Winter Squash Two Ways

According to this blog, I was really into serving squash with roasted red peppers two years ago. Sounds yummy! This year, my big discovery is the addition of feta cheese. So. good. It is gluten free and delicious.

Stuffed Acorn Squash~ Simple!

-Slice into 6-7 pieces
-Spray the pan and the tops of the squash with olive oil (you can buy this with the Pam spray)
-Bake on 375 for 45 min. or until tender
-Add diced dried onion, salt, and pepper
-Add feta cheese
-Broil on hi for 5 minutes or until melted

Stuffed Butternut Squash~ with Cumin

-Slice in half
-Spray the pan and the top of the squash with olive oil
-Bake on 400 for 45-1 hr depending on the size of your squash
-Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and dried onion
-Add feta cheese
-Broil on hi for 5 minutes

I hope you try this! ;-)

For more squash recipes on this blog, see:

Butternut Squash Casserole

Creamy Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

Baked Stuffed Green Peppers

via Jodeze Home and Garden

2 green peppers
1 c. brown rice
2 bratwursts, diced
1/2 onion
parmesan
salt and pepper
garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin, if desired

-Cook rice according to package instructions. 
-Cook bratwurst, according to package, and dice.
-Slice off the tops of the green pepper.
-Reserve 1/4 c. diced pepper for filling.
-Soften the onion and green pepper in olive oil.
-Add to rice and brat mixture.
-add seasonings
-Fill the rinsed-out green peppers with rice mixture.
-Dust with Parmesan cheese.
-Bake upright filled peppers on 350 for 25-30 min. or until green peppers are softened but not overcooked.

Serves 2

Spicy Salmon With Teriyaki Pan Sauce

ingredients:

-2 pieces of salmon

-1/2 c. soy sauce

-2 large cloves garlic, pressed

-1/4 c. brown sugar

-sugar (opt)

-fresh ginger root, chopped or diced

-dash red pepper flakes

-1-2 tsp. veg./ olive oil

-dash garlic salt

We ate this dish when our kids were with their grands. I made it spicy this time, because it just sounded so good. And it was! So delicious, you guys. ;)

First, take your salmon out of the freezer, and place into a glass dish with water. Let it thaw overnight or for a day in the fridge.

When it is thawed, take it out and pat dry with a paper towel.

Dice your ginger root and press your garlic.

Start your sauce by adding 1/2 c. soy sauce to a small saucepan.

Add garlic and let it cook for about 2 min. or so.

Add 1/3 c. water and then your 1/4 c. brown sugar, or alternatively 1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1 tbsp. white sugar.

Cook down about 2-3 min., until sugar is completely dissolved in the water.

Strain chunks of ginger if there are any.

Set your sauce aside.

To cook the fish, add a bit of olive oil to a pan.

Put fish, skin side down, and without fully cooking it, let it get hot, 1-2 min. Meanwhile, coat the top side with soy sauce and a dash of garlic salt. Flip & cook 3-4 min.

Flip and cook again, 3-4 min. on the other side (the first side).

At the end, add your sauce, and heat until hot, but not bubbling.

If it boils in the pan, there is a risk that the sauce will burn. 

(That's why you should add it at the end.)

Serve with rice and steamed carrots.

Enjoy!

Spicy Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets

1 1/2 tsp. old bay

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 small pats butter

I’ve tasted enough bland tilapia in my day to know that when I eat a good piece of fish, I will gladly and willingly shovel two or three pieces of it down my gullet.  This happens to fall into the latter, non-bland variety. When such a delicious piece of fish comes along, I am happy to share it with you, dear friends!

I like to cook fish, and like Julia Child’s recipe for boeuf bourgignon, you should pat your defrosted fish (only defrost under cold running water) with a clean paper towel so that it isn’t dripping wet. The water will interfere with cooking a cook piece of fish.

