Stuffed Carnival Sqaush Recipe

I am very excited to share this recipe with you today. I haven't enjoyed anything ad much as I enjoyed this in quite some time. At the pumpkin patch last weekend, I picked up a lovely carnival squash. They're similar to the acorn squash in size, with a slightly sweeter flesh.

They also look lovely!

I didn't know what to do with it at first. I looked around for recipes, but ultimately decided I had to make it stuffed. Many of the recipes were stuffed with sausage, which I just don't care for. Then I remembered a Lean Cuisine I had for lunch recently. They make a very tasty, very fall dish called Apple Cranberry Chicken. I like it a lot, and knew something similar would be the perfect mate for this squash.

I looked it up on their website, to see what they put in it, and sort of extrapolated from there. The only part I really had to guess on was the sauce, and it was simple enough to make with just a little guessing. The wheat berries are delicious, but I had a hard time finding them. I didn't even know the existed before I bought that lunch. I got mine at Whole Foods. You could definitely skip them if you can't find any, but I would recommend you try them if you can.

This is a little complicated to do all at once, so it'll definitely give your kitchen a work out. I would recommend cooking the wheat berries and pasta beforehand, but it's perfectly do-able all at once. You'll just be a little bit busy.

Stuffed Carnival Squash

Makes 4 servings

What You'll Need:
4 carnival squash (acorn squash works, too)
1 apple, any variety
2 carrots
2 cups green beans
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups apple cider
1 cup dry orzo pasta
1 cup dry wheat berries
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tbs lemon juice

The Process:
     Put on a pot to boil 3 cups of water, add the wheat berries, cover, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 1 hour, until tender.
     Carefully slice each squash in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds and pulp. Place face down in a baking sheet with 1/4 of water and bake at 375° for 45-60 minutes, until tender.
     Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook as directed, then drain. Simmer cider, lemon, and spices together and let reduce. Meanwhile, slice vegetables and apple in to bite sized pieces. 

     20 minutes before the squash is finished, add vegetables, apple, and cranberries to sauce pot. Let cook on low heat until squash is ready.
     Toss pasta, wheat berries, and vegetable mixture together. Spoon into hot squash halves and serve immediately.

I want to make this every day.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats

All this pumpkin means I'm starting to get creative with it. There's only so much pumpkin bread and pie that one family can handle. I wish I had made this oatmeal sooner, so much sooner, because it is absolutely a delicious way to start the day.

If you recall, I am an avid steel cut oats fan. Mixing pumpkin into it should have been something I thought of ages ago. But, I've made it now and it does not disappoint. I had to alter this one a little bit from my usual steel cut oat recipe, because pumpkin is mostly water and it needed a little extra sweetness.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats
Makes 5 servings

What You'll Need:
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
2-3 pats butter
optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

Udon Noodle Soup

It's been ridiculously hot out, so why am I making soup? Because I needed it. For days, I was aching for some Udon soup and no place nearby is kind enough to make some that isn't terrible. The obvious solution was to make it myself. Never having done so, however, it was a bit of a challenge.

If you don't make Japanese or Chinese food often, you'll probably have to pick up a few more ingredients than I did. You can find dashi in the ethic section of your grocery store or an Asian market. If you can't find any easily, you can use a seafood soup base with similar results.

Udon Noodle Soup
Adapted from Bon Appetit
makes 2 servings

What You'll Need:
1 Tbs dashi (powdered soup base)
1 Tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp rice wine
2 tsp sesame oil
1 shiitake mushroom, sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups spinach, cut up
2 carrots, sliced
8 ounces udon noodles, fresh if available (I could only find dried)

The Process:
Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package. If you have dry noodles, the instructions are in Japanese, and you can't read Japanese (which is what happened to me), then boil 4 cups of water and cook the noodles for 12-13 minutes, until the center is tender.
While the noodles cook, put 3 cups of water into a pot and heat to a boil, adding the dashi, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine, sesame oil, carrots, green onions, and mushrooms. Turn heat down to medium and simmer until the noodles finish cooking. Divide your chopped spinach between the two bowls. Once the noodles are done, using tongs, divide them in half and put into serving bowls. Ladle the soup over top and serve immediately.

