butternut squash – Best for the Moment

Ladies who Lunch (at home)

March 8, 2013January 2, 2020Posted in Recipes, Work from homeTagged avocado, butternut squash, goat cheese, lettuce, lunch, mushroom, ravioli, spinach, tomato, tortilla, vegetarian, veggiesLeave a comment

The fun thing about working in an office is going out to lunch, especially when you work in a thriving foodie corner like San Francisco’s Mission district (see evidence). But working from home presents some lazy lunch temptations. Thinking about my upcoming beach vacation, I decided to trade grilled cheese for veggies…

1. Take a tortilla, spread goat cheese on it, add your veggies of choice and roll it up. I used mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes, spinach and greens. Optional: Cut into 1-inch slices so you can enjoy the pinwheels of colorful veggies and textures.

2. Good news: you can still be lazy about lunch, and eat healthy. This Butternut Squash Ravioli with Walnuts frozen meal from Safeway is low calorie and packed with colorful veggies. The sauce is really good too! If you’re like me and prefer not to microwave plastic, then you can remove the frozen block, put it on a plate and cover it with a bowl. Just decrease the microwave time slightly.

Cleaning out the fridge: goat cheese lasagna

July 11, 2012January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged almond milk, butternut squash, goat cheese, gruyere, lasagna, nutmeg, walnutsLeave a comment

In this installment of making dinner from scraps, I whip up a simple yet flavorful lasagna with goat cheese, gruyere and butternut squash pasta sauce. I took inspiration for the goat cheese sauce from Fine Cooking, the layering from Keep it Luce, and I used about half a bottle of Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce (which is delicious and dairy-free; I highly recommend it on gnocchi).

Instructions:

To make the goat cheese sauce, I whisked 1/4 cup of flour in a sauce pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil (butter would have been better, but of course I didn’t have any). Next, I whisked in 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk and let it thicken for about 10 minutes or so. From there, I stirred in 5 oz. of goat cheese, 1/2 cup shredded gruyere, 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and a couple clicks from the pepper mill.

Meanwhile, I toasted raw walnuts at 375 degrees in the oven, and then crushed them under foil with a rolling pin.

Then came the construction of the lasagna, using no-bake lasagna noodles. I used a 9×13 pan, but my lasagna came out very thin, so better to go with a smaller pan or double the recipe.

First, I layered 1/3 of the goat cheese sauce, followed by noodles, and 1/2 the butternut squash pasta sauce. Next, I added another layer of goat cheese sauce, noodles, and the pasta sauce. Then, I added a layer of toasted walnuts. (Note: I was also conservative with only one layer of toasted walnuts, but next time I would double it.)

After one final layer of noodles, goat cheese sauce, and pasta sauce, I sprinkled a healthy dose of grated gruyere on top. I baked it in the oven, covered with foil, at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until bubbly. I finished off a few extra minutes without foil at the end to melt the gruyere.

Delicious, easy and David-approved!

The Golden Egg

April 4, 2010January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged butternut squash, cannelloni, Egg noodles, gruyere, pappardelle, turkey meatballs3 Comments

Sheets of fresh egg noodles = golden opportunity. Last week I played around with the Pasta Shop egg noodle sheets I purchased at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market. Here’s what I came up with:

Pappardelle with turkey meatballs – I cut the first 3 pasta sheets into 1-inch strips and boiled until al dente. For the meatballs, I combined ground turkey, chopped celery, 1 egg, and shredded gruyere, and baked in the oven until cooked through. Serve with shredded gruyere and olive oil. Hearty, but still somewhat healthy.

Butternut squash cannelloni – inspired by “Squash, Sage and Ricotta Cannelloni” from Everyday Food. My version consisted of the remaining sheets of egg noodles cut into about 20 lasagna-size noodles, and Parmesan and Gruyere instead of ricotta. I also didn’t have sage which would have been nice with the butternut squash, but the results were still delicious. If you use Gruyere like I did, make sure you let it get bubbly and golden, which really brings out the flavor. This recipe made lots of leftovers!

Healthy Burgers & Fries

January 10, 2010January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged butternut squash, healthy fries, red potatoes, turkey burgersLeave a comment

Ground turkey burgers + roasted red potato fries = healthy fast food. David wanted hamburgers for dinner, but we’re both watching our calories in the New Year (and I keep a regular stock of ground turkey in the freezer). So we opted for ground turkey burgers – and what goes better with burgers than fries?!

Burgers: To mimic the moisture and flavor of top sirloin burgers, I combined about half a cup of leftover roasted butternut squash (from last week’s risotto) with 1 package ground turkey, 1 egg, and salt & pepper. I formed 2 generous burger patties by hand, and used the remaining half of the mixture to make meatballs for another night this week. Broil or roast at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. (Cook time will also depend on the type of pan you use.) We had our burgers with wheat sourdough, provolone/cheddar, spinach leaves and tomato slices – for an extra boost of nutrients!