Add a pat of butter to a hot pan, let it start to sizzle. Lay four tilapia fillets and cover the top side of your fish with seasoning. Let the underside of the fish get hot, but don’t wait for it to cook or you won’t have seasoning cooked in on that side. Once it gets hot, flip the seasoned side over and cook for about 4 minutes on high heat. Check it and if it is white and a little browned in spots (like grilled chicken), it is ready to be flipped. After applying the rest of your seasoning to the other side, flip it and cook another 4-5 minutes until reverse side is white with browned spots, as well.

The great thing about this combination of spices, I think, is that the spice is spicy without being too hot, the ginger tempers the Old Bay and makes it more rounded out (less of the plain salt hitting your tastebuds), and the butter makes the finish rich. I think this recipe could be taken up even a few more notches with real garlic, minced or pressed.;)

Enjoy!!!

Cheesy Black Bean Soup

My kids love to eat soup. In fact, I think they could live on chicken noodle soup and crackers if I let them!  I have worried so much about finding meals that they will gobble up, no question. Chicken noodle soup is definitely one of those things.

For many years, I have been making some variation of a chili or taco soup, with fritos and sour cream, or with tortilla chips, or sometimes cornbread or cornbread muffins.

Recently I have found a good hack for black bean soup, and it has become our new staple.  It is so tasty and yummy!

Recipe for Cheesy Black Bean Soup

2 boxes black bean soup, from whole foods.
1 can stewed, crushed, or diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/2 bag (about 3/4 c.) frozen corn kernels
1/2 finely diced green pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Garlic salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
shredded mexican cheese

Throw everything (except cheese and corn) in the slow cooker on low.  Add frozen corn kernels and green pepper in the last 30 min. of cooking.

Serve with cornbread muffins and lots of butter!
Top with shredded cheese!

Turkey, Bean, & Carrot Soup

If you're tired of chili, or haven't made it in a while, this can serve as a nice substitute. The ground turkey is yummy and tasty!


ingredients
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 lb ground turkey
1 small can of tomato paste
1 tbsp. minced roasted garlic
white navy beans- about 1 1/2 cups
5-6 carrots, chopped
1 32 oz. box broth- vegetable, beef, or chicken (I used chicken, made by Progresso, and it was yummy)
seasoning to taste (I used pinch of oregano, cumin, onion powder, salt, and pepper)


The night before, I put a pound of ground turkey in the crock pot with tomato paste, about a cup or cup and a half of water, 1 tbsp. roasted minced garlic, 1/4 c. chopped onion, salt, and pepper.   Set some dried beans in a soup pot to soak overnight (after rinsing and sorting). The turkey cooked in about 3 hours in my slow cooker, and I then put it in the refrigerator to chill.

The next day, I chopped some carrots into chunks, and added those to the drained beans. I covered all with broth and let simmer on the stove for an hour or two, stirring until carrots are soft and beans are fully cooked.  The carrots may not take as long as the beans; in this case, remove the carrots carefully with a slotted spoon, and add to the turkey mixture, which should be chilling in the refrigerator. When the beans are finished, chill.

Finally, add the turkey and tomato-paste mixture to the beans and broth, stirring on low simmer until heated through, about 10-15 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, and other seasonings of your choice- or hot sauce- to taste!

Serve piping hot with fresh buttermilk biscuits or good bread! We are really into marmalade right now if you can't tell! :-)

SIMPLE creamy asparagus and penne pasta

1/2- 3/4 box small penne pasta
1 bunch asparagus
3 chicken breasts
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
2 tbs. flour
1/4 c. cream
garlic salt, to taste
3 tbsp. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam the asparagus (chop off the ends, then cut into thirds.)

Add chicken breasts to 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter. Cook 7-8 minutes, rotating as you go. Add garlic salt and dried onion (as it cooks, or at the end).

You might want to cut the chicken into pieces— especially if it is thick.

After transferring chicken, pasta, and asparagus to a baking dish, make your cream sauce. Start with a roux.  Melt the butter, and add flour as it melts.  Slowly add 1/4 c. cream, may need more butter and/or cream to reach desired thickness.  At the end, add 2 tbsp. of parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese is melted through.

