Roasted Butternut Squash with Sauteed Lentils

What did I find on Pinterest this week?  I found The Sprouted Kitchen, and the recipe for Sauteed Beluga Lentils + Butternut Squash.  Jackpot!  We got butternut squash in our CSA last week, and I was looking for something different.  I didn't make it exactly according to the recipe, though I admit the recipe there looks a LOT prettier than what I came up with.  But, I had green lentils on hand, and fresh farm yellow onion...  So, I made some adjustments based on what I had on-hand.  I also made it for half the size, because it's just the two of us here...  So, here's what turned into delicious!

Ingredients
2 c Butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 Tbsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp brown sugar (I used Sugar Twin, a substitute that turned out to work.)
salt & pepper, to taste

1 c cooked green lentils, drained
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp dried basil
4 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 small yellow onion
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Grated parmesan/romano, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450F.  Combine the cubed squash, olive oil, oregano, curry powder, and salt & pepper in a bowl and mix to coat the squash evenly.  Spread in a single layer, with as much space as possible, on a shallow baking dish.  Roast on the top rack for approximately 30 minutes, or until the edges get brown and crispy.

While the squash is cooking, place the olive oil and minced garlic in a pan over medium heat.  Stir together and allow the garlic to crisp up in the hot oil.  Add the lentils, basil, parsley, and yellow onion and stir to allow even coverage of oil and herbs to the lentils.  Continue to stir occasionally, and saute about 10 minutes, or until the lentils are heated through.  Turn off the heat, but continue to leave them in the warm pan until the squash is finished roasting.


Remove the squash from the oven and set aside.  Take the lentils from the pan and place them into a bowl.  Add the apple cider vinegar and dijon mustard.  Stir.  Place the squash chunks on top, and then add some grated parmesan/romano on top of the lentil mixture.  Serve and enjoy!  Serves 4.

It's delicious.  I can't tell you how amazingly full of great flavor this was.  Mark loved it, even though he came into the kitchen while I was cooking it and said "What is that?" in reference to both the lentils and the squash.  The recipe says you can do this with ANY squash.  I happen to have another in the fridge, so I think I might go get another variety of lentils and try again with new lentils and new squash.  If it was this amazing with what I had on hand?  YUM.

I'm already looking forward to leftovers.

Crisp Lentil Salad

Ingredients
1 c brown lentils
3/4 tsp kosher salt
4 c water
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c red onion, chopped
1/4 c red pepper, chopped
1/4 c green pepper, chopped
1/4 c yellow pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions
Bring the water, lentils, and about 3/4 tsp of kosher salt to a boil over medium high heat.  When you've reached a rolling boil, reduce the heat and simmer over medium-to-low heat for approximately 30 minutes when lentils are done. Drain the water from the lentils.

Stir in the vegetables and the vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper.  Chill a few hours, it actually gets better as the lentils soak in the liquid.  Serves 6.  Very fresh, crisp, and tasty with a nice nuttiness from the lentils.

Roasted Corn with Lime, Parmesan and Chili

Have you had the street corn at Milagro in Webster?  If not, get there and eat it...  I sometimes dream about that corn.  I decided to go searching for something slightly similar to make with dinner, but I have an issue...  Mark won't eat anything with white, creamy condiments included (mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, ranch dressing, etc.) so I had to find something similar that didn't include any of those things.  That's tough...

I landed on this recipe for Roasted Corn with Lime, Parmesan and Chili from Food52, though I still had to substitute yogurt for sour cream and mayonnaise...  It would have been better with the sour cream and mayonnaise, but it was good with the yogurt if you have a similar situation...

Roasted Corn with Lime, Parmesan and Chili (Food 52)


Ingredients
3 medium ears of corn
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp mayonnaise, at room temperature
1 Tbsp sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 c milk, at room temperature
juice of one lime, plus wedges for serving
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan
generous pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 F.  Shuck the corn and cut the kernels from the cobs (see tip posted yesterday....), tossing them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread the corn kernels evenly on a large rimmed baking dish and roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, scraping and turning over the kernels once or twice, until they're tender and lightly caramelized.

Put the corn back into the bowl and mix in the mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, lime juice, parmesan and cayenne.  Taste and adjust any of the seasonings to your liking.  Serves 2

See?  I swear we eat these things with meat...  :)

Pickled Okra

When I was looking for a recipe to make canned Brandied Peaches, I found the recipe I ended up using at Food & Wine, courtesy of Linton Hopkins.  Those peaches were amazing.  So, now if it's pickled, brined, or canned, I think I'll just turn there first...

