Butternut Squash Ravioli with Herb Browned Butter

I love butternut squash and I love ravioli.
So when I saw Butternut Squash Ravioli at Trader Joe's recently,
I just had to buy it to try it out.
And guys - it's really yummy!

Not only is it tasty, it's super easy to make too!
I just threw together a simple herb browned butter sauce,
but even just a little butter would be delicious too.
Let me show you how I made mine.


The Goods:
Butternut Squash Ravioli
Butter
Garlic
Thyme
Parsley
Parmesan Cheese

Melt half a stick of butter in a skillet.

Once melted, turn down the heat slightly,

then add your garlic and thyme.

While the butter is browning, throw in your pasta to cook.

Cook according to package directions.

Keep an eye on your butter, stirring it every so often.

When it starts to brown and you smell a nutty flavor, you know it's done.

Add your cooked, drained pasta to the skillet 

and toss to coat it in the browned butter sauce. 

Plate your pasta, add fresh minced parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Dig in and ENJOY!!!

Soup and Chili Round Up

I know it's the summer and hot out everywhere,

but I'm a fan of soup and chili at any time of the year.

I have blogged about quite a few of those over time,

and today I'm sharing a round up of some of my favorites!

Baked Potato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup*

Corn Cheese Chowder

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Turkey Chili*

Taco Soup*

*These soups are easy to make in a large batch and freeze for future meals.

I like to freeze mine in pint sized mason jars for easy individual portions.

I didn't include any soups in this group with potato, squash or cream 

as I find those don't freeze and reheat as well.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may get a paid for certain purchases.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I had a Butternut Squash that I needed to use, and I didn't want to just roast it like I usually do so I did a little searching online. After looking at a few recipes, I found one that sounded amazing from my ol' favorite, The Pioneer Woman. It looked great and I couldn't wait to a make it, so last Saturday I tried making risotto for the very first time! To be honest - I was a little nervous, but I haven't screwed up a recipe too bad in quite a long time so I got busy cooking and hoped for the best! Take a look at the whole process below.

The Good:

Butternut Squash

Arborio Rice

Chicken (or Vegetable) Broth

Olive Oil

Butter

Onion

Chili Powder 

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Parsley

Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, peel, bag half the squash, and dice the other half.

Melt butter, add the squash, season with salt, pepper and chili powder. 

Cook until tenter, but not falling apart. Set aside until rice is cooked.

Melt remaining butter and saute onions until tender and translucent.

Add the rice and stir, cooking about a minute.

Add the broth to the rice one cup at a time. 

Simmer and let absorb, adding more broth until rice is tender but still has a little bite. 

Add freshly shave parmesan and the cooked butternut squash.

Fold into the cooked rice and season if needed. Top with freshly chopped parsley. 

The finished product with a yummy green salad!

Was my first time making risotto a disaster? Absolutely not! In fact, every time I think about this recipe, tell someone about this meal, look at the pictures I took while cooking - I can taste the deliciousness! I actually ended up omitting the turmeric and cream, but wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I cannot wait to make this again and share it with someone else who will appreciate how great it tastes!

Hosting My FIRST Thanksgiving!

I usually travel to see family for Thanksgiving, but this year I invited my parents to come visit me! They accepted and I was more than thrilled. I don't have a HUGE place, so I couldn't host too many people, but I decided to invite my grandma and cousin to come up as well!

The table all set.

In addition to hosting Thanksgiving, I did all the prep work and almost all of the cooking. It was a lot of work, but completely worth it! I have to give my mom the credit for the yummy gravy, and my grandma mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk, sour cream and seasoning.

ALL the yummy food!

Roasted Butternut Squash

French Bread Stuffing with Bacon

I LOVE stuffing...

but now I love it with bacon even more!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Roasted Turkey Breast

It was SO moist and delicious! 

Green Bean Casserole

No Knead Clover Rolls.

I halved the recipe and STILL had a ton!!!

Potatoes Mashed by Grandma!

And Gravy made by Mom!

A holiday meal isn't complete without a Relish Tray.

My plate - YUM!!!

All in all, it was a VERY tasty meal and I can honestly say I look forward to doing it again!  Besides all the amazing food, I had one of the BEST Thanksgivings I've had in a long time.

My wonderful Thanksgiving guests!

Homemade Soup: Roasted Butternut Squash Sage Soup

It's been WAY too long since I posted a homemade soup recipe, but now that it's officially Fall and the temperature is getting warmer - I to hope to post many more soup recipes in the months to come. 

I love homemade soup - it's SO much better than canned soup - and this is the most recent soup I've made. Recently I found this recipe and I had a Butternut Squash I needed to use up, so I thought I'd substitute that for the pumpkin. I kind of made it on a whim and it was the first time I'd made it, but it was so tasty I'll definitely make it again. 

Since I used homemade vegetable stock I already had in my freezer, the entire process didn't take that long. The longest part was roasting the squash, but that required very little attention and I was able to roast it while doing other things.  

So before I ramble on and on - let me show you how to make this AMAZING Roasted Butternut Squash Sage Soup.   

The Goods:

Butternut Squash - Roasted and Mashed

Minced Shallot

Minced Garlic

Butter 

Vegetable Stock

Fresh Sage

Salt

Pepper

Melt the butter and sauté the shallots a few minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté one more minute. 

Add the mashed squash...

And the stock too!

Stir it just a little...

And add the sage, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender.

And you'll get something like this!

YUM!!!

I thought I'd have mini grilled cheese with my soup tonight.

The soup and sandwiches. 

It was SOOOOO good and I cannot wait to enjoy the rest of the soup. I only made half a batch and I still ended up with quite a bit. I love leftovers and I'm really looking forward to eating these!