Apple Pumpkin Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Posted by Lindsey @ Baking Bytes in Entrée, Side dishes and tagged with Butternut squash, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian 24 February 2016

Perhaps after the overwhelming feasting of Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day you are ready for something a bit more on the healthy side. Or maybe you wisely skipped all that but are always on the lookout for new recipes. Look no further! Today I have a wonderful healthy and vegetarian (optionally vegan) recipe to share with you all.

I’d been eyeing soups like these for a while but only a few weeks ago bit the bullet and bought an immersion blender. Turns out they are awesome and you should absolutely get one. If it’s not in the budget or cupboard space doesn’t allow, you can make do with a food processor or high-end blender, but for real an immersion blender is the way to go. I ordered mine from Amazon (no I’m not getting paid for this, I just love it) and it is fantastic. I’m sure I’ll be using it often, which is good because I haven’t quite found a cupboard to store it in.

Regardless, soup. Butternut squash is always rampant in the winter but until this year I’d never actually cooked with it. Turns out that like spaghetti squash, it’s an incredibly easy option. After roasting, it’s delicious simply mashed with a little butter and salt and pepper, and even more amazing in more complex recipes like this soup.

Squash and pumpkin bolstered slightly with the sweetness of apples are mixed with vegetable stock and spices for a wonderful savory entrée. An optional addition of heavy cream makes it an extra amazing experience but it’s also delicious without. Either way, the slightly sweet vegetables with a little spiciness is an excellent combination. With everything puréed together, the flavors are perfectly blended into a simple course that easy to pair with many sides.

This recipe is vegetarian as is, and can be made vegan by omitting the cream or substituting your favorite non-dairy option. If you’re neither of those things, serve with some crumbled bacon for extra flair, or just to appease the carnivores in the family.

Since the oven will already be hot from roasting the squash, a batch of roasted Brussels sprouts makes a perfect side dish to round out a very colorful meal. Even better, this soup reheats nicely either on the stove or in the microwave, which is great for the abundant leftovers I hope you have.

Apple Pumpkin Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Adapted from Smile Sandwich
Makes about 2 quarts

Ingredients

1 medium to large butternut squash

1 medium onion
2 apples
3 cloves garlic
olive oil

32 oz vegetable (or chicken) stock
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup cream (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheets with foil or a silicon mat.
Cut squash in half (the long way) and remove the seeds. Coat lightly with olive oil and place on baking sheet.
Roast for 40-50 minutes, or until squash is easily pierced with a fork.
Meanwhile, dice onion, apples, and garlic. (I also like to pre-measure my spices into a small cup and then clean up the kitchen at this time, but that’s totally up to you.)
When the squash has about 15 minutes left, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add onion, apple, and garlic and saute until they are softened, about 10 minutes.
Stir in spices, pumpkin puree, and vegetable stock and continue cooking while you finish the squash. (If you pre-cooked your squash, you can just skip straight to step 9.)
When the squash is cooked, remove from oven and carefully scoop out the flesh from the skin. (You may want to wait about ten minutes for them to cool down a little, and/or use a heat-proof glove).
Add squash to the pot, bring soup to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the cream, if desired. Use an immersion blender to completely puree the soup. Taste and up the spices a little, if desired.
Serve hot with freshly ground pepper on top. Refrigerate leftovers.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Posted by Lindsey @ Baking Bytes in Breakfast, Celebration/Holiday, Pastries and tagged with Cream Cheese, French Toast, Raspberry, Vegetarian 10 February 2016

Most of the time I start my days with a bowl of cinnamon-raisin oatmeal or a plate of veggie scrambled eggs. Particularly when M is out of town, I rarely put in the effort to treat myself to pancakes or similar, although I do occasionally have Belgian waffles for dinner. (Waffles are suitable for every meal, and also dessert.)

However, after an incredibly windy 10-mile run last Saturday, I decided to treat myself to something I hadn’t made in a long time: stuffed French toast. French toast is actually one of my favorite breakfasts but I rarely make it for no real reason other than I enjoy having leftover waffle batter for the next few days. Nonetheless, with some delightful potato buttermilk bread sitting on the counter and a dollop of cream cheese in the fridge, it seemed the perfect day for a more decadent confection.

