnuts.  I looked around online and found a recipe to use as a starting point.

This recipe is adapted from Perrys Plate.

Don't be scared by the idea of nuts in a soup.  The whole thing is pureed so its soft, fluffy, and creamy.  The consistency is really lovely.

I'm really terrible at plating.  My pictures of this soup are especially boring, but the flavor is so good.  Even better, this soup is pretty darn healthy, and quite filling.

Start off by sauteing the veggies in olive oil with the salt.  Honestly you can chop the veggies whatever size you want, it will just take a bit longer for them to soften and cook down if you are lazy like me and cut them in huge pieces.

While the veggies are cooking, put the hazelnuts in the oven in the single layer at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Wait for several minutes for the nuts to cool, then wrap them in a dish towel and rub the towel vigorously for a minute to try and get the skin off the hazelnuts.  Remaining skin is fine, but the soup might taste a bit bitter with all the skins still on.

Add the broth, nuts, chili powder, and pepper into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes.

Using whatever you've got (blender, food processor, immersion blender, etc.) puree the soup.  You might have to do this in several batches.  If you've got a big vitamix like me, you can do it all in one batch.  Make sure the soup is fully pureed before adding back to the pot.

Stir on low for a minute just to make sure the soup stays hot evenly, then remove from heat and slowly stir in the milk.  Serve.  I found this soup to be filling and tasty, and to my surprise, even after I microwaved leftovers it stayed fluffy.

Rapunzel's favorite parsnip and hazelnut soup
serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium leeks (whites only), chopped
• 2 large parsnips, chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large potato, chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Chop up the veggies and add into a large hot pot with olive oil and salt.  Saute until softened.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F and roast hazelnuts on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for several minutes.  Wrap the nuts in a towel and rub vigorously for a minute to slough the skins off.  You don't have to get all the skins off.
3. Dump the hazelnuts into the soup pot with the chicken broth, chili powder, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Using a blender, immersion blender, food processor, etc. puree the soup thoroughly.
5. Return the soup to the pot, heat on medium low to make sure the soup is heated through thoroughly, then remove from heat, slowly stir in the milk, and serve.

note: This soup makes for really good leftovers, and stays fluffy even after refrigeration and being microwaved.

potatoes and cauliflower 3 ways

I love both potatoes and cauliflower.  I could easily find ways to cook them differently and be able to eat them happily every day.  It recently dawned on me however, that they can be enjoyed together quite easily 3 ways.  Each way is good, but they all build upon each other.

level 1: roasted cauliflower and baked steak fries
level 2: veggie hash
level 3: corn chowder

All three of those dishes are great, and come on, you know you want to surprise someone by telling them you put french fries in your chowder!  You can make one of these dishes straight through, use leftover fries and cauliflower to make hash, use leftover hash to make chowder, etc.  Make sense?

Level 1: roasted cauliflower and baked steak fries

This is great for an easy weeknight dinner.  Just add a baked chicken breast on the side, or some seasoned beans or lentils.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut 2 large russet potatoes into about 12 pieces each (3x4) and lay them flat on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt. Set aside.

Cut up a small head of cauliflower into florets.  Spread out on a parchment covered baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkles with black pepper and sea salt.  Pop into the oven with the potatoes and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove when fork tender.  If you prefer the potatoes and /or cauliflower to have a bit more crisp broil them for up to 2 minutes.

You can stop here and enjoy alone, or with some chicken, beans, or lentils on the side for a full meal.
OR

You can continue on to the next direction to make hash.

Level 2: hash

Chop up the steak fries and cauliflower into bite sized pieces (leave the potato skins on, it brings nutrients, flavor, and texture).



Set these pieces aside.

In a large pot on medium heat, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil, then add a small diced yellow onion, and 4 diced garlic cloves.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and stir occasionally to prevent burning.  After about 3 minutes add a diced red bell pepper.  Once softened add the potatoes and cauliflower.

Combine well.

Add 1 1/2 cups of corn kernels and stir often for several minutes until everything has softened and warmed.  Season lightly with more salt and pepper.  Add in 1/2 teaspoon each thyme and cayenne.

