Fall Spaghetti Squash

Looking for a healthy and tasty seasonal side dish that’s quick and easy to prepare? Try a little spaghetti squash! Along with the other variety of squash that are popular this time of year (acorn, butternut and pumpkin), spaghetti squash are easy to find at farmers markets and in your grocer’s produce section. While I do enjoy the taste and various textures of all the squash mentioned above, the spaghetti squash, in my opinion, is easiest to prepare. The spaghetti squash, which is oblong in shape, shares the same hard exterior flesh as the other squash when raw. When cooked, however, the interior of the spaghetti squash falls from the flesh in strands or ribbons, similar to spaghetti.

There are a few different ways to prepare spaghetti squash, the most common being baked in the oven, sliced in half, cut-side face down in a baking tray filled with a bit of water. While I am not a big fan of using the microwave these days, the spaghetti squash is actually very easy to prepare in ‘nuker’. Whether you are preparing the squash at meal time or in advance, the cooking and prep time are just a few minutes. Once the squash is cooked, you can toss it with spaghetti sauce, a little salsa, or even just some butter and parmesan cheese. This, of course, being my favorite season of the year, I couldn’t resist sharing with you my autumnal take on this dish. Just follow the simple steps below, making sure to handle the squash VERY CAREFULLY once cooked. While microwaving the squash does save lots of time, the squash will be extremely hot when done and will need to be handled with a towel or an oven mitt.

FALL SPAGHETTI SQUASH

1 spaghetti squash
1 tbspn brown sugar
1 tbspn butter
1 tspn vanilla extract
Salt and Pepper to taste

Generously pierce the skin of the squash. Place in the microwave at high for 3 minutes. CAREFULLY remove the squash, let sit for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. This will soften the flesh and will allow you to easily cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Lightly moisten the inside of both halves of the squash with some water. Place both halves cut-side face up back into the microwave, and cook on high for 4 minutes. CAREFULLY remove the squash and again set aside for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Using a fork, gently scrape the inside of the squash into a bowl. The inside will fall off of the flesh in strands similar to spaghetti. Add the brown sugar, butter, vanilla, salt and pepper. Stir and serve.

Note – you can adjust the amount of brown sugar, butter and vanilla to your liking. You can also add other fall favorite spices to this, such as nutmeg, cinnamon or allspice. You can also add pecan pieces for a little crunch.

Stuffed Peppers and Eggs

Some of my favorite go-to meals during the week, especially on the days when there’s not a lot of time to prepare a big meal, are the old-fashion standards. Potatoes and eggs, pasta and beans, a quick soup, and my personal favorite, a nice peppers and eggs sandwich. For this post, we’re going to get a little creative with the peppers and eggs. This recipe will save you prep time, as the peppers and eggs bake in the oven instead of on the stovetop. It also makes for a nice looking presentation if you’re serving it as a meal any time of the day for family and friends.

Bell peppers (green or red) work best for this. Instead of dicing your bell peppers, you are simply going to cut the pepper in half length-wise, from the top of the stem to the bottom of the pepper. No need to remove the stem, it helps with the presentation. Gut out all of the seeds, but be sure not to puncture the pepper. You don’t want any holes in the pepper (I’ll explain why in just a bit). Lightly wipe down the peppers, both inside and out, with a little olive oil. Place the peppers cut side up on a lightly greased baking dish.

Next, you’ll want to mix up your eggs. You’ll need two eggs per pepper. I use a basic mixture of egg, salt, pepper and some parmesan or feta for taste and texture, topped with a little bruschetta. You can add whatever ingredients you normally like to add to your eggs. Chopped mushrooms, bacon bits, ham, onion….go wild!

Carefully pour the egg mixture into the pepper halves, almost to the top of the pepper. This is why it is important that you do not puncture the peppers…you don’t want your batter to run out all over the baking dish. You can then top the peppers with shredded cheese, breadcrumbs, sliced tomatoes, salsa…again, whatever you prefer with your eggs.  Place the tray into a 350º pre-heated oven. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the egg batter has set firmly in the peppers. Serve immediately.

*Note – if you add liquid to your egg mixture, say milk or water, or a liquify salsa mixture, you will need to add additional baking time for the egg batter to settle. Keep checking on the peppers and eggs, just to make sure that they don’t burn.

Lemon Mint Risotto with Zucchini

Now’s the time to put that fresh harvest of vegetables and herbs to good use! One of the new herbs that I planted this year was mint. If I had known how abundant this herb was, I would have started planning recipes to use it with months ago! After putting together multiple batches of mint pesto, mint iced tea, and mint seasoned chicken to name just a few, I searched out  a delicious combination that would put not only my mint to use, but fresh zucchini and lemon as well. This dish adds lemon zing, mint accent and fresh zucchini to classic risotto. What I found most interesting about this dish was how the zucchini was sliced and added. By simply using a vegetable peeler to make long, thin slices, the zucchini takes on a beautiful ribbon shape and texture that holds up well in the warm risotto. The ribbons gently wrap around the creamy rice, yet melts in your mouth with every bite. The mint gives the perfect refreshing accent without overpowering. If you are a fan of risotto, I suggest you give this recipe a try.

LEMON MINT RISOTTO WITH ZUCCHINI

6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for garnish
1/2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves, plus extra for garnish

Bring stock to a simmer. Reduce heat to lowest setting and keep warm.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter and oil in a deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, 2 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Add wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates. Add stock 1 cup at a time, stirring until nearly all of the liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup. Continue until the rice is tender but not mushy. When almost finished, stir in the zucchini, adding stock as needed and stirring continuously.Remove pan from the heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add mint leaves and serve immediately in bowls garnished with extra cheese, extra lemon zest and mint.

Burger-grilling Fun!

When it comes to grilling hamburgers, I’ve become a bit of a purist. An 80/20 mix of ground chuck (80% lean for more flavor), some salt and pepper, well-oiled grill grates, flipped once, cooked to medium. If I’m making turkey burgers, I’ll use a 90/10 mix and may add a packet of onion soup mix for a little more flavor. I used to add all kinds of spices and seasonings (Italian salad dressing was the go-to for me), but as I developed more of an interest in grilling, I have learned that less can be more. Let the burger speak for itself.

Of course, I also like to experiment when I get the chance. This past weekend, when we were having a family grill-out, an interesting idea came to mind. Now if you have kids, you know that a staple at all grill-outs and picnics are cheese curls. If there is anything less than a half of a bowl on the table, there is a crisis brewing. Since we had the oversized tub of cheese curls on hand, I started to think what would happen if I added ground cheese curls to the burger mixture? Adding cheese to a burger is a given. You can also add breadcrumbs for texture. Why not combine the two?

I crushed up about a half cup of cheese curls in the food processor to get a breadcrumb-like consistency, and folded it into the mix with the salt and pepper. The verdict…thumbs up! A half cup of the crumbs for a pound of meat offered just enough of a zing without overpowering the burger itself. If you are trying to kick up the zing even more, maybe try using nacho chips instead. Sure, I wouldn’t make this part of my regular burger routine, but for a fun get together, and to have something to talk about over a beer or two while standing around the grill, I say go for it! Just remember….only flip the burgers once.