Butternut Squash Soup!!

Hello All,

Happy Friday! ;-) I hope your work week blew by without any snaffoos!! As we head into the weekend I'd like to share a ridiculously simple, healthy, and yummy recipe with you. ENJOY!!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

What you'll need:

1 lb frozen butternut squash (cubed)

or

you can purchase the kind that is already pureed and frozen

1/2 cup half and half

1 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Place your squash cubes into a medium sized pot and allow to thaw over low heat.
• Once thawed, add half and half. Begin to mush squash cubes with the back of a fork. (or a potato masher if you are cool enough to own one... I don't.) 
• Place squash into your glass blender and use the puree option for about 1 minute. If the squash is to thick add  half of your water.
• Return squash to pot, add cinnamon, vanilla, and the rest of your water. bring to a boil.
• Return squash to blender for its last smooshing!!! This time use the liquefy option.

That's it! You're done. I served my soup straight from the blender. (Garnished with a fresh sprig of rosemary. Food deserves to be cute too!)

• IF YOU ARE NOT INTO(and by not into, I mean you are too lazy!) SWAPPING FROM STOVE TO BLENDER, PURCHASE PUREED SQUASH. (it's just not as easy to find) Bring it to a light boil, add ingredients and you're done. 

Leftovers: I stored mine in a glass jar.

Thanks for checking in. Enjoy your weekend.

That's my 2 cents!

-Kimba

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Friday is such a treat! So, I'll share one.

Hello Friends,

  Happy Friday! Blessings to all the Veteran's who risked their lives for this country.

Today I'd like to share a cake ball recipe that I tried out last weekend. They were a major hit at my Naturals Night! (Which I will share more about later) If you'd like to make your friends mouths water... keep reading and get in that kitchen!

Chocolate Cake Balls dipped in White Chocolate!

What you'll need:

1 box German Chocolate Cake mix

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 tbsp of baking cocoa

White chocolate

container of creamy chocolate frosting

wax paper

cookie sheet

Something to bake your cake in ;-)

Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350
• Grease bottom and sides of cake pan
• Beat cake mix, eggs, water, baking cocoa, and vegetable oil with hand mixer. Scraping sides of bowl occasionally. 
• pour batter into pan and bake according to box directions.
• Once your cake has baked and cooled ( about 15 minutes) you can cut it in half and place in a bowl. 

• Add 2 large heaping spoonfuls of frosting to your cake.

• Mash cake and frosting together. Mix well. (it should look something like this.) 

• Once all of your cake has become moistened with frosting, line your cookie sheet with wax paper.  Take small tablespoons full of  mixture and roll in your hands. Place on cookie sheet.

• Once you have rolled all of your cake, allow to set in fridge for at least an hour. ( Since I made mine for a party, I set mine over night to cut down on the amount of things I would have to cook the day of! ) 
• Once your cake balls have set, melt your white chocolate. I use the microwave defrost method. It cuts down on the chances of burning your chocolate. (I talk more about it here.)

• To cover the cake balls, take a spoonful of chocolate and drop it on top of the cake.With a tooth pick, you can spread the chocolate around. ( I left the bottom of the cake balls uncovered) 

 Tip: Do not try to cover all of your cake balls with chocolate first and then spread. Your chocolate may set before you have a chance to spread it. SLOW DOWN and do one at a time. This will ensure that if your chocolate begins to harden, it is still in the bowl and you can re- melt it!!! ( I had to learn this the hard way. But it's ok. I got to eat all the duds! Quality control right?)

• Once you have covered all of your cake, simply allow chocolate to set and ENJOY!!

I added some chocolate sprinkles to a few.

I hope this recipe is helpful. Let me know if you try it out! 

I will definitely be making these again around the holidays!

That's my 2 cents!




-Kimba

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