Butternut Squash Casserole

I don't know if you remember Kenny Roger's restaurant. It was very similar to a Boston Market and they had the best squash bake ever. I've been in search of something similar and this is pretty darn close. It's very sweet so I might cut back on the sugar by 1/3 the next time I make it. I served it at Thanksgiving and man, was it a hit! The original recipe doesn't call for cinnamon or nutmeg, but I added those based on a review. Do it! The spices are a must. This recipe below reflects me increasing the original by half.Recipe adapted from All Recipes

INGREDIENTS
about 3 pounds butternut squash - I buy the precut packages
1.5 cup white sugar
2.25 cups milk
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs
1/3 cup margarine, melted
TOPPING
1/2 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Put butternut squash in the microwave and cook on high, until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Cut in half, scoop out seeds and cube. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add squash and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.
• In a 9x13 inch casserole dish combine 4.5 cups mashed butternut squash, white sugar, milk, vanilla extract, salt, flour, eggs and melted margarine.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until set.
• In a medium bowl combine crushed vanilla wafers, 1/2 cup melted margarine and brown sugar. Crumble over top of cooked casserole and return to oven to brown.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon

I'm trying to blog more of my seasonal recipes during the actual season. We'll see how long this lasts. I didn't discover butternut squash until I was into my adulthood, and let me tell you, it is quite delicious. I'm still experimenting with more ways to prepare it. I buy the pre-cut packages to save myself some time.

Recipe inspired by Ommy Nom, who was inspired by Whole Foods.

INGREDIENTS
1 butternut squash
1 tbsp olive oil
1tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in single layer on baking sheet, bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

Balsamic Potatoes

I rarely try new sides since I'm the only one who eats them and they don't freeze as well. However, when I had my family over for dinner I knew I wanted to give these a try. Honestly, I was disappointed. I thought the vinegar was too overpowering. Hubby didn't like them either, but dad took several helpings.

Recipe discovered on Proceed With Caution, who adapted it from Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved or quartered if large
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
8 garlic cloves, smashed
5 sprigs of thyme ( I used 1.5-2 tablespoons of dried thyme)
coarse salt and ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an 8-inch square baking dish, combine potatoes, broth, vinegar, garlic, thyme; season with salt and pepper. Bake until potatoes are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 1 1/4 hours, tossing twice.

Curried Quinoa with Mango and Cucumber

I've hopped on the quinoa bandwagon and I'm quite glad I did. I'm not going to lie, it's quite yummy.

Recipe adapted from Moderate Oven Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone Five Days in the Life of Curried Quinoa Salad

This salad can be made in advance and keeps very well, but you should dress it at the time the quinoa is cooked. The grains take in more of the flavor from the vinaigrette when warm and slightly moist. If you want to prepare this dish with leftover, already cooked quinoa, simply steam the grains to refresh.

INGREDIENTS
½ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cups quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
2 garlic cloves, pressed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup plain yogurt
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (can sub an extra teaspoon of curry powder)
the juice of one lemon
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped mint (recipe calls for cilantro)
2-3 teaspoons red wine vinegar, optional
2 large mangoes, peeled and diced - (1 16 oz bag of frozen mango)
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
2 small or 1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced (1/2 jalapeno) - I could leave it out all together, honestly
1/2 tsp chives 5 scallions, including 1 inch of the greens, thinly sliced
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained - a must!

DIRECTIONS
To cook the quinoa, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan then add the salt and rinsed quinoa. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the quinoa is tender. There will be excess water in this method of cooking. Drain the quinoa well.

While the quinoa cooks, prepare the dressing. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, salt, yogurt, curry powder, and lemon juice. Whisk in the olive oil and let the dressing sit for 15 minutes to develop the flavors. Stir in the cilantro and taste. If not tart enough, add the optional white wine vinegar. Salt and pepper as needed.

In a large bowl, toss the still-warm quinoa with the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, scallions, and chickpeas. Add the dressing and fold gently until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

Quinoa Caprese Salad

Inspired by How Sweet It Is

I love summer, having my own herb garden, getting fresh local produce at the farmers market, longer days--all of it but the heat. I've hopped on the quinoa train and I am so glad I did. This particular salad was delicious! I didn't make measurements, but I don't think there are many ways you could go wrong with this.