Add sauce to the pasta, chicken, and asparagus, and add the rest of your parmesan to the top. Put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Turn to broil and cook for 5-10 more minutes, watching so it doesn’t burn!

I had to quick stop and write this down the other night after I made it. I adapted it loosely from a recipe I found on Cooking Classy (correction: Nell found it and linked to it on her blog). In the interest of honesty rather than full disclosure, I tried that exact recipe with the bacon and it took me no less than 2 AND A HALF hours to make.  So I recreated it as SIMPLE creamy asparagus and penne pasta and wa-la. Here it is. SO GOOD. This is at most a 30 minute meal- promise.

Mama's Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Here's my recipe for homemade meat sauce. 

Watch for high quality brands when buying meatballs frozen. It is all.about.the.brand. 

Ingredients:

1/2 diced onion

12 oz crushed tomatoes

fresh greek basil, chopped

fresh greek oregano, chopped

fresh rosemary, remove from stems

5-6 italian style meatballs, halved or chopped into pieces (from frozen)

sugar to taste

garlic salt to taste*

to prepare:

brown onions in olive oil

add crushed tomatoes

add 1/4 chopped fresh or dried herbs

simmer on the stove, slowly

add frozen meatballs

simmer until chopped meatballs are heated through

Serve over whole wheat spaghetti noodles.

*crushed fresh garlic is best, add to onion when onion is almost brown and let it cook for just a minute, that's all folks!

Turkey Sloppy Joe's

Turkey Sloppy Joe's

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-1/2 pounds Ground Turkey
• 1/2 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
•  Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste
• 1/2 c. Tomato Sauce
•  Salt To Taste
•  Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
•  Kaiser Rolls
•  Butter

Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegetables begin to get soft.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls,serve with kettle chips.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman (except she uses beef!)

Coconut Curry Baked Chicken

Coconut Curry Baked Chicken

This is delicious and you don't have to make additional side dishes, since they are part of the main dish. You might want to have a frozen pizza on hand for picky eaters. It is spicy!

ingredients:

• 1 c. rice
• 1 lb. chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. coconut milk
• raw cashews, crushed
• curry powder to taste
• salt and pepper
• cayenne pepper for additional spice

preparation:
1. put rice, milk, half and half, and coconut milk, and curry powder in baking dish and stir to combine.
2. add chicken breasts and dot with butter.
3. sprinkle with cashews.
4. bake at 350 for 1 hr.
5. add sliced carrots for last 30 minutes.

Company Chicken

Company Chicken

This is so, so yummy. one of my favorite things to serve my family, but even better to share with guests.  I found this in a favorite cookbook years ago, and I have made it many times and many different ways!

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup + 3/4 c. milk

diced onion or green onion

bacon bits or salami bits (optional)

Bake on 275 for 3 hours. Or use a slow cooker

Serve with sweet peas and sister shubert rolls

or over rice or egg noodles with fruit salad or raw celery and carrots or a salad

Brownie sundae or apple crisp for dessert.

What to do with your leftovers~  Chicken and Rice Casserole- Very good!

Make 3/4 c. rice and roux with cheddar cheese

Mix into leftover rice, stir with peas and chicken

Top with cheddar, crackers, and melted butter/parmesan

Serve with leftover rolls.

Really Delicious, Simple Easy Pasta

{Need a picture}
1 small can of tomato paste
1 or 1 1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. Italian seasoning, or

1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. fresh bunch of basil, chopped

Cook 2 c. any kind of noodles al dente
Top with Sauce, Stir
Add meatballs, and shredded fresh mozzarella
Bake in a 400º oven for 20 min. or until melted

OH my goodness... so good!


Serve with rolls, green beans, and fruit salad

Asian Fish Stir Fry

This has to be one of the best ways to eat fish! In a delicious stir fry!

