melanie makes

corn chowder.

4 cups water
2 cups carrots, sliced
3 cups potatoes, diced
5 celery hearts, sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
4 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
2 cans creamed corn 

bring water, carrots, potatoes, celery and salt to boil.  in a separate pan, combine butter, milk and flour.  when bubbling, add to vegetables.  stir in corn.

as featured in week five of environmom.com's meatless supper club.  i know i posted a different chowder recipe recently, but this one is seriously a-maz-ing.  the meat eater of a husband i have even agree.  so incredibly easy to put together and with a fabulous end result.  a definite win/win in my book.  all i topped it with was some shredded cheddar, salt and pepper and i was in heaven.  the girl isn't quite of the age to eat soup well but demanded that i pick out carrots from my bowl for her.

butternut squash risotto.

1.25 cups arborio rice or other medium grain rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 12 oz. package frozen pureed butternut squash
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

combine rice and oil in 1.5 quart microwave-safe dish, stirring to coat.  microwave uncovered on high for 3 minutes.

add broth and water to rice mixture; microwave uncovered on high 9 minutes.  stir well.  microwave uncovered on high for 6 minutes.  remove from microwave and let stand 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

while risotto stands, heat squash in microwave following package directions.  add squash, salt, pepper and cheese to risotto.  stir well to combine. 

as featured in week four of environmom.com's meatless supper club. this makes a LOT surprisingly.  the girl and i both enjoyed it and will have plenty to enjoy for lunch as well.  obviously, if you have fresh squash - go for it!  i had forgotten to pick up my CSA box last week so had to go with frozen.  a super easy dish to make, especially when someone is anxious for dinner, and requires hardly any prep work besides grating the cheese.  i paired it with some homemade applesauce i had just made and it was the perfect compliment of savory to sweet.

black bean tostadas with corn relish.

1 lime
1 bunch scallions
1 12 oz. package frozen corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
4 flour tortillas
1 can black beans
2 avocado

preheat oven to 475 degrees.

thinly slice scallions and add to bowl along with corn.  add 1 tablespoon oil and juice of half of lime.  season with salt and pepper.  

halve tomatoes and place in small bowl.

arrange torillas on two baking sheets covered in foil.  brush both sides with remaining oil.  rinse and drain beans and sprinkle over tortillas.  top with tomatoes and cheese.  bake until golden, about 10 minutes.  rotate baking sheets halfway through if needed.

while tostadas are baking, peel, pit and dice avocado.  juice remaining half of lime and add to corn relish to taste as well as to avocados to prevent browning.

to serve, top tostadas with corn relish and avocado.

as featured in week three of environmom.com's meatless supper club.  super fabulous.  loved this so much that i had it for lunch again the following day.  the girl enjoyed it as well - more than i even thought she would.  i'd say a serving size is approximately 1.5 tostadas per person.  at least that's what left me feeling satisfied.  andy wasn't around to try this but i'm assuming he'd eat two as a meal.  super easy - the hardest part of the meal was waiting for the oven to preheat.  definitely adding this one into the mealtime rotation!

sweet potato chili.

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped in 2" chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup water

layer ingredients in crockpot in the order listed.  cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  the longer you cook the chili, the less chunky the sweet potatoes will be.

as featured in week two of environmom.com's meatless supper club.  a great change of pace from the usual heavy, sit in the bottom of your stomach chili.  i'm not usually a fan of kidney beans, but everything worked really well together.  i topped my serving with a bit of sour cream just because that's how i like my chili.  i was fine with just a large bowl of this as my meal, but i can definitely see a side of cornbread as a great alternative.