Woof! Spaghetti Squash!

Ok so I need some work in the blog-post-title department, but there are 2 very important parts to this post and they are completely unrelated. 

First the big news…WE GOT A DOG!!!!!!!

I’ve been a dog lover all my life and once I moved out on my own all I wanted was a pup of my own.  However usually my apartments did not allow pets and in general I was just too busy.  But I’ve waited and waited and then got married…and then Brian wanted to wait and wait…and finally FINALLY I got the green light. 

I knew I wanted to adopt, there are so many dogs out there who need homes!!  Plus we didn’t want a puppy, that requires way too much time than we have right now, plus he’s already house broken!

Meet Bromley :)

He’s a 2 1/2 year old Shih Tzu and a complete sweetheart!

We picked him up last night and so far I think he’s liking it here.  Of course I’ll keep you updated on our little furball.  For now some pictures!

 

I worked with GRR, Inc. Getting all Rescued and Rehomed, and they were fantastic.  The first 2 dogs I contacted them about, they deemed were not a good fit for us.  I was sad and frustrated at first but they didn’t give up on us.  The director, herself, went out one day to visit various shelters in Kentucky and found us our furbaby. 

Ok, Part 2: Spaghetti Squash and a Sauce you can eat with a spoon.

I realized that when making this tomato sauce last week that the process was very similar to making chili the week before!  Just leave out the spicy and smokiness.

Similar ingredients.

• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 shredded carrots

Sauté all these items in 1-2T of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. 

Pick your seasonings and add a little bit here and there through the cooking process instead of all at once at the end or beginning.  I used:

• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• basil

You can use whatever seasonings you like.

Then add 1 package of lean ground turkey and cook til browned.

Once browned I added:

• some red wine I had opened (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 small can of tomato paste

Stir for a couple minutes and add:

• 2 large cans (28oz) of crushed tomatoes
• 1 medium can of tomato sauce

Finally 1 or 2 Bay leaves go in and let it simmer for 45min – 1 hour

Meanwhile bake a Spaghetti Squash!

Cut the squash in half the long way (the “hot dog” way as Brian would say haha).  Then bake in a glass or metal baking dish, cut side down, for about 45min at 375* until it’s tender and you can shred with a fork.

  Shred and “fluff” your “spaghetti”

Towards the end of the simmering time for the sauce I added about a half package of frozen spinach (defrosted and strained of excess water).

  Dinner time!  With a sauce this thick and chunky, I like a ratio of about 40% spaghetti squash and 60% sauce.

   This was deeeeelicious!  Especially with a nice piece of bread on the side.

Another reason I love a sauce like this, is that I eat the leftovers like chili!  Straight up, in a bowl, with a fork, cheese melted on top :)

Time for some puppy play time!! 

Final Thanksgiving Recap

Man, I really just need to crank out the rest of the info from Sunday's Apt. Thanksgiving. So here goes...

The rest of the prep work on Saturday consisted of washing and trimming the ends of the green beans, making the topping for the cheesecakes, and making a Chocolate Pecan Pie! I used this recipe that I saw in Gourmet last year. I made it last year as mini pies made in a regular muffin tin (soooo good!), so this year I wanted to switch it up by using my tart pan for a new shape!

Of course I started this around 9:30pm and had a mishap toasting the Pecans!!I had them on the stove, got distracted, and then I smelt them...burning!! Of course I didn't have enough to start over, so roomie and I had to make a late night trip to the 24hour Shaws :)

Crisis averted! I rolled out the last of the pie crust and this time place it into my tart pan.
NOTE: I got a little over zealous and proceeded to poke fork holes in this one...IDIOT! You only do that when your baking the crust without filling...needless to say the crust got a nice little outer layer of the carmaley filling, and was a little resistant to come out of the pan :)

My mom makes an AMAZING pecan pie (can't wait til tomorrow!), but I just like to do this one because it incorporates...Melty dark chocolate!!

You spread the chocolate along the bottom of the crustThen place the pecans on top
I like a pecan-y pie so I added more than called for, then you pour the filling mixture on top.And bake!
I love how gooey and chewy it gets...mmm. I'd have to say this years tasted more chocolatey, which obviously isn't a bad thing, but I think I like it more pecan pie flavor, then chocolate... However, still awesome!

Then it was off to bed. The 22lb Turkey didn't need to go in until 9/9:30am, but I got up earlier to get my butterscotch pie filling made.

I don't have the exact recipe on me right now, but I'll follow up later with that. Basically it's: milk, eggs, butter, flour, brown sugar, vanilla...the end.I know you should first separate 3 eggs...make sure to save the egg whites for later to make the meringue topping!

