Dunzoooo!

Soooo I think I just enjoy food of all shapes, sizes, and colors far too much because this girl is DONE HER CLEANSE! woohoooo Technically I lasted 2 days and that's about all I could take! haha By 5:00 p.m. today I had a horrrrendous headache, was feeling weak and dizzy, and am pretty certain I was hallucinating! ;)  Okay not actually hallucinating but I was NOT doing well, just sayin.

MOVING ON!!!!  Time to celebrate food again! :)

In honor of my cleanse coming to an end, and Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, here are a few DELICIOUS recipes I've stumbled upon lately that I wanted to share!

Yummy mashed potatoes from Skinnytaste.com

More amazing potato goodness!

A beautiful new foodie blog.  Couldn't you just die happy if someone made this for you??? :)

What fall recipes would be complete without including SOMETHING made with butternut squash???

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
Adapted from Bon Appétit, December 1996

Serves 8

Soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 cup whipping cream

Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

For soup: Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

For croutons: Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

* If you are not confident in your knife skills or lack a very very sharp one, I’d suggest roasting the squash, halved and seeded, on a baking sheet coated lightly with oil at 425 until soft, scooping it into the pot, and cooking it the rest of the way there. Peeling, seeding and chopping raw squash is not the easiest endeavor. Alternatively, you could buy butternut squash already peeled and chopped in many stores. Haven’t seen acorn yet.

Even though this recipe seems lengthy I think it could actually be fairly simple!  I made a delicious butternut squash puree the other night and pretty much every grocery store these days sells pre-peeled/pre-cut squash in the produce section which cuts back on a lot of prep time.

Last, but not least, more delicious comfort food! hehe

Alright loves farewell! Back to regular healthy living for this gal! :)