A Couple of Recipes

Source: weheartit.com via Katie on Pinterest

It's my birthday today and I have a couple of presents for you.

Don't get too excited.  I'm not giving away a trip to Paris, a giant bottle of perfume, or even balloons.

All I've got are a couple of recipes that I've made over the past few days.  I thought they were good and I hope you do too!

We had our first snow the other day.  It was short-lived, but the girls had a chance to play in it in their PJ's before school.  The cold snowy weather was perfect for soup.

Butternut Squash Soup
8 cups roasted butternut squash (approximately 2 medium squash) to roast squash, halve and seed, place cut-side down on baking sheet with 1/2 inch water; cook at 350 for about 30 minutes
2 T. canola oil
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 c. half and half I used fat free
salt
pepper
nutmeg
red pepper flakes

Melt butter in oil.  Saute onion and carrots.  Add vegetable stock, apple, bay leaf and squash.  Simmer until vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes.  Transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender).

Return soup to pot and add half-and-half.  Cook until warm, but not boiling.  Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and/or red pepper flakes to taste.

Makes 8 servings.

Christmas Wreath Cookies
These cookies remind me of my grandma, who we call Baba.  She made these every year, but this was my first time making this classic.

40 marshmallows
4 T. butter
Green food coloring
6 cups cornflakes
Redhots

Combine the marshmallows and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Add food coloring.  Mix cornflakes into the marshmallow/butter.  Allow to slightly cool.  Shape cornflakes into a wreath.  Add redhots.  Place on wax paper to cool.

Makes 2 dozen.

These were a little difficult to make.  The cornflakes kept sticking to my hands so I couldn't shape them into pretty wreaths.  Coating my hands in crisco or butter helped to keep the mixture from sticking.

What are your plans for the weekend?  We will be heading to Denver where my oldest daughter is competing in the state gymnastics meet.  Then we will spend a day with my husband's family in a pre-Christmas celebration before heading home on Sunday.  It will be a jam-packed weekend! 

There's my little gymanst and her proud dad.