Which is where I found the inspiration for spicy pickled okra, again, courtesy of Linton Hopkins...  I didn't follow that recipe exactly, because I already had pickling spice on hand it's comprised of most of what goes into his recipe...  So, I'll write this post on how I made it, though I would recommend going to his recipe for the real deal.

Spicy Pickled Okra


Ingredients
1 lb okra, trimmed (which apparently means slicing off the top of the caps and anything else to make them fit)
8 small red dried chili peppers
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tbsp pickling spice
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c water

Instructions
Pack the okra, chili peppers, and garlic evenly into two sterilized pint jars.  You'll have to stuff them a bit to make it fit.

Combine the pickling spice, vinegar, and water in a medium saucepot and heat to a boil over high heat.  When liquid mixture is boiling, turn off the heat and use a ladle to transfer the liquid over the okra in the pint jars.  Leave 1/2 inch at the top for head space.  Wipe the mouth of the jars and place the lids and rings on top to close.

Place both jars into a large stockpot and cover with water.  Bring water to boiling and the continue to boil the jars for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars from the pot and let cool to room temperature.

Makes two pints, and they'll be good for a year...  If you wait that long to make a bloody mary with them...

Squash Spaghetti

I have made this one a couple times and each time I do something different, and love it. This version is my favorite but you can easily adapt the recipe for your own preference.

Ingredients:
2 squash, cut in half and seeds removed
LOTS of tomatoes, sliced
Bell pepppers, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

On a foil lined baking sheet place the squash so the "skin" side is on the bottom. Lightly cover each half with olive oil, and bake in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes

Let the squash cool, and then take a fork and shred the inside. These are your "noodles." Then in a large sauce pan on medium heat saute the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic using a little bit of olive oil. After a few minutes add your squash noodles and then serve warm with Parmesan cheese. If you are not an olive oil fan, you can use any type of sauce and add any of your favorites!

Easy Garlic Potatoes

I have seen this on pinterest about 10 times so I figured I would give it a try. It's beyond easy and delicious

Ingredients:
1 potatoe
1 glove of garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper

Slice the potatoe about 3/4s of the way

Then chop up the garlic clove and put a little bit of garlic in each slice. Drizzle olive oil, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. I also used a bit of lawry's seasoning salt because I thought it sounded good!
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and enjoy!

Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle & Hasselback Potatoes

So, it usually looks like all we eat are vegetables around here, since the purpose of starting this blog was to share what we do with our local veggies delivered from our CSA.  However, I promise you (and so does our scale) that we eat full meals.  So, I found two recipes on Pinterest that I thought looked amazing - and easy!  So, we prepared Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle and Hasselback Potatoes.  We loved every bite of this meal!

Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle (Gourmet, but found at The Bitten Word)


Ingredients
1 pound zucchini, trimmed
2 garlic clove
4 boneless chicken breast halves (I used skinless, but the recipe is with skin on. Go with your preference.)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 cup torn basil leaves (I went a little lighter than this, because it seemed like a lot of basil to me...)

Instructions
Slice zucchini lengthwise with a slicer or mandoline, and put into a large bowl.  Thinly slice garlic and reserve separately.

Pat chicken dry, then cut crosswise into thirds.  Season all over with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.  Saute chicken in batches, skin side down first if you used skin, until browned and just cooked through 10-14 minutes total.

Add chicken to the bowl of zucchini.

Place the garlic in the skillet and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 1 minute.  Add water and scrape up the brown bits left on the skillet.  Drizzle this mixture over the chicken and zucchini.  Add basil and 1/4 tsp salt to the bowl and toss until zucchini wilts slightly.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serves 4

Hasselback Potatoes (Apparently the swedish version of baked potatoes...  Wow - new potato favorite!)

Ingredients
4 large, baking potatoes
4 cloves of garlic, sliced very thin
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
dried parsley for garnish

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 F.  Slice the potatoes, from one side to the other, about 1/4 inch apart, but stopping short of going all the way through the potato.  Place a thin slice of garlic into each of the cut slices of the potato. Place the potato with garlic onto a baking dish.

Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried parsly.

Cook for roughly 40 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy with soft flesh...  Serves 4.  So good!

Pickled Hot Peppers

I make Italian Beef in the crock pot at least once a month in the winter, and that usually includes chopping some peppers and onions for packing the meat full of flavor.  Peppers are so fresh right now, and I had a ton of them! So, I decided to pickle them so that I've got a pint ready to go as when I make the next Italian Beef dinner (probably Sunday, but whatever...)!

