Chasing the "chill" away

This past fall I scoured recipe sites for a squash stew of sorts in order to use up an ENORMOUS squash given to us by our friends, the Weavers.  I had an idea of the flavors I wanted to combine and since none of the recipes fulfilled all of them, I decided to take some basic ideas and trek out on my own.  I was amazingly happy with the result and tried it out on my mom when I visited for my dad's surgery this past November.  She became its biggest fan and she doesn't even like sweet potatoes!  It's packed with good vitamins and protein.  The protein in my recipe comes from the beans and quinoa.  I didn't add meat, but some roasted chicken could easily be added and would taste great in this "chili/stew".   You can combine it with a nice cornbread or a crusty loaf of french bread and a green salad, to have the perfect soul-warming winter meal.

Chase away some winter chill with this delightful meal!

Squash-Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili

Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes (you can use any variety - yellow or orange)
1 medium squash (butternut is one of the best for this - any squash with a nice "meaty" center, not stringy)
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper 
1 large sweet onion, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle pepper, minced (These little guys are spicy so for reduced spice, remove seeds or substitute 4 Tbsp. of the "sauce" in the can)

3 cups cooked (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed) black beans or pinto beans
1 cup fresh or frozen corn (optional - I no longer add this because my oldest has decided he's not a fan of corn unless it's on the cob)
1 20-28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 package of your favorite chili spice mixture - or the equivalent of your own chili spice mixture
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup of uncooked quinoa 

Method:

•  Peel squash and sweet potatoes and cut into cubes.  Toss cubes with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper (about 1 tsp. each) and put into a 9X13 baking pan.  Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes (until the squash and potatoes start to turn golden).  ****Side note, this alone makes an amazing side dish by just adding about 1/2 tsp. of sage!

• While squash and sweet potatoes are baking, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and add chopped onion and garlic, saute for 1-2 minutes.  Next add  the chipotle chili, beans, corn, chili spice mix and cooked squash & sweet potatoes.  Stir well. 

•  Now add crushed tomotoes and broth.  Let mixture come to boil.
• Add uncooked quinoa and stir well.  Let chili cook on medium for another 30 minutes to ensure quinoa is cooked through.  

Enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe  
 
    

Sweet & Spicy!

My friend Stacy and I are always looking for new great ideas for dinner that involve vegetarian fare (well for her more vegan).  I came across these on that most addictive site, Pinterest.  I can't remember if I pinned them first or she did.  It doesn't really matter.  We both made them the same week.  I tweaked a few things because I'm a texture freak.  If it doesn't feel good in my mouth, it doesn't get beyond that point.  It seemed like a fantastic idea to saute the corn in spices first, but I found it made it a bit chewy and I like my corn full and bursting.  Additionally, Stacy and I both discovered that the sweet potato mixture is so creamy and flavorful that the shredded cheese on top in the original recipe isn't necessary at all.  To each her own, but in the following recipe I'll be giving the method I most prefer.  These make a great main dish for those who are into eating a plant strong diet.  I paired them with fresh fruit and a salad and all 3 of my guys were satisfied, even the bottomless pit that is my older son.

Grab some sweet potatoes and get stuffing!!!

Stuffed Mexican Sweet Potatoes 
*Adapted from "Pinch Of Yum" food blog by Stacy & Gretchen
Ingredients:

3-4 medium sweet potatoes

1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1-2 canned chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, minced or pureed

1 ounce light cream cheese

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack) - Optional!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, combine corn with a sprinkle of salt and cumin (feel free to add any other Mexican seasoning in the amounts that work for you) in a medium bowl.  
3. Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape out the insides of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. (as much as possible).  Leaving some of the sweet potato in the skin helps keep the skins whole.
5. Mix the sweet potato that you've scooped out of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.

   

   I could eat this all by itself!!

6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Before the oven

 

Click here for printable recipe

Close your eyes, take a bite and say "Wow"!

This blog is about the dinner I made for tonight, Resurrection Sunday. I like to do things that are unexpected, out of the norm, sometimes.  Soooo.... no ham, no potatoes, no traditional foods.  I made a a lasagna with roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash. One word, A-MAZE-ING!  I literally closed my eyes while I chewed. It enhanced the experience by about tenfold!  It's creamy, bursting with flavor, with some texture to chew provided by the noodles and the oh-so-wonderful crusty cheese atop this wonderment.  Fair warning, this is NOT one of my healthier dishes, in fact I'd call it down right indulgent.  Its saving grace is the good amount of orange vegetables in it.  I cling tightly to that fact right there.  I clung to it though each and every delectable bite tonight.  This WILL become one of my all time, top comfort foods.  But, back to business.  The original recipe comes from the food blog "How Sweet It Is" and it called for a few things I didn't have, which absolutely forced me to improvise and make it more my own. I think I'll improvise even more next time, substituting fresh basil for the sage because fresh basil is one of my all time food best friends.  I love it and I think it would make this dish just one notch closer to perfect and in my taste it is very nearly there already!!! 

