What's For Dinner: Acorn Squash

This idea started out basically as acorn squash stuffed with rice and Italian sausage.  After I went shopping and then started actually putting this together it turned out something like this:

Here are my ingredients: about 1/4 lb. mild Italian sausage, leftover brown rice, chopped onion and red bell pepper, gruyere cheese, kale, and the acorn squash.  I also added salt, pepper, and a dash of crushed red pepper for some kick.

I started off by browning the sausage with the onion and then red pepper. I chopped some kale into bite-sized pieces, added to the saute pan and then them cook down to release some water.

Once they were wilted, I dumped it into a bowl with the rice, cheese, and seasonings.

Probably the most difficult part of the process was cutting the stupid squash in half- from top to bottom.  A cleaver would have really come handy :)   After removing the seeds and guts I filled the holes with a dab of butter to retain moistness and then the filling, put it in a pyrex dish, covered it with aluminum foil, and let them cook at 400 for about an hour.

The sweetness of the squash was a perfect balance to the small amount of kick from the filling and nuttiness from the kale.  We dipped it in the ranch because we're like that, but it was good by itself too.  Delicious!

Avocado Extravaganza

When avocados went on sale for .50 over Superbowl weekend, to say that I was gitty would be an understatement.  It literally made me smile when I looked at the ad.  I bought 10.  Now that I only have one in the refrigerator I'm wishing I'd bought more.  Oh, well.  These last few weeks have been heavenly.

Besides salads, sandwiches, and guacamole, there was a list of recipes I wanted to tackle with these green goodies.  Most of them have been sitting on my Pinterest board patiently waiting their turn.  As sad as I am to see avocados back up to $1, I can look forward to Superbowl weekend again.  Only 50 ish weeks away!

Avocado smashed on multigrain toast- delish!

So here's the line up and some notes on each recipe.

Avocado-chickpea Sandwich from Two Peas and Their Pod
      We had this for lunch today, and even though my two-year-old stuck her nose up at it, I thought it was fantastic.  I didn't have any cilantro so I left it out.  Honestly, smashing everything together was kind of a pain, so I'll probably stick everything in mini chopper next time.  I also added about 1 T. of plain yogurt because it looked a little dry.

Mexican Lime Soup with Chicken from Williams Sonoma
      S liked this more than I did.  I didn't put the cheese on it, and it probably would have helped a lot.  The lime is pretty powerful, but it's a lime soup so I suppose it's allowed to be.  But, it was good.

Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas from Gimme Some Oven
       In a word: winner. I couldn't find poblano peppers.  I checked three times, no go.  So, I subbed some green bell peppers.  They were okay.  I cut them too big and didn't soften them enough before I put them in the tortilla.  They are an okay sub, but I would recommend finding the real thing.  The sauce it to die for.

Egg-Avocado Wrap from Never Home Maker
        I was super excited about this idea, but only thought it was okay.  The curry was kind of strong.  I would definitely try something like this again, maybe adding some cilantro and lime like in the chickpea salad.  C loved it though.  Anything with eggs is a winner in her book.

Avocado Smoothie from Martha Stewart
        This was S's contribution to the green line up.  To tell you the truth I was a little hesitant to drink something in such an interesting green color, but it was delightful.  I really liked it.  The creaminess of the banana and avocado balances the sweetness of the orange and honey.  Five stars.

My Favorite Toast

Recently, I read a comment in an article somewhere that on average Americans prepare, eat, and clean up breakfast in 15 minutes.  Yup, that sounds about right.  It's a little sad that that's the case, but who doesn't love a bowl of cereal in the morning? Or a doughnut, bagel, egg mcmuffin...coke?

I'm in the cereal lovers category.  I try to exercise in the mornings, and after working out and being sometimes famished afterwards it's usually the only thing that sounds good.  When I was pregnant I literally ate a bowl every single morning.  I give full credit to cereal for not throwing up once.  But, cereal can't happen every day.  Don't want to be a dull Jane :)

Yesterday I put together my favorite toast for breakfast.  I was in a little bit of a chocolatey mood so I threw in another version because it sounded delicious.  Take your pick, either one would be a fabulous start to the morning.

Apple Cinnamon Toast (My Fav!)

Take a slice of whole wheat bread
Toast it
Smear peanut butter on top
Take about a 1/4 of an apple
Slice it thinly
Put on top of the peanut butter
Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar
Voila! Breakfast

Banana Nutella Toast

Take a slice of whole wheat bread
Toast it
Smear Nutella on top
Take about 1/2 of a large banana
Slice it up
Pile on the toast
Done! Eat Up

Winter Tomatoes

A couple years ago I read a book (sorry, don't remember the name) that had a recipe for roasted tomatoes. I photocopied it and put it in my file and there it sat.  Like most things in my file, it sat there for a long time.  For no good reason in particular, but it sat.

So, when I saw another version of roasted tomatoes, I knew it was a sign that the time had come for me to roast tomatoes for the first time.  I think what really convinced me was that the second time I read about them it was advertised in a "make sucky winter tomatoes taste good" sort of a way and that made me really happy.

The end result was a fantastic pasta dish.  Caramelized from the roasting, the tomatoes were excellent, even though it is December.

