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

Braised Short Ribs

Yesterday a friend posted a recipe for soy-braised short ribs with mushrooms.  It sounded really good and I asked for the recipe.  Well, I have filed that recipe because it still looks really good to me, but today, I decided that I wanted to make a ragu with the ribs and got the idea that using marinara and red wine might produce a great ragu.  I am going to give my CSA, Middleton Farms, credit for the ribs even though I don't get a meat share, because I bought the ribs from them at the farmers market.  I used a Classico 4-cheese marinara, but next time, I probably will make my own as we will be getting tomatoes very soon in our Harvest Share.

Braised Short-Rib Ragu

• 2.5 lbs beef short ribs*
• salt & pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 jar (or 4 cups) marinara sauce
• 8 cloves garlic*, crushed
• 2 cups red wine (I used Ruffino Il Leo Chianti)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Brown the short ribs in batches (about 5 minutes per batch)

Add the garlic cloves, Donatella’s Marinara Sauce, and the red wine (enough so the meat is just covered).

Bring to a simmer on the stove-top then braise in the preheated oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 ½ – 3 hours.  Pull meat from bones and shred.

Serve over rice, pasta, spaghetti squash or zucchini "noodles".

*CSA ingredients

Nutrition (1/2 cup serving)
Calories, 221
Fat 13g
Carbs 8g
Protein 13g

Low-carb Spaghetti Pie

I am just beginning to explore the ways I can use spaghetti squash in my favorite dishes. While the texture is slightly different, the flavor isn't impacted greatly. Tonight, I decided to make one of my favorite childhood dishes using squash instead of pasta. While the dish was runny overall, the flavor was great. And I don't have the expansion issue I usually have with pasta. I'll just have to figure out how to drain the ingredients better!

 Low-carb Spaghetti Pie

•  1 large spaghetti squash*
•  2 Large eggs*
•  1/4 cup butter*
•  1/2 cup parmesan
•  16 oz low-fat cottage cheese, drained
•  2 cups roasted heirloom tomato sauce*
•  2 cups mozzerella, shredded
•  1/4 cup each parmesan and romano, shredded

 Preheat oven to 375F. Cut squash in half lengthwise, place cut side down on prepared cookie sheet and bake about 45 minutes. Cool and then, using a fork, collect shreds. Reduce oven to 350F. Mix squash with butter (melted), egg and 1/2 cup parmesan. Spread into bottom of 13"X9"X2" pan. Spread cottage cheese over crust. Then spread tomato sauce over cottage cheese. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned. 

*CSA ingredients 

Stewing Time

I don't think I could tell you the last time I made a beef stew.  It has to have been over a year now.  So, my goal this week was to put together a beef stew in the crockpot.  Stew is such a great dish for using the vegetables that we get in the fall.  Especially root vegetables like carrots and turnips.  I found out today that we are getting rutabaga this week, so I guess I should have tried to put this off another couple days, but I didn't know that last night.  So, instead of adding rutabaga to this stew, I just used up the turnips that I had in my last bag.  I decided on this recipe because it sounded different and interesting.  And I will tell you that my apartment smelled wonderful this morning when I woke up (yes, I do choose recipes for the crockpot that I think will smell good).

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Root Vegetables
Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/slow-cooker-beef-with-root-vegetables-recipe/index.html?nl=EATS_110409_12

• 1 onion*, chopped
• 4 small Yukon gold potatoes*, quartered
• 2 carrots*, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium turnips*, peeled and chopped
• 2-pounds chuck roast. cut in 1-inch pieces
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 jar Clark Pope's Tomato Sauce* (16-oz)
• 1 jar Clark Pope's Roasted Cherry Tomatoes*
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Arrange onion, potatoes, carrots, and turnips in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. Rub flour all over beef. Place beef on top of vegetables in slow cooker.

Whisk together tomato sauce,roasted tomatoes, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 12 hours or on HIGH for 8 hours.

*CSA ingredients

Italian Eggs

As I was refiling emails last night, I came across a recipe idea for Italian eggs. I have this love affair with eggs cooked in sauces and salsas. It started with my brother and has grown as I've experimented over the last year.

This morning, I decided to play with this idea again. Given that I have fresh slow-roasted heirloom tomato sauce, I decided to add Genoa salami and see what we get. This recipe was prepared on stovetop and I am still learning how long you need to cook the egg. Today, it turned out medium. I, personally, prefer a runny yolk, but this was still very tasty.

Italian Egg

• 1/2 cup slow roasted heirloom tomato sauce* (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2012/08/italian-eggs.html)
• 2 thin slices Genoa salami
• 1 large egg*

Cut salami into thin strips. Heat a small skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat. Cook salami until translucent.  Add sauce and heat, stirring, until warmed through. Reduce heat to low. Make a hole in the center of the sauce with a spoon. Crack egg onto a small plate. Then carefully pour egg into depression so that the yolk and most of the egg are in the hole (some whites may escape). Cover and 4-6 minutes (for medium egg use 6 min), or to desired doneness.













 

*CSA ingredients