Slimmed Down Pumpkin Soup & Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread....

So I noticed every single one of our meals planned for this week has a "crossover ingredient."  As in we're using one ingredient from each day's meal in the NEXT night's dinner.  You'll see how this pans out over the next few days...but for TODAY, the crossover is PUMPKIN  in this AMAZING Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish!

I based the soup off of this recipe, but I made a few swaps to make it on the healthier side....the main ingredient to attack was the 2 cups of heavy cream.  Ut-uh, not even necessary! :)  I swapped the cream for 1 cup of 1% milk along with.....................

A diced squash!  I added the squash to cook along with the onions and after adding the 1 cup of milk at the end:  I hit the soup with my immersion blender to create a smooth & silky soup without the added fat and calories from cream:)

I also slashed the fat (butter/oil) in half and added more cinnamon, sage & extra nutmeg to boost the flav-ah:)

And since I've recently turned Scott into a "Craisin" fan, I was so excited to try out the relish...and believe me:  IT IS A MUST!

 

• 1 apple, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, diced
• 1 shake of chili powder (more if you're feelin SPICY!)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

This soup was sooooooooooooo good!!!!  Smooth, silky, sweet & savory:)  And the relish was NOT to be missed!  It added SUCHHHHHH nice textures to the soup between the crispy apples & onion and the chewy and tangy craisins!  Love, love, LOVED IT! 

And as good as the soup was, our side dish was just as tasty!  I combined 2 recipes from Cooking Light to make up some Cast Iron Skillet Maple Cornbread! :)

 

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup masa harina (we just happened to have this in the cabinet and I needed an excuse to use it...just swap with cornmeal if you don't have any)
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

I whisked all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Once they were combined, I made a well in the center and added the syrup, water & butter.  Stir until JUST combined (batter will be THICK!) and pour into cast iron skillet...

OK...now here's the good part!  I had been reading that cast iron skillets were THE ONLY way to make cornbread...and I think the buzz might be right;)  BUT FIRST (here's the important part) you MUST pre-heat your skillet if you want amazing CRUST!  I heated mine in the oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.  Once removed from the oven, I added 1 tablespoon of butter and melted it around the surface... 

I'm sure you COULD use non-stick spray....but I find that sometimes non-stick sprays can make pans "gummy" and I did NOT want to mess up my skillet.  Also, the butter browned and added an AMAZING depth of flavor.  Your choice!

Pour the cornbread batter CAREFULLY in the skillet (the pan will be BLAZING hot!) and try to smooth it out.  The operative word is "try," because it was a little tricky;)  It's OK if it's not pretty;)

Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.  I baked it on the top rack the last 10 minutes to create a golden crust...

 Did we have a warm & cozy dinner, or what?? :)

The cornbread, like the soup, was OUTSTANDING!  It had a subtle sweetness from the maple, mixed with the nuttiness of the brown butter crust....  

Not to mention....a SUPER crunchy crust!  It's gonna be a tough sell NOT to cook cornbread in a skillet from now on!

And to round out the night....and since we were 6 days late....we had our soup with "THE SOUP" :) hahahahhahaha....

Great, great dinner!  I highly recommend this one...esp. for this time of year!  I nearly panicked considering that we're away all of next week and that my 'pumpkin appropriate' days are limited, so I have to squeeze in as much as I can! :) hahahahahhahahah

Tonight our crossover ingredient will be more FALL ingredients:  maple and MORE apples;)  ....stay tuned & Happy MIDDLE OF THE WEEK! :)