Vegetable Medley Soup - featuring acorn squash

Yesterday was vegetable pasta - Spaghetti Squash with an Acorn Squash Cream Sauce. But what did I do with the other half of that acorn squash? I know, I know, some of you lost sleep over this. So I will keep you waiting no longer.

I turned the other half into a Vegetable Medley Soup. A blend of a handful of veggies, diced tomatoes, homemade stock and some pureed acorn squash all came together to make a beautiful fall soup perfect for warming our bellies on these ever cooling days.

As usual, whenever I create as I go in the kitchen I rarely keep track of measurements because I eyeball it all the way. So this is a rough estimate. But it's soup so feel free to add and subtract based on your families likes and dislikes and what you have on hand. Trust me, it is hard to go wrong here!

I started by pureeing the other half of the roasted acorn squash. Mine was a little dry so I added in some Waste Not Vegetable Broth to get a nice smooth consistency.

Then I chopped up my veggies - 1/2 cup to 1 cup each of onion, celery, and carrots. Mushrooms are nice too if you have them.

These went into a pot that was already heating up with 1 to 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Saute these until they begin to soften. I still like a little crunch in my veggies {plus they soften as they continue to cook in the soup} so I don't go too long. Add in some seasoning - I did salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder - and stir.

Last step is to add in a 30oz can of diced tomatoes {juice too}, your squash puree, and about 2 cups of broth. Vegetable broth is an obvious choice being that this is a veggie soup but I had some homemade chicken broth on hand I wanted to use up so I added that. Either works fine. Stir it up, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Dish up and enjoy!

I wanted to add that this was so delicious! I tried a bowl when it was ready and I had to practically fight my 2 year old off to make sure I got my share. My husband was impressed too and commented that the big chunks of mushroom really made it special. Thinking I may have to make another batch with some of the remaining acorn squash!

Mac N Cheese with Steak and Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

On the continued quest to use up the stockpile of Kraft Mac N Cheese I got on sale, I tried out another variation on the tired boxed pasta. Last time it was Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac N Cheese. This time I decided to go for steak with sauteed onions and mushrooms. Let me tell you, this was delicious! Hearty too. Throw a salad on the side and it felt like I was eating a real meal.

Ingredients:
2 boxes Kraft Mac N Cheese
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, separated 
1/2 c milk
2 c chopped steak meat
1/2 an onion, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.

2. If using uncooked steak (leftovers would work well too), cook in medium pan at medium high heat. I used some flank steak we had from my in-laws cow and it cooked up quickly. Remove to a plate once fully cooked. (Mine was bland so I through it in a ziploc with some steak sauce...delicious!)

3. Put 1/2 stick of butter in warm steak pan. Once melted add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft and brown. (I used red onion since I had it on hand but whatever you prefer works). Turn the heat down to low and add steak back in to warm it up.

4. Drain and stir in 1 stick of butter, milk and cheese packets provided. Add in onion, mushroom, steak mixture and stir. Enjoy!