Butternut Squash Soup

This is actually my own recipe! I'm not quite to the level of off-the-cuff, invent-your-own-recipe chef, but I'm getting pretty adept at combining and altering recipes and making them my own.

Whitney's Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 2 T butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 3 C water
• 3 t chicken bouillon
• 1/2 t marjoram
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 C chopped green onions (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut squash in half and seed. Place the halves on a baking sheet, cut-side down. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  

While the squash is roasting, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and sweet potato and saute until onions are translucent. Add water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender.

Scoop flesh of squash into soup pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. 

Place cream cheese in blender and add the soup (or use an immersion blender and just plop the cream cheese in the soup pot). You may need to do this step in batches if you are using a regular blender. Blend the soup and cream cheese until smooth and transfer back to soup pot. Stir the soup in the pot (especially if you blended it in batches). Do not bring the soup to boil again. 

Serve garnished with green onions (Costco's sourdough bread also makes a delicious side). 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 302 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  147 Calories from Fat  47

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.2g 8%

Saturated Fat  3.2g 16%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  16mg 5%

Sodium  84mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  24.6g 8%

Dietary Fiber  4.4g 18%

Sugars  6.0g

Protein  3.3g

Vitamin A 440% • Vitamin C 61% Calcium 10% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• High in dietary fiber
• High in magnesium
• High in potassium
• Very high in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

• High in saturated fat
• High in sugar

Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

So good. So filling. So fancy (at least I felt fancy eating it ... ). Enjoy.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing



Servings: 6
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

• 3 medium acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
• 3 T unsalted butter, melted
• 1 T packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 T minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 C cooked wild rice mix
• 2/3 C pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1/4 C dried cranberries, finely chopped
• 1 t kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Place the squash cut-side up on a baking sheet, brush 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the tops and insides of the squash halves, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add the onion, shallots, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, pecans, cranberries, and measured salt and pepper.

Divide the rice filling among the roasted squash halves (about 1/2 cup for each) and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of butter over top. Continue roasting until the squash is completely fork tender, the edges have started to brown, and the filling is heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 321 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  429 Calories from Fat  138

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  15.3g 24%

Saturated Fat  4.5g 23%

Cholesterol  15mg 5%

Sodium  450mg 19%

Total Carbohydrates  68.5g 23%

Dietary Fiber  8.4g 34%

Sugars  4.0g

Protein  11.1g

Vitamin A 22% • Vitamin C 43% Calcium 11% • Iron 20%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in cholesterol
• High in manganese
• High in magnesium

Barley Hoppin' John

This is a healthy recipe that's quick and delicious. Can you say, "Win. Win. Win."?

Barley Hoppin' John

Servings: 4, 1 1/2 C each

Active time: 20 min

Total time: 40 min

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14-oz can vegetable broth
• 1 C quick-cooking barley
• 1 T chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 15-oz cans black-eyed peas, rinsed

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Cook until the vegetables soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. 

Add broth, barley, thyme, lemon juice, crushed red pepper and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the barley is done, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in black-eyed peas. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 400 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  313 Calories from Fat  59

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  6.5g 10%

Saturated Fat  0.8g 4%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  518mg 22%

Total Carbohydrates  52.7g 18%

Dietary Fiber  10.9g 44%

Sugars  2.7g

Protein  15.8g

Vitamin A 14% • Vitamin C 47% Calcium 7% • Iron 27%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• Low in sugar
• High in dietary fiber
• High in magnesium
• High in thiamin
• High in vitamin C

Woe is naptime

Nap time hasn't always been a struggle.

Today it is. 

Actually, lately it has been. 

It seems so long ago (okay, maybe two weeks) that when I said, "Nap time!" Peyton would get excited, run to his bedroom door, pound on it until I let him in, and run straight to his crib. I'd lay him down and he'd fold his arms for nap time prayer, he'd smile, blow me a kiss, and slip silently into sweet dreams. 

These days are no more. 

It's a battle. A long one. And I'm just not sure what to do.

At least I can find comfort in cute photos of my bubba ... even if he's currently screaming and yelling my name (sometimes pleadingly, sometimes angrily). 

 

 

 

Brady's Graduation

Okay, okay, okay. I know I suck at this blogging thing, so please -- please -- spare me the, "It's about time/I was beginning to wonder if you were still alive/Oh, I forgot I was a grandparent ... " etc. etc. etc. mumbo jumbo crap.

