Instant Pot Fall Harvest Minestone Soup

While we were on vacation, we made this Minestrone recipe, originally from Ina Garten. It was super satisfying, especially because the weather was cold up north! The day we arrived back at home, we harvested all of the remaining veggies from our own yard—snow was on the way. Our crop this year included over 20 winter squash, and a giant pile of swiss chard. With Ina’s recipe fresh on my mind, I knew one way to put those veggies to work. After a few adaptions, we had a pot full of perfectly fall minestrone. Cozy, but also chock-full of veggies, which is just want I look for right after vacation.

Instant Pot Fall Harvest Minestone Soup

Published October 17, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 ounces diced pancetta or diced thick-cut bacon (optional)

1 tablespoon coconut oil or other cooking oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 large carrots, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

2 cups diced butternut squash (peeled and seeds removed)

1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, strained and rinsed

1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes

5 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3-4 swiss chard leaves

1/2 cup basil (optional)

Salt to taste

Optional: 2 cups cooked small-sized pasta, such as ditalini, orecchiette, or gnocchetti (Use chickpea pasta for gluten-free)

For serving: grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Turn Instant Pot to Sauté setting. If using pancetta, place in pot and cook for a few minutes, browning on each side.
2. If pot is dry, add coconut oil. This can be skipped if there is a good amount of oil in the pot from the pancetta. Place onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in pot, and stir to combine. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent.
3. Using a knife, remove the stems from the swiss chard leaves. Place the green parts aside (reserve for later) and dice the stems. Add the stems to the pot.
4. Pour wine into pot. Using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the pot, releasing any brown bits as the wine simmers (this adds flavor to the soup).
5. Add butternut squash, beans, diced tomatoes, broth, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme to pot. Stir. Place lid on Instant Pot and set to “Bean/Chili” setting. Set timer to 1 minute with vent in the sealed position.
6. When timer goes off, release the pressure and open the pot.
7. Chop the reserved swiss chard leaves into bite-sized pieces, and roughly chop the basil. Stir both into the soup. Taste, and season with salt to your preferences (note: store bought broth will likely already have salt in it, so you may not need much. Homemade broth usually doesn’t already have salt, so more will need to be added).
8. Divide pasta among serving bowls. Ladle soup into bowls, and stir to incorporate pasta. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve hot. Great with a side of garlic bread or crostini!
9. Note: We stir the pasta into each serving bowl, rather than the whole pot, because if you put all of the pasta into the soup, it will absorb much of the broth, and the next day, you’ll find your leftovers are not very soup-like.

Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash with Sausage & Sun Dried Tomatoes

The car vibrates around me as music rolls low and steady from the speakers. After five days of camping, there is nothing I want more than a hot shower, a meal cooked on a real stove, and my own soft pillow. That is, aside from staying forever, but I know that’s not possible, for all long weekends must come to an end. 

Somehow, despite assigning each night’s meal to a different person, we ended eating tacos every evening. Don’t get me wrong, tacos are amazing—breakfast tacos, fish tacos, chicken tacos, beef tacos, veggie tacos. I’m all about it. Tonight however, I’m looking forward to just about anything else—something hearty and warm. something cheesy and meaty. Something with a spice other than New Mexican Chile Powder, and an herb other than cilantro. We’ll eat it off of clean plates and we’ll use real silverware. We’ll remember that we usually eat dinner in proper chairs, and instead of building a fire we’ll watch a movie. 

To dining at home! 

Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash with Sausage & Sun Dried Tomatoes

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Spaghetti squash is baked with sun-dried tomatoes and Italian sausage.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1/2 cup sun dried-tomatoes
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup cooked Italian sausage crumbles
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Slice the spaghetti squash in half, and remove the seeds and discard. Steam the squash until tender (I use an Instant Pot by filling the pot with 1-inch of water and a steaming basket. You can also cook the squash on the stove in a large pot—fill with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes). Once tender, remove from pot.
2. Using a fork, pulling flesh from the spaghetti squash and place in bowl. Mix squash with son-dried tomatoes, sausage crumbles, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and a dash of salt and pepper. Add half of cheese.
3. Spoon filling back into the shells of the spaghetti squash, and top with the cheese. Place squash halves on cookie sheet and place in over on low broil. Cook until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Alfredo Sauce with Zoodles

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Nothing is inherently hard about making Alfredo sauce — you heat some cream. You add the cheese. You stir.

Easy. Simple.

But, things can go wrong. On my first go, I used an all-Parmesan recipe, which was far too salty. It was good, but extremely salty. But that wasn’t the only problem: Something about that cheese I used didn’t quite melt right. The end sauce was creamy, but it had little specks of parmesan in it, that just wouldn’t go away. Did I overheat the milk? Was the cheese I used just weird?

Then I read a suggestion for using mozzarella over Parm. By using mostly mozzarella and adding a hint of Parmesan, you get a magically smooth, melty sauce. But I found the finished product to lack a certain pop of flavor that the first go had offered. Mozzarella was too bland for an impactful sauce.

So I mixed the two — why not? — and held my breath for the results. At first, the ratios were off — too much cheese to milk (hard to believe that’d be possible, but it is, apparently) produced a awkwardly think sauce. But I gave it one more go! The same cheese blend; a little more cream. That’s the spot.

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Alfredo Sauce with Zoodles

Published August 6, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, crushed

3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cups grated mozzerella

To serve: ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

To serve: 2 medium zucchini

Directions:

1. Make the sauce: heat butter, crushed garlic, and cream in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. When butter is fully melted, reduce heat to low and add the mozzarella and Parmesan, whisking thoroughly until cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Sauce will begin to thicken. Continue to heat over low, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.
3. Cut stem from zucchini and, using a spiralizer, make zoodles. Heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter is melted, add zoodles and sauté, turning zoodles occasionally, for several minutes until they are soft.
4. Divide zoodles amongst serving plates, and ladle Alfredo sauce over top. Garnish with parsley.
5. Serving suggestion: grilled or roasted chicken breast, sliced or cut into bite-sized pieces is a great way to add protein to this dish for a heartier meal.

Note: (I use this Spiralizer), and recommend it. If you do not own a spiralizer, you can try cutting the zucchini into thin strings by hand (with a knife). I used to do it this way- it works but takes a lot of patience, and the "noodles" do not come out as long