Creamy Orzo with Butternut Squash

Pasta is always a family favorite around here, I can get away serving just about any vegetable with pasta, even to my husband whom isn't a really big fan of many vegetables.  I made this and I thought to myself "well I may not have many takers because I put butternut squash in here" However that was on the contrary. I was able to sneak in the butternut squash and no one even complained or most importantly noticed!!  I made a massive portion of this dish and it was gone the same night.  That is typically my best indicator if a dish has been "family approved"  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family did!  Happy Eating, from my kitchen to yours!  

Delightfully adapted from: WW weekly

Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 cup(s) uncooked butternut squash, cut into small cubes
	1/2 tsp olive oil
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
	1 cup(s) uncooked orzo
	1 1/2 fl oz water
	1 cup(s) canned, chicken broth
	1 tsp fresh thyme, fresh, or 8 whole sprigs (sprigs preferred)
	2 Tbsp fat-free half-and-half
	1/3 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. 
  
• In a medium bowl, toss squash with oil and salt; spread in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, leaving space between squash cubes. Roast, stirring halfway through, until squash is tender and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add orzo. Stir constantly until orzo begins to smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Add water, broth and thyme sprigs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nearly absorbed, about 15 minutes.
  
• Remove thyme sprigs; stir in half-and-half, cheese and roasted squash. Season well with salt and pepper; serve. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Notes

• A medium-sized, 2 pound squash will yield approximately 3 1/2 cups of diced squash cubes. 
  
  Peel the outside of a whole butternut squash with a sturdy vegetable peeler. Trim the ends and cut it in half lengthwise. Use an ice cream scoop or melon baller to easily scoop seeds and membrane from each half. 
  
  Pre-cut butternut squash is widely available in supermarkets and is a great shortcut for time-pressed cooks. Be sure to trim down the pieces to small, even-sized cubes or slices before roasting to allow for better browning.

Creamy Vegetable soup (hold the cream)

This week has been pretty trying; the kids got some sort of a stomach bug and they have been on the ever so wonderful (BRAT) diet for the past week.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it it's a variation of bananas applesauce rice and toast. Anyhow, the kids tummy's were still a bit sensitive so I wanted to make them a really healthful yet tasty meal that would be easy on their belly's.  This is how I came up with this fab soup and it was something that the entire family enjoyed, including the baby!  I hope you all enjoy delish dish! Happy Eating!!

Ingredients:

2- 32 ounce box of chicken stock (or if your a vegetarian you can certainly substitute this will vegetable broth)

4 cups of water

drizzle of olive oil

10 garlic cloves

baby carrots chopped

2 onions chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1 yellow squash chopped

4 stalks of celery chopped

2 cups of raw broccoli

1 yellow bell pepper chopped

1 table spoon dried parsley

1 table spoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups of brown rice

Heat the pot that you will be making the entire soup in on medium.  Drizzle your olive oil on the bottom of the pot. Then add onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, squash, yellow bell pepper, celery and let them caramelize (this should take about 5-8 minutes.)  After the vegetables have caramelized add your chicken stock.  Next add broccoli  dried parsley and dried basil and salt and pepper.  Cover pot and turn stove on high for about 20 minutes and let all the vegetable get happy together (this process makes vegetable tender) .  Lastly add the brown rice about 40 minutes before serving

(Tip) You may need to add more water to soup while the rice is cooking, keep an eye on it to make sure the rice does not absorb all the liquid, I had to add about 4 cups of water during this process.