Were you surprised when you looked at my website yesterday and there was no post?? Oh…you didn’t even look at my website yesterday? Cool. Me neither. But if you were one of the few that did and was disappointed with me, I will apologize now. But sometimes, life takes over. And my life was calling me in a different food direction, so the blog had to take the back seat for once.
I was so busy and had to be up by 3:45 on Monday morning, so I put a pork loin in the crockpot Sunday night, dumped some hot sauce on top of it, added a little bit of broth, and woke up to it pretty much burning. Guess it needed more broth. Meaning it absolutely did. That meat was the most dry meat I have ever tasted. But you know what I did? I shoved it down my mouth and went on with my day. Don’t let dry pork get you down, don’t do it.
So this weekend was pretty fantastic. I started my Friday night off with going out to dinner with Tom. Remember him? He’s another one of my really good looking guy friends. Probably the most insightful of all the ones I have. So we grabbed some food at Hanson’s where I got down on a Louisiana Salad and we got all caught up with life. That man can listen, and I sure can talk. So we work well. Especially because he can make me laugh. Guys that can’t make me laugh, creep me out. But being a creeper is sometimes kind of funny. So you gotta find that balance. Wait, what? I’m lost.
But the next night, things got real. Like, really real. It was my friend Jamie’s birthday so we all went out to a new bar in town called Punchbowl. This bar is HUGE. I mean massive. It has a bowling alley. It has shuffle board. It has multiple bars, or so I’ve been told, since I didn’t wander very far from my area. Friend comfort zone is always the best place to be. AND this bar had many good looking people in it. Not that they were actually good human beings, but at least my eyes never got bored.
So after spending a good prooooobably 90 minutes at the bar, creepin’ and chattin’ with friends, my friend Candice asked if I wanted to go dancing with her and her sisters. And the thing with me is, if dancing is in any sort of a sentence, directed at me or not, I’m in. I can’t say no to dancing. I know you just thought a dirty thought reading that last sentence, but I can’t dirty dance. I ain’t got nuff sex appeal fer that.
Long story short, I ended up at a country bar Downtown. I was chosen by a few guys to line dance, but after they saw my lack any coordination or dancing skills, I was left behind to dance by myself. Or at least I think I was. I was pretty intoxicated. For all I really know, I might have been dancing by myself and just imagined a man trying to spin me around. I honestly think I did because my feet hurt SO bad since Saturday night. Most likely because of how much stomping I was doing. When you don’t know how to dance…just stomp. That’s what I always say. Not really.
Who watches American Horror Story? Weirdos, that’s who. I think that show would make me cry from fear if I ever watched it.
Smoky Roasted Acorn Squash and Sausage Soup
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 acorn squash, halved
- 1.5lbs pork sausage
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste (I used a decent amount of salt)
- 2 tablespoons fat of choice
- pepitas (to garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 415 degrees.
- Cut acorn squashes in half and place on a baking sheet, open side down.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until soft to the touch.
- When your acorn squash has about 10 minutes left to cook, add a large skillet over medium heat along with your 2 tablespoons of fat, minced garlic, and diced onions.
- Once your onions become translucent, add your pork sausage to the pan and use a wooden spoon to break it up into pieces and cook until completely cooked through.
- When your acorn squash is roasted and soft, scoop the squash out of the skin with a spoon and place into a food processor.
- Then add your coconut milk and broth to the food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Then add your smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and puree until smooth.
- Place your pureed soup in a bowl, top with sausage, and sprinkle with pepitas.
- Eat up!
Notes
Your soup should stay warm while you are pureeing it because the acorn squash will be very warm, but if it does not stay hot, add your pureed mix to a saucepan and heat up on the stovetop.
Never once in the history of online recipes have I ever read the article above a posted recipe. Until today and I’m so glad I did. Maybe I’ll even try the recipe
The smoked paprika really sets this one off. Great combination of sweetness from the acorn squash, smokiness and spiciness from the paprika and cayenne, and savory from the sausage. Will definitely make again!
Love hearing that!! So glad you liked it!