This was one of my first ‘specialties’. It is a really healthy soup and made with one of my all time favorite vegetables; butternut squash. Depending on how much you blend it, it can come out silky, creamy smooth or slightly chunky and brothy. Tonight I served it topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and with a side beet salad with a dill-garlic-yogurt dressing. AND a slice of Pane Siciliano – BBA Challenge #23 – blog post on that coming soon!
- 1 medium (2lb) butternut squash
- 2 small potatoes, cut into cubes
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 32 oz. chicken broth or stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- cut squash in half, remove seeds, and bake at 375 F for 1 hour
- brown all veggies (including baked squash) in a large pot for 5 min.
- add stock/ broth and simmer for 40 min over low heat
- blend with immersion blender until smooth (or regular blender)
- add salt and pepper to taste and serve! (good with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt)
At the beginning of this week, i set out on a mission to cook only recipes from our home ‘library’ and only things that i have not made before. Well, now that we’ve prettymuch reached the end of the week, and i know i am making pizza tonight, we have only made three new recipes. it was the first week of school for joe, and some last minute outings thwarted my plans. Still, a gallant effort and i am glad we made each of the recipes we completed. Especially the butternut squash…
I am semi-obsessed with butternut squash and was happy to find another recipe for it that both of us liked. This dish will definitely be making an appearance in our kitchen again this winter.
- 1-1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in 1-inch cubes (3 C)
- 2 T olive oil
- 8 oz. dried no-yolks wide noodles (i have been waiting to use up my bag of these!)
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 2 small onions, chopped (i threw in a little finely chopped celery as well – it was nice)
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 8-oz. carton mascarpone cheese
- 3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 C fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, snipped
- 1 C bread crumbs (i used some homemade Italian seasoned crumbs)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In bowl toss squash in oil; place in oiled 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes, until lightly browned and tender, stirring twice.
- Meanwhile, in Dutch oven cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; set aside. In same Dutch oven melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add shallots; cook and stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until onions are tender and butter just begins to brown. Stir in lemon juice.
- Add noodles and squash to onion mixture. Stir in mascarpone, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, 1/4 cup parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Transfer to greased 2-quart oval gratin dish or baking dish.
- In the same large saucepan, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter; stir in bread crumbs, remaining Parmesan, and parsley. Sprinkle on noodle mixture. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes, until crumbs are golden.
This recipe is supposed to serve 8, but it made about 5 servings as a main course for Joe and I. What can i say- it was tasty!
Still maybe under the influence of Food Inc., veggie dishes hold more appeal than meaty entrees. There are more and more Farmer’s markets popping up all over town here in Charlottesville, and plenty of opportunities to get fresh vegetables. This recipe was found in the August publication of In The Kitchen, a sort of local, organic food newspaper that can be picked up at the nearby Whole Foods. The magazine centerfold has a month of recipes designed to minimize wasted food. So the chicken you roasted one night might show up a couple days later in a chicken salad recipe. The following recipe made enough for 7 adults, plus enough leftover for 2-3 lunches. I think this would be a great thing to make with fresh summer veggies, and freeze for wintertime.
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped (i usually like to keep the skin on things, but was afraid the eggplant skin would be too bitter for this dish)
- 2 onions, diced (i used one red, one yellow onion)
- 3 small zucchini, grated (i used one yellow and two green)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 C chopped red bell pepper
- 7-8 medium-large tomatoes, chopped
- 3-4 T each fresh minced oregano and basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in a LARGE, deep rimmed skillet or two medium sized skillets over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water for pasta.
- add the eggplant, onion, garlic, squash, and red pepper to the pan and saute till caramelized (all soft).
- Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and simmer until the sauce thickens (about 25 min.)
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta (spaghetti, angel hair, or fettuccine work well) according to the package directions.
- in the last few minutes, stir in the spices. Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.
I was still not feeling top notch today after my minor surgery yesterday, so we had a simple dinner. I copied Joe’s chicken ‘recipe’ form a couple weeks ago and baked it in a 375 F oven covered in Subbs BBQ sauce for 45 minutes.
For the squash, i sauteed two yellow squash and one zuchhini, for 12 minutes in a large pan with one sliced onion, 2 cloves garlic, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. I sprinkled some parmesan cheese immediately after serving.
With that we had a salad of romaine lettuce, blueberries, and feta cheese.
inspired by all the veggies on sale at the grocery store, we decided to make a bunch of them for dinner tonight!
salad: romaine lettuce with cucumber and blue cheese
corn: boiled for 5 minutes
squash casserole:
- 1 t lemon juice
- 1 yellow squash and 1 zucchini cut into 1/6th-inch slices
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 C oregano
- 1/4 C parsley
- 1 large garlic clove, chopped
- 1/4 t fine grain sea salt
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 C evoo
- 1/4 C butter
- 2 C fresh (whole wheat) bread crumbs
- 3 small potatoes, sliced transparently thin
- 1/4 C grated Gruyere cheese + 1/2 C (fat free) feta
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees and place a rack in the middle. Rub a 9×9 gratin pan (or equivalent baking dish) with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with lemon juice, and set aside.
- Place the zucchini slices into a colander placed over a sink, toss with the sea salt and set aside for 10-15 minutes to drain a bit.
- Make the sauce by pureeing the oregano, parsley, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil in a food processor or using a hand blender. Set aside.
- Make the breadcrumbs by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until the butter is wonderfully fragrant, and has turned brown. Wait two minutes, then stir the breadcrumbs into the browned butter.
- Transfer the squash to a large mixing bowl. Add the potatoes and two-thirds of the oregano sauce. Toss until everything is well coated. Add the cheese and half of the bread crumbs and toss again. Taste one of the zucchini pieces and add more seasoning (salt or red pepper) if needed.
- Transfer the squash to the lemon-juiced pan, top with the remaining crumbs, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. You don’t want the zucchini to go to mush, but you need to be sure the potatoes are fully baked. Remove from oven, and drizzle with the remaining oregano sauce.
two skinny jenkins 