Thanksgiving at my house - Autumn Northwest Salmon Chowder.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, which means my kitchen table is covered with recipes, a mostly completed shopping list, and stacks of magazines incase I change my mind. No joke. Holiday food is serious business. Reality check. Thanksgiving in our house is a bit too much centered around food and football than it should be, but we do take time to be thankful. It is a time to be thankful for our country, and to celebrate with those who are important in our lives. Sometimes that means grabbing the phone and chatting away with relatives, facebooking an old friend, skyping with a sibling, or watching the game with my son or husband. The important thing here to make the connection any way you can -  in our case most of family lives several states away so this works for us. And yet.... as a mom and a still somewhat new food blogger theres a certain expectation that gets put on the food at thanksgiving - thats clearly different than the ENTIRE rest of the year. Anyone else know what I am talking about here? 

So in light of all the thanksgiving prep and holiday stress fun... its freezing here in southern az, and its been raining for two whole days. I love it but I am c-o-l-d! So thankfully I found something that reminds me of growing up and is warm and comforting. If you need something to take your mind off of thanksgiving preparations or are just c-o-l-d too, try this super delicious, healthy, very easy, 

 Autumn Northwest Salmon Chowder 

serves 3-4 

adapted from: Readers Digest, The Ultimate Soup Cookbook

prep + cooking time: 22-28 minutes

ingredients:

half of butternut squash approx 3 cups cubed small

1 yellow medium sized potato, cubed small

1 large onion

2 1/2 cups of water

2 cups of milk

2-3 Tbs fresh dill

1/2-3/4 lb. salmon fillets, skin removed, cut in 1" chunks

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs unsalted organic butter

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

directions:

1. in a medium - large pot melt the butter and heat the olive oil over medium heat. (The oil helps the butter not burn)

2. sauté the onion in the pot for approx 5 minutes or until the onion is tender

3. Add in the potato, butternut squash, salt, pepper, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for approx. 10 minutes until the squash and potato is fork tender. 

4. Add in the fish simmer gently uncovered for 2-3 minutes until it flakes easily. 

5. Add in the milk and dill. Heat but do not boil. 

6. Taste. Adjust any seasonings if needed. Serve hot with your favorite rolls or crackers

Happy fall with this pretty autumn colored chowder 

from my kitchen to yours

HOMEMADE veggie (butternut squash) "Potato" Chips

HOMEMADE veggie (butternut squash) "Potato" Chips

I have been wanting to try this idea of homemade veggie chips for awhile. Having burgers for dinner was a good excuse. 


The end result of trying something completely new like this was... Yum! They tasted great! I wasn't too thrilled that I couldn't rush it very much. You really need an afternoon to just let them crisp up. I usually don't have that kind of time except on weekends. The crunchier and more dried out they get the better they tasted. I was able to make 3 small handfuls (perfect side for 3 people) that complemented our burgers. This will definitely be a "go to" side dish for burgers, hot dogs, and others.  I got the idea from pintrest.com,  but I couldn't locate the direct link. (Paprika was my idea since I love flavored chips). 


Ingredients:
1 butternut squash neck, peeled, and cut as thinly as you can (mine was 8 oz)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp olive oil


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (low & slow) 

2. Cut & peel your squash (the straight neck part only) 

3. In a bowl combine and coat the squash with the oil and all the seasonings except the paprika.

4. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

5. Lay the squash circles flat, and sprinkle half of them with the paprika for contrast

6. Bake for 1 hour

7. Pull it out of the oven and use a fork or fingers to turn the squash over. Bake for another 45 minutes or until dark and crunchy like chips

8. Eat! 



Hope this makes your next burger night or sandwich lunch special. Enjoy!
From my family to yours!

Classic Butternut Squash Soup

Creamy. Silky. Wonderful. Pure. Clean tasting. I am officially declaring November to be soup/stew month in my house. At least that's what my husband must be thinking. I have made Beef Stew - Turkish style, Split Pea Soup, and now Butternut Squash Soup - all in pretty large quantities. Doesn't this soup look amazingly smooth?

This is the first time I have ever made this soup before and was surprised how easy it was.I had always just bought it from the store during the fall and spring when I was craving something warm, filling, and comforting. This is the type of food that maybe reminds you of food your mom cooked or just makes you feel like someone has given you a hug. Please consider this light, velvety, smooth-tasting soup recipe your friendly November hug. 

Recipe was adapted from By Molly Watson,at Localfoods.About.com.

Only a handful of ingredients and serves 4-6 people. 

Ingredients: 

1 large butternut squash approx 2 lbs peeled and cubed 

or 2 1/4 lbs unpeeled

1 medium onion

1 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter(organic if you have it)

32oz or 4 cups of chicken broth/stock store bought or homemade

1 Tbs Masa (corn flour)

1/2 Tbs salt

1/2 Tbs garlic minced

1/4 tsp pepper

sour cream (optional for garnish)

chives (optional for garnish)

crackers (optional for garnish)

Directions:

• Halve, seed, peel, and cube/rough chop the butternut squash roughly the same size. Mine all looked like tiny crescent shapes.
• Halve, peel, chop the garlic and rough chop the onion (if you don't do the jar of minced garlic)

• Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat
• Add the chopped onion and cook until soft - approx 3 minutes
• Add salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir occasionally - approx 1-2 minutes
• Add the cut squash and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover & reduce the heat to a simmer - approx 20 minutes or until the the squash is very tender. 
• Lower the heat to warm or low as you puree the cooked squash in your blender or food processor. Note: Holding a towel over the top of a blender or lid helps to prevent burns as this is going to be hot straight from the stove. Have a bowl ready next to the blender for easily to dumping the velvety soup and getting the next small batch pureed.

• Return the soup to the original pot. Taste & season with more salt & pepper if needed.
• If soup appears thin put 1 Tbs flour with 1 Tbs water together in a bowl and mix thoroughly then add it to the soup. Stir and heat until thickened on low. 
• Serve & garnish

I hope you try this very easy recipe. No need to make box/canned soup on a nice November day like today! My son and I garnished our soup with a large handful of oyster crackers, a bit of sour cream, and some chives. Yum!!!

Enjoy
From my kitchen to yours!