Winter Squash Soup
Serves 8

Soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

* When I made this, I didn't notice the second calling for acorn squash! oopsy! I only did 4 cups of butternut squash! The end calls for sugar to be stirred in, but there was no mention of sugar in the recipe, so I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar. It was super tasty soup, even with my mistakes! :)

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
Makes 10 servings

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges

Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat. Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.

Transfer potatoes to serving bowl.

Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheets at room temperature. Rewarm potatoes in 425°F oven 10 minutes.

*Disclaimer: Unlike Steph's beautifully photographed foodies, I did not take these pictures, I stole them from the interweb where I got the recipes. Just keeping it real with full disclosure.

Artichoke Dipidity Do Dah

4 Jars marinated Artichoke Hearts (drained and chopped)
*I buy the big bottle at Costco and use 1/2 to 2/3 of it.
1 cup Mayo
1 cup Grated Parmesan
1 cup chilies
1 clove garlic

Combine ingredients and bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Chicken and pasta in peanut sauce

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. thin spaghetti
1 bunch broccolini, cut in 2-inch lengths
1 medium red sweet pepper, cut in bite-size strips
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup bottled peanut sauce
Crushed red pepper (optional, for serving)

DIRECTIONS
1.In Dutch oven cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccolini and sweet pepper during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain. Return to Dutch oven and set aside.
2.Meanwhile, halve chicken breasts horizontally. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In extra large skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes each side, or until no longer pink (170 degrees F).
3.Transfer to a cutting board. Slice chicken; add to pasta and vegetables.
4.Heat through. Add peanut sauce. Pass crushed red pepper.

Notes: I just cooked the spaghetti in a regular sauce pan, and that worked fine. This last time I made this, I used a rotiserrie chicken instead of chicken breast, which I just put in with the peanut sauce. It's delicious both ways.

Overnight French Toast

Yield: 8 main-dish servings (I halved it)
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
¼ cup snipped chives, plus additional for garnish
1 loaf (9 ounces) French bread (preferably day-old), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (I couldn't find this cheese, so I used Swiss instead; it was delicious!)

1.Grease shallow 1 ½-quart ceramic baking dish. In medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, Dijon, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until well blended. Stir in chives.
2.Arrange half of bread in bottom of prepared baking dish, overlapping slices to fit. Pour half of egg mixture over bread and sprinkle with two-thirds of Gruyère. Cover with remaining bread, overlapping slices. Pour remaining egg mixture over bread; gently press down to help bread absorb egg mixture. Sprinkle with remaining one-third of Gruyère. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3.Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until puffed and golden and tip of knife inserted in center comes out clean, covering top during last 15 minutes if browning too quickly. Let stand 10 minutes to set custard before serving. Sprinkle with snipped chives.

Bread

O.k. some people have been asking for my bread recipe. Well I am too lazy to re-write it. So here is the link. It is so good! Yummy. I make it all the time. Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

SO SO SO Good!!! I make these and my kids and hubby eat them fast. It actually makes quite a few of them and they freeze really well!

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 (16oz.) can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 package chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin pans 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 24-30 muffins.

Apple Berry Salsa

I'm sorry I don't have a beautiful picture to go along with this recipe, but maybe you can just picture it in your head :) It's a fun one that tastes really good!

2 granny apples, peeled
1 cup strawberries
1 kiwi
1 small orange--just the juice
1 Tb brown sugar
2 Tb apple jelly
flour tortillas
cinnamon sugar

Chop fruit and mix together. Serve with flour tortillas: sprinkle drops of water on flour tortillas and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over them. Cut into triangle shapes (like tortilla chips). Bake in the oven at 475 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until brown. Dip in salsa!

I'm excited to try the lentil soup recipe! I'm looking for lots of good soup recipes because they're good for you and I love soup. I'm also looking for recipes using more roast beef or pork instead of hamburger. If anyone has anything along those lines, I'd love to try them :)