Roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup

adapted from recipe by andyh

posted on allrecipes.co.uk

My mother in law found a recipe for 'roasted butternut squash soup' on allrecipes that was delicious...and as usual we were all fighting for seconds!!  I thought it might be extra yummy with some roasted red pepper in, so I tried it when I got home...and it is :)

Ingredients
serves 4

2 medium sized butternut squash
2 medium size onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
a couple of sprigs of thyme
1 litre of chicken stock 
salt and black pepper to taste
a splash of vegetable oil

Preparation
1. Roughly chop the squash flesh, onion and red pepper into large chunks, and crush the garlic cloves.

2. Put all the chopped vegetables and thyme (I pull all the leaves off and sprinkle them on) on a roasting tray/tin and pour a small amount of oil on, tossing them till they are all covered in oil.

3. Roast in a pre-heated oven at 180C/Gas  for 30-40 minutes, or until all the ingredients have a nice caramelised colour on them, but not burnt...sometimes parts of my onions get burnt and I just chop those bits off :)

4. Pick out the roasted red pepper chunks and put in a ziploc bag while you make the stock (this is to help the skin of the pepper peel off easier)

5.  Put the rest of the vegetables in a blender, with half of the stock and blend.  

6. Now peel the skin off the pepper chunks and add to the blender, then gradually add the rest of the stock to the soup till it gets to the consistency you like.  Serve with crusty bread (smothered in butter if you're anything like me!!).

I forgot again to take a photo of the above soup...I think I was too hungry to stop and take a pic, but here's one I took earlier of the original Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

photo of 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Mum's trifle

I know I'm biased but my mum's trifle is the best, just typing this is making me salivate!!!  The ingredients below are for a raspberry trifle but if you prefer strawberry just substitute all the relevant ingredients with strawberry ones instead :)

Ingredients

8 trifle sponges

8 tsp raspberry jam

300g can of raspberries

2 raspberry jellies

1 pint of custard

20 fl oz double cream

optional - evaporated milk

optional - chocolate shavings/sprinkles

Cut the trifle sponges in half and spread jam on both sides, then put back together again like a sandwich and put in the bottom of your trifle bowl.  

Pour all of the raspberries and juice over the sponges, making sure that you get all the trifle sponges wet, then let it just sit for half an hour or so to soak it all up.

While I wait for the sponges to get super soggy, I make up the custard.  I have two ways of making custard, quick and easy - is to use instant custard packets and just add the boiling water....or not so quick and easy is to use Bird's custard powder following the instructions on the tin, but to do 3 parts milk and 1 part evaporated milk to make a really creamy (don't think about the calories) custard.  I've listed the ingredients for this custard below, just in case my jabbering didn't make sense.

Creamy Custard

2 heaped tbsp custard powder

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 pt milk

1/4 pt evaporated milk

Just make the custard as you would normally but substitute some of the milk with the evaporated milk instead, then cover the top of the custard with cling film while it's still hot to stop a skin from forming.

Now back to the trifle base...I now this probably seems like alot of hassle but it's soooo worth it and once you've made it once it's really quite easy.  So here goes with the rest of it...

Make the jellies slightly stronger by not adding so much water, this helps to compensate for the juice from the raspberries....so instead of making it to 2 pints/1.1 litres of jelly, make 900ml of jelly and pour it straight away onto the trifle sponges.

Mix well, mashing up the sponges as you go.  It should hopefully look something like the picture above??  Then cover it with cling film and put it in the fridge to set.....I generally make my custard and base the night before or the morning of, so I have no idea how long it takes to set but I'm guessing about 4-5hrs??!?!

Put custard on top of set trifle base, then whip up the double cream till stiff and spoon it on top.  Sprinkle with chocolate shavings or sprinkles, now sit back and enjoy, yummmm!!!

DIY Garlic Olive Oil

I love garlic, so when my friend told me how to make my own Garlic Olive Oil, I was like duhhh, why hadn't  I clicked before that by simply adding garlic cloves to olive oil I would have some super scrummy Garlic Olive Oil!!!  

So the majority of you probably already know this, but I thought I'd share it just in case there is somebody out there like me, that hasn't 'clicked' too :)

I used 250ml of olive oil and 4-5 garlic cloves, and just bashed each clove once with the back of a spoon, or you could use your pestle and mortar, rolling pin, your fist (phaha!!) instead.  

Put the cloves in the olive oil and you're done!!  Don't forget to label your oil container...as you can see below, mine looks very professional.

Now I've got to find lots and lots of ways to use this, so watch out for my extra pongy breath!!?!!

Christmas Punch (Non Alcoholic Mulled Wine)

I love all the smells that Christmas brings, and making (and smelling) Christmas punch is one of them.  As you can see from the photo above this recipe only needs 2 ingredients and is quick to make, so it's great for this busy time of year and also caters for surprise drop-ins, as both ingredients can be stored in the cupboard till needed.

Ingredients

1 litre of Red Grape Juice

2 sachets of mulled wine spice 

(the box above had 4 in it)

Optional - apple cut into small chunks

Put red grape juice and sachets (and apple chunks) into a large saucepan.  

Heat to just below boiling point and hold this temperature for 10 mins.

Remove sachets with tongs and it's ready to serve...let it cool down for a bit before serving, as it's a tad hot!!

On the box it suggests using Cranberry Juice and 'garnishing' (very posh!) with a slice of orange just before serving, so I might have to give that one a try too, yum yum yum.

