Cooking Frenzy

Some people clean, some read, some watch TV, but me. . . I cook. I cook when I'm happy, when I'm sad, but most of all, I cook when I'm bored. It makes me feel accomplished. Thursday, I got on one of my cooking kicks and ended up with 3 yummy concoctions at the end of the day.
First, I made homemade granola bars. I've always wanted to make them, but alas, this was not the perfect recipe. They were tasty, but nothing to write home about. They were a little too cake-like and not crunchy enough for my liking. Check out the recipe here: http://bunsinmyoven.com/2010/04/13/granola-bars/

Next, I made No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars from the same website/blog: http://bunsinmyoven.com/2009/09/13/no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-oatmeal-bars/ They were so tasty and super easy to make too. I need to remember this recipe for when Sara Beth gets bigger. It seems like one that you could make with kids.

Last, I made a delicious soup out of yellow squash. A friend of mine, Cinda McKenzie, was so sweet to bring a big bag of home-grown squash to me the other day. I had to come up with a way to use it up before it went bad. Yellow squash is an OK veggie, I guess. It's pretty good grilled, but most other cooking techniques leave it mushy (which is never good). I knew it made a good soup because my friend, Carol Williams, makes cream of squash soup sometimes. So, my mission was to make squash soup with a Brandi twist. Here's the recipe (all my own):

Brandi's Curried Buttermilk Squash Soup
Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cups yellow squash, cubed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup buttermilk
Method:
Saute the veggies in a little bit of olive oil until they are tender. Add the spices and cook for a minute or two. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Puree the soup until smooth (I used a stick blender, but you could put it in a regular blender if you want.). Stir in the buttermilk and heat it through.
Makes 6 cups of soup

I know it doesn't look that appetizing in this picture due to my inferior photography skills, but I promise it is so delicious!