Winter Hash

This morning, I decided I needed to use up some squash we had cooked a couple nights ago. I took that, some potato and Jack's Homemade Smoked Sausage (Midland friends, if you haven't tried this, you should) and made hash. Ultimately, I then used the hash in scrambled eggs, but I was hungry so I didn't get a picture of that finished dish (John was hungry too).

 Winter Hash

•  1 medium russet potato*
•  1/4 turban squash*, roasted
•  2oz Jack's "homemade" smoked sausage

 Wash and prick potato. Place in microwave on a paper towel and cook on HIGH for 2 minutes. Wrap in foil and sit for 5 minutes.

 Dice squash, potato, and sausage to 1/4-inch dice. Heat skillet, prepared with cooking spray, over medium heat. Cook all ingredients over medium heat until vegetables are slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

*CSA ingredients

My exciting news on the bariatric front, I tried on a pain of size 18W jeans I purchased last night and not only could put them on, but was able to zip them as well. So much closer to normal sizes!

Fall Soup

Between my CSA share and my husband's cousin, I ended up with a variety of winter squashes. I decided with the recent change in weather, Squash Soup would be a comforting change. As I usually do, I hit the internet for ideas and found a recipe for Roasted Squash Soup that uses several types of winter squash. Since Ihad butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash, I decided to use this recipe as a basis for my version.

 Roasted Winter Squash Soup
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-squash-soup/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=roasted%20squash%20soup&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

• 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash*, halved and seeded
• 1 acorn squash*, halved and seeded
• 1/2 small spaghetti squash*, halved and seeded
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion*, chopped
• 6 cloves roasted garlic*, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 Gala apples* - peeled, cored and chopped
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place the squash, cut side down, on baking sheets and roast for 45 minutes, or until flesh is soft. Scoop out the flesh into a large bowl.
3. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the onion, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook 1 minute. Add the apples and sherry and simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples soften.
4. Puree batches of the squash flesh and broth in a food processor or blender. Transfer the squash puree to a large saucepan. Puree the apple/sherry mixture and stir into pureed squash.
5. Heat over medium heat and season with salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste. 

 *CSA ingredients

Winter squash and greens

This week, we had a plethora of greens to choose from!  We got rainbow Swiss chard, mustard greens and beets with beautiful greens.  I took the mustard greens and beets while Leland took the Swiss chard.  Because greens do not keep well, I wanted to use them today and I wanted to do something different with them.  I am not a fan of sauteed greens, no matter how much garlic and/or bacon you add to them.  I think they remind me of Richmond too much.  As I looked through pages of greens recipes, one stood out.  It was a vegetarian chili with winter squash, black beans and greens.  It is definitely a convenience recipe, though, using canned tomatoes, chicken broth and beans.  I have a refrigerator full of vegetables that need to be used, so I developed a fresh vegetarian chili based on that recipe.

Fresh Winter Squash Chili with Greens
Adapted from: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe_details.asp?nutrition_id=43019416

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion*, diced
• 2 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1/2 large acorn squash*, peeled and diced, 1/2" cubes
• 2 Tbsp good chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 3 C chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegan/vegetarian)
• 1 (11 1/2 oz)
• 3 C cooked black beans
• 4 Roma tomatoes*, diced
• 1 lg sorreno pepper*, small dice
• 2 C corn* (from 2 cobs)
• 5 C greens*, coarsely chopped (I used mustard and beet greens)

1. Heat EVOO in a large Dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic; sautee until tender and golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add squash; cook and stir 2 minutes.  Stir in spices, black beans, stock, tomatoes and pepper with V8. Bring to a boil
3. Cut corn from ears of corn; break up kernals.  Add to pot and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook until squash is tender; about 15 minutes
4. Stir in greens; simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes longer.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary.
6. 1 serving is 1 1/2 cups.  Serve with chopped cilantro or diced tomatoes or red onion, if desired.

*CSA ingredients

What to do with squash

This month, I have received 2 turban squash, 1 acorn squash and 2 butternut squash in my CSA packages.  For me, that is a lot of squash.  In the past, I might have bought 4 squashes a WINTER!  So, the question then becomes; "what do you do with all that squash?"  Last night, I started to address that with a very simple recipe using ingredients I had in my pantry.

Easy Stuffed Squash

Makes 6 servings

3 medium winter squashes (acorn, turban, buttercup)
1/2 pkg onion & sage stuffing mix
1 cup fat-free chicken broth

Prepare a 13"X9"X2" baking pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut squashes in half and remove seeds.  Place squash halves in pan cut side up.  In a medium bowl, combine stuffing mix and broth.  Allow stuffing mix to absorb the broth.  Spoon into cut squash halves.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hr 10 min or until squash is cooked.  Squash is cooked with a fork easily pierces the flesh.  Makes 6 servings.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 4/squash half

I have to say that there is just something about the contrast of the sweet squash and savory stuffing that makes this so good!  This recipe could be dressed up by adding sausage and/or chopped apples, dates or raisins to the mix. 

I had good news last night:  I received a new investigator award from the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.  So, I will be in Cleveland for another 2 1/2 years at least.  So, this will give me more time to enjoy this wonderful CSA program that I have joined.