Butternut Squash & Sage Soup

I tried butternut squash soup for the first time last year. I didn't know what to expect but when I had it, I fell in love. I liked the savory taste of the soup, yet there was still a hint of sweetness to it. After that, I was addicted and had to make my own... and you'll quickly find out that once I taste something I love, I'm quick to run home and make my own recipe for it.

Roasting the butternut squash, makes it a little more tender and brings out its sweetness just a bit more. Meanwhile, adding red lentils, not only gives you protein in the soup, but also adds a nice thickness to the soup. Adding a few leaves of sage to the mix, gives it an extra added flavor and it's healthy - working as an anti-inflammatory. 

 @DanasDesserts

Let's get on with the cooking. 

Ingredients: 

10 cups cubed butternut squash (large)

1/4 cup water + 1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 1/2 cups red lentils

4 cups vegetable broth (I use no sodium) 

3 cups water  

2 Tablespoons fresh, minced sage + 3 leaves

Salt & pepper to taste  

Directions:  

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Place cubed butternut squash on a baking tray and coat with a small amount of olive oil. Bake in the oven about 20 minutes or until the cubes are tender. (If you're feeling lazy, you can skip this part and go straight to step two, either way tastes great, it's more so preference). 

2.  In a large stock pot, heat water and olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute them until they're soft and translucent.

3. After they are cooked, add sage and salt and pepper. Don't over season yet! Add just a pinch of S&P. Stir occasionally. 

4. Next, add lentils, broth and water and stir. Bring to a boil, cover pot and reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the squash is tender when a fork pokes it. Check to see if the lentils are soft as well. (If you roasted the squash previously). 

5. Once everything is cooked throughly, take the soup off the burner and let it cool slightly. You can use an immersion blender or your blender or food processor. I use an immersion blender and blend the soup until a smooth, creamy consistency. But you can blend yours to the way you want, whether it's smooth or a little chunky.  

5. Put extra sage leaves on top of bowls of soup or in the pot to sit in the soup. 

Note: The best thing about this soup is you can freeze it in an airtight container when it cools down and have it ready for whenever you need a little warmth and in need for a cozy meal. It's perfect for this time of year, in the colder months and it's a healthy, homemade snack, soup, side dish or dinner! 

Enjoy! 

Zucchini Lasagna

I love lasagna, SO MUCH. Once I hear the name, I'm craving it. Everything about it, especially the cheese... because who doesn't love cheese. I LOAD it up.

I heard about using zucchini as a healthier alternative for pasta, so I figured why not slice it up thin and make it for lasagna just like people do for spaghetti? If you aren't a fan of vegetables or zucchini, that's okay, because honestly you can't really taste it! It has a different texture, but it adds a nice crunch to the lasagna. Instead of ground beef, I use ground turkey. I find it as a good alternative to the beef and it's a little healthier for you too. So I like to think that you can have a lot of this lasagna with little regret. You can choose what kind of cheese you want in it, whether it be whole milk or part-skim... this is entirely to your liking!

Here is the recipe! 

Ingredients: 

2 Large Zucchini

Salt & Black Pepper

1 lb Ground Turkey

2 Tablespoon Butter

1 Medium Yellow Onion (diced)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Oregano

3 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley 

2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Tomato (Chopped)

1 Can (6 oz) Tomato Paste 

2 Jars (24 oz) Tomato Sauce - your choice

1 Ball Fresh Mozzarella (sliced thin) 

1 Container (16 oz) Ricotta Cheese

Fresh Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350* and grease a 9x13 baking dish. 

1. In a skillet, add 1 Tablespoon of butter and chopped onion, cook until almost transparent. Add ground turkey, salt and pepper (to taste) and cook until browned. Add the can of tomato paste and mix the tomato, 1 Tablespoon parsley, Italian seasoning, oregano and garlic powder to the meat sauce. Set aside to cool slightly. 

2. If you have a mandoline slicer, thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise (if you don't... you can use a sharp knife and carefully slice thin strips of zucchini). Lay on a paper towel and sprinkle each slice with salt. In a few minutes, you'll start to see the slices "sweat". Pat dry then set aside. 

3. Take the ricotta out of the container into a separate bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, mix and set aside.  

4. After everything is prepped, take the jar of tomato sauce and spread a thin layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Add slices of zucchini to cover the bottom of the dish, then spread a portion of the turkey mixture on top of that. Take the ricotta and add dollops as the next layer, then layer with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with parmesan. Add the next layer of zucchini and repeat the above layers. You will do this maybe four or five times, or pile high as much as you want! 

