Butternut Squash w/Coconut, Lime, & Cilantro

Psych! I know, there may be tears shed over the gametime substitution of butternut squash for pork stirfry, but there was a meat ordering error (umm, it wasn't delivered and I didn't follow up). But, what a treat this meal shall be! You should be able to taste a little bit of Oberlin goodness - the butternut squash is from the farm share (it stays good for 3+ months), the veggie broth in the sauce is made of farm share veggies, and the rice was cooked broth made from a H.A. chicken. The recipe is a modification of "Butternut Squash and Noodles w/ Coconut, Lime and Cilantro Sauce" from Bon Appetit, May 1998. Modifications include the use of Thai House Red Curry Sauce (couldn't find paste) and serving it over rice rather than with udon noodles. Recipe was doubled.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 1/2 cups)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili
1 tablespoon minced garlic
.5 cup canned light unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
7 oz Thai red curry sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add squash; sauté 4 minutes. Add broth, jalapeño and garlic; bring to boil. Cover; cook until squash is almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, lime juice and curry sauce. Simmer uncovered until squash is tender and liquid is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Cook rice. according to package (I used brown basmati). Serve squash mixture over rice and top with cilantro.

* I think that this could also be good pureed as a thick soup.

Shepherd's Pie

Mmmm... I have never made Shepherd's pie before and this recipe had the largest number of positive reviews... Enjoy!

Ingredients

* 1 small onion
* 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
* 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
* 1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables or niblet corn, prepared
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 8 to 10 medium red new potatoes
* 1 1/2 cups skim milk
* 6 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup lite sour cream
* 2 cups instant biscuit mix

Directions

Beef Layer: Saute onions in 1 tablespoon butter. Add ground beef. After beef is browned, add tomato sauce; Mix in vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Potato Layer: Peel and slice potatoes 1/4-inch thick. Cook in boiling water for approximately 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Whip potatoes with electric mixer; mix until moderately smooth. Don't over beat them; a few lumps are nice. Add 1/2 cup heated milk, 1/4 cup butter, and sour cream. Salt and pepper, to taste. Whip until mixed. Adjust thickness by adding more milk, if desired.

Biscuit Layer: Combine biscuit mix and 1 cup milk. The mix should be thinner than normal biscuit mix but not runny.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 9 by 2-inch pan, or any similar casserole dish. Layer half way up with the mashed potatoes. Next, spread a layer of mixed vegetables or niblet corn on top of potatoes. Then add a layer of the meat. Pour biscuit mix over meat. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over top. Bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes until top is golden brown. I doubled the recipe in order to feed 10 adults!

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen and altered by Molly Elton (aka healthier).

Three Bean Turkey Chili, by MVL Jr.

Three Bean Turkey Chili from Epicurious.com

2 large onions chopped
1 head / 8 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/2 cup olive oil
four 28-ounce & two 15oz cans crushed tomatoes including the juice
two 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chili powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon dried orégano
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2lbs ground cooked turkey
2 large green bell peppers, chopped coarse
two 19-ounce cans kidney beans rinsed and drained well
1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained well
1 can black beans rinsed and drained well

coarsely grated Cheddar as an accompaniment if desired

In a large kettle cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until they are golden, add the tomatoes with the juice, the tomato purée, 1 cup of water, the chili powder, the cumin, the red pepper flakes, the orégano, the cinnamon, the salt, and the black pepper, and combine the mixture well. Add the cooked turkey and simmer the chili, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Stir the bell peppers and the beans into the chili, and simmer the chili, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes, or until the bell peppers are tender. The chili may be cooled completely and chilled for 2 days or covered and frozen for 2 months. Serve the chili topped with the Cheddar or sour cream.

Sloppy Joes

 

One of Zach's favorite foods is sloppy joes, so we decided he would make this for this segment of our blog. This is the recipe I grew up with, and it's one that Zach has requested all the time since we've been married. So now he knows how to cook it himself!