Raspberry and Blackberry recipes

Berry picking will soon be upon us and I can't wait!!!  I made jam for the first time last year and loved every minute of it, even the two and a half hours I spent walking round the local countryside trying to find berries on bushes (my husband says I do anything to save a penny or two, I just can't resist a bargain!!), it was soooo worth it :)

This year I thought I'd still like to make some jam but also something else....and that 'something else' is what I have been on a quest for.  I only have wild raspberry and blackberry bushes growing near me, so obviously I only found recipes that include these, and oooo it was hard to pick!!  But here's my collection of fruity delights, so now when the time arises I can easily peruse through and let my taste buds decide on my 'something else' mmmmm..............

                                                                         Raspberry Pie

    Raspberry Streusel Bars

Raspberry Syrup

Freezing Raspberries

Blackberry Coulis

Blackberry Honey Creams

Blackberry Crumb Bars

Now come on berries and hurry up and ripen!! ;)

Tuna Pasta Salad

I like to have a nosey at the salad bar for inspiration for dishes I can  make at home for cheaper and in bulk!!  So this recipe is the product of one such nosey :)  This dish is great for hot days (and/or stressful ones) as it doesn't take too long to cook, so we always have this a lot in the summer.

Ingredients
500g pasta
2 cans of tuna (185g), drained
1 can of sweetcorn (325g), drained
1 green pepper, cut into small chunks
1 cup of salad cream

Cook pasta and drain...just a note - I like to add a dash of olive oil to the water while the pasta is cooking, I have no idea if this helps it not to stick together, but I do it anyway lol!!

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, it's ready to be served :)  If you are going to eat it cold, let it cool down first before covering it and then store in the fridge.  Just before serving, add a little more salad cream to 'freshen' it up.

Enjoy!!

Fruity Croissant Pudding

My brother-in-law made this for us at Christmas and it was so delicious we were all fighting over seconds, it was not a pretty sight!!!  You just need croissants, custard and fruit but don't underestimate the yummiest of this simple combination, mmmm mmm mmmm :)

Ingredients
6 croissants
1 1/2 - 2 cup of soft fruits e.g. raspberries, blueberries
1 pint custard
sugar or caster sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F.

Tear up the croissants into bite-size pieces to cover the base of your dish...my dish measured 12"x 9". 

Scatter on your chosen fruit over the croissants....blueberries and raspberries work well together or I used a frozen summer fruit mix this time.

Pour your custard all over, making sure that everything gets covered.  Let it sit for 5 mins before cooking, so that the croissants get a chance to soak up some of the custard. 

Sprinkle a little sugar all over just before putting in the oven...I just used granulated, but caster or brown sugar should work just as well.

Put in the oven for 25-30 mins...now enjoy with anything creamy :)  

Portuguese Chicken and Potato

My lovely Portuguese friend is a fabulous cook and constantly tantalizes my taste buds with her dishes.  The other day she forgot I was coming over for lunch and so she quickly threw a dish together with me watching trying to take mental notes of everything she was doing.  Needless to say it was delicious and is now a favourite in our home too.  In our house we call it 'Maria's chicken'.....for some reason we name our dishes after the people that introduced us to them, so we also have a Tait cheesecake, Sister Win's soup and Nanna's noodle soup!!

Ingredients
6 chicken drumsticks or 4 chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1kg potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
freshly ground salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
flat leaf parsley, big handful

Put the chicken in an oven proof dish and do a couple of little cuts into each piece of meat to help the flavours infuse into it.  Add the chopped onion and garlic.

...I like to use a pestle and mortar to grind my garlic for this recipe (cause that's the way Maria did it, and somehow for me adds to the yumminess of the dish).  It's also a great way to relieve some stress!!

Next add your potatoes to the dish, then throw on your 1-2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp vinegar and give it a good stir to make sure everything is coated.  
Sprinkle your 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of paprika, with your freshly ground salt and pepper and a big handful of flat leaf parsley (cut up ever so slightly....I quite like mine big, but do it however you like), then give it a good stir again.
Now this is the best bit, cover it over with cling film or foil and let it marinate for at least 1/2 hr...I love making this dish in the morning and having the wonderful aroma just waft through my house all day...it's worth making this dish just for the smell alone lol!!  

Once marination is complete and you've wiped the dribble from your chin, put in the oven on Gas Mark 6/200C for 20-30 mins till chicken and potato are cooked through.  This is one of those meals that once you've cooked it once, you can literally glance at the recipe card next time and just quickly throw it together, it's great for so many reasons...hope you enjoy it as much as we all do xx

Microwave Meringues

Yes, these meringues only take one minute to bake in the microwave and only need 2 ingredients!!!  I use to make these when I was a kid, and loved watching them grow in the microwave :)

So here goes, super quick, so that you can get making some, mmmm.

Ingredients

1 egg white

2 cups icing sugar (approx.)

Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl (I used a medium egg, so if you use a larger/smaller egg then you will need more/less sugar), then keep adding little amounts of icing sugar (if needed) so that you can hold it in your hands without it sticking to you....I find it easier to 'knead' it towards the end on a worktop that's sprinkled with icing sugar, so that it's no longer sticky...and as you can see by my fingers, you do get a tad bit messy, but it's worth it :)

 

Put some greaseproof paper on a microwavable plate, and make 3-4 small balls (about the size of a 10p) and place in each corner.

Place the plate in the microwave and set the timer for one minute...I have a 700W microwave, so you may need to adjust your timing according to your wattage.  They should hopefully come out looking something like the picture below...just give them a second to cool, peel them off and put aside.  Now roll some more balls and use the same greaseproof paper over and over again, and keep zapping :)

This recipe makes about 24-28 meringues, so there are plenty to go around...now that hard bit is deciding what to go with them.  I chose large dollops of cream and summer fruit, mmm.