5. Once to the top, add the final slices of mozzarella cheese, spread a light coating of tomato sauce on top and finish off with parmesan cheese. Add the fresh parsley to the top and place in the oven to bake for 45 - 50 minutes. 

6. After it is done, I like to put the broiler on for a minute and place the baking dish underneath to crisp up the cheese on top because.... who doesn't love crispy cheese?! DO NOT burn it, it cooks fast! 

7. Let the lasagna cool for about 15 minutes, cut into squares and enjoy! ...Or if you're like me and have no self-control, eat it out of the baking dish! Hehe :) 

ENJOY!

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Old Fashion Pecan Pie

I'll be honest, I never had pecan pie. I've always seen them in stores and bakeries, but never did I go out of my way to get one. Until the other day, when my friend said he wanted to make a pecan pie with me. What better way to try your first pecan pie, than to make it yourself!?

@DanasDesserts

So we did some research on recipes that we may enjoy and I kind of fixed it up to make it our own and what we would enjoy. Apparently pecan pie is easy to mess up, which I didn't know... I guess it could become more of a pecan soup if not done properly. We don't want that, so try this! 

@DanasDesserts

What I love about this recipe is that its super easy to prep and put together, especially if you're using pre-made pie crusts (its okay to go easy sometimes)... 

The biggest step is to chop the pecans! (Unless you're going to buy those chopped too, I won't tell). 

@DanasDesserts

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
• 1 1/2 cups Chopped Pecans (if you LOVE pecans, put 2 cups! I just like the taste of the filling) 
• 1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 3 eggs + 1 egg for Egg Wash
• 1 Tablespoon molasses (Molasses has a strong flavor and some people don't like that, so substitute it with maple syrup if you aren't a fan) 
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1 - 9" pie crust (homemade or pre-made) 

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350*. Place pie crust into 9" pie pan and place in the fridge. Then start by giving the pecans a rough chop and measure out the 1 1/2 cups. Place aside. 

In a separate bowl (adding ingredients one at a time) mix together brown sugar, 3 eggs, molasses (or maple syrup), corn syrup, vanilla, salt and melted butter (let the butter cool for a moment before adding into the mixture because it can cook the eggs!). Once that is all well combined, place aside. 

Grab the pie crust from the fridge and spread evenly the pecans in the pie shell. Pour the filling over the pecans and garnish with full pecans to decorate to your liking.  Grab the egg wash and brush the crust and sprinkle with white sugar (I just do this for appearance...and some taste).

Place in oven at 350* for 30 minutes, once the time is up, tent foil over the pie and place back into the oven for another 45-50 minutes until the filling has set and doesn't wiggle when its poked. It should be slightly firm. 

Take the pie out of the oven, uncover and let cool completely before serving, it will easily fall a part if you cut into it too early! Ain't it pretty?! Tasty too! 

@DanasDesserts

Serve with some vanilla ice cream and you have a FANTASTIC dessert! Enjoy! 

@DanasDesserts

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love oatmeal cookies, I'm a sucker for getting them everywhere I go. Sometimes though, you want the cookies without all the guilt, especially if you're trying to watch your sugar. I was looking online at cookie recipes when I came across a few different sites that explain you could use bananas instead of flour, butter, sugar... basically ALL the ingredients! I love bananas, and natural sugars from fruits aren't as bad as granulated sugar and sugar substitutes. So I figured to give it a try! I love banana bread too! 

What inspired me to make these after reading about bananas is a healthy chocolate chip cookie substitute. As much as I love chocolate chip cookies, I don't like them with oats, so I took out the chocolate chips and added raisins instead and I'll tell you, for a cookie you can make in less than 30 minutes, its a awesome choice. Plus, bananas go bad fast, so this is a great way to use your overripe bananas. 

So here's my take on banana oatmeal cookies. 

@DanasDesserts

Ingredients: 

• 2 1/2 Medium Ripe Bananas
• 1 1/4 cup of Instant Oats
• 1/2 cup of Raisins (or chocolate chips, or both!) 

1. Preheat your oven to 350*. Line parchment paper on your cookie sheets, it comes in handy with these cookies. 
2. With a potato masher or fork, mash the bananas, then add in oats and raisins and mix until blended. 
3. Using a #40 cookie scoop or 1 1/2 Tablespoon, place "dough" onto cookie sheet. I like to press them down a bit so they aren't as puffy. 
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they look golden brown. They don't crisp, so you'll have to look at them and notice their color. They're a soft oatmeal cookie. Makes about a dozen.

After they're cooled, store them in the fridge to last you 2-3 days, but I'm sure you'll finish them before then! 

Questions/comments? Post below!