Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I LOVE butternut squash. It is probably my favorite of the fall squashes. So when I found a recipe for butternut squash gnocchi, I knew I needed to try it! I was a little disappointed after making it, that you loose a lot of the squash's flavor, but it was still delicious with a kale salad on the side. Next time, I may try to make butternut squash ravioli to try and maintain the sweetness. 

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (about 2.5-3 lbs)
3 1/4 cups flour (plus additional for rolling out gnocchi)
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
Freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice squash and roast on a lined baking sheet for 30-40 minutes until very tender. Remove and let cool.

2. Once cool, puree squash in a blender or food processor then transfer to a large bowl and add flour, egg and salt. Mix until a dough forms then knead on a heavely floured surface until smooth.

Almost finished kneading

3. Divide gnocchi dough in half and roll each half into a large, thin rope then cut the rope into small one inch slices. At this point you can either proceed to cook the gnocchi or you can freeze the pasta until ready to cook! (I cooked half & froze half)

4. Once the water is boiling, drop the gnocchi in and boil until they float. Then drain the gnocchi, put them back into the pot, add parmesan cheese & the sauce of your choice. 

Candied Pecans

This recipe is perfect for adding something sweet and crunchy to a salad. I put it on my apple, kale, and goat cheese salad and it was delicious! So easy to make too. I love the sweet yet spicy kick the cinnamon and red pepper flakes give the pecans.

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

pinch of allspice

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup pecan halves

Heat butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in cinnamon, allspice, pepper, sugar and pecans. Toast pecans for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring until the sugar has melted and the pecans are lightly toasted. Spread on wax paper to cool.


The pecans can be added to salads, desert, or eaten as a snack!

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I will try not to buy a pre-made salad dressing again, when I can make a pretty great dressing at home with pantry staples. I made this dressing today for my kale, apple, and goat cheese salad. It was sweet and light without too much overpowering flavor.

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (red wine vinegar will work too)
1 teaspoon Honey or Dijon mustard
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon clover honey
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the vinegar, honey and mustard in a bowl. While whisking, slowly pour a steady stream of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Interesting Quotes

"Respect your dinner, idolize it, enjoy it properly. You will be by many hours in the week, many weeks in the year, and many years in your life happier if you do." -- William Makepeace Thackeray from "Memorials of Gormandising"

Kale 101

In our share this week, one of the greens we got was kale. I was really excited because I love the Kale Salad at Woodshed! They serve the kale with celery greens, guanciale (pork cheek), smoked pepita (pretty sure they are pumpkin seeds), and Manchego cheese & It is absolutely to die for. 

I have never cooked with kale before, so I watched this video on YouTube to gain more information about this leafy green. I think I may try making my own kale salad with sliced apple, goat cheese, candied pecans, and a vinaigrette. I also may try those kale chips in the oven. Either way, I will post what I do! 

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients

1 ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp salt

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I used Rotel)

1 medium onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper

½ red bell pepper

12 flour tortillas

Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, and guacamole

Instructions

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.

2.  In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt

3.  Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.

4.  Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.

5. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with desired toppings.

Community Shared Agriculture

This is how the shares comes, complete with reusable bin

Last month I became a member of a local CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) program called Urban Acres. Every two weeks, I pay a set amount of money for a share of local, organic produce. I enjoy knowing that the food I eat comes from the area and not millions of miles away. Also, the produce is seasonal so we will be exposed to new produce every two weeks! I wanted to share with you how fantastic this program is, so every two weeks, I take pictures of my share! I am sure many of my recipes will come from these fruits & vegetables as well! 

Urban Acres has a farm store in Oak Cliff, but I pick up my produce from a Fort Worth location! (off of 7th street).  If you want more information about CSA's in Fort Worth you can go to this website http://www.ecovian.com/s/fort-worth-tx/csa. 

Lovely bananas, apples, a lemon and a pomegranate. I can't wait to try and eat the pomegranate, it should be another experience entirely. I'm curious if people just eat them plain or in recipes?! 

Sweet potato, red potatoes, acorn squash, and lots of butternut squash!!! 

Romaine lettuce, broccoli, kale (newly obsessed with kale), and collard greens! 

Interesting quotes

"I hate, hate, the notion of a secret recipe... Recipes were made to be shared. That's how they improve, how they change, how new ideas are formed, and older ones made ripe." -- Molly Wizenberg, A Home-made Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table

Lemon Pepper Chicken

I love lemon pepper chicken & I adapted this recipe to fit my busy schedule. Enjoy!

1 galloon sized plastic bag

3 pieces of uncooked chicken breast

3 Cloves Minced Garlic
¼ cup Chopped Parsley 

3 lemons juiced (1/3) cup
Salt and pepper to taste 

2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning 

Combine all ingredients into galloon size zip-loc baggie. Let chicken marinate in refrigerator at least for 1 one hour. (I let mine sit all day). Cook chicken in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. I emptied the contents of the baggie into the slow-cooker and cooked it for 2 hours on high setting. 

Cooking the chicken in the crock pot, made it extra juicy and delicious for left overs! The lemon-pepper flavor was perfection! 

Chard & Onion Quiche

Find the original recipe here...

I found this recipe on The Lovely Cupboard & instantly wanted to make it! I had some chard in my refrigerator that I needed to use before it went bad, so I could incorporate it into my quiche. 

