Recipe Review from 10/28/2019

This was a week where I had more planned than I had meals!  This was in part due to leftovers from the week previous falling into the weekend, and the shredded pork tacos making more than I anticipated, and really the whole meal plan just kinda fell apart and that's okay.  Things can be shifted around and that's just less to buy for the coming week!  

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) leftover baked rice  (S) leftover minestrone soup
Sun (L) squash soup and cheese sandwiches  (S) shredded pork tacos
Mon (yoga/bookgroup/legion)
Tues - tacos
Wed (chili potluck at work) - baked stuffed potatoes  tacos
Thurs (yoga) leftovers  tacos

Fri (yoga) leftovers  take n bake pizza


Lunches - butternut squash soup

Butternut Squash Soup (with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches) (Eating Well, Oct 2019)
It was my intent to make this over the weekend, but as life happened, I made the sandwiches to go along side the leftover minestrone soup, and ended up making the soup for lunches during the week. 

What can more can I add to an already classic combo?   This particular soup may make it into my top three for butternut soups - creamy, velvety, loved the cumin/tumeric spice combo and the coconut milk gave it a lovely sweetness that had hints of vanilla.   I highly recommend this recipe!

Made 4-5 servings. 

photo from eatingwell.com

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or coconut oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for garnish
5 cups cubed (1-inch) peeled butternut squash
1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk, divided
2 cups low-sodium no-chicken broth or chicken broth

1 small apple, thinly sliced, divided
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 slices whole-wheat country bread
1 cup shredded smoked Gouda or Cheddar cheese
Ground pepper for garnish


Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; cook, stirring, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cumin, turmeric and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add squash, coconut milk (reserve 4 tablespoons for garnish, if desired), broth, half the apple slices and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in lime juice. Remove from heat. Puree the soup in the pan using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. (Use caution when blending hot liquids.)

Divide ½ cup cheese between 2 slices of bread. Top with the remaining apple slices, cheese and bread. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cook until lightly browned on both sides and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes per side. Cut in half. Garnish the soup with the reserved coconut milk, more cayenne and ground pepper, if desired.