Gnocchi and Sausage in Herb Butter Sauce

     I do enjoy a simple and easy recipe. Especially when it's one I came up with myself. We happened to have a huge surplus of packaged gnocchi and I felt like making a new sauce. This sauce could not be any more simple. Just a few ingredients and a few minutes and you've got a hearty meal! I will suggest maybe doubling up on the pasta measurement. The gnocchi was buried in sausage and sauce. This may not be a bad thing for many people, but if a high sauce to pasta ratio isn't your thing, do two pounds of gnocchi (or other pasta) for this recipe. Give it a try and see what you think! As always, don't tell me if it sucks and notes are in blue!

Gnocchi and Sausage in Herb Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound gnocchi (I used a pumpkin-potato gnocchi, but you can use what you want. You could probably get away with just about any pasta you want)
• 1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used uncased sausage. Feel free to use the links and cut them in to about 1/2" discs)
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Bavarian Seasoning from the Spice House (if you don't have access to this, it's a mix of brown mustard seed, rosemary thyme, garlic, sage and bay leaf)
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Put onion and sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Brown sausage and drain excess oil. 
2. Add butter and herbs. Lower heat to medium and stir until butter is melted.
3. Cook gnocchi (or pasta of choice) according to directions. Drain and set aside.
4. Add cheese to sausage and butter mix. Stir until cheese is incorporated. 
5. Add gnocchi to sauce and toss until gnocchi are covered in sauce and sausage is distributed.

Good times!

Whole Wheat Bread

     I do believe we've found our favorite wheat bread recipe so far. Most of the wheat bread recipes we've found have resulted in breads that, while tasty, were dense enough to hammer nails. This particular recipe, with a couple changes (firstly we omitted the nuts. The Wife is not a fan of nuts in her bread), resulted in a beautiful loaf of soft, delicious bread with just a hint of sweetness. I used this for a salami and provolone sandwich with some red onion and spicy brown mustard and it was amazing. Truly this bread is fantastic and could easily supplant Shaker or Sally Lunn for our weekly loaf. The first loaf we made didn't even survive two days in our house! You need this bread. Even if you're gluten intolerant, it's worth the pain. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Whole Wheat Bread
(via Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals)

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (omitted)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) quick-rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat plain yogurt (no yogurt on hand, we used sour cream)
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour and the rest of the dry ingredients (I used the bowl from my KitchenAid, since that's where I'd be doing the mixing/kneading).
2. In a saucepan, heat water, yogurt (sour cream) and butter to about 120-130F (I just heated until the butter melted in. Either way, let it cool to 110F or below before you move to the next step)
3. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a soft dough (we always wind up using all the flour). Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes (On the KitchenAid, I used the dough hook the entire time. I turned it on low, added the liquid, then slowly added the remaining flour and let it knead for about 2-3 minutes)
4. Shape dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray (we used a lightly greased pizza stone). Cover and let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes. (I highly suggest lightly scoring an "X" into the top of the ball with a knife to prevent a mushroom shaped bread. Unless you're into that sort of thing, then do what feels natural)
5. Bake at 400F (200C, Gasmark 6) for 25-30 minutes, (we generally go about 27 minutes) or until golden brown. Turn out on a wire rack to cool.

Good times!

Swedish Rye Bread

     There seems to be a sharp division on rye bread. It's like pumpernickel. People either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground. Those people who don't like it are totally entitled to their opinions. They are however, totally wrong. Rye bread is great. Especially this rye bread. Granted, this bread will qualify as a PITA due to the 2+ hours of rising time. It's worth the wait. The recipe makes 3 loaves and the loaves freeze really well. Just wrap each loaf in plastic shrink and then in a layer of heavy aluminum foil. When you're ready, just take it out and let it get back to room temperature on it's own. This is a good, hearty bread with just a touch of sweetness. You'll love it. Or you're wrong. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Swedish Rye Loaves
via Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided (we omitted the 1 divided tablespoon of butter for reasons that will become apparent)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups bread flour (theoretically, if you use any flour for bread, doesn't it count as "bread" flour? I hope they meant white flour, because that's what I used)
• 2 packages (.25 ounce each) of active dry yeast
• 3 cups rye flour
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (omitted. The Wife is not a fan of bread with seeds)

