Baptism and Carnitas. And Costco cake. Amen.

Our little snowflake got baptized!  It was a blessed, wonderful day.  Family, a few friends, and a small little service at our church.

Smiling at the camera?  The Spirit was with her

Since we were hosting family and anticipating feeding about 20 people after the service, I contemplated catering for about one single second before I thought, hold the phone, I can do it myself.  Upside:  Saving money!  Downside:  Doing it myself.


But no matter, Epicurious.com never lets me down.  And since I'm more of a novice cook I've found that life in the kitchen is easier if I stick to the following rules:

1) Choose dishes that can be made the night before 
2) Enlist the help of others 
3) Crock.  Pot.

The super-tasty, fuss-free menu:

Carnitas tacos with cilantro, cheese, red onion, and avocado

Mexican Chopped Salad with Jicama and Honey-Lime Dressing

Black Beans with Garlic, Cumin, and Cilantro

Costco Cake (duh.)

It was my first time cooking with jicama, and I'll definitely make it again.  Tastes like a cross between a water chestnut and an apple.  And I didn't have to go to a fancy grocery store to find it.  Who knew?  (Probably you.)

I would have taken a picture of the spread but I was probably too busy salivating over the Costco cake.  I mean, for $17 that delicious mousse-filled confection feeds 48 people (it says.  pay no mind to how big we cut our slices around here).  Last year when I was 9 months pregnant my dear sweet husband bought me an ENTIRE cake for my birthday.  Let's just say that the excitement about put me into labor right there.  My love for cake runs deep, and I'm obsessed with Costco, so the two together... it's just... I almost can't.  I cut off a tiny chunk to share at work and froze the rest but I was still eating a piece of cake every day until the baby was abouuuut 3 months old.  And even though I'm still huffing and puffing through the 30 Day Shred to work off the damage caused by that cake --> worth it.

(Almost as exciting as Costco cake?  The delivery of my first Stitch Fix box.  Have you heard of Stitch Fix??  Let's get fancy together.  Coming in December.)

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

Let's talk pureed soups.  What's not to love?  You just chop a bunch of stuff up, throw it in a pot, forget about it, and blend it to perfection.  It's a great way to get your veggies in, and there are tons of possibilities.

I used to ignore Butternut in the produce aisle but now we have kind of a Thing going on, seeing as how it costs less than $2 and lends itself really well to whatever spice you pair it with.  I've tried a few different recipes and came up with this one after a few tweaks.  (Some people like to roast their squash in the oven first, but I just prefer to cook mine in the pot because it's a little quicker.)  I try to make a big batch and freeze smaller portions in 1-quart bags for quick lunches and side dishes later in the month.

Savory Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed* 
1 onion, roughly chopped 
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tsp of dried thyme or sage 
1 tsp salt
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup half and half (or heavy cream, or milk, whatever you have in the fridge.  Or you can forgo this, but why?)

*Remember, the smaller the chunks, the faster it will cook.  But it doesn't have to be pretty!  Everything is getting blended so hack that thing up and forget about it

Heat 1 tbs of butter or olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat.  Add the onion first and cook until softened, about 4 minutes, then add the garlic.  Cook for just 1 minute more (so the garlic doesn't burn).  Add the thyme or sage along with the butternut squash and cook a few more minutes, until the squash is coated with the herbs and onions.  Maybe yours will look something like this

Next add the chicken stock, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.  (Clean the rest of the kitchen.  Facebook something.  Intercept baby from making a beeline to dog's water bowl for 349th time.)  After 20 minutes, remove from heat and cool for a few moments.  Pour into the blender and just blend that sheet up.  Return to pot and add the cream for maximal swirly effect.

This pairs excellently with a rotisserie chicken and a loaf of rosemary bread (both from Costco, obvi).  It also gets raves reviews from my husband and the bebe, who slurps this up even when I throw in a dash of cayenne (the Free Range Fam likes it spicy!).  Even the chickens love some butternut scraps.  Win win win. 

So I took a blawg break

I'm sure you did not notice, but it's been a few months since my last post here at the Free Range Fam. While it is true that I've been busier than normal at work, and that we were away on a few trips, I also needed some time to get my blog mojo back on.  To re-focus on why I started this blog in the first place and re-direct where I want it to go, especially in the face of so many awesome-r blogs that have way better pictures of families who do more Fun Stuff than we do.

So that brings me to:  What do I want to share in this tiny corner of the interwebs?  What am I passionate about? 

Simple.

Well if it isn't the old chin-in-hand, circa 1994

Home cooking.

My faith.

Nutella.

Parenting.

(Not in that order, but you know, I'm just typing freely here.)

 So know that nothing you see on this site will be worthy of a Pinterest board (if you haven't figured that out already.  We keep it Real).  But my love for healthy* home cooking, among other things, runs deep, and it really excites me to share some of the better recipes I've tried/tweaked to make delicious and do-able for our family.  

Did not get the memo that this meal was delicious and do-able for her family

 

I hope to start crankin out the recipes soon, but in the meantime please excuse me while we dine on leftover Halloween candy and Nutella sandwiches.  Happy Fall.

*please disregard the Nutella sandwich comment