I used spinach and carrots as my vegetables but you could swap them out for any number of things: snow peas, green beans, asparagus, mini corn, etc. Unless you don't like mushrooms you should keep them in because they add a nice depth to the flavor. The texture of mushrooms skeeves me out, so my solution is to make it with the mushrooms and then put all of them into Hubby's bowl.

It can get a little spendy on the dashi, sesame oil, and rice wine if you don't have them already, but they keep for a while and they're also used in tons of different Asian recipes, so you can get a lot of mileage out of them. Or, if you're not as adventurous, you could just make this recipe over and over.

Slow Cooker Three Bean Taco Salad

There's been some really crazy weather around here lately. If you live anywhere in the Mideast, you probably also experienced the totally nuts derecho (the technical term for the giant windstorm of doom) that blew by on Friday/Saturday. Between the power outages that's caused and the record heat, it has not been a great time to try and cook.

I hate turning on the oven or cooking on the stove when it's nasty out. It makes the apartment so hot and I try not to work the A/C harder than it has to. That means crock pot season is in full swing. Even though it's running all day, it creates so much less heat and doesn't warm up my kitchen and living room at all.

This week, I adapted my Three Bean Tacos for a taco salad. I simplified it after a little experimentation, so this recipe doesn't require the beans to be pre-soaked. You just throw them into the pot and go.

Three Bean Taco Salad
makes 8 servings

What You'll Need:
1 cup dried black beans
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried pinto beans
2 cups frozen corn kernels
6 cups water
1 small can tomato paste
5 Tbs taco seasoning

For serving:
shredded cheese
lettuce
sour cream
lime tortilla chips

The Process:
   Put all beans, corn, and seasoning into the slow cooker. Spoon in tomato paste and pour the water over it. Mix to incorporate the tomato paste. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours until the beans are tender.

Plate beans and add your favorite toppings. Serve with lime tortilla chips. I definitely encourage you to use the lime chips because it really adds a nice flavor to each bite.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse Pie

Last weekend, Hubby and I went to a really great vegetarian place called the Vegetable Garden. We had a vegan orange chocolate mousse pie that was so slamming words cannot describe. It was probably the best pie I've eaten in my life. The look, the taste, the texture... I don't even like the orange/chocolate combination that much.

I wanted to recreate that pie, without the orange. Turns out, there are about a thousand recipes for it out there. They are all pretty similar- variations on chocolate and tofu. That's what I expected since the restaurant lists out the ingredients for it- tofu, dairy-free chocolate chips, cane sugar, and sea salt. This was my first attempt at it, and I am pleased with how it came out, but it wasn't quite that pie. The search continues!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse Pie
Adapted from Vegan Epicurean

What You'll Need:
6 oz. vegan chocolate
12 oz. silken tofu
1/2 cup sweetener- I used Sugar in the Raw but maple syrup might be a good choice, too.
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 graham cracker crust (I used a chocolate one I found at Whole Foods)

Three Bean Tacos

I was originally making a tasty three bean side dish when I started prepping this. I threw it into the slow cooker so it could cook while I was at work, but by the time I got home, I wasn't able to make anything to go with it. Then I remembered the leftover tortillas I stuck in the freezer from last week. Bingo!

It was designed to be 8 side dish servings I'd parcel out over the week, but this recipe makes a ton of tacos. You may want to scale it down unless you're feeding a small army or you have two teenage boys.

Three Bean Tacos
makes ~18 small tacos

What You'll Need:
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried navy beans
2 1/2 cups water
1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs oregano
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (careful not to put in too much)

The Process:
Soak all your beans overnight (I did them in separate pots) or fast cook them and let them sit for an hour the day of.  Cook down the onions in some olive oil until soft, then add the garlic. Add the water, tomato paste, sugar, and spices. Whisk until well combined and the tomato paste is incorporated.

