Yum, Yum, Eat It Up!

Okay, so we are trying to eat meat more "sparingly." I talked to Juge the other day and asked her for some ideas. She said one good idea was a Cafe Rio style salad: tortilla, lettuce, beans, chips, cheese, tomatoes, etc. We tried it the other night with a salad dressing recipe I got a long time ago but had never tried, and it was yummy!

Cafe Rio's Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

3 fresh tomatillos
juice of half a lime
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup cilantro
6 green onions
2 cloves garlic
4-5 scoops stevia extract/4 tsp. sugar
3 cross sections of jalapenos (The recipe called for 5; Bryan thought it was too spicy, so we are trying three next time.)

Combine well in blender. Refrigerate one hour before serving.

Yum, yum, eat it up!

I know soup weather is pretty much past, but we tried a soup in the last little bit that we thought was fabulous. So I'm passing it along and you can eat it on a rainy day or wait till winter. It's good!

Squash and Sun Dried Tomato Soup
(From Nourishing Traditions)

1 butternut squash
2 medium onions
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1 quart chicken stock
2 tbsp. finely chopped basil
sea salt and pepper to taste
sour cream

Cut squash in half lengthwise and place, cut sides down, in a glass baking pan with about 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350 degrees until tender, about 45 mins. to 1 hour. Meanwhile, saute onions gently in butter until tender. Add tomatoes (drained) and stock. Bring to a boil and skim. Scoop cooked squash out of skin and add to soup. Simmer about 1/2 hour. Puree soup with a handheld blender. (I don't have one. I have to use my blender. If you have to use a regular blender, only do about 1 cup of soup at a time, or you may end up with a soup kitchen. Ha!) Thin with water if necessary. Add basil and season to taste (Duane's never has fresh basil, so I use the dried stuff. It works.). Simmer gently about 5 minutes, ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of sour cream stirred into each bowl. Yum, yum, eat it up!

PS--If anyone wants to know the recipe for easy and yummy and healthy chicken stock from this same cook book, let me know and I'll stick it on here.