Still Cooking Barefoot

I came across this little treasure, and it had to be posted!

Harvest Vegetable Stew

Love this hearty vegetable stew! So good. You can even make it in a dutch oven!

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

3 medium onions, chopped (3 cups)

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 19-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, 4-6 minutes. Add squash, bell pepper, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add broth, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and chickpeas, return to a simmer. Cover and simmer until squash is tender but not mushy, 8-10 minutes.

Season stew with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

I'm not a big lover of Pumpkin Pie...something about the texture gets me every time. But I love pumpkin flavored everything else, so this sounded like a fun option! And it's pretty good. I'm a bit of a Pecan Pie snob, and would rather have it unadulterated, but I'd make this pie again!

1 unbaked pie crust (see recipe here: Cherry Raspberry Pie)

Pumpkin filling:

1 1/4 cups solid pack pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp half and half (I used soy creamer, and it worked great!)

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

Pecan filling:

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

pecan halves for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pumpkin pie filling by combining all of the ingredients and stirring well. Prepare the pecan pie filling in a separate bowl by combining the corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a bowl, mixing well. Then stir in the pecans.

Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie crust. Carefully spoon the pecan filling over the pumpkin. Decorate the top with pecan halves (this is my favorite part!). Bake on a cookie sheet, to prevent spillage in your oven, for 65-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 1 hour. Chill 3 hours before serving.

You end up with a caramelized crunchy pumpkin filling that's super delicious.

Caramel Popcorn

This is definitely my most requested recipe. So I'm putting it on this blog cause it'll be a whole lot easier to share that way!

3 bags buttery microwave popcorn

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup karo syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Pop and dekernel the popcorn. Set aside. Combine brown sugar, karo syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Boil to soft ball stage and pour over popped corn. Set out to cool. Delicious! Keep it covered or it hardens!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Tis the Season....for me to make pies. :) I've been experimenting with some different kinds lately, and can I just say, I LOVE PIE!!! I don't think I have a favorite anymore. I just really like them. :)

Baked Pie Crust (See my pie crust recipe here: Cherry Raspberry Pie. Bake at 450, 10-12 min.)

3 large egg yolks (you'll use the whites later-save them!)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 plus 1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

3 Tbsp butter (I used vegan butter)

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 drops yellow food color, if desired

Meringue for 9-inch pie (recipe below)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg yolks with a fork in a small bowl. Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, gradually stirring in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Immediately stir at least half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; stir back into the hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute, remove from heat. Stir in the margarine, lemon peel, lemon juice, and food color. Pour into pie crust.

Prepare Meringue:

3 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

6 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla.

Spoon meringue onto hot pie filling. Spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinking or weeping.

Bake 8-12 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Cool away from draft. Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving, and immediately refrigerate any remaining pie.

Yummy!

Chickpea Sandwich Filling

I've been looking for a good vegan sandwich filler for awhile now, and this one passes my test! Well, mostly. I switched up the veggies it called for because I like some better than others. Feel free to do the same!

1 19 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 bag broccoli slaw

1/2 head chopped cauliflower

1-2 scoops mayonnaise (I use vegenaise--so much yummier!)

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice

dill weed, salt, and pepper to taste

Pretty simple, really. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then mash them up with a fork. Throw in the veggies. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, and spices until the filler is as gooey/spicy as you want it to be. I ate it on croissants, but it would be yummy on just about anything!

Mashed Potato Fudge

Wonder what I've been cooking lately? Not much, actually! I'm getting back into it, I swear...when my thesis is done. :) I have been cooking some things, though...some of them just to get a reaction. When you tell people there are potatoes in your fudge, the reactions are pretty great. ;) Hey I'm from Idaho! What did you expect?

3 oz unsweetened chocolate

3 Tbsp butter (I use vegan butter--easy swap!)

1/3 cup unseasoned mashed potatoes

1 tsp vanilla

1 dash salt

1 lb powdered sugar

1-2 tsp milk (soy milk for me!)

crushed nuts of some sort...I prefer pecans

Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in mashed potatoes, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl, then add the chocolate mixture, mixing well. The mixture may be crumbly. As needed, add 1-2 tsp milk until the mixture is a consistency you can knead. Turn it out onto the counter and knead until smooth. Roll it into snakes, roll those in the crushed nuts, slice it up, and enjoy!

I love that you don't have to wait for this fudge to set!