Delicata Squash Casserole, Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

There are a couple (among many) things different about me since I last blogged regularly:
1. I shop at Trader Joe's now.
2. I no longer have time to whip up creative meals.

...Wait a second. Something doesn't look right with that #2. It's not that I don't have time. I have pllllenty of time. It's more so that I'm distracted by other activities that aren't cooking. My life is wildly different from two or three years ago. And it's mostly internal-ish things that only I would notice. My priorities are different. I think a lot of the cooking I used to do during that time period was a way for me to fill a void, to play a role. It's not that I didn't enjoy it or take artistic pleasure in it...I did. But that wasn't its main function. I won't get into too many details, as this isn't a therapy session (or is it?). Long story short, nowadays, cooking as an art (not as a way to prepare food) is low on my priority list.

That being said, before tonight, it had been a really long time since I made a from-scratch, no ingredient list, innovative meal. The meals I used to blog about. Tonight is just a typical Tuesday night. Home from work, tired, not much going on. I just need to feed myself dinner so there's no one else's taste or desire to consider. As everything was finished and I set the plates down at my little solo table setting, I realized that this was the first meal in 2 years I felt compelled to blog about. But it's not really about the meal...is it?

I'd also like to blame Trader Joe's on the partial death of my kitchen spontaneity. That store is amazing. And so much of it is prepared stuff...like really REALLY GOOD prepared stuff. Like their cooked pastas, for example...that stuff is amazing. So many of their frozen meals are good. The curry chicken salad is the bomb, too. Anyway, it allows you to make really awesome "gourmet" meals on a time crunch. Ideal for a busy 27-year-old foodie like me. So "from scratch" hasn't really been part of my vocabulary lately.

I do have to thank Trader Joe's for my discovery of DELICATA SQUASH. Hoooly moly. I don't think I've ever been so excited about a vegetable (and I love vegetables!).

This squash is actually CREAMY. Imagine whipped sweet potatoes with cream cheese added...that's the texture (not the taste). The taste is somewhere between a butternut squash (but more intense) and a sweet potato. It is so sweet. And so easy to prepare. I just poke a few holes it with a knife and microwave it for 6-8 minutes per pound (thanks TJs!).

I had a tupperware full of a delicata I cooked last night and just wanted to do something different with it. I remembered a sweet potato casserole I made "back in the day" and figured I'd do something similar. I'm not going to even try to write a recipe, so I'll just tell you how I made it.

DELICATA SQUASH CASSEROLE

I used about 2 cups worth of cooked delicata squash. You can eat the skin, but I discarded it as I wanted the casserole to be smooth and souffle-like. Mash it with a fork until the consistency of mashed potatoes (doesn't take much). Add equal parts brown sugar and white sugar, maybe a tablespoon each. A couple tablespoons of melted butter. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves to taste. Pop it in a casserole dish, top with pecans, and bake at 325 for about 20-30 min.

Oh, and I made some chicken salad because I had a bunch of cooked white meat chicken to use up. I was inspired by a Trader Joe's recipe but eyeballed everything.

TRADER JOE'S HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN SALAD WITH CRANBERRIES...THE HALF ASS VERSION :)

I used:
Cooked chicken
Dressing (equal parts TJ's Garlic Mustard Aioli, apple cider vinegar, and honey)
Pecans
Dried cranberries

I served it on TJ's Sprouted Multigrain Bread with some thinly sliced red onions and baby kale leaves. Those are TJ's Everything Pretzel Crisps on the plate, too.

This was way too long and I probably sound crazy. Sorry!

Cheers,
L

Sunday Dinner: Pesto Pasta

Tonight's vegetarian dinner was low-key and healthy.  We had a very busy day full of errands and other activities so an easy-to-prepare meal was needed.  I made a fresh batch of pesto, tossed it with whole-wheat spaghetti and some fresh tomatoes, and grated fresh parmesan on each bowl of pasta.  We lit up our new tiki torches for the first time (!) and ate this meal out on the patio with the sounds of crickets surrounding us.  A nice relaxing end to a busy day!

To make this pesto, I used fresh basil and thyme from our little "garden", pecans, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Finished product. Delicious!

What did you eat this Sunday?

Cheers,
L

Basic Chicken Noodle Soup For Two

I know what you might be thinking.  It's the end of summer, it's 93° out... why are you making soup?  Well, starting on Friday I came down with a nasty cold.  Thankfully I'm starting to feel better, but now Paul is starting to show symptoms.  Great.  It is his first week of grad school and I don't want him to feel as crappy as I did the last few days.  I have nothing to do today, so I figured some good old chicken noodle soup would be a nice thing for him to come home to.  The problem is, it's hot as hell outside, and I don't want to make things even hotter by having a pot of soup simmering on the stove all afternoon.  So I decided to go for my trusty Crock-Pot.  I know my tastiest soups have started with sweating the mirepoix in butter, and letting the soup simmer for a couple hours, but A) I have a lot of chores I'd like to get done today after laying in bed the last 3 days, and the Crock-Pot is the perfect solution; and B) it's HOT.  I'm sure this will still be tasty, but most importantly, I want it to be healthy and hearty.  And that it is.

I pretty much threw this together spontaneously, so this is the closest I can come to a recipe.  It's very interesting and challenging to write recipes for meals in which I "wing it" -- but I just make sure I pay attention to the amounts I'm using as I go along.


Basic Chicken Noodle Soup For Two [for a small slow cooker -- about 4-6 cup capacity]

• 1 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• about 1 cup of chopped onions
• kernels from 1 ear of corn
• salt and pepper to your taste
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; or 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• enough chicken broth to fill your slow cooker about three-quarters full
• 6 oz. noodles

1. Combine first nine ingredients in the slow cooker; cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
2. Cook the noodles separately and add just before serving.

Veggies.

Everything but the broth and seasonings.

Labeling is your friend.

All ready to cook.

This is cooking as we speak and it has a few hours to go.  I was anxious to write a long-overdue new post, so consider this an unfinished work.  Check back later tonight for an update on how it turned out!

UPDATE:

That's one chunky soup!

 
Turned out pretty good!  This was a VERY hearty soup -- I may even venture out and call it a stew.  But that is basically what I was going for.  Chunky, lots of flavor, chock full of good nutrients.  I still prefer to make soup on the stove-top, but this was a great option for a hot day.

Cheers,
L