INGREDIENTS
Quinoa - prepare 1 dry cup as directed on packaging
1 container (I think pint) of cherry or grape tomatoes
About 5 stems (or more) of fresh basil, slivered
3/4 cup fresh mozzarella
Salt and Pepper to taste
Approximately 1/4 cup of oil (I think)
Approximately 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (Again, I didn't measure, tastes even better if it's reduced)

DIRECTIONS
Make quinoa as packaging instructs. I let mine cool.
Add remaining ingredients, mix, and enjoy. See how easy that was!

Cheese Irish Soda Bread

Last year King Arthur Flour sold a celtic circular baker. I was so disappointed I didn't get a chance to buy it before they sold out, I had to snag this square as soon as I saw the email. However, this post isn't about the pan, but I definitely love having this piece of Celtic in my collection.

Now onto the bread. I'd give it 3 out of five stars. It was yummy, but not something I'm rushing off to make again right away.

Recipe from King Arthur

INGREDIENTS
* 2 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (Cabot preferred), cut into pats
* 8 ounces Cabot sharp or extra-sharp cheddar, grated; about 2 cups, lightly packed
* 1 1/4 cups buttermilk*
* 1 large egg
* *Don't have buttermilk? Substitute 3/4 cup plain yogurt + 1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8" square or 9" round pan.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) Add the butter, working it into the flour until the mixture is crumbly. Toss in the grated cheese.

4) Mix the buttermilk and egg, and add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until everything is moistened.

5) Scoop the sticky dough into the pan, using your wet fingers to spread it to the edges of the pan.

6) Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Its internal temperature at the center will be close to 200°F.

7) Remove the bread from the oven, and loosen the edges with a table knife. Wait 5 minutes, then gently turn it out onto a rack to cool. It's tempting, but wait about 20 minutes before cutting the bread, if you can; it's a bit crumbly when hot.

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 servings.

Greek-esque Pasta Salad

I'm only now discovering how easy it is to whip up a yummy pasta salad.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound tri-color pasta - cooked
2/3 cup Italian dressing (I'm sure Greek dressing would taste excellent too)
1 cucumber - sliced and cut into quarters
1 pint cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
1 can of pitted black olives - sliced in half
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta as directed, drain. Mix in Italian dressing while pasta still warm to help prevent pasta from clumping. Add rest of the ingredients, except the feta. If the pasta has cooled enough so that it won't melt the feta, add the feta. Cover and chill 3-4 hours. Enjoy!

Easy Pasta Salad!

Believe it or not, I've never made pasta salad before. Last week a friend had a little cookout and asked me to bring a side dish, so pasta salad it was.

This isn't really a recipe from any particular site, but it was inspired by Kraft Foods. The beauty of this salad, it's completely customizable--just add whatever veggies you like.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1 lb box pasta, cooked and drained (I used whole wheat)
1 cucumber, sliced and cut into fours
1/2-1 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red onion, diced (probably could have used a little more)
2/3 cup - 1 cup Italian dressing or vinaigrette
Roughly 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all of the ingredients and let sit in fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. I found the key is the Italian dressing and pasta, everything else is interchangeable. Enjoy!

Mango Salsa

I am so glad it's spring time finally! I'm in such a better mood when it's warm and sunny out. This salsa makes an excellent dip. I also used it as a topping for my grilled chicken. Deliciousness! My avocado was very ripe, so it's didn't really stay diced--it mostly mashed up when I stirred everything.

Recipe inspired by Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

2 Mangoes, diced
1 plum tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (I may try more next time)
1 clove of garlic, minced (may try two next time)
1 avocado, diced (may try two if serving to a crowd)
1 lime, juice only
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or more)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Corn Casserole

I love corn. I love cornbread. When I saw this recipe on the Baltimore Nesties Cookbook, I knew I had to give it a try. I've tasted it both warm and cold, I definitely prefer it warm. Some say it's like a pudding, I think it's more like a super moist corn bread. I baked mine in a 9x13 pan. Next time I might try a smaller pan, but that could be detrimental as I found out with some cookie bars I tried last weekend (future post), so we'll see.

Recipe from SarahKate31 on Baltimore Nesties Cookbook (link above)

INGREDIENTS

1 can (15 oz) creamed corn
1 can (15 oz) drained whole kernel corn
1 box jiffy corn bread mix
1 cup (8 oz) light sour cream
1 stick of butter (softened)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350, grease 9x13 pan. Mix all ingredients together in medium bowl. Spread into greased pan. Bake 45 minutes.

Joe didn't want to try it, so I ended up freezing half of the batch. I placed parchment paper between the cut pieces and stacked them before freezing.