You have now just made hash.  You could enjoy this now, serve with some chicken for a full meal, refrigerate it and heat it up in the morning with eggs mixed in for breakfast...

OR you could continue on and make corn chowder.

See?  So many options just from the original potatoes and cauliflower?

Level 3: corn chowder

Add three 14.5 oz cans (a little over 5 cups) of chicken broth (preferably low sodium) to your hash.  Add 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne.  Mix well.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and put the lid on the pot.  Walk away.  Yup, you heard me.  Walk away.  Set a timer for 1 hour.  Come back once or twice within that hour a stir briefly.  Otherwise, leave the pot alone until that timer goes off.  When it does, stir quickly (if any skin has developed a brief stir will get rid of it) and remove from heat.  Pour in a cup of milk , stir and serve immediately.  If you didn't know better you'd think this soup was soo bad for you.  It's thick and rich and delicious.

The chowder picture above is before simmering for an hour.  You CAN eat it then if you're really hungry, or like thinner soups, but it thickened beautifully, and the flavor gets better (I swear) after the hour of simmering.  See below, so much thicker!

potatoes and cauliflower 3 ways
(roasted, hash, corn chowder)
serves 4

ingredients:

• 2 russet potatoes
• 1 small head of cauliflower
• 4 tsp olive oil, divided
• sea salt
• pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 C corn
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp thyme
• three 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth
• 1 C milk

directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Slice potatoes into roughly 12 long slices each (cut 3x4) and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.  Set aside.  Cut cauliflower head into florets and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil, and sea salt and pepper.  Bake both sheets for about 45 minutes, until both vegetables are fork tender with crispy edges.  Remove from the oven.
2.  In a large pot on medium heat, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and add the onion and garlic.  Stir around until soft, a few minutes.  Add the bell pepper and cook until that softens as well.  Add the corn, potatoes, and cauliflower.  Mix well and season with 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme and cayenne.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Add chicken broth and remaining thyme and cayenne.  Turn out down to medium-low and pot the pot lid on.  Set a timer for one hour and stir briefly only once or twice before timer goes off.  Remove from heat and add the milk.  Serve immediately.

All three levels of this recipe store in the fridge well for up to a week, and reheat easily.

Autumn vegetable soup

Have I mentioned before how much I love soup?  It's the best.  Soup can easily be both healthy and delicious, this recipe is both.  This recipe in particular is great because you can make it from fresh produce, cans, or frozen.  Or a combination.  It honestly doesn't even matter.  It will still be delicious.

Start by dicing two shallots in some olive oil.

Sorry about you having to look at the horribly awful pot by the way.

These are your main ingredients.  Notice I'm using a mixture of fresh produce (pumpkin and potatoes), prepackaged (thyme and chicken broth), and frozen (parsnip grated and frozen from earlier).  Obviously the wine is prepackaged too.  Me making wine would no doubt be really gross.

Canned pumpkin works just fine, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin use an entire small pumpkin.  These will about equal a can of pumpkin puree.  Use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off, quarter, and scoop out the goop with an ice cream scoop.  This is actually quick, easy work.

When the pumpkin is prepped, cut up into chunks and toss into the pot with the shallots, which should be very fragrant.

Toss in the parsnips and potato chunks and stir to combine.

Stir in the thyme, white wine, and chicken broth.  Stir occasionally.  Keep the soup on medium heat until the vegetables are very fork tender.  Use an immersion blender to puree.

Add in salt, pepper, and brown sugar.  Adjust to taste.  When the soup has thickened a little more, take it off heat and mix in the milk.  Serve immediately.

I love having this soup simmering on the stove on cold days.  The veggies and milk make it filling, it smells like Autumn, it pairs well with crusty bread and (more) wine, and c'mon, who doesn't love a soup that is sweet, savory, creamy, and healthy all in one bowl?

