Butternut Squash Soup for the Student's Soul

Hey everyone! I haven't posted a recipe for quite some time now (because frankly I'm not the best role model when it comes to cooking)... That said, I came across this super easy recipe for butternut squash soup that even I couldn't mess up, so I thought it would be a shame not to share it!

Butternut squash soup is definitely one of my favorite fall food items (right next to pumpkin pie), and I look forward to having some every year. It's great to portion off and freeze, that way you can defrost and eat it whenever you're craving a hot meal. It's a really warm and comforting pick-me-up, especially when you're smack in the middle of midterms!

Ingredients:
- A butternut squash (cubed)
- Half a shallot (diced)
- A clove of garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp. of olive oil
- Water (3-4 cups)
- Half a beef bouillon cube (or chicken or veg)
- 1/4 tsp. of salt
- Crack of pepper
- Pinch of thyme
- Pinch of paprika (to your taste)

First you'll need to peel and cube the butternut squash, which is definitely the most strenuous/time-consuming part. Try doing it as-is, but if it's too difficult, cut the squash in half and pop it in the oven for a bit. This will soften it, making it easier to peel, and will also reduce cooking time afterwards.

When your squash is peeled and cubed, put it aside and move on to preparing the broth. Dice your shallot and mince your garlic, then add it into your pot with the olive oil. Wait until the shallot & garlic brown up a bit, and don't forget to stir. Meanwhile, grab 3 or 4 cups of water (depending on how thick or how liquidy you like it). Add half a bouillon cube to the water, as well as your salt and pepper. Add in the pinch of thyme as well. Fresh thyme is best but dried works too.

Once the garlic & shallot are ready, add the water mixture to the pot. Wait for the bouillon to dissolve, then add your squash. Let it simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.

When the soup is ready, put it into a blender or use one of these fancy immersion blenders like I did haha. Once that's done, you can add paprika if you'd like. I think paprika enhances the flavor really well but if you're sensitive to spicy foods you can leave it out. Add more salt if you feel like it's necessary. If you find it too thick, you can add some more water as well.

That's it! Serve and add garnish with some extra paprika or thyme if you want. Overall this recipe is super easy and it's great for leftovers throughout the week. Enjoy :)

Easy Lava Cake Recipe

Hey everyone! I was craving dessert the other day so I decided to make these really simple lava cakes. My favorite part about this recipe is that it doesn't require any super fancy ingredients so you will more than likely have these ingredients in your house if you're mildly into baking.

Also, this recipe was actually given to me by my friend Marcella, so credit to her for finding it & perfecting it lol!

I'm really, really sorry if you're dieting.

Ingredients (serves 6):

- 1.5 sticks of butter (or 3/4 cups)
- 1 cup of semisweet chocolate
- 1.5 cups of powdered sugar
- 4 eggs
- 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla
- 3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar (to sprinkle over top)
- 6 ramekins or tiny bowls

I apologize for the weird shiny-ness of these photos, but I had to use flash since I had no natural lighting :(

Step 1: Melt the semisweet chocolate. You can be fancy and do it over a double boiler, but I just did it in the microwave. If you don't have semisweet chocolate, feel free to use half dark & half milk. For this recipe I used all milk chocolate (that's all I had), but it definitely tastes richer if you use semisweet.

Step 2: Melt the butter. This should be done on the stove-top which will make the next couple steps easier. Make sure the heat is on low-medium so that it doesn't burn.

Step 3: Add the melted chocolate into the butter.

Step 4: Stir until the chocolate is fully incorporated.

Step 5: Crack the eggs into a bowl.

Step 6: Realize the recipe actually calls for 4 eggs, and add 2 more lol. Then just whisk it up.

Step 7: In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients together (the flour, powdered sugar, and cinnamon). If you don't like the taste of cinnamon feel free to exclude it or add more/less as desired.

Step 8: Add the vanilla to the chocolate-butter mixture and stir it until it's gone.

Step 9: Gradually add your dry mixture into the chocolate/butter. Add, stir, add, stir. The dough will begin getting really thick - kind of like a cookie dough consistency. I should add that you want to let the chocolate/butter cool off a little before completing this step.

Step 10: Finally, add in your whisked eggs, which will get the dough back to a batter consistency.

Step 11: Preheat your oven to 400F. You'll notice in the photo I did 375, but in hindsight it should have been a little more.

Step 12: Lightly grease or butter your ramekins/bowls.

Step 13: Evenly scoop the batter into the ramekins. Place in the oven for approx. 10 minutes. I say 10 minutes, but if you prefer a more cake than lava, give it a few more minutes.

DONE! While the cakes are baking, cut up some fruits for dipping. I recommend bananas or strawberries, but you can use whatever you want. Also, feel free to sprinkle some powdered sugar over top (clearly I was too excited to eat and bypassed this step).

Let me know if you end up making these for yourself! :)