Being locked up in the house due to the vog (gives me migraines and general yuckiness) forced me to scrounge through the pantry to meet my challenges for the week. 

I started to rummage through my slow cooker cookbooks and found it.  Corn casserole.  I knew I had all the ingredients as I’ve been planning to make it for a really long time.  Normally I make it in the oven, but this was worth a shot. 

Mise en place:

Because I didn’t have enough of the corn, I halved the recipe.  In doing so I had to use my hand-dandy OXO Food Scale to measure 4 ounces of corn muffin mix. I wound up using the whole box since it was still too wet after mixed, but that’s beside the point. If you’re a cook, you need a food scale.  The accuracy that you can get with a food scale surpasses a measuring cup/spoon - I use my scale at least twice a week.
 

Mix up all the ingredients and pour into a greased up slow cooker.  Trust me, the idea of not using my coveted slow cooker liners made me twitch, but I did it…(my slow cooker is still taunting me to wash it)
 

I set my slow cooker on low, and 4-hours later, creamy corn casserole.
 

I’ll be honest, I prefer the oven method a LOT more than how this turned out, but I’m happy I tried it, I know what areas could make it better - less liquid, add salt, perhaps an egg and cheese.  Maybe this recipe calls for a rematch?

I’m not posting a recipe for this as I’m not recommending it.  At least I’m honest. =)

I know it’s not “technically” winter here in Hawaii, but my love of soup know no season. 

While trying to figure out how I’m going to whip out the use of all four of my appliances as today is the last day of the week, I started to rummage through the fridge, freezer and pantry…behold…I purchased a packaged of frozen butternut squash from Whole Foods when it was on sale last week.  

Mise en place:
 

Again, I love roasted vegetables, they bring out so much richness and flavor from any veggie.  A little extra virgin olive oil (I REFUSE to call it EVOO), fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Preheat the oven to 400, let it go for 20 minutes, stir, roast for another 20 or so till you start to get some nice color.
 
This is the before, hence the ice and lack of color.  I know it’s kind of a pain in the ass to do this, but trust me it’s so worth it!

I put everything into my Cuisinart Blend & Cook Soupmaker:
 

Turn up the heat and wait for boil.  This photo below is of the boil this blender creates, not of the blending!  Kind of crazy huh?  I learned that it does not hold a steady temp, it actually fluctuates in a cycle.  I had to sit next to it for several cycles of heating up to get this photo.  LOL
 

I let it go for 10 minutes on boil, then I dropped the heat to low and let it go for another 15 before blending for a couple of minutes.  Here is the delicious final concoction:
 

So good, I could have used less chicken broth to get it a bit richer, but nevertheless it was so yum!

Butternut Squash Soup
instructions below are for WITHOUT use of Cuisinart Blend & Cook, directions above are for with.

10 ounce package of butternut squash, frozen
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, sliced (I didn’t have, so I reconstitute minced onions in some hot chicken broth) 
2 clove garlic
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3 cups chicken stock (use 1 cup to reconstitute onions)
1/2 cube chicken bouillon or 1/2 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground allspice
salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put butternut squash in a pan; drizzle with olive oil and season with S&P to taste.  Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove and stir and let roast another 20 minutes or until squash starts to brown.
2. Place all ingredients, including roasted butternut squash, into a pot over med-high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Use your immersion blender or see my previous post about using a regular blender to get a beautifully smooth and creamy soup.

Enjoy!

After having a great meeting with a friend of mine, I am feeling so much better about everything.  I have direction…I feel like I have purpose again.  I was so bogged down by “what am I going to do with my life?” I just needed someone to dumb it down for me and push me in the direction that my heart was already tugging me in. 

Having cleared my head a bit I’m able to focus on what needs to be done, and that includes all of the challenges/projects I committed to in addition to building my business. 

I’m the type of person that needs to reach their breaking point before being able to come back and do something great.  This will be my year.