Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

I tried this recipe because it appeared on a blog I like to follow that is mostly about baking.  But, you know, like real baking, not real food.  Desserts.  Cookies.  Cakes.  Things that you would have AFTER a meal.  So, when I saw this, I thought: why not?  

The original recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction and she adapted it from Cooking Light.  Also--warning!--it contains "optional" kale.  And what do I do with optional kale?  Obviously I swap it for spinach, because kale ruins everything. :)  

My version--made in early February--didn't really turn out looking like the original, but I thought it tasted great and was pretty healthy.  I was eating it as a main dish, but it would also make a mighty fine side-dish.  Also, it is vegetarian, if that matters to you, but you could toss in some crumbled bacon if you are bothered by vegetarian foods.  

Leftovers were tasty, including a portion that I froze to have a week or so later.  And the original provided freezing directions for the whole dish, which I haven't tried yet.  But I will!  Basically those are:  Prepare the recipe except for the baking.  Cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months.  Thaw overnight in the fridge, bring to room temperature, and then bake.   

Ingredients:

• 4 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash (or, about 1 large butternut squash peeled and cubed)
• 1 1/4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (you could also use chicken broth)
• 1 1/4 cups milk (I used skim milk and it worked fine)
• 2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 lb. uncooked pasta (I used a rotini, but you could do whatever!)
• 1 package of spinach (optional)
• 1/4 cup plain, nonfat greek yogurt 
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2+ tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 1/2+ heaping cups of shredded cheese (the original recommended gruyere or white cheddar, I used gruyere because I happened to find some pre-shredded at Aldi for a good price)
• optional: 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium pan over medium-high heat
2. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the squash is very tender (test by stabbing it with a fork) and then set aside
   
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees 
4. Cook your pasta until it is a bit firm still, just al dente
5. Add spinach and cook for a minute or two, until spinach is wilted in.
   
6. Drain and set aside
   
7. Put warm squash mixture in blender 
8. Add yogurt, salt, and pepper, and blend until smooth
   
9. Pour sauce into very large bowl and add in cheese(s)
10. Stir until cheese is combined (don't worry if it isn't all melted at this point)
    
11. Add pasta/spinach to bowl and stir.
    
12. Pour into a casserole dish, top with breadcrumbs
    
13. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly on the sides. 
    
    
    

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Taco Pasta!

I was walking through the small, local grocery store just-pre-pandemic when I saw that they had mafalda-shaped pasta.  I was actually looking for gemelli, which my Target does not carry, but my Target doesn't have mafalda either!  Anyway, I grabbed a box (it was Creamette brand) and threw it in my cart to put in the cabinet.  (Because who wants boring old pasta shapes, right?)

As the box was sitting in the top section of the cart, I realized that the back of the box had a recipe on it...and it being approximately dinner time, the recipe sounded really good.  It was for Mafalda Mexicana, which I am choosing to rename as a more Midwestern (and thus *way* more appropriate) "Taco Pasta."  

I really liked my final result and it is the kind of thing that you can add to, depending on what you like and what you have around.  The key is the creamy sauce, the secret ingredient of which is....wait for it......waaaiitt for iiit...cottage cheese.  Weird, huh?  Also, you could probably use any type of noodle/pasta that you like/have on hand, but the wavy ribbony noodles did pick up and hold the sauce really well.  And I froze some of the leftovers and they were good heated up for a lunch.     

Anyway.  Super tasty and going in my repertoire!  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package (6 oz.) mafalda pasta, uncooked 
• 1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey (I used turkey this time)
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese (I used a low fat 1% kind)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I used shredded, but you could use grated)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• optional: chopped tomato, sliced black olives, salsa, etc. (you know, taco things)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions
2. Cook meat in a large skillet over a medium heat (drain fat if needed)
3. Add taco mix, stir, then add water and bring to a boil
4. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Stir in cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and pasta
6. Heat through (the cheeses will melt, even the cottage cheese curds)
7. Top with mozzarella cheese, and then add any optional taco toppings  

Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken with Spinach

Based on a a recipe I found online, this was incredibly simple.   I served the chicken and spinach over baked polenta rounds, and since the chicken breasts were pretty large, even with only 2 the recipe made four nice servings.  They were perfect for work-from-home workday lunches in this, the time of stay-at-home due to Corona Virus. 

One sad thing, I forgot to put the slivered almonds on it and I think that would be a nice addition.  Next time!

Ingredients:

• 2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey mustard per chicken breast
• Dash of salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 16 oz (2 packages) spinach, washed and dried--or more
• 2 tablespoons margarine (cut into small pieces)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• Optional: toasted sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Grease the crockery part of the slow-sooker with nonstick spray  
2. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels, then rub with the honey mustard and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
   
3. Arrange the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker 
4. Top with spinach. (The recipe said "If your slow cooker is too small for all of the spinach, steam it briefly and add the wilted spinach leaves." The 16 oz. made the slow cooker really full, but it shrunk down considerably.  So maybe adding more spinach and wilting it some would be good. )
5. Dot spinach with butter and minced garlic, and sprinkle with more salt and pepper.
   
   
6. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.  (See, look how much it shrinks down!)
   
