Squash-Topped Cottage Pie

I know what you're thinking. "Squash-Topped? Are you serious? Is that supposed to entice me?" Two responses:
1. I know, it sounds weird, but it's delicious. Even the husband thinks so, and that's saying something! I think it actually tastes a lot more like sweet potatoes than squash. Try it and see!
2. Don't worry. There's cheese involved.

Squash-Topped Cottage Pie
Adapted from an Eating Well recipe by Beth Turner

1 lb. ground round
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. flour
1 c. beef broth
6 oz. (or about 6 c.) fresh spinach, chopped
dash of salt
dash of garlic powder
2 12-oz. packages of frozen winter squash puree, thawed
1/3 c. parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

Position top rack in upper third of oven and preheat broiler. In a large skillet saute the onion and beef until the onion is tender, add tomato paste and flour. Continue to stir until beef is browned. Add beef broth, stirring to scrape up tiny bits. Bring to a boil and cook until the broth is the consistency of gravy. Stir in spinach and about 1/4 tsp. of salt and garlic powder. After you stir in the spinach and remove from heat. Pour into a greased 9" x 13" dish.
Place squash in a sieve and press on it to extract liquid (you can squeeze it in a dish towel if you need to). Top meat mixture with pureed winter squash. Broil for about 10 min. or less, sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese is melted and slightly browned. (about 3 min). Serves 6.

Tips:
-I forgot the tomato paste and lived to tell about it.
-I'm becoming more and more inclined to never use garlic salt or garlic powder and always use fresh minced garlic. I can never add the right amount of the dried stuff, so I like to go with the fresh. If you prefer that, just add the fresh stuff when you cook the beef and onion.
-1 beef bouillon cube + 1 c. water = 1 c. beef broth... I'm just throwing that out there. Worked for me.
-If you're up for a some extra work (or if your grocer doesn't stock winter squash puree), you can buy a winter squash whole, cut it in half, scrape out seeds, place cut-side-down on a foil-covered jelly-roll pan and bake at 350 for 45-60 min. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then scrape out the squash and puree in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, I bet you could just blend it with a mixer for a few minutes and achieve a puree-like consistency (after baking for so long, it's very tender). It sounds complicated, but the worst part is really babysitting the thing for 45-60 min. The rest is NOT hard at all. The squash scrapes out very easily. Ohh, and break out the big-daddy knife to cut that sucker in half. They're dense!

Here's a shot of the side of my casserole dish. The cheese is the white/brown, the squash puree is yellow, and you can barely see the spinach/meat mixture poking through on the side. So warm. So bubbly. So good.

Also, in case you didn't know. This is a winter squash. Is it the same as an acorn squash? I mean, it kind of looks like a giant acorn?

Breakfast of Champions

I rotate between 3 or 4 different breakfasts depending on the seasons and my need for more dairy in my life (I always have this need). So, here's the latest in the rotation:

Simple Breakfast #1
1/2 c. 2% plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp. honey
A palm full of your favorite granola

Directions? Eat. But, a word to the wise: If you have a hard time with plain yogurt, you will want to mix the honey and yogurt WELL, and then top with granola. If you're used to plain yogurt, and know what you're doing, you can try not mixing, so that you can taste the sour/bitter yogurt and then let the honey quench the objectionable taste. I love Weird. I know. Also, you may be asking, "What the heck is the deal with "Greek" yogurt?" Well, it's creamier than plain yogurt. I think they strain more liquid out of it than they would "normal" yogurt. The creaminess makes it far superior in my opinion. Give it a shot!

Doesn't it just look delicious? MMMMM! Can't wait til tomorrow morning.

Sicilian Meatloaf

Meatloaf is just a terrible word isn't it? I feel like it's right up there with fruitcake or jello mold. But, really, this one is delicious. It's a great main dish for the savvy entertainer. If ever there was a high-class meatlof, this is it. It's not super expensive, but it tastes great, serves a lot, and is quite hearty. The more I make it, the more compliments I get.

Sicilian Meatloaf
by Linda Fleming

1 1/2 lbs. ground round (1 lb. will work if it needs to)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. oregano
3 tbsp. parsley
1/2 c. tomato juice
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 slices cooked ham, thinly sliced
2 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Knead meat, eggs, salt, oregano, parsley, tomato juice, bread crumbs, pepper, and garlic until well blended. Pat mixture onto a double layer of heavy wax paper into a 10" x 15" rectangle. Arrange han slices on top of meat layer in an overlapping pattern, leaving a small boarder uncovered. Sprinkle cheese over ham slices. Roll up meat, lifting away as rolling proceeds. Roll meat onto a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Tuck in ends (IMPORTANT). Bake 1 hr at 350. Serves 6-8 generous portions.

Tips:
-For the ham, I always like to buy Italian-tasting ham from the deli. It contributes to the "Sicilian" part of the meatloaf. Anytime I add super-cured meats, I cut back on the salt because the meat will have extra. And if you go for the Italian-y ham, you can cut the garlic to 1 clove.
-Make sure to tuck those ends in before baking so that most of the cheese will stay in the meatloaf as it melts. Some will almost certainly leak out, but tucking well can prevent the meatloaf from becoming a casserole of sorts, if you get my drift.
-Using 1 1/2 pounds will be more likely to get you 8-10 portions. Using 1 lb. will give you 6 good sized portions. I almost always use ground venison and most people can't tell the difference between it and beef because of all the other flavors in the dish - can be a good substitute if you have ground venison laying around...