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, molasses, 4 tablespoons butter and salt; stir in boiling water. Let stand until mixture cools to 120-130F, stirring occasionally.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of bread flour and yeast. Add the molasses mixture. Stir in rye flour and enough of the remaining flour to form a medium stiff dough (we used all the flour called for in the recipe and a tiny bit more). Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (we did this entire step in our KitchenAid with the dough hook. I plan on using that thing until it explodes)
3. Place in bowl covered with non-stick cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough, cover and let rise in again until doubled, about 30 minutes. 
5. Punch down dough, Turn out onto floured surface and divide into three portions. Shape into loaves (I went with round loaves because it's the easiest and very rustic looking. Everybody loves that rustic looking stuff). Place on baking sheets covered with nonstick cooking spray (I used a pizza stone and everything came out wonderfully). Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes (I know! The rising times qualify this as a PITA. This is the last rise. I promise. This will be totally worth it. Unless you don't like rye bread, in which case you just wasted a bunch of time and ingredients).
6. Cut a shallow cross across the top of each loaf to prevent uneven expansion during baking, Bake at 375F (190C, Gasmark5) for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown (our oven consistently takes 35 minutes to cook these loaves)
7. Cool on wire racks
8. Melt remaining butter; brush over loaves and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Cool. (Omitted)

Good times!

Shaker Bread

     I hope I never develop a gluten intolerance, because I love bread dearly. I love baking bread. I imagine The Wife, in large part, stays with me because I regularly bake bread. We could easily just sit and stuff our faces with hot buttered bread. This particular bread, a "Shaker Daily Loaf," comes out of one of my old Frugal Gourmet cookbooks. It's a simple, yeasty bread that toasts well and has a great crust. This would be a rock solid PB&J bread. As always, notes or changes are in blue.

Shaker Bread
via The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American

Ingredients

• 2 packages fast-acting dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1-3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Soft butter for greasing the bowl and top of dough, about 2 tablespoons (or if you're like me and counting calories, just use non-stick cooking spray instead)

Directions

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Warm the milk and melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in it. Stir in the sugar and salt and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add this to the yeast bowl along with 3 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth (I used the KitchenAid since I am too lazy to do the beating/mixing by hand)
2. Add the remaining flour and knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (3-4 minutes on the KitchenAid if you're using the dough hook)
3. Place the dough on a plastic counter and butter the top of the dough with half of the remaining butter. Cover the dough with a very large stainless steel bowl and allow to rise until double in bulk (let it rise for about an hour. That should double it. As for the plastic counter nonsense, I just took the dough out of the mixing bowl, sprayed the bowl with nonstick cooking spray and rolled the dough in it and then left it in the bowl with a towel over the top.)
4. After the dough has risen, punch down and shape into two loaves for loaf pans (spray the pans with nonstick cooking spray). Again brush the top of the dough and allow to rise until doubled in bulk (this will be about 30 minutes. I skipped the butter brush and just put a little cooking spray on the tops of the loaves)
5. Bake at 400F (200C, Gasmark 6) for 30 minutes (this took exactly 30 minutes for us. Cooking times may vary)

Good Times!

Bootleg Cheddar Bay Biscuits

     Red Lobster is one of those restaurants I like despite the fact I should know better. You just can't say no to unlimited shrimp or crab legs. One of my fondest memories is going to Red Lobster with The Wife and watching her eat crab legs. She would just bend the legs until BANG! Crab meat on the table. Crab meat on the wall. Crab meat in her hair. Crab meat on my glasses.

It was similar to this, but with crab meat.

Truly, it was inspiring. Naturally, any trip to Red Lobster would be punctuated by cramming as many Cheddar Bay Biscuits into our bodies as was possible. Then we'd ask for a bunch extra and a to-go box. If we didn't leave with a dozen biscuits, we weren't trying hard enough. Eventually, I figured I should just figure out how to make them myself and save the trip and inevitable hammersmash of crab meat. I searched the interwebs and found a couple recipes (the main biscuit recipe and a Biscuit knockoff) that I combined and modified into what we feel is a damned close approximation of the Cheddar Bay Biscuit. Don't eat these right away. Give them about an hour for the butter to settle in. Then pop one in the microwave one for about 30 seconds and tell me it's not the real deal. As always, changes and notes are in blue.

