Pumpkin soup

This is a delicious recipe for autumn and chilly days. There are tons of recipes out there for this, every one has their own special ingredient they like to add. The recipe I use came from my friend, Conchita, and it is pretty good just as it is, but we did add one special item to it tonight and it made it the bomb!

Take a large soup pot and put in one tablespoon of butter. Heat to medium and let the butter melt. Chop up one onion, and throw it in to the butter to saute for a bit. Take half of a large pumpkin, remove the seeds and outer shell, chop into chunks and toss into the pan. To make removing the shell easier, slice the pumpkin into several thinner strips. Then just use your potato peeler to get rid of the outermost layer. Easy peasy! Also peel one or two potatoes, chop them up and add them to the pot. Let those cook together for a couple of minutes before you add the next ingredients.

Slowly add 3 cups (800 ml) water and 1 Tablespoon of vegetable bouillon. (You could also add 3 cups of homemade chicken broth, or leftover water from making mashed potatoes.) Bring everything to a boil, then cover and turn down heat to low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, and use an immersion blender (hope that's the right word) to puree everything. It's okay if there are some chunks left over, my husband actually prefers it chunkier. Add one cup of cream(200 ml), 1 tsp of curry powder and salt and pepper to taste.

Tonight we added grated Parmesan on top and it was really good. Serve the soup with sliced bread for a light lunch or dinner.

1 Tbsp butter 1 onion, chopped
half a pumpkin 1-2 potatoes
3 cups water 1 Tbsp vegetable or chicken bouillon
1 cup cream 1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper grated Parmesan

Rice Kasimir

This is a dish that almost everyone likes in our house. By that I mean, some eat the rice and chicken, no sauce, some want only sauce and rice, and others want the whole shebang. But I can separate it out easily enough, and that counts as something everyone likes in my book. Plus, it is super fast, which is great for those days when you need something to eat in a hurry.

To start, heat up 5 cups of salted water in a large pot. When it boils, add 2 1/2 cups of brown/basmati rice mixed, turn down the heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 25 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the meal.

Place a large frying pan, or wok, on the stove top and add a tablespoon of oil. It can be olive oil, or vegetable oil, whatever you have on hand. Turn the heat on medium. Take two chicken breasts and cut up into smallish cubes. I only need two since some in my family eat no chicken, or very little. Also, my children aren't teenagers yet. If you have people who love chicken, or have bigger appetites, you may want to add in a third breast. Throw these in the pan with the hot oil. Chop up one smallish onion very fine, and put that in the pan as well, or use 2 teaspoons of dried minced onion if you prefer. Doesn't seem to affect the taste one way or the other. Stir once in a while to make sure the chicken gets nicely cooked on all sides.

When the chicken is no longer pink, add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan and stir well. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Pour in 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth. Add 1 can of coconut milk. There are powdered versions out there, but I find the canned variety is creamier and better tasting. Plus, it's faster! Stir well, and let come to a slight boil. In a separate bowl, I use the can the coconut milk came in, mix 1/2 cup of cold water with 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch. When it is well blended, add it to the pan and stir well. Let it boil for about a minute, and then remove the pan from the heat. If you don't, the cornstarch will break down again and you won't have a nice thick sauce.

Take the large can of fruit cocktail and add a bit of the juice to the sauce in the pan. I usually do about a 1/2 to 2/3 a cup, but you can add more or less to taste. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and stir well.

Drain the remaining juice from the fruit and place the fruit in a bowl to be added in by the individual diners if they choose. I usually ask the kids to just try one piece of fruit with the sauce, before declaring whether they like it or not. I admit, the thought made me gag at first, but once I actually tried, it was so delicious! By the time you have finished making the sauce and got someone to set the table, the rice will be done and you can all sit down to eat. Start to finish, about 35 minutes.

Once again, for those who like an ingredient list;

2-3 chicken breasts, cubed 1 smallish onion, chopped very fine OR
2 Tbsp flour 2 tsp dried minced onion
1 cup chicken broth 1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp curry powder 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cold water 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 large can fruit cocktail 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper 2/3 cup reserved juice from fruit cocktail
2 1/2 cups uncooked brown/basmati rice

Why am I doing this?

So, I have had the thought, for a couple of months, actually, to make a cooking blog. There are a lot of cooking blogs out there that are more interesting and much more, shall we say, hoity-toity? This blog is more of an online recipe book for myself. An easy way to find the recipes I use often, and also a record for my children, should they ever want to cook these dishes once they move out of the house. And lastly, to help out any fellow Moms who don't know what to answer when faced with that eternal question, "What's for dinner?"

There won't be entries every single day, and after a while, there may be very few new entries, since the recipes I cook often will already be on here. But hopefully it can be a place of inspiration for real moms who need to make real food for real kids using real ingredients. Not that the fancy food blogs aren't fun, but sometimes they just aren't realistic when you're trying to feed a large group on a budget. Once in a while, sure, but this will just be every day food for every day folk.