What's for Dinner?

With October well on it's way I get in the mood to make more dishes in the oven.  One of the recipes that I tried last week was a new take on enchiladas.  The original recipe was  called Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Enchiladas and was posted on the food blog In Sock Monkey Slippers.  I've tried several of her recipes in the past and they've turned out great.  A friend of mine had grown some butternut squash in his garden and gave me a couple. They had been sitting on my counter staring at me  so here was the perfect recipe to use them up!  I changed it up a little bit to adapted it to my own taste.  I added roasted chicken which can be optional if you want a vegetarian dish.

Here how I made mine:

Preheat our oven to 400 F.  Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.  Get a whole head of garlic and cut off the top (about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch) then place on a piece of parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil and course sea salt.  Gather and twist the paper together like a little package.  You can also use foil but I didn't have any.  Cut the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place facing down on the lined baking sheet.  I did learn a great tip from Meredith: Placing the whole squash in the microwave for 45 seconds before cutting will make slicing easier."   So true!  Bake for about 45 minutes.  Your house will smell delicious as it bakes!

After taking it out of the oven let it rest and cool off for just a bit so you don't burn your fingers.  Gently scoop out the squash away from the skin and put into your food processor.  (A blender will also work)  

Squeeze the garlic cloves from the head into the food processor with the squash. They will just sort of pop out of the casing. Process or blend and test for salt.  Add is needed.  I also added black pepper, a bit of cayenne pepper and some ground cumin for extra flavor.

I had some roasted chicken breast that I coarsely chopped to add to the enchiladas.  This is optional but it sure made them delicious!  Preheat oven to 400 degrees and then get everything ready to assemble.

Heat up tortillas in a pan or the microwave.  Take one tortilla and place a generous scoop of the squash mixture.  Sprinkle some chopped chicken on top and carefully roll.    

Place in a greased 9x14 baking dish. Repeat the process until all the ingredients are used up.  I got 12 rolls in the baking dish. Pour a jar of salsa verde (about 2 cups) all over the top.  

Then for a final touch sprinkle about a cup and a half of monterey jack cheese and pop it in the oven for about 25 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Let it rest for a few minutes and serve.

Enjoy a very delicious meal (or six meals if you are like me and are cooking for one!)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Enchiladas (serves 6)

• 1 1/2 – 2 pound butternut squash
• 1 head of garlic
• 1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• course kosher sea salt
• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• ground cumin
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken breast, chopped
• 12 corn tortillas
• cooking oil spray
• 1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 2 cups salsa verde

Welcome Fall! Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancetta

Somehow the summer has managed to have come and gone!  So in honor of tomorrow being the first official day of Fall I made some Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancetta sprinkles on them.  I was browsing around for a recipe and found one here.  It sounded good but I adapted it to what I had on hand and made it my own way.  It's a great recipe for two and very easy to make.  Here is what I did...

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/3 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
Dash of salt
Pancetta

Fry up the pancetta in a cast iron skillet until crispy.  In a small bowl mix the milk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla.  I a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ones until all mixed together.  Heat up the skillet with the pancetta drippings over a medium heat.  Add a scoop of batter (about 1/4 cup)and cook until bubbles appear on top.  Flip over and cook until done.   Serve with maple syrup and sprinkle pancetta on top.  Enjoy!

Just in time for summer

With summer right around the corner I've been looking for good recipes to make that are easy, healthy and delicious.  Today I made what I call Ruth's Rainbow Bean Salad.  The best part is that I didn't even have to go to the store but had all the ingredients on hand.  I love it when that happens!

   

Start by rinsing and draining 3 cans of beans.  I used Pinto beans, Southern Style Blackeye Peas, and Black Beans.  Place in a large bowl.  Chop up some purple cabbage, shredded carrots, one red bell pepper, half an onion and some fresh parsley.  Add some roasted red peppers chopped.  Mix it all together.

For the dressing I used seasoned rice vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Old Bay seasoning, cumin, black pepper, roasted garlic powder and salt.  Mix it all up and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the flavors all meld together.  Serve as a side to any summer meal.

Ruth's Rainbow Bean Salad
1 can (15 oz) Seasoned Southern Style Blackeye Peas, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup purple cabbage, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
Parsley, finely chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp roasted garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate or at least an hour.  Enjoy!

Sourdough biscuits anyone?

Life has been busy and among some things that have been waiting for a bit of my time like my poor ignored blog was a jar of sourdough starter that a friend of mine had given me a while back.  I have a confession to make.  Even though I love cooking and baking I've always been a little intimidated by bread making.  So of course I kept putting it off... It kept staring at me on the kitchen counter and I kept trying to find time and a recipe I felt comfortable trying.  So this Saturday morning feeling rested after a good night's sleep I decided I would take on the jar of strange smelling goo.  I decided on a quick bread type recipe (I know, the safer choice!) and found one in a cookbook another friend of mine lent to me.  I've been wanting to try a recipe or two from "A Cowboy In The Kitchen".  Sure enough, there was a recipe for Sourdough Biscuits!

It look simple enough so I dove right in.  Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add 1 stick of butter cubed

Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it's crumbly.

Time to add the mysterious goo... (sourdough starter) and mix until it comes together.  Don't over knead!

Turn it out unto a floured surface and roll out with your rolling pin.  One thing I would do differently is roll them a bit thicker next time (about 3/4 inch thickness).

 Cut out biscuits as close as possible with your biscuit cutter.

Place biscuits on a greased parchment paper lined cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400.

Place in oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Butter the tops of the biscuits while they are hot for a little added goodness!  Serve warm with butter and honey... Enjoy!

~A Cowboy in the Kitchen by Grady Spears and Robb Walsh, page 95


Sourdough Biscuits 
2 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, chilled
3/4 cup Sourdough starter

February is rushing by too quickly!

My blog has been sadly ignored while a million things seem to be rushing ahead...

Birthdays...

Relationships...

Vacations...

Work...

Babysitting...

Spending time with my honey...

All of these have a been taking up most of my time this past couple of months. This month in between getting ready for Valentine's Day and various President's birthdays I managed to get a little time to do some baking for the office.  Cherry Cobbler was what came to mind when I thought about George Washington's birthday!

This is a "semi-home made" easy recipe which you can throw together quickly and you can tweak it a little depending on what kind of pie filling you happen to have in your pantry.

Here's what I did...

In a medium bowl combine the following ingredients:
1 cup Oatmeal
1 cup all purpose Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 stick Butter. melted

Mix it together with a fork until it's crumbly

Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.

Open one jar of Cherry Pie Filling and pour it into the buttered baking dish.  Sprinkle the crumbly ingredients on top.

Bake in a 375 F oven for about 35-40 minutes.

Add some ice cream on top for a special treat... Enjoy!  

  

Easy Peasy Brownies

The brownies are in the oven and they smell delicious!  I am a big fan of making things from scratch but once in a while it's good to be able to make something that doesn't take much time but is still quite delicious.

One of those things I indulge in once in a while are No Pudge Fudge Brownies.  They are super east to make and give you great results in just 30 minutes.

All you need is a box of the mix and a 6 oz container of plain yogurt ( I used fat free Greek yogurt).  Mix them together.  If it seems really dry at first just hang in there... it takes a bit of stirring to come together into a nice batter.  

But no worries... I just see that as an opportunity to burn a few calories before eating the brownies!

Pour into a pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.   This time I tried something just a little different and put scoops of batter in an individual size brownie pan.

 And last but not least don't forget to lick the bowl clean!!!

    Enjoy!