Slow Cooker Herb Bread and Butternut Squash Soup

Isn't Fall the best?

It's a season that brings new weather, new clothes, new sights and smells and my favorite, new food!

Today I'm excited to share with you some of my Thanksgiving favorites.  Many people like to stick with the same old tried and true recipes for Thanksgiving dinner and I'll admit that I love the feeling of a familiar dish, but sometimes it really makes the meal when you try something new.

When I was in culinary arts school I declared Thanksgiving that year to be "Fancy Thanksgiving".  I made my family a five course meal made entirely of dishes we had never tried before.  It was adventerous and delicious and we all enjoyed it.  That was the year I created this tasty Butternut Squash Soup.

Just because it was part of "Fancy Thanksgiving" doesn't mean it was difficult to make.  In fact, this is one of the easiest, most flavorful and healthy soups I've ever made.

 

 Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

- 2 Tb Country Crock
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 Tb brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- Optional garnish: cream, parsley, roasted squash seeds

Instructions:

1.  Over medium heat, melt Country Crock in large pot.

2.  Add carrots, onion, garlic and cook until soft but not brown.
3.  Add squash, stock, sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice to pot.
4.  Turn soup to high heat and bring to a boil.  Once it is boiling, turn down to medium and cook until squash is soft enough to put a fork in and have it come out easily, about 20 minutes.
5.  Blend soup mixture completly with a food processor or blender.  **Be very careful because the soup will be hot.  Allowing soup to cool before hand is a good idea to avoid burns.
6.  Reheat soup of necessary and garnish with a swirl of cream, parsley or roasted squash seeds.

Over the years, Thanksgiving dinner has evolved to fit our growing family.  With a bread loving husband and two bread loving children, on the menu this year is a new one for us, Slow Cooker Herb Bread.  With all the things I have going on it will be nice to whip up this simple bread in my slow cooker and save the room in my oven for more important things like turkey.

This bread is dense and chewy but also has a nice crunchy crust.  Making it in the slow cooker eliminates all the time and hassle of homemade bread but doesn't comprimise the taste.

Slow Cooker Herb Bread 

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 Tb sugar
- 1 Tb melted Country Crock
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3-5 cups flour
- chopped fresh herbs; basil, chive rosemary etc.
- additional Country Crock and cornmeal for greasing the slow cooker

Instructions:

1.  Place water and yeast in mixer.  Stir until yeast is disolved.

2.  Add sugar, salt, Country Crock, milk and herbs and stir.  Depending on the amount of herb you want in your bread should determine how much you use.  The herb will shrink up in the bread so the more the merrier.
3.  Add the flour a 1/2 cup at a time until bread pulls away from the sides of mixer and is no longer sticky.
4.  Using a paper towel take about a tablesoon of Country Crock and grease the bottom and sides of the slow cooker.  Sprinkle cornmeal on top of the greased dish.  This will prevent the bread from sticking.  You can also use parchment paper.  See image below.

5.  Place round ball of dough in slow cooker and cook on low for about 2 hours or on high for 1 hour.  The dough will spread out and rise to fit the slow cooker.  For a taller bread than pictured here, use a smaller slow cooker.

6.  The bread will look like it is not cooked but it is.  To determine if your bread is done, remove the slow cooker lid and thump the top of the bread.  It should make a thumping sound and be firm to the thouch.
7.  Remove the bread from the slow cooker and place on a cookie sheet.  Put on the bottom rack of the oven and cook under the broiler for about 5 minutes.  This will firm up the crust and give it a nice golden, crunchy texture.

To serve with your soup, slice a thin piece of bread and spead Country Crock on both sides.  Over meduim heat, place bread in frying pan and heat until crunchy and golden.

So there you have it!  Two new delicious Fall dishes and two new reasons to use Country Crock. 

Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.