Butternut Squash Bread

So after we moved I decided to sign up for Bountiful Basket, if you’ve never heard of it, it’s a food co-op that distributes fresh and organic produce once a week.  You sign up and every Monday afternoon you login to, pick your basket and if you want any of the others options offered for that week and pay.  Price starts at $15 and goes up if you have other options.  I paid $40 for a laundry basket full of organic fruits and veggies, along with five loafs of homemade bread.  In our basket we  had two Butternut Squash… Squashes?  I didn’t know what to do with it because I didn’t know what it tasted like.  EXPERIMENT TIME!!  *Evil laughter*  I figured, I rather I try something and end up tossing it cause it tasted terrible and learn from this, than have it go bad in my fridge, make a mess and have to throw it away. 

I cut it open and the first thing that popped in my head was that it smelled, had the same color, and seeds as a pumpkin.  Ding!  *Light bulb goes off* I’ll make bread or attempt to make bread with it.

So after I cut it in half and scrapped out the seeds I placed the cut-side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Baked in a preheated 375°F oven until soft, so about 50 minutes. Once it cooled I scraped all the gooey-ness (technical term) into my food processer and made baby food… er… puree.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup squash puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white

Make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, allspice and cloves in a medium bowl until combined.
3. Beat squash puree, sugar, honey and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and egg white. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until combined. Scrape into the prepared loaf pan.
4. Bake the bread until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes more. Serve warm.

Burritos

Here is another relatively simple dinner idea, and filling!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Hamburger
1 whole yellow onion, diced and divided (see instructions)
Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning
Chili Powder
Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper
Burrito tortillas

Rice A Roni- Fajita flavor
Can of refried beans

Toppings:

Lettuce
Shredded Cheese, your preference
Sour Cream
Tomatoes, diced
Onions, diced
Sriracha or other hot sauce
Put it together:

Follow instructions on making Rice A Roni. You'll want to start this first since it has to cook for 15 minutes or so.
Also empty can of refried beans on low to start warming up but not burn, make sure to stir it to warm thoroughly.
Season the hamburger with Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning, chili powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. This is all by taste, that why there are no measurements. Add diced onions, again per taste, I believe I used about 1/4 cup this time.
Drain hamburger
Chop up lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.
Now you are ready to assemble!

How I layered my burrito is not the only way to do it, but this is how I did it:
Tortilla, a layer of refried beans, layer of rice, seasoned hamburger, lettuce, and onions.
If I liked tomatoes I would have put them here, but I don't... so I skip to the cheese and sour cream.
The hot sauce is optional, along with the design. Roll it up burrito style or as close as you can and enjoy!

Baked Pasta

If you know me, you know I love my carbs and love my pasta. This recipe is really fast and simple, which makes it a great week night dinner and for every skill level of cooking.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
3 cups penne pasta, cooked
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Italian seasoning, to taste

Make It:

Heat oven to 375°F.
Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Add pasta, sauce, reserved water and half the Parmesan; mix well.
Spoon into 13x9-inch dish; top with remaining cheeses.
Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

Serve with garlic bread and side salad.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

The first time I made this frosting was for Houston's Birthday on a German chocolate cake. Luckily, this recipe makes quite a bit of frosting because I was eating it out of the bowl. I've used this recipe on three different types of chocolate cake and it was perfect on all three.

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 pkg. (7 oz.) BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2 cups chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Make It:
Beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add coconut and nuts; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency.

**Note**
Makes enough to frost top and sides of 3 (8- or 9-inch) cake layers, tops of 2 (13x9-inch) cakes or 36 cupcakes.

Fresh Apple Pie

Found a plus side about living in the middle of a farming community, fresh fruits and vegetables. And lucky for me we have an apple tree in the back yard that is dropping apples with a slight breeze, so what do I do? Besides let Houston make 5-gallons of apple wine? Make an apple pie, of course!

I have not yet had the courage to make my own crust, so I cheat and buy either the frozen shells or the refrigerated type.

Ingredients:

1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust
Filling:
3 whole large (4 Or 5 Small) apples. Peeled, cored, and sliced or cubed.
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar
1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
Topping:
7 Tablespoons Butter
3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Pecans (more to taste)
Dash of Salt

Make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pie dough and place it in a pie pan. Decorate the edges as desired. Or take out of the plastic wrap...

Add apples to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together cream, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over apples and mix until evenly covered. Pour apples into pie shell.

In the bowl of a food processor (or you can mix by hand) combine butter, flour, sugar, pecans (chop if you're not using a food processor), and salt. Mix until everything comes together in clumps. Pour topping over apples.

Attach foil to the edges and lay a piece of flat foil loosely over the top of the pie. Place pie pan on top of a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for one hour. At the end, remove foil and allow to finish baking and browning. Can bake for up to 15 or 20 minutes more if necessary.

*Note* It is easier to put the pie on the cookie sheet first and then put the foil on. And to save yourself scrubbing and cursing later, please do not forget the cookie sheet.

Remove from oven when pie is bubbly and golden brown.
Serve warm with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!