With melty cream cheese and my favorite jam in every bite, a thin spread of butter and a dusting of powdered sugar is all that’s needed to top this delightful creation. Even better, it’s no more difficult than regular French toast since basically you are just making cream cheese and jam sandwiches for your first step. It’s important to make sure your bread gets good and soaked with the egg mixture to ensure it results in a soft but golden brown bread to wrap those sweet insides.

Fry on medium-low to make sure the cream cheese and jam gets nice and warm before the outside is overdone. The extra minutes of cooking is well worth the finished experience, I promise. If you’re looking for an extra rich option, top with a drizzle of maple syrup or homemade whipped cream, but just a little butter and powdered sugar is definitely my favorite.

This is a great option for Sunday brunch (or Tuesday brunch, or any brunch, or dinner, I don’t judge), and sure to please your Valentine. Don’t have a Valentine? Be your own Valentine and please yourself with an amazing breakfast. Your morning cup of coffee is a perfect addition; a side of bacon and/or eggs balances the sweet with some salty protein.

I’ve printed the recipe as a serving for one so you can make it as is or easily scale it up as needed to feed the whole family. It’s best hot off the griddle but if you’re cooking for more people than fits in one batch, you should be able to keep them warm in the oven so you can all eat together.

Whip up a batch of stuffed French toast this weekend for a special treat, then enlist those recipients to clean up your kitchen. It’s really the least they can do.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients per serving

2 slices bread (I like to use buttermilk)
1-2 Tbsp cream cheese, softened¹
1-2 Tbsp Raspberry Rhubarb jam¹

1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Heat griddle or frying pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Spread cream cheese on one slice of bread, and jam on the other. Place cream cheese slice (spread sides together) on the jam slice to form a sandwich.
In a shallow bowl large enough to fit your bread, whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended.
Place your bread into the egg mixture for 1-2 minutes each side, until bread looks soaked through. (If you’re just making one serving, it should soak up almost all the liquid.)
Fry until golden brown, 2-4 minutes per side. (I like to put a lid on the frying pan to help keep the heat in, but it’s not strictly necessary.)
Serve immediately topped with butter and powdered sugar, or a drizzle of maple syrup for an extra decadent treat.

Notes

¹You can use basically any jam or sauce, this one is just my favorite. As for the amounts, I like two tablespoons of each for a decadent filling, but you can certainly use less if you prefer a less rich breakfast. If your cream cheese is hard to spread, soften it in the microwave in ten-second intervals. It’s going to be heated anyway so if you slightly over-melt it that’s no big deal.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Posted by Lindsey @ Baking Bytes in Baking, Side dishes and tagged with Vegan, Vegetarian 27 January 2016

And we’re back on schedule! …for now. No promises but I’ll do my best to maintain the bi-weekly posts. I certainly have enough planned it’s just a matter of having enough daylight to work with; it’s a bit of a struggle when I get home from work and it’s already dark.

Excuses aside, this week I have a fantastic and easy side dish you’re sure to love. With a 2-pound bag of Brussels sprouts all to myself, I knew I needed to eat them right quick. I remembered Pinning a recipe for a roasted version a few weeks ago and thought I would finally give it a try. My main aversion to roasting vegetables is that they often require upwards of half an hour in the oven and I rarely want to wait that long to eat things, but this recipe called for just twenty minutes which seemed like something I could handle.

Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts {{Baking Bytes}}

For making these sprouts, the most time-consuming part was trimming and halving them, mainly because I’d already had them a week and they were starting to brown, and also because produce from Costco tends to be gigantic and this batch was no exception. In any case, I tossed them in the oil concoction and put them in the oven, and 25 minutes later had a delicious, healthy, and easy side dish. As a bonus it made enough to last me several days.

Roasted veggies are much less likely to be bitter and the added seasonings give these a little something extra. Garlic and salt go with pretty much anything and some red pepper flakes add a slight kick. If you’re bigger into the spicy thing, add some more flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper to suit your preferences.

