Queso Cheese Dip (with a secret ingredient)
I love queso, but I am not a big fan of the “processed cheese product” that is typically used to give this dip its creamy consistency. Besides being high in sodium, many processed cheeses are made with hormone-laden dairy and lots of preservatives. I avoid these pitfalls in my recipe by creating a creamy organic cheese blend from scratch, using locally-grown organic peppers, spices and cheeses, sans the chemicals. Like the velveeta version, this queso recipe will stand up to hours of heat in the crock pot without separating, and it’s a snap to put together. I kept this...
Read MoreCurried Butternut Squash Soup
Yesterday I picked all the meat off our leftover Thanksgiving turkey and boiled the bones to make turkey stock. I felt a little like Ma Ingalls making my own broth, but the whole process was just too easy for me to forgo. I followed Kalyn Denny’s instructions for making broth with turkey bones and it turned out great. In the end, I netted 12 free cups of turkey stock for my troubles! That much low-sodium, organic broth would cost at least $10 at the grocery store. Besides saving money, it felt really good not to waste any parts of our Thanksgiving turkey. I had previously...
Read MoreThanksgiving: Butternut Squash Mac ‘n’ Cheese
My family doesn’t traditionally include macaroni and cheese on the Thanksgiving table, so I feel like a bit of a rebel putting it on my menu this year. When I was planning our meal, though, I just couldn’t resist the rich, creamy texture and slightly spicy flavor of this recipe. It gets bonus points for ease of preparation and kid appeal: the orange hue of the butternut squash makes this look just like the blue-box macaroni and cheese that kids love. Plus, with whole wheat pasta, this is about as healthy as macaroni and cheese gets. This recipe tastes great when reheated, but...
Read MoreRed Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup with Cilantro
I’m ready to eat. Ready for turkey. Ready to cook two kinds of bread for homemade stuffing from scratch on Thursday. (What was I thinking with the homemade stuffing???) One thing I’m not really ready for is all the other dinners this week. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. Enter red lentil soup. This recipe is healthy, tasty, and it only takes about 10 minutes of hands-on work to prepare. It’s also inexpensive and easily adaptable to whatever fall produce you have on hand: sweet potatoes, leeks, onions, winter squash, whatever. Best part is, while it’s...
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