Acorn Squash and Lima Bean Risotto

Acorn Squash and Lima Bean Risotto

This is one of autumn’s finest comfort foods in my opinion. Warm and filling, and the texture is nice and smooth. Definitely shop around for the risotto though-I can usually find a good deal by looking in the rice aisle for the larger containers, don’t fall for the small bags in the organic section unless that’s your thing.

Ingredients:

1 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded
Cooking Spray
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sage
1 ½ cups risotto (Arborio rice)
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
½ bag (5 ounces) frozen Fordhook lima beans
Black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Apparatus:

Baking pan
Fork
Bowl
Pot (Grab one that’s larger than you think you will need-risotto expands much more than you expect it to)
Wooden spoon

Process:

1) Spray the baking pan with cooking spray. Place the halves of the acorn squash recipes on the baking pan, and place in the oven for half an hour at 300 degrees F.
2) Remove pan from oven. Very carefully, use the fork to remove the flesh of the acorn squash and place it in the bowl. Make sure none of the skin makes it into the bowl too!
3) Place olive oil in pot. Add onions, garlic, and herbs and sauté until onions are translucent.
4) Add risotto and stir until coated thoroughly.
5) Pour ½ cup of the broth into the pot. Stir until all liquid is absorbed. Repeat until only ½ cup of the liquid is left.
6) Add lima beans and acorn squash to the pot. Add the final ½ cup of broth to the pot and stir until all liquid is absorbed.
7) Add black pepper to pot and give risotto one final stir.
8) Remove from heat, cover, and “let rest” for five minutes before serving.
9) Enjoy! (Garnish with parmesan cheese if desired.)

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

This recipe is a favorite of mine, and got excellent reviews from the taste tester aka fiancé (he’s biased towards Mexican-leaning dishes in general though.) This recipe is a life-saver for me though because it is no-brainer easy AND I usually already have everything I need for the soup. It’s also great now that the weather is getting chillier. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced (or equivalent amount of frozen pre-diced onions)
28 ounces diced tomatoes
10 ounces tomato paste
24 ounces vegetable broth
2 cups frozen corn
24 ounces black beans (preferably ones you have soaked yourself, but canned is ok as well)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of dried thyme
1 tsp black pepper

Tortilla chips
Mexican blend cheese (optional)

Apparatus:

Crockpot
Stirring Spoon
Ladle

Process:

1) Place all ingredients (except for tortilla chips and cheese) in crockpot.
2) Stir. Place lid on crockpot. 
3) Set crockpot on low and leave all day. ( I left mine alone for over 12 hours and it turned out fine.)
4) Serve. Garnish with tortilla chips and cheese if desired.



Tortilla soup shown with chips and cheese

p.s. I have now added planning a wedding to the list of things I do!! I think that means we will be seeing strong emphasis on easy, quick, no-brainer recipes for the months to come. But, I am also sure I will be inspired by some of the fancy food that I have to deal with so there will still be more fun posts too!