Butternut Squash And Chick Pea Stew

Wow, have I been busy or what? Sometimes life just runs away with you and when it does, it is crazy! But my absence has been a result of a good thing!

At the end of January I found myself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a Rockapella concert! Rockapella is my favorite group of all time and I was excited to go! My best friend and my boyfriend went with me as well. My boyfriend proposed to me at the Rockapella concert so since the end of January I have been planning a wedding that will take place this summer.

Anywho, last night for dinner I was craving a soup like dish because it snowed yesterday and soup is one of my favorite things to eat on a cold day. I found a recipe online for a Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew. I reviewed the recipe and realized I had everything on hand. I didn't have any harissa but I did have a different kind of hot sauce (Chipotle Tabasco), so I used it instead, but everything else was a go.

The recipe suggested serving the stew with rice or couscous. This recipe definitely has Indian influences, so it was easy to see why it suggested rice and couscous. Well, I didn't have any rice and because I can't have gluten, couscous was out. I then remembered I had some quinoa in the pantry. So, I cooked some of that up instead. It turned out very well and quinoa has all nine essential amino acids which makes up protein so it was much healthier too.

The recipe also called for a fresh butternut squash. Whole squash is very affordable, but butternut squashes can be very time consuming in terms of peeling, cleaning, and slicing. I was very lazy last night and a few weeks ago I had purchased some frozen butternut squash at the grocery store, so I just used that. The flavor was the same only I didn't have to clean a squash.

My fiance has decided that this recipe is definitely a keeper! Full of flavor this dish was and neither one of us missed the meat! And it was very friendly on my diet as well! Happy eating people!


Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew With Quinoa:

Butternut Squash And Onion Salad

Now that I am through the worst of this dietary change, I have decided to change my blog back to its originally intended purposes. So I am going back to reviewing recipes. The recipes I will review will probably still be very healthy and I will occasionally take time out to update everyone where I am at with my dietary restrictions, but mostly we are going back to the way this blog used to be.

With that being said, last night for dinner I made roasted butternut squash and onions with sage and dried cherries! I found the recipe on Pinterest and I wasn't sure I would like it. I had bought a butternut squash a few weeks ago and it has been begging to be eaten, so I finally used it last night. This recipe was very easy to bring together. I had to peel and cut up the squash and then slice the onions and then put them in the oven with some olive oil and then just be patient. The recipe calls for two onions and I am not a big onion eater, so I used about 3/4 of an onion and I think it was the perfect balance.

This recipe is vegan friendly, so anyone can eat it. I don't know if he was just pretending to like it or not, but my boyfriend seemed to like it even though there was no meat in the recipe. If I make this again I think next time I will pair it was some brown rice or something chicken breasts to make it more hearty.

Below is a picture of how my attempt at the recipe looked. Not as pretty as on the website with the original recipe, but it is still good.


Butternut Squash and Onions with Sage and Dried Cherries:

Yesterday Was Not A Good Day For Eating

Do you ever have a day where something in that day seems to just not go right? Well, that was me yesterday. I woke up late and therefore barely got out of the door to make it to work on time. As a result of running late, I did not have breakfast or my vitamins or anything. So, I was pretty hungry when I was finally able to go to lunch. I ate a hamburger and fries for lunch and then for dinner I went to Hot Dog On A Stick! I knew it was a bad thing! I felt these meals come back to haunt me too this morning! I am thinking I am intolerant to gluten - not allergic, but intolerant, because I woke up with my 3:00AM itches that I used to get in the past. I don't have hives or anything - I just itch all over the place. Or it could have been the starch or peanut oil - needless to say, the foods I ate yesterday made their presence known in a bad way.

Today I decided to start over. Because of my itches I really only managed another hour of sleep or so, so I decided to get up. I had seen a recipe on Pinterest (my new internet love) that I was eager to try. It was a recipe for gluten free, dairy free, and even egg free drop biscuits. The recipe encouraged the person making the biscuits to use a combination of gluten free flours, but most of the gluten free flours are made from things I can't have right now, so I had to use all buckwheat flour even though the recipe discouraged it, but I did anyway. I mixed the ingredients and made the dough and then put the dough on my Pampered Chef stoneware and baked them. Buckwheat flour is kind of dark all by itself so it is really hard to know when things made from it are done. But they did bake up and they looked fine to me. I then cooked up some turkey sausage, sweet potatoes, and an egg for breakfast. I then paired a couple of the biscuits with everything else and also got some almond butter for dipping the biscuits in.