I enjoyed this recipe even more than anticipated and I hope you do too. An easy recipe that feeds the whole family and even reheats well if you have extras. These went great with the scalloped potatoes from last week and are definitely something I’ll be adding to the dinner rotation. I look forward to trying it with broccoli also – I’m sure it’ll be fantastic.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Adapted from South Your Mouth
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs Brussels sprouts, washed and dry

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheets with a silicon mat or parchment paper. (Not strictly necessary but easier to clean up later.)
Trim sprouts and cut in half if they are larger than about one inch in diameter.
In a large bowl, combine sprouts, oil, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir with a rubber spatula until sprouts are well coated with the oil mixture. (This is why the sprouts should be dry.)
Spread in one layer on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 18-25 minutes, until sprouts are tender with some light charring, as desired. The time will vary depending on the size of your sprouts and how you lined your pan, so check every few minutes until you like what you see.
Serve immediately and refrigerate any leftovers.

Classic Scalloped Potatoes

Posted by Lindsey @ Baking Bytes in Baking, Entrée, Side dishes and tagged with Vegetarian 20 January 2016

Hello, hello. Apologies for being a week late; between getting back in to the swing of work life and M leaving town last week, it’s been a busy start to the year. A few weeks in I am finally getting caught up and ready to work on some fun projects this year, both with food and other crafts. I’m also intending to run my first full marathon in June, dependent on how well my training plan meshes with ski season. There are tons of marathons all year so I can always delay a month or so if needed.

In any case, with M leaving on Monday and the snow hitting on Saturday, I felt some comfort food was in order. M’s parents generously gifted me a very nice mandolin food slicer for Christmas so scalloped potatoes seemed the obvious choice.

As a kid, scalloped potatoes were always one of my most favorite foods and probably one of the most-requested items each time I came home from college. Warm, and creamy, I could eat them for days and not get bored. They always remind me of family and cozy evenings and often made an appearance for Christmas dinner. Hand slicing potatoes was too much of a deterrent for me to make them on my own, but with a mandolin they are easy-peasy.

With just a few simple ingredients they are not going to open a whole new world of flavors, but they are a delicious side dish (or entrée, if you’re me) and coordinate nicely with almost anything. This recipe is straight from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, one of the few I ever manage to use in lieu of the internet.

If it isn’t already, this recipe is sure to become a staple in your household; I know it is in mine. If you have several mouths to feed, this recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13″ dish instead – this is the way my mom always made it.

Classic Scalloped Potatoes

Borrowed from The Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes, peeled and rinsed

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp (a dash) of pepper

1 1/4 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease an 8×8″ baking dish. Set aside.
Thinly slice potatoes using a mandolin or a knife and a lot of patience. Place half the potatoes in the prepared dish.
In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium-high until melted. Add onion and cook until tender and mostly translucent.
Stir in flour, salt, and pepper, then add milk all at once.
Continue cooking and stirring until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat.
Pour half of the sauce over the potatoes, then repeat with remaining potatoes and sauce. Make sure mixture is evenly spread in the baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until potatoes are tender and a little browned on top, about 30 minutes.
Let rest on the counter for 5 minutes, then serve hot, topping with a little extra freshly ground pepper, if desired.
If you have leftovers, they keep well in the fridge for several days.

2015 Recap and Announcement

Posted by Lindsey @ Baking Bytes in Uncategorized 30 December 2015

Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and is excited for the new year. Honestly I’m not 100% sure where 2015 even went, but it was a great year overall. Lots of adventures in baking, running, and crafting. In addition to all the things you’ve seen on this blog, I also cut 7:37 off my half marathon time and ran 8 half marathons total…

…traveled to several new cities…

…went on a canoe camping trip in Yellowstone National Park…

…completed another year of Skirtember…

…and tried my hand at some new crafting projects.

With the holidays in Alaska I didn’t have enough time to figure out a baking post for today (sorry), but I do have an announcement: you can now follow me on facebook! All of my posts will be linked up here (as well as my twitter, which already exists) so you can follow me in the best way for you. I promise not to spam your news feed with irrelevant posts.

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you all in the new year! And if you need an awesome New Year’s Eve party dessert recipe, Champagne Cake (or cupcakes) are fantastic.