Delicata satay as a title is a bit misleading since satay technically refers to “meat on a skewer” if you go with the Indonesian roots to this dish. So, now I’m a rebel and breaking all the satay rules by a) using delicata squash and …
I’ve previously claimed to not really like cauliflower but, you guys, I am SOLD!!! My fabulous mother in law brought a cauliflower gratin over for our Thanksgiving feast that I thought was really tasty. So I thought, why not kick it up a notch? I …
Know what I love about you guys?? That you’re all game for wild game. After a great response from my post on venison stroganoff, I feel I owe it to you to give you another awesome spin on how I prepare venison in this veggies and venison chili. Venison can be a tricky meat to cook with because it’s so lean. Without a lot of fat content to keep it moist, it can often end up tough as leather (obviously, not a desirable trait). My trick to preparing venison is almost always a low and slow method with strong spices like those found in Asian, Mexican or South American foods. Venison takes on these flavors so incredibly well and transforms them into something truly great and not the least bit “gamey”.
Bold flavors of cumin, chili, allspice, garlic and oregano play up venison’s unique field to table flavor. Apple cider vinegar is used to help soften the meat fibers to make each bite delightfully tender. Warm, spicy, fragrant and loaded with lean protein and vegetables, this veggies and venison chili is PERRRRFECT for a snowy weekend.
Love venison? Try these other great recipes: Venison Steaks with Sweet Smoky Aioli, venison stroganoff , marinated venison chops, and venison tenderloin with creamy mustard sauce too!
I’ve been in full on “harvest” mode the past few weeks grabbing boxes full of fresh tomatoes from the farmers market and freezing homemade tomato sauce for future use. The scent of roasting squash has been wafting through my house while the kids cringe at …
I don’t usually make pasta but I’ve been seriously craving the comfort of a good mac and cheese that I can actually eat by the boatload. Maybe it’s the gloomy weather or the stress of having our house sold and not knowing yet where we’re …
My daughters looked anxiously from the baking sheet with two roasted halves of an acorn squash back to catch my gaze. They asked me what was for dinner, to which I replied, rice noodles with puttanesca sauce (a little lie via omission of the word squash, I suppose). My youngest let out a sigh of relief and exclaimed, “oh thank goodness we’re not having THAT for dinner!!”. I smiled to myself… yes, thank goodness! And then I promptly pureed the squash and tossed it into the saucepan with the rest of the squash puttanesca sauce while they weren’t looking 🙂
I love using veggies in ways that they can be easily incorporated into a dish without suspicious veggie haters knowing. Even more awesome, is when the kids really, truly enjoy the creation and have seconds, or even thirds. Then, I usually tell them what’s in it. I’m all about full disclosure after they’ve eaten it. Little by little, they’ve adjusted their way of thinking to even like my sneaky veggie additions and they’ve come to think that this is just how these recipes are always made.
Squash puttanesca is just like regular old puttanesca sauce using tomatoes, capers, and olives but of course, I add the pureed squash to the mix. Doing so makes the sauce a little creamier, more nutritious and less acidic. The flavors blend so well you’d never guess there was squash in the mix. Look at that tasty forkful!
I’m here to convince you that you love squash. No really, you do. Mixed into the right recipes, even self proclaimed squash haters (me) don’t have a choice but to love it. This recipe is a perfect example. Squash and cheddar cheese fondue tastes …
The sign of a really good workout: you wake up the next morning not being able to move because your muscles are so sore and refusing to operate properly. Yeeaahhh. That would be me, as a result of shoveling our very first snowfall of the …
It’s a comfort food kind of day. We’re in the process of selling our house so it’s been a challenge to keep the house clean and still manage to cook and so forth between showings. I swear, all I’m doing these days is cleaning, and re-cleaning, and cleaning again. I will be so glad when that’s over!!! Comfort food comes in all kinds of varieties. Most of the time, it just needs to be warm and delightfully savory. Something simple I could imagine my grandmother cooking for me even if it’s not exactly the same as her recipe would have been. Like this spaghetti squash and meatballs. The meatballs are an old recipe that I’ve altered slightly and of course, pouring them over spaghetti squash is super healthy. Put these little delicious meatballs over rice noodles and they are equally as fabulous. Or eat them without noodles… like appetizer style with a toothpick.
If you’ve never tried a spaghetti squash it’s really about time that you do. First let me preface this by saying I hate squash. I never liked it growing up and haven’t liked it as an adult. I was prompted to try it mostly cuz it looked fun. Anytime you can shred something and play with food it qualifies as a good new adventure to me! So I found a nice freshly picked spaghetti squash at a local farm’s pumpkin patch. Next came the chore of figuring out how to cut it in half for easy baking. It takes a little force but here’s the easiest way I’ve found to do it. Slice the stem end off to make a flat surface. Then stand it on that end and rock a large chef’s knife through the center while pressing down to break it into two halves. Scoop out the seeds, and place it cut side down on a baking sheet to bake.
It will essentially steam itself this way with the moisture from within. Once the outer skin of the squash gives to the touch, then you take it out of the oven and scrape it with a fork. It’ll shred into spaghetti looking strands like magic!
Of course, while the squash is baking, you’d be smart to mix up the meatballs and form them into small little orbs of goodness. These get a slow simmer in a simple tomato sauce and then served over the squash. The flavor of the squash is so mild that it takes on the flavor of whatever you put onto it so you’d never know you’re eating something so healthy. It won me over! If you want to be fancy, try placing a piece of mozzarella inside each meatball. It’s amazingly good!! You can also crockpot these little meatballs as an appetizer. Just form them, put them in a crock pot with the tomato sauce and let them cook 6-8 hours until cooked through.
You know what’s fun? Using goofy kitchen tools to make really cool (and really delicious) noodles. Or zoodles. Or whatever you want to call them. It’s kind of a childish fascination to morph food items into fun shapes with kitchen tools. It’s a lot like …
