Spaghetti Squash Pie

I received a large spaghetti squash from the CSA a couple weeks ago and have been trying to decide what to make with it.  Well, looking through my refrigerator, I realized that I had everything to make spaghetti pie, a favorite from our childhood.  But since I don't eat pasta anymore (it fills me up too fast), I figured I would try substituting the spaghetti squash for the spaghetti.  Since this was a large squash, it will yield about twice as much squash as I need for a regular sized pie, so I am doubling everything and making it in a 13" X 9" pan.  Since I have roasted vegetables left over, I put them in the sauce along with some cooked ground round. 

Spaghetti Squash Pie

• 1 large spaghetti squash*
• 3 farm-fresh eggs*, beaten
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup roasted vegetables* (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2014/09/roasted-veggies.html)
• 1 1/2 cup roasted heirloom tomato sauce** (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2014/08/pork-heirloom-tomatoes-and-apples.html)
• 4 oz cooked ground round
• 16 oz large curd 1% cottage cheese
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheeses (I used fontina)

Roast spaghetti squash: Preheat oven to 375F.  Poke several holes into spaghetti squash with a sharp knife.  Roast for 1 hour.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting.  Cut squash in half.  Scoop out seeds and membranes.  Then pull strands of squash with a fork.  Place in a large bowl.  Reduce oven heat to 350F.

Prepare crust: Mix  squash, butter, eggs and parmesan until well blended.  Pour into a prepared 13" X 9" pan. 

Assemble pie: Spread cottage cheese over crust.  Mix the tomato sauce, roasted vegetables and ground round.  Spread mixture over cottage cheese, leaving 1/2" edge all around.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crust is set.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

*CSA Ingredients
**Farmers Market Ingredients

Stuffed Poblanos

I have spent several days trying to figure out what to stuff my poblano peppers with this week.  This experience is brand new all around for me this week.  I have never roasted whole peppers before and thus, have never stuffed them before.  I went back and forth on the method of roasting.  I knew that fire was out because I have an electric range.  When I asked for tips on using the broiler, it was suggested to me that I should use an iron skillet and I considered it for about 20 minutes.  Then I remembered that I have 4 very loud and sensitive fire alarms in this house and decided against it.  Once they start going off, it takes me about a half hour to get them all turned off again.  So, not my idea of fun this time.  That left me back with using the broiler.  I researched it and saw an equal number of recipes which used oil to those which did not.  So, I decided to try it without.

Then there was the task of deciding what to fill them with.  Yes, I know, chiles rellenos traditionally are filled simply with monterey jack cheese.  However, I had such a supply of meat in my refrigerator, I decided I should choose from one of them.  The choices were chicken taco meat with corn and black beans, pulled pork or ground beef.  I really needed to use the ground beef (or at least cook it up), so I did that while I continued to decide what to fill the peppers with.  Then I figured, what the heck, let's take that meat, add corn and Rotel and fill the peppers with that.  So, here is what I did:

Beef and Corn Stuffed Poblanos

• 5 poblano peppers*
• 1 lb ground round
• 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet corn*
• 1 (10.5 oz) can Rotel tomatoes with peppers
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chile pepper
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, divided
• 1 cup Monterey jack, divided
• 1 1/2 cups homemade heirloom tomato sauce

Turn on broiler.  Wash and dry the poblano peppers.  Place peppers onto a foil-lined baking sheet and place about 6" from broiler.  Broil about 5 minutes per side (three sides), turning each 5 minutes, until the skin is blackened and bubbly.  Place cooked peppers into a Ziploc bag and seal; let stand for 15 minutes.  Open bag and let peppers cool until you can handle them.  Once cooled, pinch the skin and pull, the skin should easily pull away from the flesh.  Set peppers aside.

Meanwhile, cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no pink remains.  Add the corn, tomatoes, cumin and chile pepper and cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and cool for 30 minutes.  If peppers are ready, add bread crumbs and half of the cheeses; mix well.

To assemble, hold one pepper in your hand and stuff with the meat mixture.  Make sure you push down into tip of pepper and stuff as full as you can.  Place the peppers in crock of your slow-cooker.  There will be filling remaining.  Mix heirloom tomato sauce into the remaining filling and then spoon over the stuffed peppers.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  Then turn heat to HIGH, sprinkle with remaining cheese, cover and cook until cheese is melted.

Picture of finished recipe is coming!
*CSA ingredients

Roasted Veggies

I had half a refrigerator full of zucchini, eggplant, and peppers, plus a few heirloom tomatoes and a large onion left.  I just ran out of ideas for things to make, so I decided to roast everything.  Then I'd have time to figure out what to do with them (or, I could just eat them as a side).  This time, I roasted the peppers whole and then chopped up everything else and roasted them separate.  In the end, I decided to take my rainbow of peppers and dice them to add to the rest of the vegetables, but they sure were pretty after roasting them whole.

Roasted Sweet Peppers

• 4 large bell peppers*, mixed colors

Wash peppers and cut any blemishes.  Place on a baking sheet lined with foil.  Heat oven to broil.  Place peppers under broiler and broil about 4 minutes each side until the skins are bubbled and black.  Place peppers into a Ziploc bag and allow to sit for 20 minutes sealed.  Then open the bag and allow peppers cool to handling temperature.  Cut away the stem and core, remove any ribs and remaining seeds.  Peel the skin by pinching and then pulling away.

*CSA ingredients


Roasted Vegetables

•  2 medium zucchini*
• 3 small summer squash*
• 2 small eggplant*
• 1 large onion*
• 1 ancho chili*
• 4 orange heirloom tomatoes**
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash all vegetables.  Dice into large dice and split between 2 Ziploc bags.  Drizzle with about 1 Tbsp olive oil per bag.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Seal each bag and shake to coat the vegetables.  Transfer each bag to a 13" X 9" pan.  Roast vegetables for 40 minutes, stirring twice. 

*CSA Ingredients
**Farmers market ingredients

BBQ Sauce

Okay, I'll admit it, I was lazy on that last post.  I didn't link the bbq sauce recipe for the pulled pork.  Probably because I knew it was part of another post from a couple years ago.  But my mom mentioned it this morning when I dropped off some of the pulled pork for her and Dad to enjoy.  So, here is the BBQ sauce recipe all by itself.  I created it when I received a bottle of sorgham from the CSA in Cleveland (FreshForkMarket.com) and it has become my favorite bbq sauce for pork (I've used it for both ribs and pulled pork).  You could easily adapt it for a light molasses and I think it would taste very similar.  Not sure where you could get sorghum around here.

Sorghum Honey BBQ Sauce

• 3 C ketchup
• 1 C sorghum*
• 1/2 C cider vinegar
• 1/2 C honey (this is the raw honey from Bob's hive)
• 6 sprigs fresh lemon thyme

Wash the thyme and then gently pull the leaves from the stems; discard stems.  Place all ingredients in small saucepan.  Heat until boiling; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Adjust flavors as needed (I did add a bit more honey because this seemed a bit tart).

I prefer this sauce on pulled pork and believe it would be good on beef brisket, but not sure how it would be on chicken. 

 *CSA ingredients