Now that we've got that cleared up ... I'm not going to go back over the last several months or anything like that. It'd take way too long and then I'd probably just give up on blogging ... again ... So here we go! The brief contents of this update will include: Funny Things Peyton Does, ChooChoo Extravaganza, and Brady's Graduation.

Funny Things Peyton Does: 

• Every time Peyton (or someone near him) audibly farts, Peyton will point at the culprit and announce that they've pooped. So don't try and play it off like it wasn't you. He knows. And he'll make sure EVERYONE else does, too. 
• Peyton is learning his anatomy, and much to my sister's dismay, he refers to his little-man-parts as his "wee wee." Whenever he gets a new diaper on, he says, "Bye bye, wee wee!" and bids it farewell with a little hand wave. 
• Whenever Peyton is ready to split the scene, he abruptly turns to the host/talker/person keeping us from leaving and says, "Bye bye" over and over and over again until we really have no choice but to leave. He also cordially bids adieu to:
• Jesus when we're at church. Any picture of the Savior in the hall on our way out gets a nice, "Bye bye, Jesus!"
• Toothbrushes. He likes to sit on his toothbrush when he's done brushing and say, "Bye bye, toothbrush!" (Perhaps the more disturbing thing is his fascination with sitting on his toothbrush).
• Cell phones. Same thing with the toothbrush. He sits on it and says bye bye. Why? Not the slightest idea. 
• After months of trying to teach Peyton basic sign language, I gave up. A month later, Peyton turns to me and says "more" while signing it. He would start signing as soon as he can talk. He would. 

ChooChoo Extravaganza: 

Peyton is fascinated by choochoos, so Dan and I took him ON the choochoo to go SEE the world's (or something like that) biggest indoor model choo choo! Super fun! 

Brady's Graduation:

Brayton graduated! I know you're thinking, "Not possible." But he did. Legally. Pictures to prove it! 

Proof that Brady graduated. Aw, so grown up! 

Dan, Peyton and I with Grandma and Grandpa Young

Big sista Tonya! Peyton spent 16 hours sitting next to her in the car and still wouldn't play nice. Booger! 

Oh, and here are a few random pictures. Just for kicks: 

My favorite picture to-date. 

Peyton has this thing where he likes to take off his shirt. This incident was in the privacy of our home, but yes, it does happen in public. Semi-often. 

We went to the local Minor League game to see the AirHogs. Coincidentally, they were playing the Kansas City T-Bones -- the only other team who's game I've ever been to (if you don't count the one BYU game I watched freshman year). 

How cute is that? And how crappy are my photography skills? 

Peyton loved clapping and cheering when everyone else in the stands did. And everyone around him thought it was hilarious. 

Pathetic.

I played Wii Tennis for about 40 minutes this morning as part of my "workout."

My arm is already super sore.

Pathetic?

Yes.

Pregnancy - the cause of unfulfilled resolutions (specifically blogging)

I've failed horribly at one of my resolutions -- blogging weekly.

I have a good excuse.

When all I feel is nauseated, constipated, tired, hungry, not hungry, moody, sore, headache-y and nauseated, it's hard to write about anything else.

Oh, and it's also hard to keep things like, "Hey, I'm pregnant!" a secret.

Yep. Ya'll read that right.

I'm pregnant.

And frankly, since all I've done for the past 8 weeks is try to muster the strength to entertain Peyton, then try to muster enough strength (and will-power) to be productive during his naps (let's be honest. That happens like, once a week), and then try to muster the strength to ask Daniel to cook dinner (just kidding. I'm trying really hard to cook, but Dan has been an amazing help) ... You get the point. There hasn't been much to write about that wouldn't scream the news to anyone reading.

So, Baby Condie #2 is 12 weeks on his/her way to meeting the world. We are super duper excited! I'm due September 17th. I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight (which is good, since last time I dropped 7 lbs below) and starting to feel much better.

Now here's a few pictures of my big-boy baby:

The boy loves Borscht.

Peyton is very good at reminding us to pray ... even if he remembers once his mouth is full. 

Peyton and his best friend Tyler in their matching monkey PJs. 

Such a cheeseball whenever the cameras come out!