It was like eating a real big breakfast this morning. I typically don't make big breakfasts for myself only but since I had loads of time this morning I decided to get creative. I have quite a few biscuits left, but I have bread now! And the recipe stated that buckwheat flour can have an aftertaste, I didn't really taste one. If you aren't used to the flavor of buckwheat, these may taste different, but they tasted like any other drop biscuit I have had before. And if you dip them in almond butter or any nut or seed butter for that matter, they are even more tasty! I packed some of the leftover ones in my lunch today. I plan to see if my boyfriend and best friend like them. I am planning on using these biscuits as part of my breading for my chicken strips I plan to make tomorrow. So glad I tried this recipe! See pictures below for the biscuits (they look like cookies, but they really are biscuits) and my delicious breakfast!

           

Buckwheat Flour Drop Biscuits

Turkey Sausage, Egg, Drop Biscuits, and Sweet Potatoes

And here is the link to the recipe: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/easy-drop-biscuit-recipe-w-gf-df-options/

Ole! Squashamole!

I haven't blogged in forever, I know. What a busy summer it has been! Last night, though, I was finally able to do some cooking. Last night I made a dip called Squashamole. It is like guacamole but made with squash and zucchini instead of avocado.

This dip has very unique taste. The veggies are cooked before they are pureed so there is a little bit of sweetness but the garlic and salt and pepper even that out. The recipe said it makes five cups, but I would surmise there may be a little bit more than that.

This dip is awesome with tortilla chips, but as I was eating it last night I was thinking it would be really good with a quesadilla or taco. There is also walnuts and parmesan cheese in the dip, and those alone would make an awesome coating to some fish, chicken, or pork. But the walnuts and cheese do get pureed with the veggies, so except for the taste, there is no noticeable texture from the nuts.  So if you have a nut allergy, the best thing to do would be to omit the nuts. I definitely think the dip can stand on its own without the nuts.

If I make this again, next time I will cut the veggies up a little bit more after they are cooked as it took a very long time to puree everything in the food processor. This dish is vegan friendly as there are no animal products in this, so this dish is crowd pleaser for all! Happy dipping!

Squashamole:

A Dish To Make Sam I Am Proud!

So you know the book Green Eggs And Ham by Dr. Suess? Remember how Sam I Am kept trying to get his friend to try the Green Eggs and Ham? Well, this is how I feel about this dish. For dinner tonight, I made Cashew Pasta Pesto. I must be honest in saying that unless the food is green naturally (i.e. ex. lettuce, green beans, asparagus, etc.) I don't usually care for it. There is something about green food that kind of grosses me out.

I have always wanted to try pesto sauce, but I never have before because it is green. Well, tonight, I put my personal food color prejudices aside and decided to try this pasta pesto. I was not disappointed. Just like Sam I Am's friend, I have found a new appreciation for a green food. Most pesto sauces are made with pine nuts, but I like that this one had a twist. Instead of pine nuts, this pesto sauce had cashews in it. Cashews are like my favorite nut ever (next to pistachios as we all found out in an earlier post) and so I was happy to see cashews in this recipe! The pesto also had parsley, lemon juice, garlic, and Parmesan cheese in it! Oh, I must take a moment to say that thanks to the Christmas monies my grandparents gave me, I was able to buy a new toy -- a food processor! I have always wanted one! So, I used my food processor tonight to make the pesto sauce! I think I enjoyed making it a little too much as I got to use my new toy today! Without the food processor, this dish would not have happened! I also was hesitant to try pesto, because unlike most pasta sauces, this one is served cold. The warm pasta warms up the sauce, but I just don't it is the same thing. In combination with the roasted tomatoes and pasta, the pesto was quite pleasant. I know a lot of people don't like nuts in things because of texture, but with the nuts being chopped up and mixed into the pesto, you could hardly tell there were nuts in the dish. The nuts had the same texture as the garlic and parsley. The olive oil really brought everything together nicely in the food processor. The only thing I may have changed up a little with the pesto is that I would have added more cashews. I couldnt' really taste them and I would have liked the flavor of the cashews to come out a little more.

I also loved the tomatoes in this recipe. The grape tomatoes were roasted separately and then mixed in with the pasta and pesto at the end. The roasted tomatoes would be so good on their own or mixed into a different recipe. To those of you who do not like tomatoes on their soft tacos (and yes, I mean you!), I encourage you to try these tomatoes. Be like Sam I Am's friend and take a chance! You may be surprised! Don't knock it before you try it.