Fries: Starting with red, white or russet potatoes, slice each in half lengthwise and then cut each half into quarters or thirds lengthwise. Each fry may range in size and shape, but they should be somewhat uniform for the sake of cook time. Toss with oil (vegetable or canola is best, but I only had olive) and make sure the pan is coated too. Roast at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and toss with salt.

While the meal was delicious, don’t expect it to be quite as “fast” as the real thing. But you can have burgers & fries in less than hour AND stay on track with your healthy eating resolutions.

My First Risotto

January 3, 2010January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged arugula, butternut squash, risotto, sageLeave a comment

Butternut squash + risotto + beginner’s luck = success! I’ve never attempted risotto, but I came across tempting recipes on Epicurious while exploring dinner options for Capay‘s recent surplus of butternut squash. Since I didn’t have enough leeks for Risotto with Butternut Squash and Leeks, and I went with Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto, which was healthy to boot! At just over 300 calories per main dish serving, it was the perfect dinner to kick off lighter eating in 2010 and offered a surprisingly buttery flavor.

A couple of notes on how I modified the recipe, which originally appeared in now defunct Gourmet Magazine in November 2001:

I didn’t include garlic, because I didn’t have any – but would recommend it if you do
Rather than saving 6 slices of butternut squash for serving, I mixed all but 2 slices in the risotto. As a result, the squash was definitely the dominant ingredient; so next time I would hold back 4 slices from the mixture (and use for something else later). That way the rice will be more balanced.
I used less arugula than the recipe called for, and another Epicurious reviewer didn’t use any at all (I also agreed with her decision not to serve slices off butternut squash on the side, which explains why the squash was so dominant – above).
I had only 4 tablespoons of parmesan, even though the recipe calls for 5. I’d go with 5 and sprinkle a little extra on top when serving.

The recipe serves 6 main dish servings – and it earned unanimous thumbs up in my house!

Faux Vegetarian

December 20, 2009January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged apples, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, collard greens, vegetable stock, vegetarian2 Comments

Seasonal veggies + cleaning out the fridge = experimental vegetarian. Last week’s pre-made dinners were a breeze, and with the short holiday week I set out to create a similar outcome. I started with enchiladas, which are hearty enough for three nights as a main course – and not to be mistaken as healthy or vegetarian! 😉

From there, I had an overabundance of Capay vegetables left to deal with: butternut squash, collard greens, cabbage, carrots, and apples, oh my! I searched high and low on Epicurious and Everyday Food, and came up with the following items:

Butternut Squash, Apples and Braising Greens – An adaptation of SF chef Traci des Jardin’s recipe on Epicurious; I used butternut squash in place of sweet potatoes (based on the reviews I wasn’t the only one to do so!) and collard greens. I didn’t have parsley, but didn’t notice. Tomorrow night, I might try blending the dish and adding it to stock to make a soup – another reader’s suggestion.

Vegetable Stock – The perfect solution to freeze for later use! Using ideas from Martha Stewart, Sam Beall and Epicurous, I made my own hybrid by sauteeing chopped onions in olive oil, and then adding chopped cabbage, 5-6 cups of water, sliced carrots, dried oregano, a little white wine, and salt and pepper. After boiling for an hour, I strained out the veggies and brought the stock to room temperature before putting in tupperware for the freezer.

Stocking up for Winter

December 13, 2009January 2, 2020Posted in RecipesTagged apples, butternut squash, ground turkey, meatloaf, pumpkin5 Comments

Butternut squash + pumpkin + apples = stocking up the fridge. The cold, rainy weather was a good excuse to finally put the remaining fall & winter produce to use. I dug up recipes from Everyday Food for inspiration, and made a mess in the kitchen, but it was worth it! Now we can enjoy at least a week’s worth of butternut squash soup, roasted pumpkin, meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

About once a year I go to battle with a butternut squash, armed with knife and peeler, and tonight was no exception. But knock on wood, I haven’t lost a finger or pulled a muscle yet, and the various recipes I’ve used never disappoint. This time, I tried “Corn and Butternut Squash Chowder” from the September 2009 issue of Everyday Food. I made some slight adjustments, substituting olive oil for vegetable oil, and cumin instead of curry. The changes seemed to fit right in and the results were just as delicious, with the added texture of corn.

Meanwhile, I cut and peeled the last sugar pie pumpkin from my Capay delivery to use in a Roasted Pumpkin recipe from the October 2008 issue of Everyday Food. I left out the sage and substituted onions for shallots. The pumpkin was soft, but a little bland without the sage, so I’ll likely add it to pasta or chicken and rice later this week.

This one’s an original, and an experiment at that: I thought apples might make a nice addition to turkey meatloaf, which has previously been dry due to a lack of moisture (and fat) in the meat. So I peeled and shredded three apples in a bowl and added ground turkey, an egg, salt and pepper. I baked the “loaf” at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (or until the meat was cooked through and slightly browned on the edges). The apples leave juice at the bottom of the pan, but that means extra moist meatloaf with a nice sweet aftertaste! We had ours with buttery mashed potatoes on the side.

We have leftovers across the board – so one night of extra dishes might help alleviate the next 2-3. 😉

Tag: butternut squash

Ladies who Lunch (at home)

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