Curried Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) butternut squash
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 firm, ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup half and half

Ingredient Notes: I had a 3 pound squash so I adjusted the ingredients accordingly, opting for more soup rather than leftover squash (though after it was baked I could have eaten a pound of it plain...it was so good!)  Also, I wanted my sister to try it, so I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth because she's a vegetarian.  its still ridiculously delicious.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.  Spray a rimmed cooking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Cut the squash lengthwise.  Discard the seeds and membrane.  Place the squash halves, cut side down, onto the baking sheet.  Roast in the preheated oven until very soft, about 45 minutes.  Scoop the pulp from the peel and set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Stir in the onion, garlic, curry powder, ginger, and salt.  Cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.  Pour the broth into the pot and bring to a boil.  Stir in the pears and squash, and simmer until pears are very soft, about 30 minutes.
4. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full.  Hold down the lid of the blender with a kitchen towel (I'm assuming this is because its hot.  I waited about 5 minutes after removing the soup from heat before blending it), and carefully start the blender.  Puree in batches until smooth.

The instructions say to return the soup to the pot, then add the half and half and reheat.  I used a separate large bowl since there was still soup in the pot that hadn't been blended (geniuses...).  I also just stirred in the half and half - it cooled down the soup to the exact right temperature so that it was ready to eat, since it was still near boiling when it was blended.  I also tried the soup before I added the half and half and it was delicious.  I think I mostly added the half and half because I didn't want to wait for it to cool down, the soup would have been just as good without it.

Does not list yeilded servings.  However - this completely filled 2-7 cup Gladware containers.  I think I used a half-cup scoop when serving myself, and ate a cup and a half.  I would say it yeilds...about 7 servings, maybe 8.

Made October 25, 2012.  Eaten with no lights on while watching Scrubs and burning a Fireplace candle

From AllRecipes.com

Amazing Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 5 unpeeled potatoes, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams with juice
• 2 (1.8 oz) packages dry leek soup mix
• 1 qt half & half

Directions

1. Place baon in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stiring occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon, leaving drippings in the pot. Set bacon aside [When I cook this again, I will cook the bacon as I would normally cook bacon (aka in a skillet) and just transfer over however much bacon grease I want. This way the bacon will cook more evenly and I won't have to scoop out bacon grease]
2. Stir the potatoes and carrots into the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 miutes, stirring frequently.
3. Pour the juice from the clams into the pot, and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and cover. Simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Gently stir the leek soup mix into the potatoes until no lumps of soup remain. Stir in the clams, bacon pieces, and half & half. Cook and stir until the chowder returns to a simmer and thickens.

Serves 6

From AllRecipes.com
First cooked Oct 28, 2010

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 lbs chicken breast
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
• 2 tbls flour, a handful
• 1 quart chicken broth or stock
• 1 small box biscuit mix (like Bisquik)
• 1/2 C warm water
• 1 handful parsley, chopped
• 1 C frozen green peas

Directions

1. Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.
2. Place large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.
4. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes
5. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.
6. Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley.
7. Drop tablespoonfulls of prepared mix into the pot spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8-10 minutes.
8. Remove, cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve.

Serves 4

From Dad/foodnetwork.com

First had with Dad and family