Chicken Cacciatore Stoup

Hungry for some hearty, but healthy comfort food? This is what you're looking for. It definitely beats the cool-weather blues and warms you up from the inside out! Ooh, and it has a little bit of a zip to it because of the crushed red pepper flakes and fire-roasted tomatoes. Perfect!

Chicken Cacciatore *Stoup
A Rachael Ray Recipe Adapated by Beth Turner

1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 potatoes, cubed (and peeled if you prefer)
1 box mushrooms, chopped
4 ribs of celery, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c. wine (she prefers red, I only have white and it works)
15 oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 c. chicken broth
3 tbsp. rosemary
1 package spinach

Brown chicken, pepper flakes and garlic in 1 tbsp. olive oil and remove from pan. Cook all veggies to desired tenderness in 1 tbsp. olive oil (leave them a little al dente because they have to boil). Add chicken, tomatoes, wine, broth and rosemary. Boil, cool and serve over a handfull of spinach in each bowl. (The spinach will wilt into yumminess when you pour hot soup over it.) Serves 6. And DELICIOUS with cornbread.

With the tomatoes, Rachael Ray suggests a 15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes and a 28 oz. can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, but for some reason, I can NEVER find that at the grocery store. So, I just switch it up and use what I can find. Make it work for you! Enjoy!

*"Stoup" is Rachael Ray's word for a stewy soup.

Lentil Soup

I have a hard time finding meatless meals that sustain my hunger (lunches are no biggie - but overnight is another story!), but this one is a home run! The starch from the potatoes and lentils gives the soup a great roux-based comfort food taste, but without the calories. If you can't find red lentils, I would experiment with green ones, but if you don't like them, don't write off the recipe until you've found some red lentils.

Lentil Soup
An adaptation of a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis

1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 lb. red lentils
1 large potato, peeled and diced
4 cans of low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. thyme
Shredded Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and saute until all the veggies are sweating and becoming tender (5 min. or less). Add tomatoes with their juices and simmer until the juices evaporate and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally (about 8 min.). Add the lentils and potato and mix to coat. Add broth and thyme and stir. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the lentils are tender (30 min.). Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Easily serves 6.

When I made this last night, I didn't have a can of petite diced tomatoes, but look at what I had just saved from a cold snap:
Much cursing would have ensued had I peeled those little suckers, so I just diced about a cup of them and tossed them in the soup. It was super. And quite nice knowing that I had grown part of the soup! You've just got to love gardening!
Also, here's a less-than-awesome pic of the soup. It had been refrigerated and not warmed up... Sorry. :/

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

So, I haven't had very many good bread-baking experiences, in fact, some may have called me breadphobic... until I talked to a friend that is quite bread savvy. She pointed out that I was using all whole wheat bread (which is often a problem and makes breads SUPER dense), and I was killing my yeast. I didn't realize how delicate that process was! I was just getting the faucet to run as hot as possible, then dumping yeast in and then was surprised when it didn't do anything! Oops. So, now I use my meat thermometer (hey, a girl's got to be savvy) to help me determine when the water is 110 degrees, then I dump in the sugar or honey and yeast. AND STIR WELL (another previous oops)!

Anyways, this was my first delicious loaf of homemade bread. The husband LOVES it and has agreed to eat it instead of grocery store bread!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
An adaptation of a recipe by The Savannah Bee Company

1 ½ + 1/8 c. warm water (100-110 degrees F)
1/6 c. + 3 tbsp. honey, divided
2 ¼ tsp. yeast
2 c. bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. wheat germ
*¼ c. ground flax seed
*¼ c. flax seeds
1/3 tbsp. salt
Cooking spray

Combine the warm water, 1/6 c. honey, and yeast. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to proof. The mixture will become creamy and foamy in about 5 minutes.
Bring out the Giant Kitchen Aid Mixer (with dough hook) and combine bread flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, flax stuff and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and knead on low speed until well combined. After a few seconds, squeeze in an extra 3 tbsp. of honey (to add more moisture to the mixture and a little sweetness to the bread!). Take your new dough glob to a well-floured surface. Knead the dough by using the heal of your hands to push the dough away from yourself, then fold the dough back in half, turn slightly, and repeat the process. If you 'knead' help on this process (sorry, I’m helpless when it comes to shameless puns), look for an instructional video on YouTube or pictures through Google Images – they were super helpful to me! Anyway, you’ll be kneading for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic and kind of bounces back when pressed with your fingers.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the kneaded dough ball in the bowl, cover with a towel, place in a warm area of your house/kitchen, and let rise for about 1 hr (it should double in size).
Dump the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface and punch down. Flatten the dough into an oval shape and roll up lengthwise. Place the dough roll (seam side down) in to a cooking-sprayed loaf pan (9”x5”x3”). Cover the loaf pan with a towel, place in a warm area, and let rise for 45 min (again, it should double in size). At some point, begin preheating the oven to 350. Bake until deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped (about 25+ minutes). Let cool on a trivet or stove top for several minutes, then remove the loaf. Allow the loaf to cool completely before storing. Or, you can always eat it warm with copious amounts of butter and honey.

*If the flax ingredients aren't accessible, or just not appetizing, feel free to delete them along with the 3 extra tbsp. of honey.

This is the dough, after being rolled and placed in the loaf pan seam side down, ready to be covered by a towel and allowed to rise.

The problems I'm still having are:
-How can I store it for a week without it getting stale? (It doesn't fit in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.)
-How can I cut the bread in skinny pieces without it falling apart? David said his mom used to have this knife/apparatus that helped you measure what you were slicing as you were slicing. Anyone heard of this and know where I can get one?

Hope you enjoy!