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (or use my traditional pie crust recipe) 
3 eggs
1 cup low fat milk
1 onion
1/2 zucchini, grated (left over)
1 bunch of red chard (leaves only)
4 oz of smoked gouda
*You could use mushrooms, green onions, spinach, etc to personalize your quiche. 

Cooking Instructions:

1. Thinly slice one yellow onion.

2. Caramelize or saute in olive oil.
3. Use a fork to punch holes in the bottom of the pie crust. Then grate 3 ounces of smoked Gouda (or your smoked cheese of choice) and spread across pie crust.

4. Spread cooked onions over cheese, and saute chard until slightly wilted. Spread sautéed chard over onions. Add a dash of salt and your favorite herbs.

5. Beat 3 eggs and whisk together with 1 cup milk.  

6. Pour the mixture evenly into the pie dish. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. Use the toothpick test in the middle to make sure the egg is cooked through.

Broccoli Cheddar Stuffed Chicken

I am always looking for quick and easy recipes that I can take leftovers for lunch. I saw this recipe on Pintrest months ago, and I thought it was perfect! 

Ingredients

2 large boneless Chicken Breasts
Broccoli crown chopped into little pieces
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt, Pepper to season

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place cheese and broccoli in center of chicken. Fold the sides in and roll as best as possible. When this fails, grab 4 to 8 toothpicks and stab every part of that chicken closed.
Bake for 40 minutes & check to make sure the chicken is cooked through. 

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli

Beef Consomme is a hearty, full bodied broth. If you look at the recipe it is very involved and time consuming. I decided to save my time and energy, and bought a can of it rather than making my own. (The only issue is that the sodium level is very high, more than 1600mg in one can.)

Ingredients
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips 
1 cup beef consumme 
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
Fresh broccoli florets (as many as desired)
Hot cooked rice

More info about this cut of meat

Directions
1. Place beef in a crock pot. Make sure to clean knife, cutting board, and your hands before and after handling the beef! 
2. In a small bowl, combine consomme, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3. (After the time has past) In a cup, stir cornstarch and most of the sauce form the crock pot until smooth. Add back to crock pot. Stir well to combine.
4. Add broccoli to the crock pot. Stir to combine. 

5. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on high (the sauce has to boil for it to thicken).
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Looks like pei wei

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Look at the sodium label-- 100%  

I was going to use a copy cat recipe from P.F. Chang's, but when I looked at the nutritional information I was astonished. That recipe had 2418mg of Sodium (which is MORE than your daily requirements of sodium in 1 meal! NOT OKAY) People tend to over look the sodium labels on nutritional panels, but it is very important to stay under 2 grams or 2000mg of sodium a day. Here is a great link about reducing the amount of hidden sodium you eat during the day.

BUT, I still wanted to make lettuce wraps because I had almost an entire head of lettuce un-used. Luckily, I found a lower sodium & vegan friendly recipe online! 

Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 5 minutes 
Total Time: 25 minutes 
Yield: SERVES 4(starter)/2-3(main)

Ingredients:

•               1 head fresh iceberg lettuce OR prepackaged lettuce for wraps

•               3 cloves garlic, minced

•               1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated

•               1 red chili, minced, OR 1/4 to 1/3 tsp. chili flakes

•               2 shallots, sliced finely

•               1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into "matchsticks"; OR 1/2 cup cooked chicken or pork, shredded, OR 1/2 cup cooked baby shrimp

•               1 carrot, grated or cut into thin strips

•               5-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced

•               1 egg (omit if vegan)

•               1/2 cup shredded cabbage (any type will work)

•               3 spring onions, sliced (aka scallions/green onions)

•               approx. 2 cups bean sprouts

•               2 Tbsp. lime juice

•              4 Tbsp. soy sauce (use low sodium)

•               1 Tbsp. oyster sauce; (Vegetarians: use vegetarian oyster sauce)

•               1/4 tsp. sugar

•               TOPPINGS:

•               1/3 cup fresh basil OR mint, chopped if leaves are large

•               1/3 cup fresh dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

•               fresh bean sprouts

•               OTHER: 2 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying

Preparation:

1.             Drizzle oil into a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, galangal (or ginger), chili, and shallots. Stir-fry one minute, or until fragrant. **Stir-frying tip (from the pros): add a little water or white wine if the wok/pan gets too dry instead of more oil.

2.             Add tofu (OR shrimp/chicken/pork), carrot, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, and spring onions. As you stir-fry, add the lime juice, soy sauce, oyster sauce (or vegetarian substitutes) and sprinkle over the sugar. Stir-fry about 1 minute.

3.             Push ingredients to the side of the wok or pan, and crack in the egg. Stir-fry quickly to break the yolk. Mix in with the other ingredients.

4.             Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry briefly to mix (avoid over-looking or it will go limp). Remove from heat and do a taste test for salt, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough.

5.             Cut off the stem part of the iceburg lettuce so it's easier to separate the leaves. Now place the lettuce, sir-fried filling, and the toppings on your table in separate bowls/plates, allowing family or guests to make their own wraps.

To assemble, take a whole lettuce leaf and place 1-2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center. Top with a sprinkling of fresh basil and peanuts plus fresh bean sprouts if desired. Then wrap up and eat! (For those who like it extra spicy, fresh-cut chili can be added as another topping.) ENJOY!

They look & taste so delicious! :)

Toll House® White Chip Chocolate Cookies

I love fresh cookies! I always have chocolate chips (white chocolate & milk chocolate) on hand just in case I get a craving for cookies. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.
2. COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cookies & milk