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Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
One of my
biggest challenges in raising a picky eater is trying to get him to eat
vegetables. I saw this recipe for butternut squash mac and cheese and decided
to try it. Although Alex wasn’t as thrilled as I hoped he would be, at least I
got him to eat some vegetables. Original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients
3 cups of cubed
peeled butternut squash (about 1-pound of squash)
1 ¼ cups of
fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cups of
milk (we drink whole milk, but you can use skim and make it healthier)
2 garlic
cloves, peeled
2
tablespoons of plain fat-free Greek yogurt (I used one small container)
1 teaspoon
of kosher salt
½ teaspoon
of black pepper
1 ¼ cups
of shredded Gruyère cheese
1 cup of
grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 cup of
cheddar cheese
1 pound of
uncooked cavatappi
½ teaspoon
of garlic salt
Cooking
spray
1 teaspoon
of olive oil
½ cup of panko
(Japanese breadcrumbs)
½ cup of
parmesan cheese
2
tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375
degrees.
2. Combine squash, broth,
milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a
fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and mash (the recipe calls for the
squash mixture to be blended, but I just mashed it).
3. Add salt, pepper, and
Greek yogurt. Stir until smooth.
4. Place blended squash
mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and cheddar. Stir until
combined.
5. Boil water with garlic
salt; cook pasta until done. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until
combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish
coated with cooking spray.
6. Heat oil in a medium
skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden
brown. Remove from heat; stir in parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot
pasta mixture. Lightly coat topping with cooking spray.
7. Bake at 375 for 25
minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.
Healthy Twist on Bacon and Beans
What I
loved about this recipe was that it used lots of fresh tomatoes. I found a trio
of different cherry tomatoes (yellow, orange and red), which were so beautiful
when chopped up. I added turkey bacon to the original recipe, as Andy is a meat
eater and usually wants some component of meat in a meal (I can always do
without meat).
ingredients
7-8 slices
of turkey bacon
1 large
fennel bulb with fronds attached
¾ cup of extra-virgin
olive oil
2
teaspoons of coarse kosher salt, divided
2 pints of
grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
4 large
fresh of oregano sprigs
3 large
garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon
of black pepper
2 teaspoons
of garlic salt
2 15-ounce
cans of cannellini (white kidney beans), drained
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425
degrees.
2. Cook turkey bacon until
it reaches your desired crispiness.
3. Chop enough fennel
fronds to measure ¼ cup. Trim fennel bulbs and cut in half vertically. Dice the
fennel.
4. Heat oil in large
ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (about 3 minutes). Add
fennel; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of garlic salt. Cook until fennel begins to
brown and soften, turning occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes (chopped in
half), oregano, garlic, and turkey bacon; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of garlic
salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Fold together gently.
6. Transfer to baking dish.
Bake fennel and tomatoes until soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
7. Mix in beans and 6
tablespoons of chopped fennel fronds. Bake 5 minutes longer to heat through.
8. Transfer mixture to
large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining chopped fronds. Serve warm or at
room temperature.
Strawberry-Mango Shortcake
This was delicious!
We made it again the next night because we loved it so much.
Ingredients
1 quart (4
cups) of strawberries, sliced
2 mangoes,
sliced
¼ cup of
sugar
2 1/3 cups
of Bisquick® mix
½ cup of
milk
3 tablespoons
of sugar
3 tablespoons
of butter or margarine, melted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425
degrees.
2. In large bowl, mix sliced
strawberries, mangoes, and ¼ cup of sugar; set aside.
3. In medium bowl, stir
Bisquick mix, milk, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and the melted butter until soft
dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 6 spoonfuls. Bake 10 to
12 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, make whipped
cream (see recipe below).
5. Split warm shortcakes;
fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Ingredients
1 cup of heavy
cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar
Directions
1. In a kitchen aid, whip
cream until stiff peaks are just about to form.
2. Beat in vanilla and
sugar until peaks form.
NOTE:
Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and
butter-like.
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