Fall Harvest, Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup

When the fall season rolls around there tends to be a lot of sweet pumpkin treats that pop up everywhere, but what about the savory? 

It's been pretty darn rainy here in south Florida lately, and dare I say....maybe just a tad cooler. In this type of weather I like to eat what everyone else does...warm comfort food...which makes it a perfect time to make pumpkin soup!

I feel like a lot of soups that are squash based tend to be bisque's, which are good, but they just don't fill me up. 

This recipe definitely isn't lacking in the ingredients department, yet is still super simple. 

Although, for a long time I thought that soups were just way too much work and took way too long, I promise you that this soup is super easy and fast!!

Ingredients: 

1 Tablespoon of butter

1/2 red onion, chopped 

1/2 red pepper, chopped

3 red potatoes, diced

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 cup of corn

4 cups of vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups of milk

15 oz. of pumpkin puree

1 (16 oz.) package of gnocchi 

When buying your pumpkin, make sure you getting
pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.

In a large pot, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium heat. 

Add in the chopped onion, and minced garlic.

Stir occasionally for about five minutes or until the onion is starting to become soft, then add the peppers. 

Cook for about another minute. 

To the pot, add 4 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

Once at a boil, add the potatoes and the corn.

Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

I left the skin on the potatoes, just to have the pretty color!!!

To the pot, add the pumpkin puree and milk.

Stir until blended and then heat through. 

Bring the mixture back to a boil.

Add the gnocchi, and let simmer until it's soft and floats to the surface.

Make sure you use a large pot...as you can see, I cut it pretty close. 

You are now ready to eat!!!

Sprinkle with some dried basil, for a tasty garnish!

So many pretty colors in this soup!

Since Kevin refuses to touch anything in the squash family, I have lots of soup left over to eat tomorrow and stash in the freezer!

Fall Decorating....On A Budget!

So you may have noticed that there is no "Tasty Sunday" recipe today.

Well that's because I have been too busy decorating for the best season of the whole year....Fall!!!

Since I live in an apartment, I'm kind of limited on space to display seasonal decorations, but I try to make the best of what I have....which pretty much comes down to my dining room table. (I drool over Pinterest pictures of beautiful northern houses with their decorated fireplace mantles and front porches) 

This year I was determined to make a simple yet beautiful table by shopping smartly, re-purposing things that I already had lying around the house while also creating something that could stay up for Halloween and Thanksgiving. (Reversible sign!) 

This is what I came up with!

I hope you love it as much as I do, and can gain some ideas and inspiration. 

Things I already had (these are all things that you could easily buy at a garage sale or thrift store):

Table cloth 

White pitcher 

Cookbook stand

Bird salt and pepper shakers

Things I bought:

Candles (Dollar Tree) $1 each

Glass cups (Dollar Tree) $1 each

Fall leaves (Dollar Tree) $1 for a strand

Pumpkins (Dollar Tree) $1 each

Cast iron branch candle stick (Home Goods) $9.99

3 Wheat bushels (60% off at Michael's)  $3.99 each

Beans, yellow split peas, and green split peas (Publix) $4.33 total
Fall kitchen towels (Walmart) $1.98 each

Things I made: 

* Burlap table runner- for this I just cut from a big roll of burlap that I bought from Walmart for a little over $5. It was enough to run the length of my whole table, use for another craft, and I still have some left over. You might not be able to tell in the pictures, but it actually has gold strands running through it!

* Reversible Halloween/Thanksgiving sign- for this craft I only used items that I scavenged, had on hand from other crafts, or borrowed. 

- The wood was scrap from Kevin's shop

-The stain was borrowed from my friend Kera (thanks Kera!!)

-The white paint and brushes were left over from other crafts

Including drying time this only took about two hours to make, and then I just propped it in my cookbook stand!

The Gift Of Food

So there will be no "Tasty Sunday" recipe today because.....it's my birthday!!!!!

I find it funny that my friends and family know me so well that they gift me with food, leaving me with the pleasure of doing absolutely no work on my birthday which means the only thing I have to do is sit back and gorge myself....which consequently means that I gain five pounds every year on my birthday. 

Since I will not be cooking today, I instead decided to list all of the delicious things I have had the pleasure of eating this weekend...so far. 

First off, my sisters present to me was going wine tasting!!! We went to the Endless Summer Winery and Vineyard and I am not usually a big fan of wine, but I have to say I loved just about every single one I tasted!

This place is great, and allows you to bring your own picnic, so that once you've tasted all their wine, you can pick one (or many) you like and go enjoy the grounds while snacking. We brought cheese, prosciutto, fruit, and crackers and stuffed our faces under their pavilion. I can't wait to go back and of course get some more wine!!! 