Put the drained beans into the slow cooker. Pour the tomato/spice soup over them. Let cook on low for 4-6 hours until beans are tender. Heat up the taco shells in a skillet with a little oil for serving and add the taco fixings you prefer.

You can use canned beans instead, just drain the liquid off and rinse them a little. You'll have to reduce the cooking time or they'll become mushy.

From now on, I think I will be having my Meatless Monday meal on Sunday, so I can take the photos, do the write up, and have it out in time for Monday. When it comes in on Tuesday, I always feel somewhat disappointed that I couldn't get it done in time.

Meatless Monday: Lentil Tacos

I haven't forgotten about Meatless Monday, but it has been getting shifted around the week lately. Hubby and I are big fans of tacos and burritos. However, you can very easily make them meatless with the addition of lentils.

Lentils are a great legume because they don't need to be soaked like many other dried beans. You just pop them into the pot with some water, cook for 20 minutes, and they're ready. They also have a great texture that I think makes them an ideal substitute for ground beef in tacos.

Lentil Tacos
makes 8 small tacos

What You'll Need:

1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lentils
1 can black beans, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 a small can of tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbs taco seasoning
Hard or soft taco shells
Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, or lettuce.

The Process:
   Bring the water to a boil in a pan with high sides. Add the lentils, cover, and turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the onion in a small pan with a little olive oil until almost soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.

   Once the water is nearly absorbed after simmering, add the tomato paste and combine well. Stir in the black beans, onion & garlic mixture, and your taco seasoning. Cook on medium-low heat for an additional 10 minutes.

If you are using soft shells, be sure to heat up a little oil in a pan so you can warm up the shells before serving. I prefer to do the shells on the stove, but you could also heat them up in a batch in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Then build your tacos to suit your fancy and enjoy!

Vegetable Stir Fry

We meet again, Monday. I have got a tasty recipe for today's venture into vegetarianism. It's a simple fried rice recipe that cooks up quick and is nice and comforting.

You don't need a wok for this recipe, but it helps, and no matter what you want your pan to be very hot when you add the rice. You also don't have to use sesame seed oil, but it gives it a little extra depth that I like.

Now, I am of the opinion that eggs are not meat, therefore I have included some in my stir fry. If you disagree or simply don't like eggs, just omit them. It doesn't dramatically change the dish to exclude them, I just like eggs in my stir fries.

What You'll Need:
2 Tbs oil for cooking
2 cups cooked old rice, separated
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced onions (dried or fresh)
2 Tbs sesame seeds (optional)
1 1/2 cups cut vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, and peas, but you could also use bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, corn, or a frozen medley- whatever you prefer)
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
freshly ground black pepper

The Process:
Heat the oil in your wok on medium heat. Add your ginger, garlic, minced onions, sesame seeds and cook for a few minutes until the onions are soft. Turn up the heat to high and add your vegetables. You want to add them one at a time, by which ones will take longer to cook. I added my broccoli first, then the carrots, then peas. That way your broccoli doesn't end up uncooked while your peas are overcooked.

Once your vegetables are almost tender, add the rice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper. Heat on high until rice is heated through. Make a well in the center and pour in your eggs. Let cook through and then break it up and mix it in. Taste and add a little more soy sauce if necessary. Serve immediately.

Vegetarian Chili With Butternut Squash

I'm sorry Meatless Monday is a little late, as you probably have noticed. However, I got a call from the vet early in the afternoon saying I could pick up my new dog early! I still had a lot to do before I picked her up, so even though I had all ready started dinner, I didn't get a chance to write up the post about it.

The original recipe came to me by way of the Twitter feed of Real Simple a few days ago. It's a slow cooker, which is the only reason I had dinner ready at all last night. They call for sweet potatoes, but I substituted butternut squash, since I still had enough of it left over. The squash was fine, but a little overdone, so I adjusted the recipe to compensate.

