Fall Recipes

Wild Rice Soup with Bacon and Butternut Squash

December 18, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

For the winter months nothing beats a hot bowl of wild rice soup! I tend to avoid creamy soups due to their heaviness but I decided to give it a try. In the past I’ve made it as a broth-based soup instead of cream-based. Even though it doesn’t skimp on the cream and bacon, it wasn’t especially heavy which was surprising. I made this recipe with the leftover bones I froze from the Thanksgiving turkey. The recipe for homemade stock (swap out chicken for turkey) can be found here. The soup is also packed with butternut squash, corn and other veggies. For the rice, I decided to save the broth and not add it into the soup as it cooked; that way the rice didn’t absorb all the tasty broth. I really liked how this turned out and it was a perfect recipe for the holidays!
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Roasted Winter Vegetables with Butternut Squash

November 2, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Well it’s November and officially a few weeks away from Thanksgiving! This recipe is a great side dish for the holidays even though it’s difficult to think they are right around the corner. I even saw some Christmas commercials come on the other day which was pretty hard to believe. This recipe combines potatoes, beets and butternut squash tossed in olive oil and roasted with garlic and fresh herbs. It doesn’t get much easier than that! The flavors from each vegetable came together perfectly. Works well as a holiday side dish but is great for any time of the week during the winter.
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Chicken and Dumpling Soup

October 25, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Who doesn’t love a warm bowl of soup on chillier evenings? Since it’s starting to get darker and the winter months are on their way I thought chicken and dumpling soup would be an appropriate post for the season. The dumplings are so easy to make since the shape of the dough balls don’t matter at all. You simply drop spoonfuls of dough into the hot broth and it does all the work for you. The more lumpy and asymmetrical the better! The dumplings are seasoned with fresh herbs and parmesan which really adds to their flavor. I went with homemade chicken stock since it tastes better than store bought and makes the soup more nutrient rich. I chose chicken breasts for the protein but thighs or even a whole roasted chicken would make great substitutes as well. I look forward to the winter months so I can whip up a batch of this again!
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Pumpkin, Banana & Oat Breakfast Muffins

October 16, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

I have been really into breakfast muffins lately. They’re not too sweet and more fulling than regular muffins because of the rolled oats. They’re quick to make and easy to grab and go in the mornings. For October, I thought a pumpkin based muffin along with bananas would be a delicious combination. One of the benefits of never going through bananas fast enough is I always have plenty of over-ripe ones to get creative with! These muffins are flavored with seasonal spices to compliment the pumpkin. They also freeze well so keeping them as a back up snack or breakfast in the freezer is a great way to go!
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Homemade Spiced Peanut Butter

October 11, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Homemade peanut butter is a great alternative to buying it from the store. You can’t get much fresher than grinding up your own peanuts! If you have a food processor you already have everything you need to make your own. This recipe takes it up a notch with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It makes for a great seasonal recipe and goes perfectly with sliced apples. I must confess that the numbers given for the salt, honey and spices are approximate. Feel free to use more less as desired. This recipe is excellent with chocolate and any jam you can think of. Or you can drop all pretense and go to town with a tablespoon. I definitely won’t judge you!
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Banana Bread Scones

August 31, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Using over-ripe bananas in baking goes way beyond standard loaf bread! These are not your typical dry and crumbly scones. They are a lot more moist, but just as dense as a typical scone. The insides are more light and fluffy and totally delicious! A lot of banana bread scone recipes call for a brown sugar glaze but to cut down on the sweetness I only topped the scones with cinnamon sugar and a dusting of powdered sugar. Which still sounds like a lot right? But it actually turned out being not overly sweet at all. If you have a bunch of over-ripe bananas languishing on your counter give these scones a try!
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Italian Sausage Soup with Roasted Cauliflower and Yellow Squash

June 29, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

This soup is perfect for rainy summer nights or chilly fall days. It combines roasted cauliflower, yellow squash, red potatoes with fresh fennel and thyme. You start off the soup by broiling the cauliflower until just charred. I used homemade chicken stock which lends the best flavor to the recipe. I couldn’t get enough of these flavors combined! The spicy sausage combined with the charred flavor from the cauliflower with the fresh herbs really took this soup to the next level. Serve this soup with some fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese and a crusty baguette.
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Chicken Vegetable Soup with Acorn Squash and White Beans

March 3, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Spring is around the corner but in many places winter is still raging. This soup is loaded with healthy veggies but is still hearty enough to combat the winter chills. For the stock I used my go to recipe for Homemade Stock. You can either use what you have pre-made or make it for the soup–either way works fine and instructions will follow. I packed this recipe with tons of veggies such as acorn squash, spinach, corn, peas, carrots and cabbage. The recipe is surprisingly hearty and flavorful. It has been one of my favorite go-to winter soup recipes over the past few weeks!
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Leftover Hambone and White Bean Soup

February 4, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

If you have a leftover ham bone from a spiral cut ham sitting in your freezer you can make this delicious soup! This recipe is loaded with healthy vegetables and beans. I was surprised at how fast the stock came together. It only took about an hour of simmering for it be fragrant and full of good flavor. I decided to use a trick for it that’s often used when cooking stock for Vietnamese Pho: adding whole spices like allspice and cloves to enhance flavor. It worked out quite nicely and the rest of the soup came together in a flash. It was a great way to use up those leftovers from dinner and is a perfect soup for cold February weather.
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Roasted Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage

January 12, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

I’ve never really considered making tomato soup until recently. This recipe is full of roasted garlic and tomato flavor along with the savory spiciness of the Italian sausage. This tomato soup recipe is anything but boring! For the roasting I place the garlic on top of the cut side of the tomatoes. Placing it there helps the garlic roast and allows that flavor to become better infused into the tomato. Call me crazy but it really works! I pan roasted the sausage and you can either blend it into the soup after or finely mince by hand. The soup comes together easily and it has quickly become a staple dinner recipe.
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