Later that night we went to an Italian restaurant named Casa Mia and sat on the patio while eating butternut squash raviolis with a browned butter sauce....yes I said browned butter sauce. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it!! I highly recommend it.  

As if my lovely sister didn't feed me enough, after we got back to her place she gave me my peanut butter birthday cupcake. Chocolate cake, with a peanut butter frosting (which tasted like peanut butter pie!!!) and a chocolate ganache core...it was extreme!!!

Well today is my actual birthday and Kevin continued his tradition of getting me birthday donuts, and then later we are going to dinner. 

Let's just say I'm going to have to get serious about a diet after this weekend....but it was worth it. 

P.S. All I really want for my birthday is my hot water heater to finally be fixed....welcome to adulthood. 

Brunch Time Lemon Rolls

Ok this is the last lemon recipe of the summer I swear!!!

I don't know what was with me this season, but I wanted lemon in anything and everything I could put it in. 

I'll admit this weeks recipe was sort of an experiment. 

I have read this recipe in a few other places and although it is easy, I had never used frozen dough before and they were so vague about what to do and how long things take, so I decided to become your guinea pig to try and get some more answers...your welcome. 

Like I said, these rolls are SOOO easy to make, but they are a waiting game. They are perfect if you are making them for a lunch/brunch occasion but if you try and make them for breakfast, you'll have to wake up before the sun comes up....and we just don't do that on Sunday's. 

Let's start with ingredients...

Ingredients: 

12 thawed dough balls (everyone raves about Rhodes brand, so thats what I got)

Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup of sugar (debatable)

1/4 cup of butter 

For the icing: 

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of butter 

You will also need a 9x13 baking pan, and plastic wrap. 

First things first, you have to thaw these suckers out before you even think about using them.

Put 12 in a large bowl, so that they aren't touching each other. 

Let them sit until thawed but still cold. 

This took about an hour in my kitchen (see, this sounds like a good thing to know!)

After they are thawed, you are going to cut them in half.

Nobody seemed to explain why we are cutting them in half......well my best guess is that they rise faster and also these rolls get pretty big when their whole, and we want dainty little cuties!!!!

So now we are going to end up with 24 rolls in the end. 

In a greased 9x13 baking pan, place each half of your dough equally spaced apart, flat side down. 

Zest two lemons to combine with the sugar.

Ok the reason I said 1/2 cup of sugar was debatable up in the ingredients list is because I think they would probably taste just as good with half the sugar. By the time you add the glaze, you won't be thinking "wow I really wish I would have doubled the sugar on top"...trust me.

So if your like me and like to go a little lighter on the sugar, only use 1/4 cup or 1/3 of a cup. If you tend to have a sweet tooth, go ahead and go for that 1/2 cup!!

Now comes the butter....yes butter ladies and gentleman, but just remember these are a treat!!

Melt 1/4 cup of butter and pour over all of the dough. 

Take half of your zest and sugar mixture and sprinkle over the top, reserving the other half for later. 

Spray a large piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray, and use it to cover the dough to start the rising process. 

Make sure you really tuck those babies in nice and tight, it will help the process. 

Now comes some more waiting...

Let the dough sit on the counter and wait for it to double in size. 

For me they took an hour and a half. 

I probably should have let them go two hours, but I just couldn't wait any longer!!!

Once they have doubled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Sprinkle the rest of your sugar and zest over them, and place into your heated oven and let bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are starting to brown on top. 

While your waiting for them to come out of the oven, make your glaze. 

Whisk together 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and 1 Tablespoon of melted butter. 

When the rolls are done baking, let them cool slightly and then pour on the glaze.

By the time they are done, you will probably be burning your fingers like me, trying to get them out of the pan to eat them immediately...... and it will be completely worth it. 

Vanilla Cream French Toast Sticks

I'll admit that I'm not much of a breakfast person.

I eat a small bowl of cereal every morning, but for the most part I don't really like breakfast foods....particularly eggs (blahh). Honestly I could wake up in the morning and go straight to lunch, no problem, but because Kevin LOVES a big breakfast I thought I would make an exception this Sunday. 

He is a big fan of french toast but due to the fact that the bread is dipped in eggs I haven't really enjoyed it much in the past...until I found this recipe.

Most french toast recipes are just way to eggy for me, and I needed something with other flavors to counter that taste. 

Between the cream, the vanilla, and the cinnamon, this recipe is a hit even with me! 

If you are always on the go, or have kiddos, this is the perfect breakfast for you. Cutting them into sticks makes them easy to eat in the car, or for little hands that don't like to use forks quite yet. 

