Butternut Black Bean Soup

1 lb butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 C beef/veggie broth
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp corriander

Put squash, onion, garlic, broth and one can of beans in crockpot. Cook. Use an immersion blender to blend semi-smooth. Add tomatoes, one can of beans (drained), vinegar and corriander. Simmer till ready :)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies make a chocolate cookie using chocolate chips instead of the usual cocoa powder...they are a little cakey...
*original recipe from Guittard

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1-2 C mint chocolate chips

Melt chocolate chips and stir in butter till melted. In a mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla till fluffy. Add cooled, melted chocolate chips and butter. Mix till combined. Mix dry ingredients together and add chocolate mixture. Don't over mix and try not to eat all the dough :) Add mint chocolate chips and put in the fridge to cool for about 15 min. Cook at 350 for 12 min (in my oven) but in some ovens it will be more like 10 mins.

Spinach Polenta Soup

This was seriously good...

Ingredients

6 cups (or more) chicken broth/vegetable broth

3/4 cup polenta (corn grits)

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 tablespoons butter/oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

4-6 C spinach leaves

pepper to taste (also rosemary or thyme if you want :)

Bring 6 cups broth to simmer in large saucepan. Whisk polenta and flour in heavy large pot. Add 2 cups hot broth to polenta whisking constantly while you add it to prevent lumps. Stir in butter and garlic and pepper and spices. Gradually add the rest of the broth. Simmer gently over medium heat until polenta is tender and soup is creamy and thickened. Stir frequently and adding more broth to thin. (I simmer it about 10-13 minutes and then let it sit for a bit covered with spinach) Stir in spinach and simmer a few more minutes.

Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour (I use a mix of white whole wheat and hard red)
1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C honey
Cinnamon, ginger, cloves to taste (around 1 tsp for cinnamon and 1/4-1/2 for the others)
-add ins...we love chocolate chips and coconut, also raisins and any nut :)

You know the drill...mix eggs, applesauce, sugar, pumpkin, honey. Add mixed dry ingredients-flour, baking powder and soda, spices. Mix until just combined, stir in nuts, chips, coconut, etc...

Spaghetti Pie

16-17 oz spaghetti (cooked and drained)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15-16 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (small) tomato sauce
1 bunch asparagus, chopped (you can use broccoli or spinach or any veggie in a similar amount)
2 carrots, chopped
basil, oregano or Italian seasoning to taste - I often use fresh but dried probably about 1-2 tsp
1 C cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese)
-optional 4oz cream cheese (you might want to reduce the cottage cheese a bit if you use it)
1/2 Parmesan cheese
1 - 2 C Mozzarella (yes, I have used cheddar and it works great too)

Cook spaghetti. In sauce pan, saute onions and garlic in a little butter/oil. Add tomatoes, sauce, asparagus, carrots and herbs. Simmer till somewhat thick. Mix the cottage cheese and cream cheese in to the cooked, hot and drained spaghetti. Combine with sauce mixture and add cheese (you can save some for the top). Put in 9x13 and bake for about 20 minutes or until bubbly :)

French Chocolate Mousse

I have children who go to school in French and a husband who is deathly afraid of "raw" eggs. This is my attempt to "cook" the eggs for authentic French mousse and make everyone happy...

10 oz chocolate (semi-sweet, dark, bittersweet...whatever...I like a dark & semisweet mix)
4 eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
2 C cream, divided

Beat eggs and sugar till fluffy (as fluffy as they will get). Melt chocolate in a double broiler and add egg and sugar mixture and about 1/2 C of cream. It is best to switch adding back and forth or just add a little egg at a time because it can get thick. Whisk, whisk, whisk...I heat this up as much as I can till the chocolate tells me it will be really unhappy if I heat it any more. If you have worked with chocolate you'll recognize that sheen and when it has reached its breaking point :) If not then just heat it till it is slightly warm and just be happy that it is rare that eggs cause food poisoning and don't tell your husband that the eggs aren't technically cooked...Let cool...
Whip the rest of the cream until it forms decently stiff peaks. Slowly fold chocolate into whipped cream. Chill it in the fridge...if you can wait that long :)

French Soup with Spring Veggies

1 lb leeks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
a few tablespoons butter
7 C of veggie broth/chicken broth
2 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1/2 pieces
1/2 C Aborio rice
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 C milk
1 C cream
1-2 C fresh spinach
fresh basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme to taste (I use them in large amounts :)

Saute onion, garlic, leeks, rice in butter. Add broth and bring to simmer. Add carrots, asparagus and herbs, cook until tender. Separately make a roux with butter and flour. Add milk and cream (you can just use milk :) and cook until thickened and pour into the broth & veggies. Add spinach...