Butternut Squash Soup

Sorry I don't have a photo for this one, but this recipe was so easy I thought I'd share:

First peel and dice 1 butternut squash. I found this video helpful to learn how:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbecyb7TgDE

Then Chop 1 onion. I actually used about half of a very large white onion.

In a pot on medium heat melt a few tablespoons of butter, and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper (not too much salt though, unless you are using salt free stock). Let the onions cook for a bit until they are getting translucent. Then add the diced squash.

I let this heat for a bit and then added 2 boxes of vegetable stock, or about 6 cups. You could use chicken stock if you prefer, or if it's what you have on hand, but with veggie stock you can also feed the vegetarian's in your life! (**If you use oil instead of butter to cook the onion, this soup is VEGAN!**)And trust me you aren't compromising flavour.

Bring this all to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer until the squash is nice and tender. To test this, just take a chunk of the squash and stick your knife in it: it should be like a hot knife through butter!(nut squash).

Now you have a couple options:

Either put the soup in your blender or food processor in batches to make it all smooth, (use batches, and even let the soup cool a bit so you don't have a hot soup explosion)

OR

Use an immersion blender right in the pot, which is what I did.

Done! The soup was delicious. With only the onion, salt, pepper, and squash, the flavour of the butternut squash really shines through. If I had rosemary on hand I would have added some at the same time as salt and pepper, which I think would be DELICIOUS with the squash.

After blending, heat the soup through again.

Enjoy!

OREO STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!

Yes, you read that right! My sister has been posting a link for these tasty treats on my wall for months, and finally I decided to give them a try! It was very simple: I just took my favourite-of-all-time chocolate chip cookie recipe and shaped it around oreos, then baked them for 10 minutes. So, I guess you want to know my amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe.. well, here it is! This is the recipe my mom always made, the first thing I ever baked,and it's the only recipe I have been using ever since, minus about a year and a half where I love the Cream of the West (flour brand) cookbook that it comes from, and I went CRAZY looking for a recipe that lived up to this one, and found NOTHING.

Cream together:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Beat in:

1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Fold in:
1 cup chocolate chips
* You can also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts if you desire. Also, for this recipe I used mini-chips so that they would be easier to shape around the oreo's.

Drop on to a greased baking sheet, and bake at 350F for about 9-11 minutes. Or, as mentioned above, for these tasty treats, wrap them around oreo cookies first.