Bruschetta and Fall Vegetable Soup

Last year my friend Nicole and I threw a little dinner party at my house and invited about seven friends over. We made tomato-basil bruschetta, which was extremely easy and delicious, and a warm fall vegetable soup. 

Bruschetta

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tomatoes
• 3/4 c fresh basil
• 1/2 of a French loaf
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO, you Rachel Ray fans)

DIRECTIONS

1. De-seed your tomatoes.  Dice up into small pieces.
2. Chiffonade your basil.
3. Combine Italian seasoning, tomatoes, and basil.
4. Cut your French loaf into 1 inch wide slices.
5. Heat a pan on medium-high heat with some oil in it.
6. Rub the clove of garlic on each side of the bread.
7. Fry your bread in the oil.  Remove when crispy and light brown.
8. Top with basil, tomato, and seasoning mix.
9. Enjoy!

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Rustic Fall Vegetable Soup

Nicole and I made this AWESOME soup.  7 amazing people came over and had some of it.  We adapted this recipe from the Cooking Channel website, by Kelsey Nixon.  We thought it looked too chunky, so we changed some things and we couldn’t find winter squash so we used yellow squash instead.

INGREDIENTS

Adapted Recipe

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 of a French loaf

DIRECTIONS

1. Dice up your onion and heat your oil in a soup pot on medium-high heat.
2. Add in the onion to the hot oil, allow onion to become translucent.
3. Add in garlic.
4. Dice your zucchini and slice your squash, add into your pan.
5. Peel your yam and dice it up.  Add to pan.
6. Add your tomatoes, seasoning, chicken broth, and orzo.  Finally, add in your salt and pepper.
7. Simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables cooked thoroughly. 
8. Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted/pan fried bread sliced 1 inch thick.

Oh, and then we made cookies from Nicole's recipe.  We’re insane so we made 4 different kinds: pumpkin, minced walnut and dried cranberry (fan favorite), chocolate chip, and butterscotch.