Ingredients:

Coconut oil

Hoisin sauce

Sweet soy glaze (or soy sauce)

Dried or fresh diced onion

Rice vinegar

Pineapple slices

Fresh ginger

Brown sugar

Salmon

Sriracha

Green Beans

Brown rice

1. First cook 1 c. brown rice with 1 1/2 c. water.
2. Put sweet soy glaze in a pan with pineapple juice (from the canned sliced pineapple), and fresh grated ginger. Simmer on low.
3. After the juices have combined, add this pineapple juice mixture to brown rice as it cooks. I usually eyeball it, depending on close the rice is to done.
4. Add to the pan diced onion and minced garlic, with some coconut oil. Scrape up the drippings and add to your rice.
5. The pan will be perfect for searing your salmon, now. Add salmon to pan and some chopped green beans.
6. Sear the salmon on both sides, then leave on low to cook green beans for a little while. (You might want to cover the pan at this point).
7. Add pineapple chunks, and more grated ginger. Add other seasonings and toppings as desired (sriracha, hoisin sauce, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, etc). Stir it all together in the pan. .
8. Serve stir fry over rice. YUM!

Mama's Meatloaf

A simple weeknight dinner with leftovers! Serve with cooked carrots or steamed sweet potatoes, corn muffins, salad, and fruit.

ingredients:

1 1lb ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/2 - 3/4 c. milk

garlic salt

salt and pepper

dash soy sauce

1 tbsp. spicy mustard

ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce

1. combine all ingredients except last 3.

2. Bake on 350 for 1-1 hr and 15 min.
3. Spread ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce on top and broil until it looks brown around the edges.

Excellent!

Adapted from the recipe on the Progresso Breadcrumbs canister.

Onion Soup Chicken

Onion soup chicken with rice, broccoli, and grapes

Recipe:

1. Put 5 breasts of chicken in slow cooker.

2. Add 1 packet onion soup mix and 2 c. boiling water.

3. Cook until chicken is tender, turning chicken once.

4. Remove chicken and strain soup mixture so that the onions are separated from the broth.

5. Cook rice. Use 1 c. of rice and 1 1/2 c. strained broth+water mixture.

6. Steam broccoli, at the end add lemon pepper. (my brother Eric's favorite - a must-have!)

Enjoy with some grapes or a salad!

Now I want to try this recipe.

There are a lot of ideas in the comments, including using different types of cheese. Yum!

Easy Taco Salad

Tacy's Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/3 small onion, chopped

Taco shells, broiled and broken into pieces

Spinach

Mexican shredded cheese

Taco Seasoning

Taco Sauce

Brown your ground turkey in a little bit of olive oil, with chopped onions. Add taco seasoning and taco sauce. Melt cheese over the meat.

Meanwhile, put your broiler on LOW and let the taco shells get crispy, 1-3 min. Keep watch!

Serve with rice, spinach and fruit salad.

Falafel + Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce

 Falafel

This is a family favorite and it is vegetarian, to boot!

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c. fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 egg

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. salt

1 dash pepper

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. dry bread crumbs or crackers, crushed

olive oil for frying

1 container plain yogurt

1/2 cucumber peeled and chopped

1 tsp. dry dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

1. In a large bowl, mash chickpeas until thick and pasty. In a blender, process onion, parsley, and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.

2. In a small bowl, combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice, and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs or crushed crackers until it is not sticky but will hold together, add more or less crumbs/crackers as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.

3. Heat 1 in. of oil in a large skillet over med-hi heat. Fry until brown on both sides.

4. In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper, and mayo. Chill for 30 min.

Adapted from All Recipes.

• 
  
  Serve with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions!
  
  
  
  
  We used Ranch Dressing for dipping sauce! I'm embarrassed to admit it because I definitely LOVE cucumber yogurt sauce and would have made it, but Ranch works as a tasty substitute in a pinch!

Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

You should really try making homemade pizza sometime. It's a lot of fun, kids can help, and the process IS part of the experience. I once did a can crust for a party, and we all decorated our own pizzas. That can be fun as well! Molly helped me make it this time, and it truly turned out delicious!