Ingredients: 

8 slices of white Texas Toast bread

5 eggs

1 cup of heavy whipping cream 

2 Tablespoons of milk

1 Tablespoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract 

3 Tablespoons of butter

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup 

Apparently no one in south Florida uses Texas Toast because I couldn't find it anywhere and it was driving me crazy (I couldn't even find any different brands that offered "thick slices"). Hopefully for you, your grocery store will carry it in stock. I settled for the thickest slices I could find but you could also ask the bakery to slice a loaf of their bread into thick slices for you. You want thick slices because normal slices easily break apart when dipped in the batter. 

Use a bread knife, or any other serrated knife to cut each slice into 4 strips. 

In a large bowl, crack 5 eggs.

Use a fork to whisk the eggs apart.

To the eggs, add the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. 

Mix until completely blended.

It should look like this! 

Heat a large saucepan on medium heat and add one tablespoon of butter. 

Every stove is different, so if medium is cooking your sticks too quickly causing them to burn, turn it down slightly. 

While cooking, every time your butter runs dry in your pan, add another tablespoon. 

Once your first pat of butter is melted and pan is hot, quickly dip each strip in the mixture, let the excess drip off, and then add to the pan. 

I wouldn't recommend adding more than four strips to the pan at once, because it will get too crowded and hard to flip the sticks. 

Once the sticks are golden brown (or black if your like Kevin and like your toast burnt) on one side, gently flip them.

Once fully cooked add some powdered sugar and some syrup for dipping, and you have the perfect breakfast!

The Inconvenience Of Food Convenience

In the five years that I have been considered an adult I have come to the realization that I have lived a very very ignorant (yet blissful) life when it comes to the world of fast food choices.

I attribute part of this to my upbringing but also a large part to geographical inconvenience.

The closest thing to my house growing up was a McDonald's...and let's be real, who doesn't live close to at least one McDonald's.

Sure there were a couple of other fast food places in other parts of town, but none close enough to offer any reasonable convenience. 

Even when it came to grocery shopping our choices were Winn-Dixie or.....Winn-Dixie. I remember when we eventually got a Publix in town, and I thought it was so clean and fancy....I also remember my mother saying that it was too expensive, and that we were going back to Winn-Dixie.
You should have heard everyone when they found out we were getting a Walmart....it was a major achievement.

I know that I am not of the norm, considering by eighteen years old the list of fast food joints I had tasted food from was far shorter than the ones I hadn't. If it hadn't been for a certain someone (cough cough Kevin cough cough) encouraging me to try some of them, I might still be completely oblivious.  
(I almost named this post "How my boyfriend is making me fat" but I thought I might not push the blame onto someone else)

The truth is that I truly feel sorry for a lot of kids today.
The fact that they are bombarded with so many unhealthy yet convenient options is setting them up for unhealthy future.
A scary reality, despite what any studies may or may not say, is that fast food can be very addictive...it tastes good, so why couldn't someone become addicted to it?

I thought I was immune to this addictive feeling until last night while eating my one and only fast food vice. I don't want to name names but they make delicious burritos and are open late :)
Well the point is, that I drove to this particular location, went through the drive-thru only to get home to find that my "Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes" (ok that might give it away) were not in my bag.....and then I felt like crying.
I kid you not, I am one hundred percent sure that I acted like a two year old for a full ten minutes before coming to my senses. I was just so looking forward to eating those cheesy, crispy potatoes that it made me physically upset to not have them!!! To be honest, once I realized how stupid it was...it scared me a little.

If this sort of thing could happen to someone who hasn't grown up on fast food, and has only one fast food vice, imagine how an adult who has made it a part of their diet since a small child would feel if they no longer could make this a part of their regular eating regimen.

I am truly grateful that I was not exposed to so many of these unhealthy choices before I was an adult because by the time I was, it was at an old enough age to realize that I shouldn't be eating them all the time. But what about those kids who have it provided to them consistently because it may offer a desirable convenience for them and their parents. Those kids who grow up only to realize that they shouldn't be eating these things but can't help making the wrong choice over and over because it has become ingrained in their habits.

Now I'm not saying I'm an angel....and I'm sure I will still eat those tasty little potatoes occasionally but the next time they are left out of my bag I'll try to remember that it's really not that important...and that I'm probably better off without them.

P.S. Mom, thanks for always saying "you can wait until we get home and make a sandwich"  and packing snacks to go, instead of giving in to something maybe a little easier....I can see your motives now.
P.P.S. Since moving away, there are a couple of added fast food places to my old neighborhood....right across from that beloved Walmart.