Tag Archives: healthy dinner

Butternut squash soup with sweet potato and chard

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It has been so chilly here lately! What happened to that early 80 degree spring weather?! I had to search for some fall/winter soup recipes to warm up the other night! Naturally, I turned to my new BFF, Pinterest. I have actually been doing a good job of keeping up with making the things I have pinned (of course this recipe is an adaptation of one….). Only one recipe from Pinterest hasn’t worked out so far, but I am going to try it one more time before I give up on it (just to satisfy your curiosity it was this Sesame Spaghetti Squash recipe; It ended up being really soupy and gooey, and it had wayyyy to much sesame oil). If you’re not on Pinterest yet, you’re missin’ out; If you are, I hope you’re following me :)

Butternut squash soup with sweet potato and chard (Original recipe from the blog Inspiring the Everyday)

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium-large butternut squash
  • 1 medium shallots, diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium or large sweet potato, peeled & cubed
  • 1/2 large bunch chard, stems removed & torn into pieces
  • Veggie stock
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • Dash of oregano
  • Dash of red pepper flake
  • Olive oil
  • S&P, to taste

Directions

1. Roast squash – Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lay both sides cut side down on a pan with a few centimeters of water (it cooks faster this way). Bake at 350°F until tender, approximately 35 minutes.

2. Boil your cubed sweet potatoes until tender, drain and let cool)

3. Once squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh into a food processor and purée until smooth. If the squash is dry and doesn’t seem to be reaching the right consistency add a little bit of stock to encourage it (but not too much, you’ll add the bulk of the stock later)

4. Sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil on medium to low heat until translucent.

5. Add chard and let cook for about 5 minutes. Once tender, add your squash, sweet potatoes and gradually add stock until you reach the desired consistency. I started with adding about a cup then just added more while stirring until it was juuuuust right!

6. Stir in the herbs and seasonings and serve! (I didn’t add the S&P until after it was served but a dash of each was perfect)

Of course my camera is terrible and does not do it justice, so you’ll just have to trust me… (*ahem* boyfriend, family – camera for b-day pleassssse :)

(P.S Mari, this has your name all over it!!)

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Blackened Salmon, kale and fingerling potatoes

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This is a fabulously healthy dinner that can be made rather quickly. We have had this several times with different sides and cooking the salmon different ways, but this is our favorite so far. I have made it a goal of mine to incorporate more fish into my diet, especially since salmon is low in calories and saturated fat and is such a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, protein and Vitamin D.

Blackened salmon (From About.com) (I save the remaining seasoning for later since it makes quite a bit but you can decrease the portions depending on how many servings you have)

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons ground paprika
  • 4 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to your taste
  • 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Over low heat, melt about 3 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet (enough butter to cover fish and the bottom of the pan). As soon as the butter is melted, place the fish in the pan, flipping it over to cover both sides with butter. Then generously coat the fish with the seasoning, flip over again and coat the other side with seasoning.

2. Now turn up the heat to medium-high and cook on one side until blackened and somewhat crispy. Flip over and cook the other side. Add a little more butter whenever necessary.

For the fingerling potatoes. Just boil them until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool, cut in half lengthwise, then saute in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and your choice of seasonings, we generally just use salt and pepper and a touch of garlic. Saute until browned. For the kale, rinse leaves and remove from stalk. Rip up slightly so it is easier to eat. Heat a skillet (medium to medium-high heat) and pour in about 1/3 cup of broth (you can also use oil, just use a dab of it) and add a touch of garlic. When broth or oil is hot  throw in your kale and constantly toss it with tongs until it has wilted and is dark green about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

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Mini Veggie Pot Pies with a Sweet Potato Biscuit Top

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I love the idea of individual sized meals. I think they add so much character, not to mention, they help tremendously with portion control. I saw this adorable (can food be adorable?) recipe for individual pot pies on the blog 5 and Spice!

Individual Vegetable Pot Pies (serves 8 ) adapted 5 And Spice, originally from a recipe in a 2007 Food & Wine magazine

Ingredients (measure veggies so they are equal parts – measurements below are flexible)

  • 3-5 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces (depending on size)
  • 3-4 stalks of celery or turnip, peeled and cut into half inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup of frozen corn
  • 1/2 cup of frozen beans
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped (I also added some green onions too, just for fun)
  • (NOTE: you can use whatever combination of seasonal vegetables you please, as long as you have about 8 cups, chopped, total)
  • A whole lot of olive oil (around ¼ or 1/3 cup)
  • Salt and pepper
  • A couple tsp. of thyme
  • A tsp. of sage
  • 4 Tbs. of butter
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 1/2 – 3 cups milk (I used almond milk, which turned out great!)
  • A tsp. of thyme and a pinch each of sage and nutmeg
  • Optional: You can add a cup of cooked and cubed chicken

Directions

Heat your oven to 425F.  Toss all of the chopped vegetables and half of the chopped onion with the olive oil a couple tsp. of thyme, one tsp. of sage, and several big shakes of salt and pepper.  Spread them in a large roasting pan, put them into the oven and roast – stirring once or twice during the process – until they are soft and have gotten brown cooked spots on them, around 45 minutes, or so.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  (But leave the oven on.)

In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat, until it’s melted and starting to bubble.  Stir in the remaining half of the chopped onion and cook for a few minutes until softened and translucent.  Stir in the flour until it is all mixed in with the butter and onion and cook for a couple of minutes.  Then, whisk in the milk a little bit at a time, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. Then stir in the remaining smaller amounts of thyme and sage and the nutmeg along with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Turn heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about ten minutes.  At this point, add more salt and pepper to taste.  Then, stir sauce and roasted vegetables together.  Either spoon the vegetables into 8 individual pot pie dishes (large ramekins) or into a large baking dish.  Put an unbaked sweet potato biscuit on top of each dish – or if using a large baking dish, arrange the biscuits on top to cover it, slightly overlapping one another.**  Pop the pot pies into the oven and bake until they are bubbling and the biscuits are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.  (You can also make the vegetables with sauce ahead of time and refrigerate them, then just warm them up to room temp and spoon them into your baking dishes when you’re ready to bake).

** My biscuits didn’t cook all the way through because the sauce and veggies was keeping the moisture in on the bottom so I might suggest making the biscuits separately or cook them for a little bit then put them on top.

Sweet potato biscuits (makes 8)
Ingredients

  • 1 medium-small sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1 ¾ cups regular flour
  • 1 Tbs. brown sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 7 Tbs. cold regular butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

In a pot, cover the sweet potato with water,  bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until soft, about 20 minutes.  Drain the potato well, then smash it up with a fork.  Reserve ¾ cup of it and let it cool (you can use the rest of it for something else, for example eating it for a snack as you cook).  In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like a coarse sand.  Alternatively you can just pulse all these ingredients together in a food processor.  Stir in the buttermilk and ¾ cup sweet potato mash until all the ingredients are just combined.  Scoop the dough out into a ball, and knead it a couple of times on a well floured surface.  Then, roll it to about ¼ inch thick and cut it into 8 biscuits – you can make squares or use a 4 inch circle cutter.  Put the unbaked biscuits on top of your pot pies before baking.  Or, if you just want biscuits, bake them in a 425F oven for 15 minutes, until golden.

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