Curried Potatoes & Squash

I think I have this thing for butternut squash.  It's been in a lot of the recipes I've made so far this year, and I'm loving it.  What makes this so strange to me is that I never had it growing up, actually, never had it before this year.  Weird eh?  But I'm willing to try anything once...and in this case, more than once.

Thanks to Cooking Light November 2010, here's the first of many recipes with butternut squash.

INGREDIENTS

2 T butter
1 c chopped onion
1 1/2  T grated peeled fresh ginger
4  garlic cloves, minced
3 c (1/2-inch) cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 c (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/2  tsp  salt
1/2  tsp  ground cumin
1/2  tsp  ground red pepper
1  (14.5-oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1  (14-oz.) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/4 c  light coconut milk
1 c  frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 c  thinly diagonally sliced green onions (about 4 medium)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan, and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add potato and next 4 ingredients (through pepper); sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in coconut milk and peas; bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, 12 minutes or until squash is tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with green onions.

SERVINGS & WW INFO

Serves 4-6

10 WW points (all those starchy veggies!)

Kneekole's Notes & Comments

Look at those colors!

* Great dish, even though we forgot the green onions!  The starchy potatoes and squash made for a thick stew.  And the colors involved were awesome.  Throw those tomatoes and peas in with the yellow squash - it's a beaut!

* Serve with warm flat bread (found near the deli section in the grocery store).  As the dish is in its last stages, throw the flat bread in the oven under the broiler (and your watchful eye) for a couple of minutes.

* Butternut squash does not freeze well.  We had purchased some pre-cut squash earlier this year, didn't get to using it like we intended to, and threw it in the freezer.  I've found that when it thaws, the squash is mushy, like it's already cooked.  The texture of the formerly-frozen squash left much  to be desired, but thankfully, the fresh squash I bought made up for it's lack in texture and taste!

* A shout out to my friend and fellow cooking-lover, Roxannah who helped make this dish the delicious meal that it was! Thanks for sharing your night, your life, your laughs and your heart with me.  You're a gem!

For additional nutrition information and the original recipe, visit My Recipes.com

Name Change - Crash Course Cooking!

So you may be thinking, "Nicole, you JUST started this blog.  Why are you changing the name already?"  Before I answer that question, let me fill you in on the back story...


Long back-story short - I found Melissa's (my roommates) long-forgotten 20 pounds of fresh frozen blueberries in our chest freezer and we decided to invite the world over to share them with us. 


Blueberry Breakfast, full of many many wonderful blueberry confections, was one of the coolest community connecting events I've ever been a part of.  On that wintry Saturday morning, 40+ people were packed in our home, eating our food, making new connections, and strengthening existing ones.  And Melissa and I were in our element.  I couldn't help from giggling and jumping up and down with glee (literally) every time someone walked in the door.  


It was that day that we realized that this is something we want to continue to do...share food, share laughs and share life with people around us.  We decided that we would invite a handful of people over every week for a mid-week dinner.  Since I had found this new love for cooking, I was (and am) totally stoked to have people to try my new creations....Beef Tangine with Butternut Squash & Scallion Couscous, Mediterranean Chicken Soup, Fennel-Crusted Pork Loin, Spicy-Sweet Turnips,  to name a few (all to be posted soon). 


But such a regular event was not complete without a name.  I wanted the name to not only include food and fellowship but to be catchy and not totally nerdy.  We threw out a couple of lame-o ones like Grubbin' and Dinner with Dames :) , but never came up with anything worthy of keeping.  Yesterday, while we were praying before our two-soup meal (Spinach Tortellini Soup & Butternut Squash-White Bean Soup),  it came to me - CRASH COURSE - our worlds are "crashing" together as we serve a "course" (or two).  


As we shared our vision for these Crash Course dinners, one of our guests, without knowing that I had just started this food blog, asked if we would be blogging about these interactions...weird, eh? 


The purpose of this blog is now two-fold - to share yummy creations and to share about life - not just the day-in, day-out things, but the things about life that makes it so interesting and worthy living and definitely worth sharing with others .  


