Search Results for: label/Rookie Thanksgiving

Sunday was week 4 of Emily’s Rookie Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes. But, because I don’t follow rules well, I decided to use my abundance of butternut squash instead. I picked 32 of them (I’m not exaggerating) and I’ve heard that you can use it in much the same way one uses sweet potatoes.

So, while it doesn’t really fit the qualifications and I’m two days late, go check out Emily’s yum yam balls.

I tried two butternut squash recipes, and because I’m not a food photographer, the photos didn’t turn out great. But, I can’t have a post without a photo, so I hope you’ll overlook it.

Butternut squash soup in the slow cooker 
via Betty Crocker

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 butternut squash (2 lb), peeled, cubed
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed

1. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
2. In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix onion and remaining ingredients except cream cheese.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours. (I cooked for 4 hours on high and it was perfect.)
4. In blender or food processor, place one-third to one-half of mixture at a time. Cover; blend on high speed until smooth. Return mixture to slow cooker. (I could easily get it mixed with just a wire whisk. It was plenty smooth for me and required less work, dishes and mess.)
5. Stir in cream cheese. Cover; cook on Low heat setting about 30 minutes longer or until cheese is melted, stirring with wire whisk until smooth.

Review:
I really expected to dislike this. Like, I made another meal for Ryan and I at the same time because I wasn’t expecting much. I mean, it’s really just squash – and how can squash make a good soup? But, it was delicious. The flavor was amazing before I even put cream cheese in it. And, you should know that I have a crush on anything with cream cheese. So, that just made it perfect. I’d definitely make this again. And, it’s so simple that you can make it in the Crock Pot.

Butternut squash fries 
via Things that make you go mmmmmm

1 butternut squash, sliced as uniformly as possible
olive oil spray
salt
pepper
chili powder

1. Par-boil the butternut squash for a couple of minutes, then plunge in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
2. Spray squash slices with olive oil cooking spray, and toss with salt, pepper, and chili powder, to taste.
3. Spread out on a foil-lined sheet pan, and bake at 425 deg F for about 30 min, flipping half-way through. You will want to watch these carefully to determine done-ness, it depends on how long you boiled them for and how thick you cut them. Remove them when the edges start to brown.

Review:
These have awesome flavor and definitely taste as good as sweet potato fries – even Ryan ate a bunch of them with no complaints. However, the texture is softer, so I need to experiment more because we like our fries more crunchy.

I also took the opportunity to toast the squash seeds with butter and salt. They were just as delicious as pumpkin seeds. Who knew? (No pictures of this because my brother ate them too quickly.) But you should make them.
I also asked my Facebook friends for great butternut squash recipes, and I’m excited to try them all.

Do you have any great butternut squash recipes? 

This is week 2 of Emily’s Rookie Thanksgiving, mashed potatoes.

I was totally game for this one, because I’ve been wanting to try to make potatoes in the crock pot. I’m not sure if I’m cheating at Emily’s challenge, because I’m not going all the way to homemade with these recipes. Last week, I made the rolls in the bread maker and this week, I put the potatoes in the crock pot. Hopefully she forgives me.

Here’s the schedule:
Oct. 3: Rolls and pumpkin butter
Oct. 10: Mashed potatoes
Oct. 17: Turkey and gravy
Oct. 24: Sweet potatoes
Oct. 31: Stuffing
Nov. 7: Pies

This week’s mashed potatoes recipe was so simple, and very delicious. We were able to use our potatoes from the garden, so they were Yukon golds – but I think you can try any type. I’d also like to mention that I keep skins on the potatoes. We prefer them that way. But, you can skin them if you like them naked.

Slow cooker mashed potatoes
(via Busy Cooks)
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes

5 lbs. potatoes, cut into chunks (peeled if you like)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cubes chicken bouillon
8 oz. container sour cream
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, garlic and chicken bouillon cubes. Cook potatoes until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding reserved cooking water to reach desired consistency. Transfer to a 4 quart crock pot, cover, and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. (You can also leave them in longer. Just watch them, because sometimes slow cookers pump out enough heat to make the edges crunchy.) Just before serving, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8-10.

Time saving tip:
You can put the mashed potatoes in the fridge overnight and then pop into the crock pot in the morning. I think this would be a great way to make a holiday a little less stressful.

If you are like me, you will have TONS leftover. Just spoon the potatoes into freezable Ziplocs and freeze on a cookie sheet so they are flat. We’ll have a ready-made side whenever we’re craving mashed potatoes.

Review:
Delicious. Simple. Good flavor. I really liked that the garlic and bouillon cubes were added right to the cooking water. And don’t even GET me started on cream cheese and sour cream. Seriously, I could live on these two ingredients for weeks.

I would definitely recommend these to you and will certainly make them again. They would be ideal for the holidays, when you can do the mashing ahead of time and then have them at the ready. However, I’m not sure how much it matters to put it in the slow cooker. It seems that it’s just a way to make it ahead, more than an actual necessity. I do think the flavors melded together more, but they tasted just fine when I first put them into the crock.