teacher by day - chef by night
There are some days that I just don’t feel like being super inventive and kind of just want some “comfort food”. I usually try to make something that I can at least pretend to be healthy (ok – so I guess my last recipe: ricotta …
I was trying to plan dinner for the other night & wanted to do something with the ricotta I had in the fridge (it was on great sale a week or so ago & with coupon had to buy two containers)! I also knew that …
This week was the start of fall – but I think that someone forgot to tell the temperatures & atmosphere and all of those things that! Since fall is here, winter squash is starting to go on sale & I just couldn’t resist. I have had it sitting on the counter for a few days and when one of my best friends said she finally could squeeze time in to see me (its rough only living a few miles away & never having free time at the same time!) I decided to get inspired by this great recipe from Simply Recipes (another great resource for anything in the kitchen when you are low on ideas or inspiration or know how or whatever!)
I modified it a bit (so I didn’t have to stop at the store on the way home) and of course didn’t measure – but my version (while in the middle of my annual “back to school” cold and not having much of any sense of smell and dulled tastebuds (but still got a thumbs up from Jess) was…
Heat Olive Oil, saute onions & garlic until opaque, deglaze pan with some red wine. Add in the diced butternut squash (I pre-roasted mine in the toaster oven – cut side down with water in the bottom of the pan for just a bit for about 30 minutes) & about 1/2 cup of chicken stock (I use water & the powdered kind). Let that simmer for about 10 minutes, then start gently mashing it up. Add in the rest of your ingredients & start the pasta water. Once you put the pasta in (I would love to try this next time using whole wheat pasta for an even more ‘hearty/healthy” fall meal) give the sauce another taste test & do any last minute doctoring. Serve it up & grate some fresh parmesan (I go cheap and try to always keep some from the “regular” cheese aisle in the fridge – wrapped in tin foil it seems to do pretty well for quite a while!)
Bring on the cooler temps & fall cooking!
Tonight was a mexican night! I have been craving enchiladas for the past few days since I saw this post from Simply Recipes and realized I haven’t had them in a while and I had a can of green enchilada sauce in the cabinet (I …
As I was searching other blogs I came across this one & it had to make me laugh. I keep telling Rich he should start a blog of all the good stuff I cook for him (and his photos would just be of empty plates …
I love dips! I love dips that are healthy even more! Last week we were invited to a Turkish (Muslim) retreat for Ramadan (the retreat is in the area & as part of Ramadan they are to open their hearts & homes to neighbors – it was a very interesting, educational, & tasty evening. Check out this news report about the evening (see me getting my food there too).
Before heading over to the dinner my parents came over to hang out & help us try to take a good photo with the dogs (coming soon). I decided to do some appetizer and wanted to make a really healthy spinach dip. After some searching I decided to invent the following “dip”
To make the dip:
I just dumped all ingredients in the blender & blended until smooth.
We served this in a bread bowl (Rich makes a pretty good bread – and this was the other half of the dough from his amazing home-made pizza the night before, more on that another time!) with some fresh veggies for dipping. I served about 1/2 of it that night and the rest I had with lunch and some cut veggies at school and it didn’t last long! This makes a super healthy dip for veggies of spread on a sandwich. I also cannot wait to try this with fresh spinach & also as it gets cooler to try mixing some cheese in & broiling it to serve with bagel chips.
Healthy, Tasty, Hearty – good food combo!