Get the milk on the stove until it's scalded (bubble forming around the edge and starting to form steam), then pour it into the bowl where you've added your flour, brown sugar, and saltPour this back into the pan and turn the heat back on, I can't remember if you bring this back to a boil...but I know it's hot and time to add the egg YOLKS. First you lightly beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl, and then add like a table spoon or so of the hot milk/sugar mixture into the eggs while beating quickly. Then add a little more...basically what you are doing is adding heat to the eggs so that when you add them back into the pan they don't scramble! So once the eggs are warm, slowly pour them into the pan while whisking quickly, bring to a boil while still mixing continuously until the mixture has thickened.
Once thick, turn off the heat and add the butter (like 3T) and vanilla, stir til butter is melted and combined. Finally pour your filling into the bake pie crust (baked the day before).
I put plastic wrap on this and set it in the porch (the second fridge in the winter!). Later on, after we ate I quickly grabbed the egg whites I saved, tossed them into my Kitchen Aid mixer and made the meringue. Seriously these mixers make Amazing meringue! Beat the egg whites on med/high, when they start getting frothy I added 1/4t of cream of tarter (helps stabilize egg whites), and about 1/3 cup sugar! Beat until just stiff peaks, and spread over pie...I like to form little peaks on my meringue...I LOVE MERINGUE!! Throw in a 400 degree oven for about 10 min, just til meringue starts to get golden brown.This is a family favorite...definitely my favorite pie, was my dads too! It's just amazing, I think the name "butterscotch" is kind of a misnomer, because it doesn't really taste like a butterscotch...I'd say more of a creamy caramel taste, nothing strong just sweet, creamy and delicious.

Turkey time!! So when the Apt Thanksgiving started back in college...I was too grossed out to remove the "things" inside the turkey...I made one of my "helpers" (roommates) do it hehe. I'm over it now and just go in, then give it a shower in the sink, dry it off and plop it into the pan. You add a nice ball o' stuffing in the cavity, and a little stuffing on the other end too. Fold the wings in and down, legs back into the little holder, and rub it with softened butter, salt and pepper!!I don't baste, you just make a loose foil tent which keeps the moisture in, then remove it for the last 45min-hour to brown the skin...moist and delicious!Our guests had a nice cheese platter to hold them over until turkey time...
My roommate and I had a wonderful time at this Cheese Shop in Wellesley...its like heaven. They have every cheese imaginable and they give you big tastes of anything you want. So as we were deciding we got to try two amazing aged Goudas and 2 of the decadent double and triple creams. I haven't the slightest idea what the exact names of the ones we got but they were incredible!


Now for some sides!
One of my FAVS!! The green beans! In the past we've always done the traditional green bean casserole...which is delish, BUT last year my aunt made these Green Beans with Pancetta and Sage, and it was love at first bite!
The crispy salty pancetta and the wonder flavor of sage make these SO insanely good!

The Carrots! Remember the HUGE yellow and orange carrots, well these were simply sliced, boiled, then tossed with some butter and maple syrup. However, its important to drain the carrots and SAVE THE CARROT WATER!! It's used to make the gravy.Another side dish that was switched up this year...the squash!

Usually I just bake, mash, and mix in some butter and brown sugar...but I knew I just had to make my aunts Squash Souffle! (btw I have many aunts, so if I reference "aunt" its not always the same one haha).

This stuff is frikin incredible and probably could be a dessert, but for now its just a creamy rich side dish. Again, don't have the exact recipe at the moment...but I think it was...

2 sticks of butter...yeah...I cut it down to about 1.6 sticks, but I think 1 stick would of been fine (this is a doubled recipe btw).

2 boxes frozen winter squash
1/2 cup (?) sugar
1/2 cup (?) flour
6 eggs
4 cups milk

Since its a souffle you have to mix, pour into pan, and bake right away so I waited until the turkey was out, then quickly mixed and into the oven!

Melt butter, add to squash in mixer, blend, add flour, sugar, then 1 EGG AT A TIME, while beating on medium. I'd beat this for a min or so...you want to get some air incorporated in there...then slowly add the milk. This is a lot for the mixer so don't turn it up or it will splatter everywhere.

Pour into pan...bake at 350 for 1 hour.Then there were the Mashed potatoes...and I can't believe I have NO PICTURE!! Again, I changed it up a little...normally it's just the peel, boil, mash, butter, milk, S&P...not this year...I cranked it up a notch with Caramelized Shallot and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes! The recipe is for sage, which I'm sure would be awesome, but since we had sage with the beans, I went with Rosemary. The flavors are very subtle but so so good. My base potato recipe was not the one listed in the recipe, but I used a Cooks Illustrated version. Basically peel, and STEAM the potatoes in a big pot with the strainer insert that you would use for pasta! I've learned that this method, or boiling the potatoes WITH the skin, then peeling is better as to not get too much water into your potatoes.