So, sometime soon, spend some time making this delightfully delicious dish and then sit down, close your eyes, take a bite and..... I bet you say "wow"!!!

Roasted Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Lasagna 
Ingredients:
9 whole wheat lasagna noodle sheets
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups cubed)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 cups cubed)
4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
4 ounces cottage cheese  - or in place of the cream cheese, sour cream & cottage cheese, you can use 12 ounces of mascarpone cheese but I didn' t have this, thus the improvised list of substitutes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tbsp. ground sage OR 15-20 fresh basil leaves!! (Original recipe calls for sage leaves, but I had ground sage from our sage plant from last year and used that instead.)
olive oil for drizzling

Method:
1.)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.)  Cook pasta noodles according to package directions or use "no boil" noodles.
2.)  Peel and cube butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  Place them on baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over the tops.  I used my handy dandy oil spritzer from Pampered Chef and it made this a snap.  Then sprinkle with the nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

I love these colors!

3.)  Bake the squash and sweet potatoes for a total of 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes to get a nice roasted look on all sides.
4.)  While the sweet potatoes and squash bake, slice the shallots and mince the garlic. 
5.)  Heat a medium skillet, add butter then shallots and garlic.  You want to brown the butter but not burn it.  Stir quickly every 30 seconds or so and let the  shallots and garlic saute in the butter for about 2-3 minutes.  Then remove from heat.
6.)  Stir together your sour cream, cream cheese and cottage cheese.  Add 3/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

This stuff smells and tastes incredible!!

7.)  Stir in the shallot, garlic, butter mixture until smooth.

That's some yummy goodness folks!

8.)  When potatoes are done, mash them either with a fork or mixer - depending on what texture you prefer, just mash them enough that they spread easily over the noodles.
9.)  Now it's time to layer.  Spray an 8X8 pan with oil.  Put down 1 layer of noodles.  Cover the noodles with 1/2 of the sweet potato/squash mixture and spread out evenly.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture, 1/3 of Tb. of ground sage/sage leaves/basil leaves (which ever you choose) and then 1/2 of the mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.  Add another layer of noodles, the rest of the sweet potato/squash mixture, the rest of the cheese mixture, sage/basil, and another 1/3 of the mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.  Finally put on one last layer of noodles and then cover with the remaining 1/3 mozzarella and Parmesan. top with sage or basil.

Pretty!

Layers through the glass pan.

10.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Before diving into it!

Enjoy!


Click here for printable recipe

Soup with a southwestern flair!

I lived in the southwest for over half of my life.  Living there definitely shaped my palate for food .  I love the flavors of the southwest, flavors like chipotle peppers and cilantro.  When I find a recipe that combines those with my comfort food AND the flavors of fall, I feel like I've won the jackpot!!!  I found a recipe for "Smoky Sweet-Potato Chicken Stoup" ("stoup is her combo word for "stew" & "soup") in a Rachel Ray cookbook titled "Express Lane Meals".  It looked like a winner to me.  It tasted like one too!!  I've adapted it a bit to fit our eating style.  You'll find that many of my recipes are heavy on the vegetables and light on the meat.  Regardless, this soup packs a powerful flavor punch that leaves your mouth begging for more.   Big taste and big comfort, now that's a win-win in my book!!!

Make a big ol' pot of this soup and you'll feel like the winner, I guarentee!!

Smoky Sweet- Potato Chicken Soup
(Adapted from Rachel Ray's, "Express Lane Meals Cookbook)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Medium Carrots
3 Celery Ribs
1 Large Sweet Onion
1 Large Sweet Potato (yellow /brown in color)
1 Large Yam (orange in color) - although my husband says they are all sweet potatoes, not true yams
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper (1 tsp each - approximately)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 ¼ cup white wine
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 ½ chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped)
Sour Cream to garnish

Method:
Heat Olive Oil in large soup pot.
Cut carrots into thin half moons and add to the pot, coating with olive oil.
Chop celery and onion and add them to the pot and stir.
Peel and cut sweet potatoes. Thinly slice them into bite size pieces.      
Add the sweet potatoes, garlic and chipotle and stir.
Add salt, pepper, thyme and the bay leaf.
Cook mixture for 5 minutes (this browns the carrots and onions a bit and gives them such a deep, rich flavor!)
Add the wine to the vegetables and reduce for 1 minute.
Add the stock to the pot, cover and raise heat to high.
When soup boils, remove cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Add the cut-up chicken and simmer for 5-10 minutes - until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through.
Turn the heat off, discard the bay leaf and stir in green onions and cilantro.
Serve with garnish of sour cream!


For printable version click here