The pasta in this dish was Farafelle, or bow-tie pasta. I liked the bow-ties because they held onto the pesto really well and complimented the tomatoes. With any pasta, the bow-ties must be baby sat when cooking so they don't get overcooked. The biggest mistake most people make when cooking pasta is they walk away and forget about it or they think it is done when it sticks to the wall. In both of these cases, the pasta is WAY overcooked. Pasta turns out best when you stay near the pot and can check it for the right texture. If your pasta sticks to the wall, you have cooked it too long -- trust me. The starches start to break down and create a sticky mess!

I am excited to have the leftover pasta for lunch! I have been trying to eat a little more healthy and this dish definitely is healthy. To change up this recipe, you could add a protein to it such as chicken, but I think it stands on its own fairly well!

Cashew Pasta Pesto:

Grilling Some Cheese And Making Soup

Happy New Year! As I mentioned in an earlier post I received an indoor grill (think George Foreman) for Christmas. So I decided to use it for tonight's recipe. It has been awhile since I have actually cooked something, but I have been crazy busy with the holidays. Now that they are over I can focus on my cooking once again.

For tonight I made Grilled Cheese and Kale Sandwiches with Tomato Soup! You wouldn't think this would be good, but I was wrong! The tomato soup in this recipe is homemade! And it was very easy to make and very tasty! I don't like canned tomato soup, which is weird because I love tomatoes, but this tomato soup was actually quite tasty! This soup has carrots in it, so it adds a little bit of sweetness but it so good. I enjoyed blending the soup with the stick blender -- that was kind of fun!

The sandwiches were easy to make and very tasty! I am always looking for new ways to kick up my grilled cheese sandwiches and this definitely kicked it up! The cheese in this sandwich is havarti cheese, which is a white cheese. It is a little saltier and heartier than your typical monterey jack cheese. Each sandwich has two slices of cheese with the kale (which you cook prior to putting on the sandwich) in between. Two slices is more than enough because it is strong cheese. The bread is also a multi-grain bread which is healthier than your standard white. I must say I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this sandwich! I am not a fan of wheat bread, but I love it in this. I also loved my grill because I used it like a panini press. I didn't have to babysit the sandwich and flip it -- I put on the grill, waited three minutes, and pulled it off and ate it! I also got the nice grill marks in the bread too!

The best part of this meal was dipping the sandwich into the soup! The combination of all the flavors really make it! This dish is a great way to introduce kids to a different kind of cheese and veggies while maintaining the classic grilled cheese sandwich and soup fare!

Vegetarians and carnivores will like this dish! It is very hearty and perfect for cold winter day!

This recipe and the ones coming up all come from the February 2011 "Everyday With Rachael Ray" magazine. There will be somethings that I cook this week that I have never cooked on my own such as flank steak and tilapia! Stay tuned for this month's culinary adventures!

Grilled Cheese and Kale Sandwich With Tomato Soup:

It Never Looks Like The Picture

Well, I am back after a day off. I Had a great time last night with my mother and my grandmother. We went to the BYU Museum of Art and visited the Carl Block exhibit! Awesome!

For tonight's dinner I made Bean Taquitos With Cucumber Salsa. This was a tasty meal but not a pretty one. My taquitos did not look like the way they do in the picture. The biggest issue I ran into was with the corn tortillas. Maybe I bought the wrong kind, but the kept falling apart in the pan. This is one of the main reasons I prefer flour tortillas when I cook with tortillas. Don't get me wrong, I think corn tortillas are tasty, just messy.

This recipe had a lemony sour cream on the side. I don't typically like sour cream really anyway, but surprisingly I didn't mind it in this recipe. I think in combination with the spicy beans and pepper jack cheese, the sour cream was a nice cool down. The cucumber salsa also helped tone down the acidic taste of the sour cream.

The cucumber salsa was something I was excited to try. I was not disappointed. I have never had cucumber in salsa. It was really good. Most people salt their cucumbers before eating, and so this just kind of took it up another step.

This recipe is definitely good for all kinds of people. Kids would like it because it is very simple and can be picked up with the fingers if need be. Vegetarians would like it because there is no meat in it, but it is definitely full of protein! This would also be good for people with other dietary needs, such as those who with gluten allergies. There is no gluten in this recipe, so it is safe for all.

With the leftovers, I plan to bake the rest of the corn tortillas and make some healthy nachos with the rest of the beans and cucumber salsa and pepper jack cheese. They will be delicious!


My not so pretty Bean Taquitos: