Ravioli and Butternut Squash Sauce

Holy tastebuderific dinner I made tonight!  Yeah, I don't know, I was trying to come up with a fun, made-up word for super delicious taste times.  ANYWAYS...

I bought this big ol’ butternut squash the other day totally on a whim.  I love squash, but had nothing in particular in mind that I was going to do with it.  Today I decided I wanted to do something with that squash and some pasta, and then I remembered I had some cheese ravioli…it sounded like a fantastic idea (and it was a really fantastic, that’s why I’m sharing).  I really wish I could tell you that I made the ravioli, and then give you an awesome recipe for it, but I've never made pasta in my life.  So anyhow, I did a quick interwebs search and found this recipe, which was perfect because I also have a shit-ton of 2 different types of basil growing in my garden.  I only very slightly strayed from the recipe I found, and here’s what I did.  This was so delicious, you should go get a squash right now and start cooking.

Yep, that's Beeb, eating squash out
of the food processor.

Ingredients

Your favorite cheese ravioli (in whatever amount you want)

1 medium to large butternut squash, roasted

   (I’ll give roasting instructions, in case you’re not sure about that)

1-2 cups half &half

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp fresh basil, torn
cayenne pepper (optional - use as much as you'd like, I like my food spicy!)

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Cook ravioli according to package instructions. 

2) While your ravioli is cooking, place squash, approximately 1 cup half & half, cheese, basil and cayenne pepper in food processor.  Blend, and add half & half until the sauce reaches a consistency you like (I like it thicker, so I only used about a cup).  Add salt & pepper to taste, if desired (I didn’t add any, I thought it was perfect as is).

3) Drain ravioli and spoon desired amount of sauce over the top.

**My squash was still hot when I put it in the food processor, so I didn’t heat it at all after I blended it…you may want to heat your squash sauce after blending it.

Roasting the squash:  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, place in a 9”x12” baking dish (cut side up), put approximately 1 tbsp butter in each side and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper (I also sprayed a little bit of olive oil all over the squash, but it’s not necessary).  Place the squash in the oven for 30-45 minutes (until the squash is all soft and can be easily scooped out).

Enjoy!

 ~ j

Balsamic Glazed Vegetables

I don’t remember where I found this recipe (somewhere on the interwebs), but the original recipe called for regular balsamic vinegar.  I’ve made these veggies a couple times now, with regular balsamic and white balsamic...I definitely preferred them with the white balsamic.  You can use all different veggies in it, so it’s a great recipe for using up random veggies in the fridge.  I also like it because I always make brussel sprouts exactly the same way, and they’re great, but it’s nice to have at least one other way to prepare them.  Alrighty…here we go…

Ingredients

1 ½  - 2 lbs of your choice of carrots, brussel sprouts, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini (I used 1 lb brussel sprouts, 4 medium-large carrots, ½ head of cauliflower)

½ cup water

½ cup white balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic vinegar)

1 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

Have I mentioned that I grew up under the rule of having
green, orange/yellow and white veggies with every meal?

Instructions

Place the veggies in a pan with the water and vinegar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Remove the lid and turn the heat back up.  Allow the water to boil away and the vinegar to reduce and glaze the veggies, about 5-7 minutes.  When the veggies are glazed, add the butter to the pan and turn veggies all around to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

All ready to serve with venison cube steaks
(thanks to my "little" brother, the deer slayer).

enjoy!

 ~ j

Veggie Sides

I missed my recipe last week, but in my defense I was out of town for the better part of the week…and that’s my only excuse.  So here’s a recipe to make up for last week, and I'm planning to post another later this week.  In my book, that will still keep me at a recipe a week.  :)  And have you noticed my new white, square plates?!  They were a Xmas gift from mother-in-law, and I think they make my food photos look so much nicer…I love them!

I cooked a bone-in ham a few weeks ago for the first time.  I’m not going to bother with that “recipe,” because I did nothing but follow exactly what the plastic wrap on the ham told me to do (325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes per pound of ham).  But I thought I would share the sides I made to go with the ham.  These are very basic veggie side dishes that you could put with just about any meal, and you can definitely change up all the amounts of ingredients to your own tastes…in fact, I don’t even give measurements here on my mashed potato recipe, because I have no clue what I do (and this time I was just scraping the bottoms of containers for whatever was left in them).

Colorful!

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

4 large carrots - washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1)  Steam carrots to desired softness.

2)  Melt butter and sugar in pan, add carrots and sauté until evenly coated.

Brussel Sprouts with Garlic

Ingredients

1 lb (I think) Brussel sprouts - washed, trimmed and cut in half

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions

1)  Heat oil in pan over medium heat, add garlic and sauté for a minute or two. 

2)  Add brussel sprouts cut sides down, also add salt and pepper if desired.  Sauté for a few minutes, until cut side is just starting to brown, then stir sprouts around (not worrying about what side is down).  Cover pan with lid and continue to cook until you reach desired softness (I prefer mine crunchier, Squatch prefers his a bit mushier).

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

Potatoes, washed and cut into small pieces

Whole garlic cloves

Milk

Sour cream

Butter

Parmesan cheese

Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, parsley, chives, etc…)

Salt & pepper

Instructions

1)  Boil potatoes and garlic cloves in large pot of salted water, until potatoes are very soft.

2)  Drain water from pot, then add milk, sour cream, butter and parmesan cheese.  Mash with a potato masher or hand-held electric mixer.  Mix in herbs and salt & pepper.

enjoy!

 ~ j

Not Just ANOTHER Seven Layer Dip

I don't call this a seven layer dip, because it seems to me that it has more than seven layers.  I guess it all just depends on what you consider a "layer."  ANYWAYS...I love this dip, and every time I've taken it to a party, I've been asked for the recipe.  So it seemed like a good one to share as we approach the Super Bowl holiday season.

Ingredients
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 chopped fresh red chile peppers
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
2 fresh jalapenos, very finely diced
1 tbsp grated lime zest
1 cup chunky salsa
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped black olives, drained
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Delicious corn chips (like Tostitos with lime...YUM!) for serving

Instructions
1) Layer shredded lettuce on a 12" serving platter.

2) In a medium bowl, stir together black beans, red chile peppers and green onions.  Spoon the mixture evenly over the lettuce.

3) Gently spread sour cream over the beans.  Sprinkle with jalapeno peppers and lime zest.

4) Drain excess liquid from salsa.  Spoon salsa over sour cream layer.  Place avocado chunks on top of salsa (OR you can mix the avocado into the salsa before you spoon the salsa on).

5) Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.  Top with black olives and cilantro.  Serve immediately, or chill in refrigerator.

TA DAAAA!!!

enjoy!
 ~ j

20 minute meal

Israeli Couscous with pan grilled veggies

A delicious 20 minute meal? YES! I love Israeli couscous. It has got a great texture and goes well with so many things.  If you haven't tried it, this is a great way to start.  I like to do vegetarian meals once a week or so (mostly when I forget to set meat out to thaw) and this was an impromptu delicious dish.  You can choose whatever veggies you have on hand, this time I threw in some potatoes to try something new.  I used the fajita seasoning that I posted in my chicken saltados recipe from January.  A side note: Chicken Saltados have become a favorite here at the Martin house and I made a huge batch of the fajita seasoning to keep on hand- saves time for me.  The ingredients I used are staples in my kitchen so you will probably see these ingredients often but feel free to jazz it up and let us know what you did.  This makes 3 servings, 2 good sized dinners and a lunch portion.

What you need:
1/4 onion - sliced thinly
1/4 green bell pepper - sliced thinly
 5 mushrooms - sliced
1 small to medium zuchinni - sliced
2 red potatoes- chopped into small cubes
Israeli couscous
Fajita Seasoning
Veggie Oil - about 1 tablespoon

Fajita seasoning - this is the base recipe for a small batch.
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon each L dried crushed oregano, salt, ground red pepper, ground black pepper
dash of garlic and dash of onion powders

What you do:
Cook the Israeli couscous in a pot as directed, adding in a teaspoon of Fajita seasoning at the end.  While the couscous is cooking, heat a pan (we used cast iron- I love them) over medium-high heat and toss the potatoes in (side note, I cut the potatoes first, then while the potatoes and the couscous were cooking, I cut the rest of the veggies).  Stir the potatoes frequently to avoid sticking to the pan, and once they are almost done - about 10 minutes (depending on the size of the cube, small is good)  add in the rest of the veggies and cook them stirfry style until done- I like mine a little crisp still so it didn't take long at all.  In the end, add as much fajita seasoning as you like and add veggie mixture on top of couscous. Dinner is served.  Yum Yum.  All in 20 minutes, how can you resist?  We even had time to enjoy dinner out on the patio while it was still light out!
Glenn gave it his seal of approval.

Enjoy!
-Hayden

Biscuits & Gravy

I know I've mentioned breakfast being our favorite meal around Casa de Sharp, and here's another breakfast recipe for you.  I made both recipes and then froze them for enjoyment at a later (lazier) date.  I froze the gravy in muffin pans and then transferred the little gravy muffins to a big zip-loc bag.  The biscuits are star-shaped because I don't have a biscuit cutter, but do have lots of fun cookie cutters.  The stars were just the right size, and I think they make pretty darn cute lil' biscuits.

Cute little stars served up with
some Boca breakfast sausages

Freezer Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 packages dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

5 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

2 cups buttermilk

Instructions:

1) Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside.  Sift flour, cut in shortening.  Add yeast and buttermilk to dry ingredients; mix well.  Knead quickly 20 to 30 times.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

2) Punch down, roll 1/2" thick.  Cut with biscuit cutter.  Place on a cookie sheet, then freeze.  After frozen place in freezer bag until ready to serve.

3) To prepare:  Place unthawed on cookie sheet in cold oven.  Bake 400 degrees until brown, 25-30 minutes.

**My biscuits turned out a bit on the dense side, but everything I bake here in Denver turns out dense.  I will never be able to adjust for the elevation, so I've given up...but mostly because we're moving down in the world in a few months!  (good for many, many reasons, not just for my baking)  I also think the yeast I used was a little bit on the old side, AND of course, I refuse to use white flour.

The Boca Crumbles definitely made the
gravy less photogenic - I swear that's not cat food!

Country Gravy
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
pinch of ground thyme
4 cups milk

Instructions:
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, salt, pepper and thyme until smooth.  Cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes.  Gradually stir in milk so that no lumps form, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened.  If they gravy becomes too thick, you may thin it with a little more milk.
** I added Boca crumbles to this batch of gravy while I was heating it, which made it look a bit like canned cat food and not very photogenic...but it was really tasty!!

enjoy!
 ~ j