Winter Squash

Winter is here!    And guess what, I just discovered 10 winter squash that were laying around.  Lucky for me my friend Susan Buchman gave me some great squash recipes at the end of the growing season so I was able to try a few out!  Unfortunately (or fortunately) I'm the only one at this time that will eat squash.  I guess that's a sign I over-did it a month ago. 

Susan Buchman's Winter Squash and Tomato Bisque

1 small winter squash
6 cups of diced squash
4 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t paprika
1 t cayenne
4 cups tomatoes (I used a jar of my canned tomatoes)
3 cups of broth
1 cup cream or 1/2 cup sour cream

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Rub the cavities with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes and scoop out when cooled.  Saute onions and garlic.  While cooking onions and garlic, blend squash and tomatoes.  Add to dutch oven along with the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.  Yum!!

Squash Soup

Next I made an AWESOME Squash Bake from Susan Buchman.

3 cups mashed squash or yams
Blend
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
After you blend, add squash.  Add to greased 9 x 13 pan.

Top with:  3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup four/ 1/3 cup cold butter.  Mix together and put on top of squash.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until hop and topping makes a crust.  Yum!

Squash Bake

Susan also gave me some recipes for squash pie and for home-made squash ravioli, but I've been a little busy trying to keep up with the holiday season, so the recipes will have to wait until next September!
Finally, I had some banana's that were beyond the point of normal consumption (meaning, pretty brown), so I made an easy banana bread from an old church cookbook.

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour milk
1 1/2 tsp soda
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. sat
3 bananas mashed
1/2 cup nuts

Mix in order given.  Add soda to sour milk.  Mash bananas before adding to mixture.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Double yum!

Banana Bread

Tomorrow the kids and I will be doing our annual cookie baking.  Expect a blog on our Three G Cooking Baking Traditions soon!  Honestly, our baking day is all about the kids and we do not even try anything complex.  We get really messy and have fun.  Good thing Chad is out of town (just kidding Chad). 
Kristin :)

More Pumpkin Recipes

Mmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmm, I love anything pumpkin.  This week I made a Pumpkin Spice cake that was easy and looked beautiful!   Everyone loved it!

Pumpkin Spice Cake - pictured on my Grandma Evelyn's platter

Here's the recipe:

PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg.

Heat oven to 350.  Beat butter, sugar and eggs. Add buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla.  Combine flour baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir into batter.  Pour batter into prepared bunt cake pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  I then added white frosting (1 cup powdered sugar, 3 T of milk). 

I LOVE it when I have a recipe where I can use my Grandma's old Cuisinart mixer - 65 years old and still works great!

Next I experimented with some pumpkin waffles.  I'm not going to lie, they weren't that great so I won't bother with the recipe.

Pumpkin Waffles - on my Grandma's platter and with her butter dish

I got the idea for Banana Pumpkin Bread from my sister-in-law Tracy.  This recipe is fantastic!

Here's the recipe:  Pumpkin Banana Bread

My friend Kara Breitenfeld lives on a cranberry marsh so she had some cranberries to share (how lucky) but I'm not sure what to do with them all.  Any ideas?

Got Cranberries?  I do!

Thanks for reading,

Kristin