Easy Butternut Squash Soup

This Easy Butternut Squash soup is SO yummy! Warm, creamy, & naturally sweet.  

It's Soup & Salad night at our house!

My family has grown butternut squash in the family garden for several years.

My mom and brother have even drawn faces!

...then proceeded to take pictures of them before cutting them up and cooking the squash. 

*Update! Look at this picture I found- hilarious!

To make the soup-

To begin, heat pot with olive oil and butter. Add onions, salt, pepper, and sauté until soft.

I thawed my butternut squash to make my soup today. 

Add the butternut squash to the pot and heat through. 

Mix in the chicken broth and stir. Use an immersion blender to puree the onions and and large pieces of pulp. I like to puree the diced onion until quite smooth.

Lastly, add the half and half, stir, & serve! 

*Prepare butternut. 

1) Pre-cook,  2) thaw, or 3) chop into cubes.

1) Cooking the Butternut Squash
Slice the butternut's top and bottom off.
Now slice the butternut from top to bottom so that you have two, long rectangle pieces.
Place butternut face-down on a baking sheet with sides and add a half inch of water.
Bake at 350 F degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Check the softness of the butternut by poking through the skin with a fork.
When soft, drain water and let the butternut cool.
Once cool enough to touch, scrape fruit out of the skin into a bowl.
Now you are ready to make soup or freeze to use later!

2) Pull out of the freezer and thaw!

3) Slice the butternut's top and bottom off.
Now slice the butternut from top to bottom so that you have two, long rectangle pieces.
Continue to slice in half-inch slices.
Cut skin off and cube squash, about half-inch cubes.

Easy Butternut Squash Soup Recipe-

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

3 Tbsp. butter

1 large onion, diced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. or less pepper

1 butternut squash, prepared

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup half and half

Heat olive oil and butter in heavy soup pot over medium-high heat.

Add onions, salt, pepper, and sauté until soft. 

Add butternut squash. *If using pre-cooked, mix in and move to next step. If frozen, heat through. If raw cubes, mix in and sauté for a few minutes then add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes or until squash is soft. 

Add chicken broth and stir.

Using an immersion blender, mix until desired consistency is reached.  

Stir in half and half and serve.

-Because there are so many variations to this recipe, cooking time varies. 

I made this batch in about a half hour because my squash was pre-cooked. If you use uncooked, cooking time will increase about 5 minutes and you will have more prep that day. 

It really is a scrumptious, simple soup and has the perfect natural sweetness to it!

I'm looking forward to home-grown butternut squash this summer! 

Megan 

Yummy Homemade Granola

Granola...mmm! 

I'm not much of a breakfast person but I try to eat a little something every morning. My quick, go-to breakfast has been honey vanilla greek yogurt with granola or fruit.

Between the two of us, Nate and I eat a lot of granola! I have been interested in making my own granola for quite awhile and experimenting with different ingredients.

This granola smelled like cookies baking while in the oven and it did not disappoint, so delicious!

Homemade Granola Recipe

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup raisins 

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. honey

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine oats, salt, cinnamon, almonds, pecans, and raisins in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

In a glass measuring cup, melt coconut oil. Add the brown sugar, honey, and vanilla to the oil and stir.*    

Pour some of the liquid into the oat mixture and mix well. Continue to stir and add the remaining liquid until evenly coated.

Spread evenly on a large baking sheet with sides. 

Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Stir granola every 8 minutes. Stir when you remove from oven for the last time. Let cool completely before storing in a clean, dry container. 

*I used coconut oil and my sugar did not dissolve into it but became a big blob floating in the oil. I chopped this up the best I could with my spoon and it did not affect the finished product!

This recipe is so forgiving! If your mixture is way too dry, add some more melted coconut oil, melted butter, or honey!

I plan on making this with dried apricots, pecans, and cinnamon next! The possibilities are endless with different combinations of fruit, nuts, seeds, and chocolate!

It was hardly cooled before a corner was missing from the pan! Yum!

I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow!

Who is going to make some granola?!

Megan 

Almond Pastry Braid

Welcome to my blog!

I have been wanting to write a blog for quite awhile now so I'm anxious to get started and share about my home and kitchen! 

"Love grows best in little houses" right??

So food must taste best from a little kitchen! 

I don't have a lot of counter space so I always have to be creative when I bake and cook. My goal is usually just to keep everything on the counter and not have eggs running down the front of the cabinets! I'm still working on that. 

I set my mixer up on my kitchen table today so I would have more working space.

For my first official post I baked this beauty.

This pastry has loads of sweet almond flavor and it smells heavenly while you make it!

Thanks Willow Bird Baking for this yummy recipe!

Almond Pastry Braid Recipe

Prep time: 30 mins    Cook time: 25 mins    Total Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash

Filling ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1/3 cup of sugar
dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
4 ounces almond paste* grated with a hand grater
1 cup sliced almonds

Icing ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
sliced almonds for topping

*The original recipe called for 7 ounces of almond paste. Although the almond flavor is delicious, I felt like I had too much filling. You can buy an 8 ounce can of almond paste at the grocery store. I have decided to half the almond paste and use only 4 ounces. I will freeze the extra for another batch!

Making the filling: Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. Mix in salt and almond extract. Stir in the almond paste flakes* and almonds.

*Willow Bird Baking suggested freezing the almond paste before grating. I did not freeze my almond paste and it grated and mixed in just fine. I will try freezing it next time and see if it is easier.

Pastry bread: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In the bowl of the food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cream cheese and butter to the flour mixture and pulse to cut the fat into the flour (about 6 pulses). Add the milk and almond extract and blend until it's just coming together into a loose dough.

Turn the dough out onto lightly-floured parchment paper and knead very lightly for 5 or 6 strokes.  (Be careful not to overwork the dough or it will be tough! Don't worry about the dough being smooth, you want to keep the chunks of fat so you get light, fluffy pastry). Lightly sprinkle some more flour on the dough and roll in out to a 10 by 12 inch rectangle. Measure and mark the dough lengthwise into thirds. Spread the filling over the middle third of the dough.

Continue assembling the braid: Make diagonal cuts at 1-inch intervals on each of the long sides. Do not cut into the filling area. Fold strips, first one from one side and then one from the other side in an alternating fashion, over the filling. It will now resemble a braid. Use the sheet of parchment paper to carefully transfer your braid to a baking sheet. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the braid overnight, or you can continue to the next step.

Bake and glaze the bread: Brush the pastry braid with the egg wash mixture. Bake in the 425 degree oven for 20-22 minutes, until the top is really golden and the filling is set. After allowing the braid to cool, about 30 minutes, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract in a small measuring cup. Drizzle over the braid. Top with sliced almonds and serve!

So Delicious! Perfect with a glass of milk or coffee.

Enjoy!

Megan