Lets see what else... Gravy,

Take the Turkey pan with its drippings, put it over 2 burners on medium, add the carrot juice, and 3 bullion cubes, get it simmering, dissolving the bullion. While whisking briskly, as a flour/water mixture slowly until slightly thickened, let it come to a boil stiring here and there until its thicker.

Ok I think Thats it!! Man that was long. I love doing this every year, and yeah it's a FULL weekend of work but so worth it :)

I leave you with thisThe roomies pumpkin pie is in the upper left :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Sunday Baking and Cooking!

Yesterday was one of those "lazy" Sunday's. I put lazy in quotes because it didn't really feel lazy, but to me that just means no set plans. I woke up to rain, made muffins, ran errands, grocery shopping, studying, and dinner! Full day actually!

First was the muffins! I had two over ripe bananas that I put in the fridge last week because I knew there were muffins in my future. I don't know why but I always make muffins instead of loaves of bread...I just like the pre-portioned packages they make themselves into :) I tend to make my recipe as I go, but I always write them down in case they need tweaking. Although I'd say that these came out great! Hearty, banana-y, and not too sweet. These wouldn't be "bring to work" baked goods because I know everyone at my work's idea of muffins are the high-calorie sugar bombs you get at Dunkin Donuts...not my kind of muffin. Those are like cake hiding in a muffin body.

On to the recipe!

Banana Hazelnut Muffins
(I had bought some hazelnuts and hazelnut meal when I was in Oregon and finally used them!)

Pre-heat oven to 375 F

1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour (I use the King Arthur brand)
1/2 cups Oat Bran

1/4 cups ground flax

1/4 cups Hazelnut meal (could use almond meal or any other nut meal I suppose)

1 t Baking Soda

2 t. Baking Powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg

(feel free to increase the cinnamon or nutmeg to your liking...you don't taste it much in these muffins but if you really like a cinnamon flavor in your banana muffins then go for it!)

1 cup vanilla soy milk

2 T Canola oil

1 T Honey

2 T Agave Nectar

1 Egg and 1 Egg white

2 Ripe Bananas (mushed)

1/4 cup hazelnuts (chopped)

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

- Mix Dry Ingredients together in 1 bowl

- Mix wet ingredients together in another bowl

- Add wet ingredients, nuts, and choc. chips to dry and mix until combined...DON'T OVERMIX!!

- Spray muffin tin cups with cooking spray (I use spray canola oil)

- Divide batter among the 12 cups

- I like to top wet muffins with oats and raw sugar

- Bake for 18min

- cool and enjoy!

Batter:

Before going in the oven:

Muffins!

Personally I think the banana flavor really comes through better after they have cooled for a while (even better the next day). I'll calc the nutritional facts later but I'm guessing around 200cals per muffin but that also has a lot of fiber and protein that normal muffins don't have :) The flavor is much more of a banana muffin than hazelnut, so feel free to play around with extracts or amounts of the hazelnut meal if you want a more hazelnut tasting muffin.

On to dinner... I had bought a spaghetti squash a couple weeks ago, but just never got around to it. For some reason they always intimidated me because it just seemed like a complicated process...I never really knew how easy it was until I saw Kath's video. However, before I got around to the squash I took a package of extra lean ground turkey out of the freezer for some homemade tomato sauce!

The Sauce of the day:

Started by sauteing 1 chopped onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, a little over 1/2 of a green pepper (chopped, and 2 grated carrots.

Saute in 2 T Olive Oil and seasoned with salt and pepper

Meanwhile in a non-stick pan I cooked up the package of turkey with about 1/2T olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning

After adding the turkey to the pot, I added 2 280z cans of crushed tomatoes, 1 15oz can tomato sauce, 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, some dried oregano, and more S&P.

For the squash: Cut in half length wise (remove seeds) and place open side down on a cookie sheet and put water in the cookie sheet (I put just enough to cover the whole sheet). Baked at 375 for about 40min until tender. Let cool for 10min or so, and then take a fork and scrape out the "spaghetti"! This was so easy and fun! I'd eat it straight out of the squash!

At the end of the sauce cooking I added half a package of baby spinach and let it wilt in.

Dinner is served! The sauce is really thick and chunky and there wasn't a ton of squash so I had a big bowl of sauce with squash on top! Topped with a little shredded parm, and I made two slices of "garlic bread" with whole wheat spread with smart balance, sprinkled with garlic powder and salt and toasted. The two slices cut in quarters for three of us :)

The roomie and fiance LOVED it! So did I! Why have I never had spaghetti squash before!? It's my new favorite...I wish I cooked up more squash to have around.

Breakfast today was a muffin and 1/2 cup of TJ's plain Greek yogurt with raspberries, granola and honey.

I was really looking forward to my leftover sauce and squash for lunch but one of the girls here got engaged over the weekend so we are going out to lunch! I guess I'll save it for tomorrow :\