Squash Soup

I had this beautiful beast of a squash in my veg box...

Don't you just love the glorious colour?  Such a blast of sunshine in these dismal winter days!  So, sunshine soup was on the cards.  ;o)  I used half of the beast, chopped up and then fried with chopped onion, garlic and cumin...

Then sploshed in a bit of stock and simmered until the squash was soft.

Then I whizzed it all up with a few jiggers of milk and served with a swirl of cream and some bacon flavoured bits, oh and some hot buttered toast of course!

Squashes make such gorgeously smooth, sexy soups!  Soup-a-rama!  ;o)

Egg Bound!

Our chickens are giving it some!  They are laying eggs like it's going out of fashion and consequently I have some serious egg cookery to indulge in!  ;o)

Lunchtime today we had scrambled egg and baked beans on toast and for dinner this evening it was veg tortilla.  ;o)  Thinking about blogging earlier today I fell to pondering what the difference is between tortilla and frittata?  It would appear they are the same thing, both omelettes basically but tortilla is Spanish and frittata is Italian.  So, now I know!  ;o)

Whichever this is, I can confirm that it was delicious!  I love a simple dish and this is one of those.  ;o)  I just fried an onion in a little olive oil with some herbs, added it to a dish with cooked broccoli, potatos and carrots and poured over an ad hoc egg and milk mixture with some seasoning, sprinkle it with grated cheese and bunged it in the oven for about 40 minutes.  Eggorama!  ;o)

Now that we, well, my husband and daughter really, have ploughed through biscuits, cakes and mince pies leftover from the festivities I will be able to use up some eggs in some baking.  I haven't baked since Christmas Eve and I'm feeling in need of a blast of baking therapy!  ;oD  I may indulge my husband in some custard tarts to use yet more eggs up, watch this space!

New Year, Renewed Blogging!

It's been a while since I've blogged in a foodie manner and here I am set to pick up the reins as we gallop into 2011.  ;)

For dinner this evening we had slow cooker macaroni cheese, a dish we usually have at some point over the festive period.  I can't remember just who I got this recipe from, otherwise I'd credit them, but it was via one of the Yahoo groups I used to belong to.  You need to get over the fact that it's not really akin to "real" macaroni cheese made with cheese sauce but it has a charm of it's own.  Made as per the recipe it has about 300 calories per portion - if divided into four portions which is really a quite generous portion.  So, the recipe...

From this...

...to this!

Slow Cooker Macaroni Cheese

2 cups uncooked macaroni
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups grated cheese
2 cups boiling water

Layer first three ingredients into slow cooker.  DO NOT MIX.  Pour the boiling water over and cook on high for three hours.  Stir very well and serve.


That's all there is to it but, true to form, I do tinker with the recipe a little!  I often make it with milk instead of water, just heat it up before pouring it in.  It can be a bit clarty so if you like it a bit more saucy add another half a cup of liquid.  It doesn't look very pleasant when it's cooked but perks up no end after a good stirring!To add a bit of variety, cottage cheese with onion and chives or other flavour is nice.    This evening I served it with some grilled bacon and a speinkle of extra grated cheese.  ;o)