Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ham and Gorgonzola Panini

This was the perfect meal for a cool Fall evening. Nothing warms you heart and soul better than a bowl of homemade soup. Even though there was nothing more in this soup that vegetables it made for a filling meal and very healthy too. Here's what I did...

For the soup:

-3 strips of bacon, diced (optional, it's used as a garnish)
-1/2 large sweet onion, diced
-1 medium to large carrot, peeled and diced
-2 ribs of celery, diced
-1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
-32oz chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you wanted to make this soup vegetarian)
-1/4 cup white wine
-1/4 cup of heavy cream
-some chopped chives (for garnish)
-a small container of greek yogurt (for garnish)
-smoked paprika
-ancho chili powder
-nutmeg
-salt and pepper
-extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the cubed butternut squash on a large cookie sheet and add about 1 tsp each of smoked paprika and ancho chili powder and a lightly dusting of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add about 1 TBS of olive oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until squash is soft and golden brown. Meanwhile, preheat a large stock pot over medium heat and add the diced bacon, if using. Cook bacon until desired level of crispness. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside. In the same pot, make sure you have about 2 TBS of oil in the bottom. So, if the bacon didn't render enough fat to equal 2 TBS, go ahead and add some olive oil. (If you aren't using bacon, just add 2 TBS of olive oil and go from here.) Add the diced onions, carrots and celery (this is known as the "holy trinity" or mirepoix), along with 2 tsp of smoked paprika and ancho chili powder, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook the the vegetables until softened about 10 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and let it cook out for 1-2 minutes. When the butternut squash is done roasting, add it to the stock pot, along with a 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and gently mash the squash using a potato masher. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring the soup up to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until thickened. At this point, if you are looking for a smooth soup you can put the soup into a blender and puree it. Just be VERY careful while doing this because of course, the soup is hot and may cause the top of the blender to pop off. Or you can use a handheld immersion blender. Or you can just leave it slightly chunky, as I did. To finish the soup, turn off the heat and stir in the heavy cream. To serve, divide into bowls and spoon a dollop of greek yogurt in the center, topped with the crispy diced bacon and chopped chives. 

For the sandwiches:

-bread of your choice
-sliced ham
-1/3 cup of softened cream cheese
-2 TBS of crumbled gorgonzola or bleu cheese
-chopped chives
-black pepper
-granny smith apple, thinly sliced

Mix together the softened cream cheese, gorgonzola crumbles, chives and black pepper to taste. Spread a thick layer on one slice of bread. Layer on the apples and ham and top it with the other slice of bread. Butter the outsides of the bread and place in a preheated panini press or cast iron skillet. Cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted. To serve, cut on the diagonal.

There is only one way to describe that butternut squash soup: Fall in a bowl. It has a warm, smoky flavor from the bacon and spices, but the vegetables balance it out with their natural sweetness and the greek yogurt adds a nice tang at the end. It has a great balance of flavors. So does the sandwich...the sweet and salty ham with the sour green apple and bleu cheese really melt well together. This soup and sandwich combo goes great together, but feel free to swap either one out with a crisp salad. Hope you enjoy this flavorful meal!

Chicken Pita Pockets with Hummus

This recipe was really simple to make and was a very satisfying meal. It's great for when you don't have a lot of time to make dinner or have a hard day and want something quick and easy. I made homemade hummus, but if you need the meal to come together faster than that, then just use your favorite brand of hummus. If you've never had hummus, it's just a puree of garbanzo (aka chickpea) beans, tahini paste (sesame seed puree), lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. It turns out smooth and creamy and tastes somewhat nutty. Hummus also makes a great dip for veggies or pita chips or can be spread on sandwiches instead of mayo! Here's what I did...


For the hummus:

-1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
-2 to 3 TBS of tahini paste (This will be based on your preference. Start with 2 TBS, taste the hummus and add more tahini as desired. Tahini paste can be found in the Oriental food aisle.)
-the zest and juice from 1 lemon
-1 to 2 cloves of garlic, grated on a hand held grater (This will also be based on your preference. If you like garlic, add more. If you don't like garlic or can't eat it like me, you can use some roasted shallots instead. Peel the shallots, drizzle them salt, pepper and olive oil and roast them at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown and softened OR dice and saute them in olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat until softened.)
-about 2/3 cup of olive oil (you want the consistency of the hummus to be smooth so add just enough olive oil to achieve that texture.)
-salt and pepper to taste (normally, there isn't pepper in hummus, but I like pepper. Feel free to leave it out.)


Add all of the above ingredients (except for the olive oil) into the food processor or blender. While the processor is running, stream in the olive oil and continue processing until the mixture is smooth and creamy, adding more oil as necessary. Remove the hummus from the processor into a bowl and set aside.


Now, you can use any veggies that you like for the pita pockets. Here's what I used:

-chopped romaine lettuce
-chopped tomatoes
-sliced English cucumber (it's the one that comes in a plastic wrapper)
-kalamata olives, halved

Other ingredients you will need are:

-crumbled feta cheese
-pitas (they have plain, whole wheat and multi-grain. Use whatever you like. Most of them are perforated already, but if they aren't just cut them in half to create the pockets.)
-thin chicken breasts (allow 1 per person)
-tzatziki sauce (it's a cucumber and dill sauce made with greek yogurt. It's easy enough to make, by combining a small container of plain greek yogurt, some finely chopped cucumber, fresh dill, lemon juice and salt and pepper...or you can just buy it.)


For the chicken, use whatever spices you like. You can use a hot paprika or a curry powder or smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Grill the chicken 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Allow the chicken to rest 5-10 minutes, then thinly slice it.

To assemble the pita pockets, simply layer in the ingredients that you want. The hummus can be put inside the pita or served on the side with cucumber slices for dipping. 


This is a very healthy meal, but it was also filling without being heavy. Lots of veggies and protein, but with very little fat. I know I've been posting a lot of higher calorie meals and pasta dishes lately and I'm planning on putting more recipes like this one on my blog in the near future. I hope you give this a try and I'd love any feedback about this and any other recipes I've posted! :)