Pasta with Butternutsquash Sauce

When I first saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. Right after I started this blog, I searcged the net for other cooking blogs to add to my blog list and truly "Simply Recipes" is one of my favorites.
Here are my ingredients. I had some chicken broth left over (about a cup) and I added maybe another cup of water.


As you can see my pureed butternut squash was not as smooth as I remembered from my Harvest Pie, but it worked just fine.

After adding the cream, cheese, broth and water as well as the spices I ended up with the most delicious sauce ever. I will most definitely make this again.

Some Tofu please

Something I have never attempted before, but this recipe sounded good.

Here is the miso mixture:

The trick with tofu is to drain it. If it's not drained well, it will not be as crisp. I ended up pan frying it longer than the recipe said. I just wanted to make sure it browned well on both sides.

I was suprised by how well it tasted. The texture was something to get used to, but otherwise it was really good. The sauce was especially good.

Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta

This is another great recipe I found here at Cooking Light.

Here are the ingredients:

The sauce is done and the pasta is in the baking dish:

Sauteeing the garlic for the breadcrumb topping:

Don't forget the bread:

And here it is. This is a nice substitute for mac and cheese on the side but also as a dish by itself.

Harvest Pie

This is a very good recipe I found here.

The beginning of something beautiful:

First time I ever cooked anything with butternut squash, so my husband helped clean it up. Cut it open and spoon out the seeds.

Bake the halfs, cut side down on greased cookie sheet:

The filling in the pie crust:

Second time in the oven with the pecan topping and the crust covered:

And there you have it. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was delicious. The only thing I would do different next time is to make my own crust because you can taste the difference. I was just lazy this time.

Tuscan Chickpea Soup

You can find the recipe here:


Sautee the onions and garlic:

Add the water, rosemarry, salt, black pepper, chickpeas and the tomatoes:

And let it simmer for 20 minutes on low heat:

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture until I was almost finished:) Too good.

Orzo and Mushrooms

You can really add any vegetable or cooked meat you want to this. You can also vary the liquid. I use a mix of water, wine and broth or whatever I have handy. Basically you mix the orzo and liquid 1:2, like you would rice. I used 1 cup orzo and 1/2 cup white wine, 1/2 cup broth and 1 cup water. The amount of vegies is to your liking.

I sautee some onions and garlic first and then I add the sliced mushrooms:

The I add the orzo, stirr it some and then I add the liquid:

Bring it to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and that's it.

Tomato-Basil Soup

This one is really easy. We start with 3 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, 3 cups of chicken broth, 3 garlic cloves, 2 Tsp. olive oil, 3/4 Tsp. Salt and 2 cups of fresh basil, thinlys sliced (I didn't have fresh basil at first, so that's why I put the dried basil in the picture).

So, first I sauteed the garlic:

Then I added the broth, tomatoes and salt and brought it to a boil and the let it simmer for 20 minutes:

Meanwhile I baked some French bread (a la Pillsbury):

After the soup was done simmering, I added the basil:

Puree the soup:

And serve it: