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With all of the holiday stress on my plate, the recent 'In the Kitchen w/Roz' luncheon had to be cancelled. This made me sad. One, because I love hosting you all; and two, because I love to eat, and this recipe was on the menu... With a nod towards our upcoming Thanksgiving feasts, here are two recipes that will have your guests (especially the women who are trying to watch carbs!) raving. If you do use these recipes, please, take a picture of your masterpiece and share it on the facebook page! So these recipes accomplish a few goals: eat healthy, eat cheap, eat local. Eat Healthy: 1 cup cooked Butternut Squash contains: 80 calories 6 grams of Fiber (22%!) 460% Vitamin A 50% Vitamin C 8% of the Calcium and Iron you need in a day. Eat Cheap/Local: My local farmer's produce stand is selling winter squash for .75 each. That's a LOT of food super cheap. The real test of course is - Will they eat it? Sure, we can cook just about anything, but if they won't eat it...  Left: Cheesy Squash with Noodles & Ham | Right: Cheesy Squash Cauliflower Never fear. I've got your back. The following recipes are toddler AND husband approved. Notice the super-sneaky addition of the squash... Cheesy Squash Sauce will have a natural sweetness to it, so if you are unsure how your family will react, only add one cup, then taste. Don't be afraid to be creative with this sauce. I'm thinking it would make a very tasty dip if you added chopped spinach and served with pita chips. I used it with cooked rotini and cubed ham to make a meal for the men. They loved it. It would also be super tasty served as a dipping sauce with homemade bread; or slathered on a hot ham sandwich. Really, this stuff is amazing. I hope you enjoy it!  Cheesy Squash Sauce w/ Rotini & Ham Cheesy Squash Sauce 2 cups Pureed Roasted Winter Squash 3 cups Milk 1/2 cup shredded cheese (we use raw cheddar or white cooper - just use a smooth-melting cheese) 2 tbsp white whole wheat flour 2 tbsp Butter 1 tsp Realsalt 1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper 1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg (optional) In a medium-sized sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and spices. Add milk gradually, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. When milk is hot and the roux is completely incorporated, add the cheese, again stirring until completely incorporated. Turn heat down if you need to, don't boil or simmer this sauce. Lastly, add the squash, whisking in until sauce is thick and orange in color. Remove from the heat. Proceed with Cheesy Cauliflower (below) or any recipe calling for cheese sauce.  Cauliflower encased in cheesy goodness Cheesy Cauliflower
1 large head of Cauliflower, cut into bite size florets (enough for a single layer in a 9x13 casserole) 1 recipe Cheesy Squash Sauce 1 cup Panko crumbs, Bread Crumbs or crumbled, cooked, bacon (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blanch cauliflower by boiling for three minutes in either broth or water. Cool off immediately under cold running water. Drain. Butter (or use olive oil spray) a 9x13 casserole dish. Spread out cauliflower in single layer. Pour cheese sauce over top. Sprinkle crumbs or bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't get too brown. You can turn this into a meal by adding cooked cubed chicken, ham or sausage to the cauliflower. Serve with organic brown rice. Yum!
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 As a kid, my mom made huge pans of granola. With four children in the house it never lasted long enough. I have the basic recipe memorized, but today, I wanted something a bit more sophisticated for my almost-40 palate. Following the saying that I need burned onto my counter-top: 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.', I searched my cupboards for likely ingredients. At the conclusion of my hunt I realized two things. One, I am a bargain shopping goddess; and two, I need to dig through my freezer a bit more, there are some neat ingredients in there! You can use ANY nuts for this recipe. Add more, about another cup if you want to and if you have them. I used the pine nuts, not because I'm a snob, but because they were a super good deal (Oh! Did I leave that price tag on the lid? Why YES, I did get them for .29 per jar... and YES, they were originally $8.49...)  After much searching, I realized two things. One, I am a bargain shopping goddess; and two, I need to dig through my freezer a bit more, there's some neat ingredients in there! You can use ANY nuts for this recipe. Add more, about another cup if you want to and if you have them. I used the pine nuts, not because I'm a snob, but because they were a super good deal (Oh! Did I leave that price tag on the lid? Why YES, I did get them for .29 per jar... and YES, they were $8.49...) I hope you enjoy this recipe. I hope that you have access to fresh, raw, unadulterated milk. Phooey on the FDA. They have never enjoyed homemade granola with fresh raw cream. Maybe I should bring them some. I could be a Raw-Milk Mary Poppins. In handcuffs. Scratch that. Terrible idea. Who would feed the chickens?  Enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Recipe: Tropical Autumn Granola 5 cups Rolled Oats 4 oz Pine Nuts 1/4 cup Flax Seeds 1 cup Shredded Coconut 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 1/2 cup Raw, Local Honey 2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp maple flavoring 1 tsp salt 1 cup raisins (you can use any dried fruit - apples, craisins, etc) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a cast iron skillet, I toasted the pine nuts and flax seeds in 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil. Then I mixed them together with the oats and coconut. In the same warm (heat off) skillet, I warmed my coconut oil, honey, vanilla, spice, flavoring and salt. I mixed it all together well, then poured it over my dry ingredients. That was mixed until everything was coated well. Then I transferred it all into a large casserole pan - easier to mix that way - and began the baking process. I set the timer for 7 minutes. At 7 minutes I took it out of the oven, stirred it well, and back in the oven it went. I did two more 7 minute cycles, then took it out, gave it a final stir, and added the raisins. Let cool completely before putting into an airtight container. Like your stomach. |
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