For the crust:

2 1/4 tsp. or 1 pkg. active dry yeast rapid rise
3 1/2-4 c. unbleached flour (You can use half whole wheat and half white flour- delicious!)

1 1/4 c. very warm water
3/4 tsp salt
sprinkle of sugar

2 tbsp. olive oil

1. 1 3/4 c. warm water- pleasantly warm on your wrist, sprinkle yeast and let activate 10 min., sprinkling in a pinch of sugar to help activate

2. Put salt and 2c. of the flour into food processor, pulse, then add yeast/water and pulse five times. Add olive oil. Add remaining flour 1 c. at a time, scraping sides as you go. Add the rest of your water, and if it is too runny, add a bit more flour. Empty out and knead 15 turns until dough is elastic, adding flour as needed. It should not be sticky.

3. Allow dough to rise in greased covered bowl for 45 min. (alternatively, preheat/set oven to 170. Turn off oven. Allow dough to rise 30 min). Punch down and divide in half- each half will make a 12 in. pizza.


You can wrap it in Saran Wrap at this point and leave it in the fridge overnight, or as long as you need to. (If there are any hard spots on your dough from refrigeration, just pick them off and throw them away). 

Form the dough into a circular disk. Stretch the crust in a round, spinning pattern, turning as you go.  Keep flattening and stretching until it is the size you want. (Might need kitchen gadgets for this;) 
For the Pizza:

Add a dollop of sauce with spoon, using the back of the spoon to spread on your crust.
Add toppings of choice, and lots of shredded mozzarella and fresh parmesan.

Ideas for toppings....
Good Marinara sauce
(could be mixed with sour cream or mayo/cream cheese~this is a Paula Deen fave)
Barbecue Sauce
Pesto

pepperoni, bacon, italian sausage, (spicy) chicken, (fresh) mozzarella, feta, parmesan cheese, fresh tomato, black olives, ground beef, shredded basil, grapefruit, pineapple, bell pepper, red pepper flakes. Add shredded basil/cilantro at the end to keep it from over-baking.

4. Bake with toppings on 450 for 16-18 min. adapted from Paula Deen's Pizza Recipe, Paula Deen Celebrates c. 2006
*I tried this pizza crust recipe, since it called for sugar unlike Paula Deen's recipe. I found it a bit too dry. I'm going to keep trying crust recipes.
~SEE ALSO: Barbara Kingsolver's pizza crust recipe

Creamy Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

I found this  Fun recipe for butternut squash soup, but decided to tweak it just a little bit. My primary alteration was the addition of a tablespoon and a half of ginger.  This was finely minced ginger, but grated might be preferable.
The recipe I came away with was this:

Creamy Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash cut in half vertically
1 onion diced
2 tbsp. of butter
1 1/2 tbsp. ginger
2 tsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
2 c. vegetable stock
1 c. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Bake the squash on 400 degrees for about 40-50 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the onion in butter, add garlic and oil and half of the ginger and simmer for a good while. Add chicken stock and cream and simmer until squash in the oven is soft and can be scooped out of its skin.

Scoop it into your soup, then blend in a blender or with a stick blender. Simmer a bit longer to get the juices really cooked in.

If you like fresh ginger, this recipe is gold!

adapted from this recipe

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole~ a la Wendy

Santa Fe Chicken Ole Casserole

(My Mom's recipe~ so good!)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion soup mix or 1 finely chopped onion
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 5oz pkg. brown rice (she often uses instant)
1/2 c. water
1 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese

1. Spray 2 qt. casserole with cooking spray and put in chicken and onion soup.
2. Sprinkle with lime and garlic and bake for 30 min. at 350 or until chicken is done.
3. Cut up then add rest of ingredients except cheese.
4. Mix, then cover tightly and bake at 350 for 45 min. or until rice is done.
5. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let sit until cheese melts.

This is delicious!
Add salsa, sour cream, or cilantro if desired!! Serve with warmed tostadas or chips!