Honey-Jalapeño Roasted Acorn Squash

This recipe was from Naturally Ella, a blog that focuses on seasonal vegetarian dishes. She separates recipes not only by seasons, but also by vegetable/fruit. She also gives great advice for people wanting to cook vegetarian. Other notable fall recipes include: Butternut Squash Ravioli, Chipotle Butternut Squash, Black beans & goat cheese tostadas, and Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Salad. Very good blog! 

So from our CSA share this week, we were able to use the acorn squash & cilantro in this recipe. The recipe from the blog cooked the acorn squash with rice as a main dish but we decided to lose the extra starch. The acorn squash were smaller in size, so we decide to make it as a side to a delicious, fall potato & carrot soup. 

Ingredients

•               1 acorn squash

•               1 jalapeño pepper

•               2 cloves garlic

•               2 tablespoons olive oil

•               2 tablespoons honey

•               2 tablespoons lime

•               ½ teaspoon salt

•               ½ cup uncooked brown rice (or other grain)

•               cilantro, for topping

Instructions

1.            Preheat oven to 400˚.

2.            Cut acorn squash in half, scoop out insides, and cut each half into four wedges. Place shell side down in the baking pan.

3.            Mince jalapeño and garlic. Whisk with olive oil, honey, lime, and salt. Brush over acorn squash.

4.            Bake squash for 20 minutes and brush extra jalapeño mixture over acorn squash. Bake for another 10-20 minutes until squash is tender and golden brown.

5.            Cover rice with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 30-35 minutes until tender.
Layer roasted squash over rice. Drizzle with juice from the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with cilantro.

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! :)

Pad Thai 2.0

I made pad thai again tonight, at the request of my roommate! I decided this time, to add chicken & I am really happy that I did. For the chicken, I marinated it in the same sauce as what is used in the recipe. I think it brought out the flavor of the lime & Sriracha sauce. I also served the pad thai with a fresh salad tonight to cut down the amount of carb/serving of noodle. (I think the noodle is a carb? Correct me if i'm wrong!)

Chicken & Lime Tortilla Soup

I'm off work today, YAY! I cooked a Chicken, Lime, Chipotle Tortilla Soup for dinner tonight, and I decided to add a can of corn and a can of beans to make it a little more it hearty. I LOVED the flavor. It definitely had a kick (due to the chipotle chiles) and i love lime & cilantro. I served it with chips and guacamole. 
Watching: Bridesmaids 
Listening to: Kings of Leon

Ingredients 

•                2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

•                1 onion, finely chopped

•                6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

•                3 chicken breast, cooked & shredded

•                2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (NOT 2 cans, two chiles)

•                1 can of yellow corn

•                1 can of black beans

•                6 cups chicken broth

•                1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

•                Juice of 2 limes

•                Salt and pepper

•                1 hass avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces

Crushed tortilla chips

Directions 

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chipotles/adobo sauce, corn, and beans. Then stir in the chicken broth.

Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Place 2 avocado slices in each of 6 soup bowls and pour in the soup. Top with the tortilla chips.