Spaghetti [Squash] Pie

Our CSA farm sent out an email ALERT!! that we should check out this post about spaghetti squash because we've probably been cutting it wrong all these years. I too have been in the lengthwise-cut camp but it's true - cutting it crosswise through the middle results in longer spaghetti-like strands...I tried it for this dish.

I like spaghetti squash and I also like carbs, so I don't necessarily view it as a carb substitute. I kinda dreamed this recipe up and it came out well! Spaghetti squash is combined with angel hair pasta (you could use actual spaghetti but I think angel hair blends well with the squash) and ricotta cheese for the "base," then it's topped with a tomato-meat sauce & cheese and baked. You could use spaghetti squash alone if you want to low-carb-it (the base makes a quite a lot if you combine it with pasta). You could also use 1/4 box of the angel hair. This can also be made vegetarian by omitting the meat, or you could add mushrooms or whatever other veggies you like to the tomato sauce.

*Note - when I first made this recipe, I used jarred alfredo sauce in the base. I've come to prefer using ricotta instead, so I've edited the recipe. If you have some jarred alfredo sauce it's a good application for it! You probably won't use the whole jar - add half to start.

You can also make all the components in advance and then assemble & bake; I'd guess you can also assemble & refrigerate to bake later - probably increase the baking time.

1 spaghetti squash

olive oil

1 lb Italian sausage meat or ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves (or more) garlic, chopped

1 24-oz jar tomato-based pasta sauce (or a large can of crushed tomatoes)

Italian seasoning

1/2 box angel hair pasta

1 15-oz container ricotta cheese

garlic powder 

2 cups grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Prick the spaghetti squash in a few places and microwave for 5 minutes to soften a bit. Take a thin slice off each end and then slice in half crosswise through the middle. Scoop out the seeds. Stand each "bowl" upright on a foil-lined baking sheet, brush flesh with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake for ~40 minutes or until tender (err slightly underdone). Let cool.

Brown the sausage or ground beef (season with salt if using beef). Drain off most of the grease. Add onion & garlic and cook til onion is translucent. Add pasta sauce & Italian seasoning and simmer on low for a few minutes.

Boil angel hair until barely al dente in a large pot. "Fork" the spaghetti squash to get long strands. Drain pasta, return to pot and combine with the squash. Mix the ricotta cheese with some salt, garlic powder and Italian seasoning, and add to the squash/pasta. If it seems a bit watery, you can spoon off some of the liquid.

Reduce oven temp to 375. Butter or spray a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread the squash/pasta mixture in the dish, top with the meat sauce and then grated cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

Ginger-Herb Chicken with Turmeric Rice & Roasted Sweet Potatoes

An easy and colorful/flavorful dinner! I've made this chicken before but it's been years - it's based on a recipe in Joy of Cooking, and I'd forgotten about it because a blender/food processor is needed to make the marinade, and I'd been without one for awhile. You can use any chicken parts - boneless thighs or breasts, or bone-in whatever - just adjust the baking time. This would also be great on the grill. I baked boneless thighs for about 40 minutes and the sweet potatoes were done in about 30. You could also be more judicious with the marinade and save/freeze half for later. Also - this meal is apparently a Penzey's ad!

Ginger-Herb Chicken
- 1 large knob fresh ginger, peeled & large-diced
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 small bunch fresh mint and/or basil and/or parsley
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 lime, zested & juiced
- 2 Tbl toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 Tbl (or more) red pepper flakes
- 1/2 Tbl kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4-6 chicken parts


Put all the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor & pulse until still slightly chunky. Put the chicken parts in a ziploc bag or bowl & pour marinade over. If possible, marinate in fridge for at least an hour. Then pour everything into a baking dish & bake at 425 until done (run under broiler for a little browning).

Turmeric Rice
- 1 Tbl olive oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
- 1 tsp salt
- optional: palmful of Penzey's dried shallots

Put the olive oil & mustard seeds in a medium-sized pot & turn on heat to medium. When seeds start to pop, add rice & turmeric. Stir & toast for about a minute, then add 3 cups water & dried shallots (you could also saute a fresh shallot or small onion along with the mustard seeds). Cover & bring to boil, then reduce heat to low & cook 15 minutes.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cut in large cubes
- olive oil
- salt
- chili powder (I like Penzey's Chili 9000)

Toss sweet potato cubes with oil, salt & chili powder. Spread on foil-lined baking pan & roast at 425 until done, stirring once (~30 minutes).

Mujaddara (Rice & Lentils with Onions)

I've been meaning to try this Middle Eastern dish for awhile. Very easy, cheap and makes a big pot. There are apparently a ton of variations (one of those dishes where every family has their own version) - as usual I looked at several recipes and cobbled together my own. Spice-wise I think you're at least supposed to use cumin - ground is also fine. But you should head on over to Penzey's and stock up on lots of spices! It looks like the more traditional versions also call for truly frying at least half of the onions until they're brown/crispy and topping the dish with them. That sounds delicious...but I kept it simple and cooked all the onions into the dish.

I served this with a cucumber & cherry tomato salad and plain Greek yogurt.