Roasted Tomato Pasta
Serves about 6

3 lb. Roma tomatoes
olive oil
seasonings of choice
12 oz. penne pasta
1 pkg. Johnsonville fully cooked Italian sausage
Parmesan

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Cut the top off each tomato and slice lengthwise.  Place tomatoes in bowl.  Pour in some olive oil, just enough to coat, with seasonings of choice.  I used coriander because that was what the original recipe called for, but you could use anything that you think would taste good.  Place on baking sheet with enough room to breath and pop in the oven.  Let them cook undisturbed for at least 4 hours, probably more like 5 or 6.

When the tomatoes are about done, cook pasta according to package directions.

Slice sausage into 1/4-1/2 in. pieces.  Heat a large sauce pan, add a olive oil to coat, add sausage and cook until heated through and browning in places.

When the tomatoes are done, let them cool slightly and then take a knife through them once or twice.  You really can cut them up as much as you want, but they are so cooked down that you really don't need much.  Add tomatoes and pasta to sausage, adding a drizzle of olive oil if necessary, then add a generous serving of Parmesan.

A Good Decision

For almost a year a scone recipe sat on my food pin board and taunted me.  Whenever I looked through my list I told myself, "just wait til the fall, then you can make it."  Yesterday I made them and it was a good decision.  It will be happening again.

Pears. Goat cheese.  Black pepper.  Apparently they were meant to be together.  The pears become silky smooth.  The cheese melts into the dough, making it more moist and flaky.  The pepper adds a kick that lends these scones for savory and sweet applications alike.

I'm definitely wishing I made more.  But those would probably be gone too.

Pear, Goat Cheese, Black Pepper Scones
Makes 6-8
For the original, gluten free version visit Girl Cooks World

1 C. + 2 T. All-purpose flour
1 T. Sugar
3/4 T. Baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. Freshly ground black pepper- more or less to taste (I ground mine right into the bowl until it looked             right)
4 T. butter- cold and cut into chunks
1/2 Pear- peeled, cored, cut into pieces
1.5 oz. Goat cheese, like Chavrie, crumbled
Half n' Half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

Add butter and with hands separate into about pea sized pieces.  Add pears and goat cheese.  While lightly stirring, pour in half n' half until a wet dough forms. (about 1/2 cup- sorry, I didn't measure)

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown.  Let cool slightly before eating.

Note: I baked 7 scones at 400 for 17 minutes.  The next time I make these I'll probably up the temp to 425.

Camping Food

After over 4 years of absence I slept in a tent again.  That's right, we went camping.  This time was a little different than previous trips, mostly because we went with a toddler.  It went well.  We stayed 2 nights, which turned out to be the perfect amount of time.  We put in a little hiking, saw some pretty sights, got our fill of s'mores, and C actually slept through the night, so bonus.

I did a fair amount of research into camping food before we left.  This was the one area that I felt stewardship over, so I wanted to make sure it was good and easy.  My favorite ideas that I found online were precooked dinners that could be warmed- little work, dishes, and no raw meat.

My favorite dinner that we put together was chicken burritos.  Here's how it went down

Camping Chicken Burritos

Canola Oil
Chopped Onion
Chopped Red Bell Pepper
Leftover White Rice
Canned Corn
Shredded Chicken Breast
Picante Sauce
Seasonings- salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano

Saute onion and pepper in a little bit of canola oil.  Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add leftover rice with some water- just enough for the rice to soak up while it heats.  Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the corn, chicken, picante sauce, and seasonings.  Season to taste.

At this point, I stored the mixture in a plastic container until we reheated it in a frying pan on the camp fire.  You could also freeze if you need it to keep for longer.  I also packed avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and salsa.

Fill a tortilla with chicken mixture and top as desired.

Hello Autumn Chicken Sliders

To go along with my post from earlier this week, I thought it appropriate to share one of my first "Autumn" dishes.  I made these for a church pot luck, so there are way more than you would normally need, so adjust as needed.

First of all, I made my mom's famous dinner rolls for the sliders.  C was a huge help.  You could use any store bought variety and that would be fine.

Autumn Chicken Sliders

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Chinese Five Spice
Ground Ginger
Salt/Pepper
Slider Rolls
Cheddar Cheese, sliced thinly
Apples, sliced thinly- Gala or Granny Smith would be good.

Cut chicken into roll size pieces.  Combine 5 spice with ginger.  I used a 2:1 ratio.  Rub seasonings onto chicken then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let sit for 10 minutes or so.

My pieces are a little big

Preheat skillet or indoor grill to medium high.  Lightly oil surface.  Cook chicken, turning once, until done- about 4 minutes each side.

Cut rolls in half.  At this point you can do one of two things.

1. Place a cheese slice on the bottom portion of each roll.  Top with a piece of chicken.  Place on cookie sheet and cover with aluminum foil.  Warm in oven preheated to 350 until cheese is melted.  Then, top with apple slice and top of roll.

2. Arrange bottom half of roll on tray.  Layer a piece of chicken, cheese, and apple and then the top of the roll.

I warmed mine in the oven

You will probably want to secure these with a toothpick.  I really liked the Chinese 5 spice combined with the apple and cheese.  I think it had nice Autumn notes without being over the top.