Spicy Autumn Soup

It's that time of year!  Soup!  I love making soups, but I can never create the same one twice, so I've decided to start writing down what I did so I can remember some of these amazing creations.

Of course this time of year is full of pumpkin this, squash that.... it's dizzying.  But Trader Joe's had
a few spectacular things on the shelves that inspired this soup for me.  Photos help, so I'm including those.

I also cooked by candlelight (Brownie thinks I'm insane for doing this) so I didn't have a chance to take many photos during the process, which is why you get to admire this lovely shot of my leftover soup in tupperware.  You're welcome. I promise it's just as scrumptious leftover!  Noodles a little softer, but still good!

This has a kick to it, so be ready to clear those sinuses!  It's also incredibly filling, so small portions go a long way.

Here Goes:

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Chopped Onion
• 1 Cup Chopped Celery
• 1 Cup Chopped Carrot
• 6-10 Garlic Cloves - Minced (however much or little you prefer)
• 1 Stick Salted Butter
• 3 small zucchini, sliced or chopped as you wish
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Bell Pepper
• Truffle Oil (totally optional but they have a tiny bottle of this amazingness at Market of Choice if you want to use it)
• 1 Package Trader Joe's Cheese & Garlic Croutons
  
  
  
• 1 Package Trader Joe's Fall Zucchette Pasta
• 1 Jar Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce
• 1-2 Cups cooked or leftover meat of any kind that you may have on hand or need to use, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Chopped fresh Sage
• 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (The sauce has a bite to it, so if you're sensitive to spicy, leave this out)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 Teaspoons Cumin
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh Thyme (1/2-1 Tablespoon dried)
• 2 Teaspoons fresh, chopped Oregano (1 Teaspoon dried)
• Dash of Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Paprika

Directions:

• Boil water with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and get noodles cooking in a separate pot for now.  
• Saute garlic, onion, celery and carrot with 1/2 the stick of butter and a few sprinkles of salt in a soup pot until butter is melted and onions are a bit soft
• Add water, about 8-10 cups and turn the heat up to bring to boil
• While the water is heating up for soup, add the cayenne, salt & pepper, cumin, thyme, oregano, cinnamon and paprika.  Stir.
• When water comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer until the pasta is ready.
• Drain pasta, leave in the collander
• In pasta pot, put the remaining 1/2 stick of butter with chopped fresh sage - on medium heat, melt butter and cook sage until it's a bit crispy
• Turn soup back up to a boil, add jar of sauce, zucchini and bell pepper and let boil while you do the final step with the pasta.
• When the sage is ready, put pasta back into the pot and toss it with sage and butter, sprinkling with salt and truffle oil until you like the flavor
• Let Pasta sizzle in pan on medium heat, stirring often for about 5 minutes
• Add chopped meat to the pot, stirring in to let it heat up and flavor the soup a bit - 5 minutes while the pasta sizzles
• Taste the broth, making sure the flavors are where you want them, adjust as you wish.  If you didn't use enough garlic, sprinkle in some garlic powder for a quick fix :-)
• Stir pasta into the soup
• Serve soup with cheesy garlic croutons and enjoy!

This soup is very filling and this recipe will feed 6-8 people.

Pesto Pasta Bake (with recipe)

Brownie is busy with Baseball - so you were expecting vegetarian, right?

Thing #2 made this on our last weekend together.  He did an awesome job and it was delicious.  But I was so focused on watching him and multi-tasking as Thing #5 simultaneously mixed up a batch of chocolate banana muffins from her cookbook, that I didn't get any photos of his creation.  

So tonight I decided to make it again and make sure to get some pictures!

Yes, it's vegetarian but it's SO flavorful!  I printed this recipe some time ago from the internet but have no idea from where.  I've modified it a bit to fit our taste and for convenience.  Try this:

Ingredients for Pesto:

• 4 cups fresh basil (Basil sells quickly this time of year, I bought a large bunch from Safeway and yes, used the entire thing for this recipe.)
• 4 Cloves garlic (snip off the tips of each end of the cloves before blending)
• 1/2 cup Pine Nuts
• 3/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
• 3/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (FYI - one small carton of cream is enough to make this recipe twice!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Ingredients Cont'd:

• 16 oz. Pasta (use whatever you have on hand, or whatever you prefer)
  
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (this is great for slightly withered cherry toms that my not be appetizing for snacking any longer - they're going to be cooked anyway!  Thing #5 didn't leave me 1 cup to work with, but it was close)
• 1 cup parmesan, finely grated
• 8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella (cut into small 1/2" pieces or sliced, as you wish)

Directions:

• Make Pesto - place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend well, set aside
• Cook pasta to very al dente, or about 3-4 minutes before the package instructs for the cook time
• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• halve your cherry tomatoes
• In a casserole pan, mix pasta, cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce
• Top with grated parmesan and mozzarella pieces
• Bake at 400 F for 10-15 minutes, or until mozzarella has melted.
• Garnish with additional parmesan and fresh basil, serve immediately.

The flavor of this is phenomenal.  Even our pickiest Thing #5 loves this!  It's simple and easy and will quickly become a family favorite - we promise!

Fresh from the oven:

Creamy Butternut Squash Linguine

Jen was in the kitchen again last night!  This is a recipe I found online, this is the second time I've made it and we just love it.  Disclaimer:  I hate squash.  And I love this pasta!

This can be made vegetarian or vegan, totally up to you.  I made one plate vegan with no cheese and ate a little more with cheese .... I prefer vegetarian honestly :-)

So here ya go!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups) - I use 1/2 of a large butternut squash - freeze the other half to make another batch later!
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
• Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt

Directions:

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
2. Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. (I've never actually had to use the extra water - but you never know)
4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing. I add a pinch of cumin during this stage - always makes the flavor pop!
5. In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and ¼ cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.

Thing #2 is adventurous with food, he tried this and loved it!  It's probably a bit spicy for the younger littles, but we could always leave the pepper flakes out and see if they would eat it!?  Maybe they would believe it was cheese....hmmm......

I found this recipe online, so I want to share the link here to give credit where credit is due!

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/creamy-vegan-butternut-squash-linguine-with-fried-sage/