More yummy recipes...

This past week of cooking at my nanny job was interesting...to say the least. I got to tackle a few different areas of cooking that I wasn't prepared for including peeling & deveining shrimp and gutting a butternut squash. That is one tricky gourd. Hard as heck to peel and cut. And it's kinda like cleaning out a pumpkin inside. Anyway, I learned some new things and found a couple new recipes that I thought turned out pretty dang good. I must say that the biggest surprise this past week was when the couple I nanny for told me that I was a "very good cook!" I was speechless. ME? hahahahaha well...it's a work in progress. 

Harvest pork stew

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter or oil 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, chopped 3 cups chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage 1 bay leaf 3 cups frozen, cubed butternut squash 2 MacIntosh apples, cored and cubed 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional) 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Stir in the garlic and onion, and continue to cook until the onion has softened, and the pork is firm, and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
2.	Place the pork and onions into a large saucepan. Pour in the chicken broth, and season with salt, rosemary, sage, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. 3. Stir in the butternut squash, apples, potatoes, and carrots. Return to a simmer, then cook, uncovered until the squash and apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve. Ham, Potato & Kale Soup INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 large onions, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 6 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic) 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 cups shredded kale 1 large potato, diced 1/2 (8 ounce) cooked ham steak, cut into 2-inch-long strips 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional) DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat the oil in a 6-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. 2. Stir the broth, black pepper, cabbage, potato and ham in the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the potato is tender. 3. Stir in the parsley and caraway seed, if desired.