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 onions, halved, peeled & sliced
olive oil
1/2 Tbl cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rice (I used jasmine)
3 cups broth or water
1 tsp Zartar
handful of chopped cilantro (parsley and/or mint would be good too)
squeeze of lemon juice

- Cover lentils with water by a couple inches, bring to a boil and simmer (covered) for about 15-20 minutes, until slightly soft but not completely done. Drain.
- Meanwhile, put a large pot over medium heat and add a good amount of olive oil. Saute onions with a pinch of salt until the lentils are done - they should reduce a good bit and get browned.
- Add the cumin, mustard seeds & cinnamon. Let the seeds get a bit toasted and then add the rice. Cook and stir for a couple minutes, then add the lentils and broth. Cover and cook on low heat until rice is tender (about 15 minutes for white jasmine rice).
- Add the Zartar, herbs and lemon juice. Taste for salt & pepper. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mexican Chocolate Shortbread

I don't really have the patience for baking, unless I make plans for it. Sometimes you just want Christmas cookies and don't want to put in much effort. This is why shortbread exists! I recently received a free jar of cocoa from my last Penzey's order, and got an idea...

This spicy chocolate shortbread is a conglomeration of various recipes I found online (as is my style). You could add more ancho powder to make the heat more pronounced (or use chipotle, or add some cayenne), but this is a pretty subtle warmth. Not too sweet and makes a smallish recipe (perfect for NOT sharing, if that's how you roll).

- Cream 2 sticks of butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar (I used salted butter, if you use unsalted add maybe 1/4 tsp of salt to the recipe).
- Whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more) and about 3/4 tsp ancho chile powder. Add to the butter/sugar and mix until combined.
- Line an 8" square pan with plastic wrap (wax or parchment paper might be better, but I didn't have any, and plastic wrap worked). Dump the dough in the pan and press in until flattened.
- Chill dough until firm but not totally hard (I did 20 mins in fridge and 10 in freezer 'cause I was getting impatient).
- Lift dough out by the wrap and cut the square in half. Then cut each half into 8 rectangles. [ If I made this again, I would cut those further in half for smaller pieces (easier to transport without breaking, and these are pretty rich) ]. Prick dough all over with a fork and sprinkle with sugar. Transfer pieces to a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes.

Roasted Root Salad

This salad is a great example of why I love the CSA. I would never go out and buy all these ingredients to make this - but since they happened to be here, it came together. Planning and shopping continues to be the biggest "roadblock" to eating healthy for me...if the ingredients are in the house, I will make something!

We had several "baby roots" from the last couple of weeks: striped beets, purple-skinned radishes and turnips (I think). I halved or quartered these, tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and garlic powder, and roasted at 425 for 15 minutes. The greens are all from the CSA: two types of lettuce and arugula. I added some cherry tomatoes, fresh cherries, feta cheese and pistachios. The dressing I've been making lately is just good olive oil, lemon juice, a little bit of dijon mustard & maple syrup, and salt & pepper.

Spring Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

Our CSA started today! No surprise, we got pretty much all leafy green things: two types of kale, collards, spinach, two types of lettuce that looked like roses (there was a fancy name on the checkoff sheet I didn't remember), baby turnips (or are these white radishes...I never remember!), and garlic scapes. I was hoping we'd get strawberries, but nope. We've had a lot of rain and I wonder if that affected the strawberry crop.

  

I figured a salad would be in order for dinner tonight. I've been wanting to make roasted chickpeas as they seem pretty easy, and I had some commercial packaged ones that were delish a little while ago. The method is pretty easy: rinse and drain a can (or two) of chickpeas and dry well on towels. Coat with olive oil & season with salt and whatever other spices you like. I used smoked paprika and a little cayenne; I will probably try something more exciting next time. Roast at 425-450 for 15-20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

For the salad I used the two lettuces, some spinach and some sliced garlic scapes (they are like potent green onions), cucumbers and tomatoes from the store, and I topped with the chickpeas and some goat cheese.

Dressing: a small dab each of dijon mustard and pomegranate molasses, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and olive oil.

Vegan Black Bean & Rice Bowls

This has been my go-to easy/cheap dinner recently. You can add other vegetables, change up the spices, etc. Vegans look away - I've also been known to add cooked bacon to the beans if I have some around. Cilantro is also your friend, if you have some. This makes about 3 generous servings.

- Start a pot of jasmine rice - I use 1.5 cups of rice and 2.5 cups water. Cook for 15 minutes and let it steam off-heat while you finish the beans.

- Saute a small chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add some chopped garlic and half a diced bell pepper.

- Rinse and drain a can of black beans and add to the pan. Season generously with chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper. If I'm drinking a beer I'll add a splash of it at this point, or even some red wine to make it a little saucier. Also a blob of salsa.

- Add some frozen corn, cover and simmer on low heat for a few minutes.

- Serve over rice and top with chopped avocado & diced pineapple. Douse liberally with Cholula or your favorite hot sauce (but you should use Cholula!).

Also I serve this "bowl" on a plate because I don't have any bowls big enough to spread out the deliciousness!