Tea Time

Today I had a Tea Party for Grandma Bishop, Great Grandma Kelley, Aunt Sam, Aunt Pat, & Aunt Carol. I tried to make it kinda fancy!

The Menu Was:

• Pumpkin Soup
• Smoked Turkey Sandwiches with Dijon Mustard Cream Cheese on Wheat Bread
• Pumpkin & Vanilla Scones with Apple Butter Whipped Cream
• Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
• Grapes
• Tea, Coffee, & Lemonade

 Pumpkin Soup:

(This was originally a recipe from a magazine, but I've tweaked it over the years)

1 lb pumpkin (pr butternut squash)

canola oil

1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh sage

1/4 lb bacon or pancetta, chopped

1/2 of one large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 cups chicken broth-low sodium

3 1/2 cups water

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

1. Roast pumpkin/squash until tender, scrape flesh from skin, puree in blender

2. Cook bacon in 4qt. heavy pot over medium heat until browned. Remove from pan. 

3.  Cook onion until softened, add garlic & sage, cook about 1 minute.

4. Add pumpkin, broth, & water. Stirring occasionally, simmer 20 minutes. Puree Soup in blender.

5. Stir in vinegar, salt, & pepper

6. Serve garnished with crispy bacon (sometimes I also garnish w/ roasted pumpkin seeds)

*notes*
-this soup tastes even better refrigerated overnight & reheated!
-Somtimes, depending on how watery the pumpkin/squash is, you need less/more water. Just add liquid until it is a consistency that you like.
-Pureeing the second time is optional
-you can use canned pumpkin, but the roast flavor is really superior.

"Light" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Eating Well Magazine

3/4 c. rolled oats

1 c. whole wheat four

1/ 2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. canola oil

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 lg. egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. mini chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil, sugars. Add egg & vanilla. Add flour, salt, soda.Gently stir in chips.

Bake 8-10 min at 350 on greased cookie sheets or parchment paper. Store in airtight container with a piece of bread.

Serving Size 4 cookies: 98 cal, 12g Carbs, 1g dietary fiber, 5g fat, 1g protein, 7g sugars

Turkey Sandwiches:

I just made this up yesterday ;-)

Sliced Deli Smoked Turkey Breast

1/3 less fat cream cheese

Grey Poupon dijon mustard

wheat sandwich bread

Mix softened cream cheese & mustard, spread on all bread slices, add 2 slices turkey breast. Cut off crusts & into shapes (triangles, strips, or special shapes using cookie cutter) 

Pumpkin Scones:

http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/easy-pumpkin-scones.html

I followed this recipe exactly for the scones.  I served them with my own creation of:

Apple Butter Whipped Cream:

1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. Apple Butter (no extras, just apples, spices & cider)

Whip cream until soft peaks form, add in vanilla, & gently fold in apple butter.  Adjust with more apple butter if you need to.  (I didn't measure this morning...)

For the Vanilla scones- I swore on my life that I wouldn't give out the recipe for these after begging for it from my friend & former boss Melissa.  THIS is a very similar recipe. I did not use raisins. While traditionally served with vanilla cream or strawberry jam, today I served them with apple butter... AWESOME.