Sloppy Joes

2 1/2 lb. ground chuck
1 cup ketchup
2 T. vinegar
2 T. sugar
2 T. wet mustard
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

Brown onion and green pepper in small amount of olive oil.
Add meat and brown slightly, drain fat.
Mix ketchup, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and worcestershire sauce together and add to meat. Simmer at least 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Stevenson Casserole

For our weekly dinner exchange, Nathan thought it would be a good idea to have the husbands/fiances take a turn cooking for the ladies... His favorite dish growing up was a family recipe and his mom used to make this for his birthday dinner every August at the beach. We have lightened up the dish just a bit by adding lite cream cheese and lite sour cream. Enjoy!

STEVENSON CASSEROLE - 4 -5 servings:

1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 large can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup red wine
8 oz lite sour cream
6 oz lite cream cheese
6 oz egg noodles
Cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and onion. Spoon off fat. Add salt, pepper, wine, and tomato sauce; Simmer. In separate bowl, combine sour cream and cream cheese. Slightly cook noodles. Place in layers in casserole dish (two total) - end with meat sauce on top: noodles - cheese mix - meat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with squares of cheddar cheese; bake 5 minutes more until the cheese is melted.

The most common mistake is with the noodles - either using too many or over cooked.

Smothered Chicken Sandwich w/ Sausage & Corn Stuffing

Smothered Chicken Sandwich

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lb)
1 can (10.5 oz) chicken gravy
1 pkg (6 oz) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 1/2 cups hot H2O
6 slices wheat bread

Here's How:
1. Cook Chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray for 3 min. on each side. Add gravy; cook 5 min. or until chicken is done. Meanwhile, mix stuffing mix and hot H2O.

2. Spoon stuffing over chicken; cover. Cook 5 min. or until stuffing is heated through.

3. Top bread with chicken and gravy.

4. Eat'um up!

Special note - food was cooked seperately for our purposes this weekend...and so stuffing would not be mushy upon delivery tomorrow.


Corn & Sausage Stuffing

1/2 lb. pork sausage (preferably above 50% lean)
1 2/3 cups hot H2O
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen corn, shucked, thawed, and drained
1 pkg. (6 oz) STOVE TOP Cornbread Stuffing Mix

Heat Oven to 350 degrees F

1. Brown sausage in skillet; drain, reserving 1/4 cup drippings

2. Mix sausage, reserved drippings, hot H2O and corn in 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Stir in stuffing mix just until moistened.

3. Bake 30 min. or until heated through.

4. Slap it on the side and enjoy!

*Note: Hickory Acres is out of chicken for the season, so I used "natural" supermarket chicken breasts. The pork sausage is from Hickory Acres, though.
**Both recipes from Kraft Stove Top Recipes, copyright 2009.

Also, beware of deliciousness...just a friendly suggestion.

Brett.

Squash, Sage and Gorgonzola Tart

*This is from the "Breakfast At Herrick's" Event. It comes from the book Tarts by Sarah Banbery.*

Pie Dough

generous 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 1/2 oz/75g cold butter, cut into pieces

cold water

Filling

1/2 small butternut squash (or 1 slice pumpkin)

1 tsp olive oil

1 c. heavy cream

salt and pepper

6 oz/175 g gorgonzola cheese

2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

6-8 fresh sage leaves

1. Cut the squash in half and brush the cut side with the oil. Salt and pepper. Place cut side up on a baking sheet and baked for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees until browned and very soft. Let cool. Remove seeds and scoops out the flesh into a large bowl discarding the skin.

2. Lightly grease a 9 in. loose-bottom fluted tart pan. Sift the flour and salt into a food processor, add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and add a little cold water, just enough to bring the dough together. Turn out onto a floured counter and roll out the dough just larger than the pan. Carefully lift dough into pan and press to fit. Roll the rolling pin over the pan to neaten the edges and remove the excess dough from the edges. Fit a piece of parchment paper into the tart shell, fill with dried beans, and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375.

3. Remove the pastry shell from the fridge and bake the tart shell blind (covered with the paper and beans) for 10 minutes. Then remove paper and beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

4. Mash the squash and mix with the cream, cheese, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and spread in the shell. Arrange sage leaves in a circle on the top. Bake 30-35 minutes and leave for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.