Pickled Hot Peppers


Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of fresh mixed peppers (I used all kinds of hot peppers and also some bell peppers)
1/2 onion, sliced into thin strips
9 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp pickling spice
3 pint jars with lids and rings

Instructions


Slice all the peppers and trim off ends.  If you want them to be milder, you can remove all the seeds.  If you want them to be hotter, you can leave all the seeds...  I left some in, and took some out for medium heat...  To ensure that I had an even mix of pepper types, I used three bowls and distributed each pepper among the three bowls so that I knew I had a good mix in each batch.

Separate the sliced onion into even portions among the three bowls.  Put 3 crushed cloves of garlic into each bowl, as well.

I should tell you that I like my peppers a little crisper, so I opted to put them straight into three sterilized pint jars.  The jars are packed very tight, and they barely fit - use a spoon to push them down.

In a pot, mix the vinegar, water, and pickling spice and put on the stove on high heat.  Bring the liquid mixture to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for 5 minutes.  Using a ladle, transfer the hot liquid over the pepper mixture in the pint jars, leaving just about a half an inch of headspace in the jars.

Wipe off the rims of all three pint jars, and place the lids and rings tightly on the jars.  place the jars into a large stock pot and cover completely with water.  Bring the jars to a boil on the stove over high heat, and boil for a total of 15 minutes.

Remove the jars from the hot water, and allow to cool completely. Makes 3 pints.  Store in a cool dry place, and refrigerate after opening...

Delicious!

No-Mess Corn Off The Cob

I've been cutting a lot of corn off the cob for use in soups, salads, etc...  I got tired of making messes, and came up with this little trick.  I thought you might find it handy if you don't already do this...

You just need a bowl, a flat tupperware or a shallow baking dish, a knife, and the corn...

Turn the bowl upside down inside the shallow dish, and rest your corn on the cob on top of the bowl...

Then just take the knife and cut the kernels off the cob....  And, they fall miraculously into the shallow dish, instead of all over your counters!

Hope you find this handy!

Roasted Garlic & Crash Hot Potatoes

We got a lot of potatoes and garlic in the late summer with our CSA.  So, I was looking for creative ways to eat both, and I found amazing potato inspiration on Pinterest.  The first discovery was "Crash Hot Potatoes, which I found at The Pioneer Woman cooking blog.  I have to tell you - the potatoes looked great, but I mostly loved the personality in her writing.  So, I added Crash Hot Potatoes to the list of things to make with my potatoes.  She mentions in the recipe that she changes the herbs based on what she has available...  Which is where...

...the Roasted Garlic comes in!  Roasted Garlic is amazing by itself on toasted bread, especially with pasta...  Mmmm...  Now I'm thinking about garlic bread, which I have not yet made.  I'm digressing.  Back to...

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients
1 whole garlic bulb
2 tsp olive oil

Instructions
 Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut the tops off the garlic bulb, exposing the tops of the individual cloves inside.  Place the garlic bulb into a baking dish and coat the garlic bulb with approximately 2 tsp olive oil.  Use your fingers to make sure the bulb is fully coated.

Cover with aluminum foil, and place into the preheated oven for 35 - minutes, or until the garlic is soft to the touch.

Allow it to cool, and then cut the garlic skin away from the cloves so that you can pull the garlic out.  It should be so soft that you could spread it.  That means it's done.  (And it smells amazing.)

Crash Hot Potatoes (Mostly pulled from The Pioneer Woman, with a couple variations...)


Ingredients
6 small whole new potatoes (or other small round potatoes)
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
roasted garlic, to taste

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 F.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add your potatoes to the boiling water and cook them until they are fork tender (at least 10 - 15 minutes).  When they are easy to pierce with a fork, remove them from the water.

Drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan and place the potatoes on the oiled cookie sheet, leaving room between the potatoes.  Use a potato masher (this was important, as the slotted spoon I used made them erupt more than mash.) to slightly mash the potato, then turn 90 degrees and mash again.

Brush the tops of the crushed potatoes with more olive oil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper, and place some roasted garlic on each potato.  (The Pioneer Woman used rosemary - I think you can use any herb you want).

Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Serves 6.  Enjoy!  Yum.  Mine weren't as pretty as hers, but they were yummy!

I found Pinterest...

So, it's been a while...  That's because I found Pinterest.  I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.  I have been pinning like mad for a month or so.  The good news?  Much of what I've pinned has been food, and it has inspired me to try some different things.  So, some of the next posts will include my Pinterest finds...  I'll tell you where they came from, don't worry!  :)