Roasted Vegetable Soup

Well...apparently my readers are fans of soup! So here's a second recipe for the week! Made this one for supper last night...and all four of us were huge fans of it! I often grab a bunch of veggies from our fridge, steam them, puree them, add some broth with a little seasoning and attempt to make soup. Sometimes it's amazing, sometimes....it's just soup. Last night I decided to try roasting the veggies first...and let me tell you, it was worth the extra effort! This soup is so simple for the amount of flavour you get...you must try it! It tastes gourmet...seriously...a great and simple way to wow some company:) You'd pay top dollar in a grocery store or restaurant for this soup! Fancy grilled cheese would be a great add-on to this meal! Garnished mine with fresh ground pepper and a swirl of homemade spinach humus:)

Roasted Vegetable Soup

INGREDIENTS

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 2-inch chunks
4 carrots, cut into large chunks
4 parsnips, cut into large chunks
1 bundle of celery, cut into chunks
2 sweet red peppers, seeded
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1 bulb garlic, peeled
2 boxes of chicken or vegetable stock

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare all vegetables and garlic.

Toss lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Place veggies and garlic cloves in baking dish...it may take more than one...lightly cover with tin foil so the veggies don't dry out.

Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes. Veggies and garlic should looks nice and caramelized...and be soft enough to puree.

Let cool slightly. Puree using food processor, in batches, gradually adding stock.

Pour pureed soup/stock mixture into a large pot and heat. ENJOY!

*This soup tastes even better the next day...and freezes amazing!

Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie - No Crust

Turkey Dinner Anytime!!! That's what I call this meal! Started making this dish about 2 years ago...and it's always a crowd-pleaser! Saw an episode of Rachael Ray way back when and she made something similar...relatively simple to whip up...and a meal in itself...gotta love that! No photos of this dish...YET...as I always forget to take one!! I plan on making this for dinner tonight though...so hold on for a photo to be added asap!



First things first...can you believe our little turkey...Levi...is going to be TWO tomorrow!! This was taken by the lovely and talented Daniela Sitar when Levi was just 5 days old...at 10lbs 4 oz he was already pouring over the edges of the turkey platter! I thought it might be cute to re-create this photo this Thanksgiving...but decided that our 'little' 36lb turkey (a.k.a. Levi) might now require additional supports under the dining room table! Oh what a cute little turkey he would be though:)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie - No Crust

INGREDIENTS

5 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1-2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped
5 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tsp poultry seasoning
salt & pepper
4 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
2 cups turkey, chicken or vegetable broth
Few dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 cups frozen peas

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil or steam sweet potatoes in a large pot until soft, about 15 minutes.

In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the turkey and cook, breaking up with a spoon. Stir in the onion, carrots, celery and poultry seasoning. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 7 minutes...until the veggies are all softened.

In a small pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the broth and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for a few minutes until thickened, then stir into the turkey mixture. Stir in the peas and remove from the heat.

Drain the sweet potatoes and mash until nice and creamy...add butter if desired!

Take out your favourite casserole dish and pour the turkey mixture into it. Top it off with the mashed sweet potatoes.

Place in preheated oven for about 15 minutes...just so the flavours all have time to set and mix together.

ENJOY

ps...pumpkin pie is ALWAYS a great follow-up to this dinner!

pss...freezes great...or make ahead earlier in the day and set in fridge...then reheat in oven until hot throughout!