Autumn Vegetable Soup
serves 4

ingredients:
2 shallots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp thyme
2 small yukon gold potatoes
1 parsnip
1 small pumpkin
6 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup milk

directions:
1.  Dice the shallots and saute in a medium pot with the olive oil on medium heat.
2.  Cut the pumpkin, potatoes, and parsnip into chunks and toss them into the pot.  Stir a bit and let them soften for a few minutes.
3.  Add the thyme, white wine, and chicken broth.  Stir occasionally.  When vegetables are very fork tender use an immersion blender until smooth.
4.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and the brown sugar.  Soup should begin to thicken a bit more.  Take soup off heat and mix the milk in well.

pinto bean soup

As Jeff says, "It's like if a burrito was soup, or maybe it is like drinking a burrito.  Wait, but it tastes way better than that sounds..."

I'll get back to the soup in a minute.  Making soup started with us taking a nice family walk first.  We live just a few blocks from a park, so we see turkeys often enough, but usually they get nervous and run away if we get too close.  Not these turkeys!  We saw two of them close enough that I had to warn Liam not to try and pet them.

Jeff had to give Liam some leverage to see some turkeys across the road.  Ever find that you need to bribe your kids with snacks to take a walk with you?  Mine love waffles.

I always bring my camera for walks in case the boys do something cute, but this time I took more pictures of the sky than anything else.  The colors were just beautiful.  I don't think of myself as a very good photographer, and I didn't even have to edit these to get the lighting and colors.

I guess it was just the perfect time of day for photos.  I love photos of clouds.  Especially clouds with depths and several colors.

I honestly can't even pick a favorite scenery photo because I love them all.

I love when we see deer on our walks.  There were several deer here, but they were extra skittish because they had two babies with them, so this was the only shot I could get of them.

I call this the "I'm in a good mood but I still don't understand why you're taking my picture" face.

As long as this kiddo has his snuggle blanket with him to chew on he will stay in his stroller forever.  Unless you stop walking for a moment, then he will try to climb out over the side and crawl away.  Because he's a monkey.

Insert obligatory couple photo here...  Oh yeah, back to the soup.  It was a perfect evening, room temperature with a slight breeze.  But the air was still crisp like Fall.  I wanted to make something quick and easy for dinner that would also be healthy and make me happy (not all healthy and quick foods make me happy.  Like kale.  Gross...).

Pinto bean soup is great because it doesn't take all day, the ingredients are few and are basic pantry staples, and they are also healthy.  And cheap!  Even better.

Start out by chopping up a yellow onion and sauteing it with some olive oil and a big pinch of salt.  Stir it around over medium low heat until fragrant.

Add vegetable broth and pinto beans.  Stir around to incorporate and put the lid on.  Leave the soup alone for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the beans should be very soft.  Use a potato masher to smash them a bit.  I like my soups very thick so I added a can of vegetarian refried beans.  At this point I also added the seasonings (black pepper, garlic, chili powder, and cumin).

Adjust the seasonings to taste, and take the soup off the heat when it reaches a consistency you like.

This soup is thick and hearty but still have large pieces of onion and pinto beans floating in it.  If you want a smooth soup just use an immersion blender at this point.

You can eat the soup plain, or dip things into it.  I almost made some polenta fries to dip into the soup, but then I forgot.  Yeah, I'm honest.

Jeff liked his with sharp cheddar and tortilla chips dipped in.

The soup tastes great alone, but there are so many ways to dress it up.  I can't wait to try some new add-ins next time I make this!

print recipe

pinto bean soup

by Liesl September-27-2014

like eating a liquid burrito (but better)

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 60 oz. pinto beans, cooked and drained
• 30 oz. vegetable broth
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp refried beans

Instructions

1. Chop up a yellow onion and saute it in olive oil and salt on medium-low heat until fragrant and soft. 
2. Add the vegetable broth and pinto beans. Stir briefly and put the lid on the pot. Turn the heat up to medium and set a timer for 30 minutes.
3. When the timer goes off add the pepper, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Then stir in a can of refried beans. Stir to get out any large chunks. Taste and check that seasonings are to your liking. When the soup is hot all the way through take off the heat and serve. Top with cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins 
Cook time: 40 mins 
Total time: 45 mins 

Yield: 4-6 servings