Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini

 

I saw this recipe in Real Simple magazine and immediately wanted to try it. I'm not a huge fan of stuffed peppers, but the contents of this "stuffing" were right up my alley, so I figured I'd give it a try. One half was enough for me, but Andrew ate two. We repeated these numbers for lunch the next day, so three zucchini was the perfect amount for us. I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes called for in the original recipe because Andrew isn't a huge fan of them.

You could easily make up the "stuffing" the night before, then just halve, scoop, and stuff the zucchini for a super fast meal. Since the weather is turning cool here, I've got fall foods on my mind and I think this would be equally good with acorn squash.

Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini

adapted from Real Simple - September 2010

3 medium zucchini

1/2 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed

1/4 c. grated Asiago cheese

2 tbsp. pignoli (pine nuts)

2 tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 chopped green onions

Halve the zucchini lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and form the "bowl" for your stuffing. Place halves on a cookie sheet and set aside.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet. Drain grease and combine with remaining ingredients. I had reserved the scooped out zucchini and mixed it in at this point.

Roast at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until zucchini is fork tender. Serve with additional asiago, if desired.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I have been baking up a storm in the last week or so, and I'll be sharing more cookie posts with you very soon.  I wanted to start working through my huge backlog of dinners though, to show you some of the other things I've been doing in my kitchen.

While my mom and auntie were visiting in November, I made a delicious Butternut Squash Risotto for dinner one night.  Auntie Jody had never had risotto, and I hope I made her first experience with it a good one!  Risotto is such a comfort food for me - I love the creamy starchiness, the versatility, the richness.   I'll throw just about anything into risotto, and I'm always happy with the results.

I had never combined butternut squash and risotto, so I used an Ina Garten version of this recipe as a guide, but of course (per usual) made some changes that let the recipe work for me. 


Butternut Squash Risotto
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe

1 large butternut squash
2 tbsp. olive oil
6 c. chicken stock
6 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 c. arborio rice
1/2 c. white wine
1 c. grated pecorino-romano cheese
1/4 c. fresh parsley


I've documented my risotto method before, and if you'd like step-by-step instructions with pictures, click here.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Peel and cube the butternut squash.  I find this a little easier to do if I pierce it with a fork and microwave it for five to ten minutes first.  Toss the cubed squash with the olive oil, and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven 25-30 minutes or until softened.

Place the chicken stock in a smaller pot over medium heat.  Once the stock begins to simmer, drop the heat to low.


In the meantime, melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the onions, salt them, and saute until they are translucent, then add the garlic and saute another minute or two.  Add the arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter.  Allow the rice to toast for three minutes or so.

Add the white wine to the pot, stirring to allow the rice to soak it up.  Once the liquid is gone, ladle about a cup of the chicken stock into the pot.  Stir, and when liquid has evaporated, add more.  Continue this process until all the liquid is absorbed.  The rice should be creamy with an al dente center. 

Turn off the heat and add the squash, cheese, and fresh parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a fun vegetable to cook.  It's different in texture and taste from other squashes, and the spaghetti "noodles" are easy to dress up in different ways.

This roasted spaghetti squash would be a great last minute side dish for your Thanksgiving feast.  It's easy enough to put together for a weeknight meal yet special enough for company.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

1 large spaghetti squash

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

salt & pepper

To start, you'll need to slice the squash in half the long way.  I find this difficult to do with such a hard, large squash, so I microwave it for 5-7 minutes to make it easier to cut.  Poke the skin of the squash with the tip of your knife before you put it in the microwave so the steam can escape.

 

 

Once you've cut your squash in half, use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.  

Pile the onions and garlic in the hollowed out squash.  Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper.  

Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until squash is tender.  Use a large fork to scrape out the "spaghetti".  Toss with the roasted onions and garlic and serve.

Butternut Squash Bisque

Sometimes when I want to make something I've never made before (or just haven't made in a while), I look up a recipe online, then loosely follow the ingredients and directions.  I knew I wanted to make a butternut squash soup, I just wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to do it.  I made one last year, but it was extremely thick and tasted like mashed butternut squash that had been thinned out a little.  I wanted something a little more sophisticated this time.

Butternut Squash Bisque

adapted from About.com "French Food"

2 medium butternut squash

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, minced

2 tbl. extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. chicken stock

1 c. fat free half-and-half

1 c. water

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. ground sage

salt & pepper

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and celery, then thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.  Stir to coat vegetables in oil; saute until translucent and soft. 

While the veggies saute, prick butternut squash in several places with a knife or fork.  Microwave on high for 5-7 minutes or until soft.  Remove from microwave, allow to cool.  Slice squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Use a large spoon to remove all squash from skin. 

Add chicken broth and water to the stock pot.  Bring to a simmer over high heat, and add squash to liquid.  Simmer as long as desired - at least 15 minutes. 

Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth.  If you don't have one, transfer soup to a regular blender and puree.  Be careful not to fill the blender too full, and hold the top on, as the heat of the soup can force the top off if you don't!  Return soup to pot.

Stir in the half-and-half, bring soup back to a low simmer.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.  The original recipe garnishes with croutons, but I opted to serve my soup with a beautiful loaf of Italian bread, so we skipped them.

This soup is a comforting, rich dish that will warm you up and put you in the spirit of fall.  This would be a great meal for Halloween night, as it is quick and easy to prepare.  Using fat free half-and-half keeps the calorie count down, and you could use vegetable stock if you wanted to make this a vegetarian meal. 

Andrew and I both enjoyed the velvety texture and delicious flavor of this soup.  It's definitely one I will make again.

Nonnie's Cheesy Zucchini & Onions

The title pretty much says it all! If you're looking for a new way to use up the last of your summer squashes, here's a great idea for you. My Nonnie gave me the idea as I lamented the one lone zucchini in my fridge - our telephone conversation went something like this:

Me: "Nonnie, one zucchini isn't enough for Andrew and I!"

Nonnie: "Well, do you have an onion? Slice up an onion and mix it in."

Me: "I do have an onion! Good idea!"

Nonnie: "Oh and then mix in cheese. Definitely cheese."

Me: "Yum, cheese would be good! I have shredded cheese."

Nonnie: "Lots of butter! And garlic! That's the way the old ladies used to do it! (she is talking about the old Italian ladies in her family)"

Me: "That kind of makes the whole 'fresh veggie' thing kind of pointless, doesn't it?"

Nonnie, ignoring my comment: "If you have basil, add that in too. And cheese! Lots of cheese!"

Me: "I love you Nonnie!"

So, there you have it! For those who don't speak Nonnie, here's my semblance of a recipe!

Nonnie's Cheesy Zucchini & Onions

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into coins

1 medium onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

1 tbsp. butter (you can sub EVOO, but really, it's not that much butter!)

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 leaves fresh basil, minced

2/3 c. shredded cheese (I used mozzarella), divided

1/4 c. Italian breadcrumbs

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until it starts to brown. Once carmelization begins, add garlic and zucchini. Salt and pepper vegetables liberally. When veggies are fully cooked, dump them into an oven-safe serving dish.

Stir half the cheese into the vegetables. Add the basil, stir to combine, then top the mixture with the remaining cheese. Add breadcrumbs to the top. You may want to dot with butter if you are a fatty like me. Otherwise, more power to you.

Broil on high for a few minutes (maybe 5?) until breadcrumbs are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Andrew and I agreed it wasn't the healthiest way to get our greens, but it's definitely yummy. I wouldn't eat zucchini this way every time I make it, but it's a nice treat. Enjoy zucchini the way "the old ladies" meant you to!

The best part? This was a completely thrown together side dish made up of items I already had in my fridge and pantry. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?