   
7. Serve over polenta slices, baked in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Or alone, or with toast, or with whatever you want!

Lemon Chiffon Cake

My mixer broke in August, right as I was finishing practice baking for the State Fair.  It was terrible timing, but I was lucky to have several friends who offered to loan me their stand mixers for the duration, so I was able to finish my recipes!

Since there aren't any authorized repair shops in the entire state of Minnesota, I contacted the nice folks at Kitchen Aid and they told me how to get my mixer repaired.  They sent me a giant box with packing materials and I sent my beloved red mixer off to them in the Fall. My mixer finally got back to me in January, right as rain. 

To celebrate, I wanted to try something that would use the full power of the stand mixer.  So chiffon cake, it was!  This recipe was from King Arthur Flour and it was SO GOOD.  Everyone at work liked the texture and the flavor, too.  It would probably be even better served with berries or with a bit of lemon drizzle, but plain worked just fine.  Also, this was the first time I've ever used Grandma McElroy's square angel food cake pan.  It was a very cool shape and the cake came out just like a regular round one would. 
   
Ingredients:

• 2 cups (241g) all-purpose flour (NOT cake flour)
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups (298g) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 8 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 
2. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a large bowl.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add (in order) the oil, water, egg yolks, vanilla, grated lemon peel, extract, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
    
4. Mix until smooth; scrape the bowl and mix for 30 seconds more.
5. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip until very stiff peaks form.
6. Fold one quarter of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it up
   
7. Gradually (in four additions) pour the yolk mixture back over the remaining whites, folding gently just until blended each time. 
8. Pour the batter into a 10" angel food cake pan (original recipe called for round, but I used square!)
9. Bake the cake for 55 minutes
   
10. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
11. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it upside down.
12. When completely cool, run a thin-bladed metal spatula or knife between the cake and the pan, and turn the cake out onto a serving plate.
    
    Note: The texture allowed for fairly thin slices, which would be nice if serving a big group, especially if there were extras like fruit or ice cream.  

Mushroom, Chicken, and Rice Casserole

This is another of my new, (at least relatively) healthy recipes for January.  It turned out to a be a very nice, comfort-food type of recipe.  Very easy to make and my kitchen smelled amazing as it baked!

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice (I used basmati, because that's what was in my cabinet)
• 1 10.75 oz. can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used a healthy version with less sodium and fat, and could probably use cream of chicken, celery, or whatever)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 envelope onion soup mix, dry
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms
• 1 pound chicken breasts, preferably 3
• Black pepper
• Cashews for the top (original recipe called for toasted slivered almonds, but I don't have those)

Directions

1. Grease 2 quart casserole dish
2. Preheat oven to 375°F
3. Sliced and saute mushrooms, cooking until soft and liquid is mostly gone
4. Put uncooked rice in dish
5. In a bowl, mix water, dry soup mix, condensed soup, and mushrooms.  Stir to blend
6. Pour over rice and mix together.
7. Put chicken in the rice mixture (actually push down into the mixture) and sprinkle with pepper
8. Cover dish with foil and bake for about an hour, or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked.
9. Uncover dish, sprinkle top with nuts, and put back in oven for 5 minutes.

Baked Falafel

Ingredients:

• 1  medium bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil (could use a bit less, or swap for tahini)
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Instructions:

1. Line baking sheet with foil, put it in a cold oven, and preheat oven to 450°F
2. Chop cilantro, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. (The original called for using a food processor, but I don't have one.  I tried using my blender, but it didn't work.  So I did little batches in the hand chopper I use for nuts and stuff.)
3. Chop/puree chickpeas with oil to make a paste (for this I did use my blender).
4. Mix chickpea and cilantro mixtures together with panko breadcrumbs.
5. Form 2 Tbsp. scoops of mixture into patties.  
6. Remove baking sheet from oven, spray foil with nonstick spray, and add patties.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through--until crispy.  
8. Serve with cucumbers, pita bread, tomatoes, tzatziki, or etc.  

(I considered this 2 servings)

Slow-cooker Greek Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce

I was looking for a new slow cooker recipe and this one for Greek chicken with tzatziki sauce is a keeper!  It's based on a recipe I found online, but as usual I changed it up just a bit.  

Ingredients for Chicken

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 onion chopped (I used a sweet yellow, but you could use basically any kind, I think)
• 1 tsp. (2 cloves) garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
• 1/3 cup water

Ingredients for Tzatziki Sauce:

• 2 cups plain, fat free greek yogurt
• 1 cucumber, finely grated
• 1 1/2 tsp (2 to 3 cloves) garlic, minced 
• 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried dill 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Options for serving accompaniments:

• warm pita bread
• red bell pepper
• romaine lettuce or spinach
• cucumber 
• tomatoes
• feta cheese crumbles
• kalamata olives
• On top of a salad

Instructions

1. Spay slow cooker container with cooking spray. 
2. Add the chicken at bottom of the slow cooker. 
3. In a small bowl combine onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and water. Pour over chicken. 
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6.
5. Shred or chunk chicken.  
6. Make the sauce: In a medium bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.
7. Prepare chicken on warm greek pita bread with desired veggies and sauce on top.  Or make a salad, top with chicken, and use sauce as dressing.