Fall recipes for entertaining, the big game or just because.

Pumpkin Spice Butternut Squash Soup

Makes approximately 12 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

⅓ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

⅔ cup chopped apple

½ cup chopped carrot

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened light coconut milk

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar (see Tips)

5 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt

5 tablespoons salted roasted hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Directions

1. In a 4- to 6-qt. Dutch oven heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the next six ingredients (through pepper). Cook and stir 4 minutes. Add broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until squash and carrot are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut milk and brown sugar.
2. Using an immersion blender (or working in batches in a food processor or blender), blend squash mixture until smooth, adding water if needed to reach desired consistency.
3. Serve soup topped with yogurt, pumpkin seeds, and, if desired, additional pumpkin pie spice.

Tips: Sugar Substitute: Choose Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. Follow package directions to use product amount equivalent to 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar. PER SERVING WITH SUBSTITUTE: Same as below, except 129 cal., 4 g total sugar.

Nutrition per serving (2/3 cup):  Calories 131; Fat 6g; Carbohydrates 16g; Protein 4g.

Recipe from Eating Well Magazine: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/259600/pumpkin-spice-butternut-squash-soup/print/

Ginger-Teriyaki BBQ Chicken Meatballs

Makes 15 servings

Ingredients

Meatballs

2 pounds 98-percent fat-free ground chicken

1 egg

1 tablespoon fresh ground ginger (or ginger paste)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Ground pepper

Olive oil spray

Sauce

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1⁄3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger, dried

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Spray 2 large 9×11-inch Pyrex pans with olive oil.
3. To make the meatballs, combine the ground chicken, egg, ground ginger, garlic powder and ground pepper in a large mixing bowl. Evenly mix the ingredients together. Create 30 meatballs each the size of a table tennis ball.
4. Place meatballs in the pans, spacing them evenly. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes until meatballs are slightly browned and have an internal temperature of 165°F.
6. Meanwhile, combine all of the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker. Add the cooked meatballs and coat evenly with sauce. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 1½ hours until meatballs are fully glazed.
7. Serve meatballs as an appetizer on their own, or serve on a whole wheat hoagie roll.

Nutrition per serving (2 meatballs): Calories 110; Fat 2g; Carbohydrate 9g; Protein 14g.

Recipe from Food and Nutrition Magazine:  https://foodandnutrition.org/may-june-2014/ginger-teriyaki-bbq-chicken-meatballs/