So sit back, and enjoy, and we hope you get a chance to join in the journey.  :)

Mixed Berry French Toast

Let's just say that this is AMAZING!  I wanted to make a brunchy type dish for when my friend came over for breakfast, did a little search, and came up with this gem.  It was so good that the two of us ate half of it!  oops! :)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cubed
• 6 egg whites
• 3 eggs
• 1-3/4 cups fat-free milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened mixed berries
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.  Place bread cubes in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

2.  Thirty minutes before baking, remove the berries from the freezer and set aside, and remove the baking dish from the refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, cut butter into brown sugar until crumbly. Sprinkle berries and brown sugar mixture over French toast. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

SERVINGS & WW INFO**

Serves 8

WW points - 7 (and worth every one of them)

Kneekole's Notes & Comments

* Do not think "Oh, I've got a loaf of sandwich bread here, I'll just use that."  You will waste your sandwich bread and your breakfast on a sub-par meal.  It's the thick French bread that makes this dish so amazing.

* Shout outs to Craig, who cubed that bread like no other, and Carolyn & Ellie for enjoying it with me.

* I cannot wait to make this again!  I just need to find friends to eat it with me to help me with my self control. :)

**For more nutritional information and for the original recipe, check it out on Taste of Home.com

Bacon Pierogi Bake

Throw chronological-ness out the window, I'm posting about the great dinner I made tonight!  Thanks to Cooking Light, Dec 2010, my belly is full with this baked-pierogi goodness!

Ingredients

• 1  (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion pierogies 
• Cooking spray
• 2  center-cut bacon slices, chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3  cup  (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2  cup  chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4  cup  thinly diagonally sliced green onions
• 1/4  cup  chopped seeded plum tomato
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

• Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Arrange the pierogies in an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove from pan. Set aside.
  3. Add garlic to drippings in pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies. Top evenly with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with bacon, green onions, tomato, and pepper.

  Servings & WW info**

  Serves 4 (3 pierogies each) 
  WW Points - 8 pts.  
  
  
  
  
  Kneekole's Notes & Comments
  * Growing up, we would boil pierogies and serve them with butter = slippery buttery blobs.  This is WAY better and WAY tastier!  I like the slight crunchy effect from being baked.  Yum!
  * Really simple and not a lot of tools or ingredients involved. 
  * I forgot the pepper and it was still great....great enough to eat two servings (oops!).
  * The garlic press is a godsend.  No more chopping garlic...just press and you're off!
  * You should serve this with some sort of vegetable (mixed greens salad, steamed broccoli, etc.) but I didn't. :)  Hey, it's Valentine's Day and I'm making myself dinner...I'll eat whatever I want. :)
  * Anyone have any tips on how to cook bacon, and be able to use the drippings, without creating the "bacon haze"?  I love the flavor of bacon, but I hate how it stinks up the kitchen and anything porous within a 50 foot radius.  
  
  
  Scrumptious meal, that's for sure!
  
  
  Thoughts/Comments/Suggestions? Let me know!
  
  
  **For more nutritional information and for the original recipe, check it out on My Recipes.com
  
  

From baking to cooking

I've always been a fan of baking...cookies, muffins, sweet breads...all the stuff that you try to convince yourself is somewhat good for you ("But it's got fruit...dried and sugared fruit, but fruit nonetheless!"). But as 2010 came to a close, a new interested peeked itself - cooking! And not just "easy and cheap" cooking, but healthy cooking with mostly fresh ingredients.

With the help of Cooking Light magazine, eager friends to try my new creations, and my gracious budget, I have successfully satisfied many tummy rumbles and blasé pallets.

And of course, with a new hobby comes a new buzz - sharing successes and failures, seeking tips & tricks of the trade. And seeing that this new hobby involves food, people either want to try it, want the recipe, or both. With much encouragement from my cooking-blogger-friend Jill, you see this blog before you. Hopefully it will be a great way to share my savory (and sweet) successes with all of you.

I beg for patience as I attempt to catch up on the last 2 months of recipes. If you've had the chance to consume one of my creations and would like the recipe, leave me a comment and tell me what you're looking for. My mathematical mind is telling me that my recipes should be displayed chronologically in the order I made them, but I'm thinking that's going to add stress that I don't need. ;)

Thanks for your support and your empty and eager bellies!