Vegetarian Chili

What You'll Need:
    1 medium red onion, chopped
    1 green pepper, chopped
    4 garlic cloves, chopped 
    1 Tbs chili powder 
    1 Tbs ground red pepper
    1 Tbs ground cumin 
    2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
    1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
    1 15.5 oz  can stewed tomatoes (I ran it through the processor to break it up a bit)
    1 15.5 oz can tomato soup
    1 cup dried black beans, soaked, cooked and rinsed 
    1 cup dried kidney beans, soaked, cooked and rinsed 
    8 ounces butternut squash, cut into bite sized pieces
    salt and black pepper to taste


Note on the beans: you can use canned beans if you want, one can of each, rinsed. 2 cups of dry beans (a pound bag) equals 4-5 cups cooked beans, depending on the type of bean. Therefore, 1 cup dry beans gives you approximately 1 can of cooked beans. Generally I get closer to 5 total out of a bag of kidney beans and black beans, but I like a little extra beans in my chili. I almost exclusively use dry beans nowadays, so the conversion is helpful.

The Process:
Soak your beans overnight if you can, or do a fast cook per the directions on the bag the day of. I did both beans together in the same pot, no problem.

Get your onions, pepper, garlic, spices, and a little olive oil and heat them over medium heat in a pan for a few minutes to get the flavors mingling. Deglaze the pan with a little of your tomato soup and add that plus everything but the squash into your slow cooker. Set on low for 7 hours. After the first hour, add in the squash. If you used sweet potato like the original recipe, definitely add it in with everything else.

Serve when the beans and squash are tender with a little grated cheddar cheese on top if you have any.

Meatless Monday: Fall Pasta Primavera

It's been a while since I did anything special for Meatless Monday, so tonight I thought I'd step it up a notch and make this one a follow-along tutorial. Tonight, I made tri-colored pasta primavera with fall vegetables. Generally speaking, primavera is all about spring veggies, but it's Autumn so I thought I would give it a little fall twist. I found an acorn squash at the market today, and I knew it would be perfect.

Most  primavera recipes call for chicken broth to form the body of the sauce, but since this is a Meatless Monday selection, I opted to use vegetable broth instead, and it worked out just as nicely.

Fall Pasta Primavera
Makes 4 servings

What You'll Need:
    2 cups dried pasta of your choice
    1 acorn squash
    1 zucchini
    1/2 butternut squash (I cheated and used pre-cut)
    1/2 can vegetable broth
    3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    2 Tbs minced dried shallots
    1 Tbs crushed sage
    1 Tbs crushed rosemary
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    Cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

That basil? Pretend it's sage. I grabbed the wrong one for the photo.

Creamy Mac & Cheese

I love fall because it gives me an excuse to make this mac & cheese every week. I love it. It is also an awesome Meatless Monday recipe. I shamelessly stole the original recipe from Paula Deen, but I have made this one many times and after lots of tweaks it has become a completely different thing.

Look. At. That.

The big difference between my recipe and Paula's is that mine is baked. I tried it a number of times in the slow cooker, but it's just not the same. I really prefer the baked top with the breadcrumbs.

Creamy Mac and Cheese

What You'll Need:

1 box pasta, preferably rotini
1 10oz block of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 of a 10oz block medium cheddar cheese, or colby jack, grated
1 can cheddar cheese soup
2 cups milk
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp dry mustard (or two tsp liquid mustard)
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper to taste
breadcrumbs of your choice (plain, Italian, panko)

Butternut Squash Ravioli and Maple Cream Sauce

While the weather may not agree, I've decided it's now time for all things fall. Amid my mission for my usual Costco staples yesterday, I came across the most wonderful looking raviolis. Now, I will probably have to make these from scratch at some point, but I haven't made my own pasta before so I wasn't about to start with one that has a filling. I snapped these babies off the shelf as if they were the last ones in the world.

I was wondering what I would serve them with when I remembered that Hubby-to-be and I have decided to start a Meatless Monday campaign. There are myriad reasons people do meatless Mondays, but chief among them for us was meat is expensive and being healthier is something we both can use. And so, the raviolis became a meal unto themselves instead of a side dish.

Be kind, this is my first food photo.