Bootleg Cheddar Bay Biscuits

 Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup solid bacon grease (every home-made Biscuit recipe I saw said to use shortening. I used bacon grease because I felt it would add a nice flavor. Also, it's all I had on hand. I'm not making a special trip for shortening) 
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

For Brushing on Top

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C, Gasmark 6)
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl (generally you are instructed to sift these items into the bowl, to which I say, "bite me.")
3. Cut in bacon grease until mixture starts to make large crumbs.
4. Add milk, cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix until combined (I used the Kitchenaid for a few seconds. Don't overdo the mixing, though)
5. Drop 1/4 cup portions (I just used an ice cream scoop) of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 15-17 minutes or until tops of the biscuits turn light brown.
6. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and salt.  When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter mixture over the tops (use it all. To not use all this mixture would be a mortal sin).

Good times!

Slow Cooker Creamy Ham and Potatoes by The Wife

     In a feat of scheduling wizardry, the school districts where the husband and I work PLUS the school district in which we live all have their Spring Breaks at different times. Last week, Joel was on break. This week, I am on break. I don’t even know when our town has break; I just know it wasn't this week or last week because the buses were running. Anyway, my being home alone means I’m expected to do some cooking. Joel requested ham and potatoes (we've been working through a ten pound Honey Baked ham for 2 weeks now), and I found this REALLY easy Creamy Ham and Potatoes recipe (as always, notes and changes are in blue):

Slow Cooker Creamy Ham and Potatoes
via Taste of Home Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 4 medium red potatoes, thinly sliced (Potatoes are potatoes. We didn’t have any red ones, so I used what we did have – I don’t even know what they were. To thinly slice the potatoes, I used the mandolin.)
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped (Mine were of the smaller variety. Regardless, they had me crying.)
• 1 ½ cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard (Yeah…Somehow that’s not what I read this morning. I used a teaspoon of spicy brown mustard. No harm, no foul.)
• ½ teaspoon salt (Omitted. I think the ham and the can of cream soup contributes plenty of salt, thank you.)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted (I made an executive decision here. This is called Creamy Ham and POTATOES. I had a can of cream of POTATO soup. That’s what I used even though cream of celery was available.)
• 1 1/3 cups of water (Just fill the soup can with water.)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese – optional (Cheese is never optional.)

Directions

1. In a 3-qt slow cooker (I actually used the right size!), layer potatoes, onions, and ham.
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, mustard, salt (omitted), and pepper until smooth. Combine soup and water gradually into flour mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Pour over ham.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours (8 hours was more than enough time for the potatoes to completely disintegrate) or until potatoes are tender (disintegrated). If desired, sprinkle with cheese before serving (only a Communist doesn't desire cheese).

Good times!

Slow Cooker Breakfast Concoction

     It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know that The Wife and I make it a point to try to have something for breakfast every day. This can be challenging for us during the week. Normally we end up having toast or a piece of fruit. During the winter, it's nice to have something warm and filling. That's what lead to this recipe. It looks like absolute crap, but it smells and tastes great. There's plenty of good stuff in there to keep you running until lunch. If you don't feel like making my apples, you can get away with regular sliced apples and just add more apple juice to replace the syrup. Other notes are, as always, in blue.

Slow Cooker Breakfast Concoction

Ingredients

• 2 cups granola cereal of your choice
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 cups Spiked Apples
• 1/4 cup syrup from the apples
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (it's not a big deal if you use non-golden, I just liked the uniform color of the dish)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup apple juice

Directions

1. Spray slow cooker (the inside, not the outside. This is a critical distinction) with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. Load all ingredients into slow cooker and stir to mix.
3. Cook on LOW for 5 hours. Check it and stir it occasionally. If it starts to scorch, add more apple juice or milk.

It looked better BEFORE I cooked it! At least it tasted good!
Good Times!

Bourbon Fruit Cake

     Can any holiday dessert be more recognizable than the ubiquitous fruitcake? No, of course not. That was a rhetorical question. Ubiquitous means you'll find it everywhere. That was a quiz. Did you pass? I hope so, because this is going to be on the final exam. This particular recipe was adapted from a recipe for Kentucky Bourbon Cake I found on About.com's Southern Food section around five years ago. In all fairness, this is not a true fruitcake as we know it. It is not the consistency of blacktop. It is not cloyingly sweet with terrifying unidentifiable bits of detritus suspended within. The original recipe did call for candied cherries and nuts, but I quickly put an end to that nonsense. I want cake. I don't want to be losing fillings and digging things out of my molars all night. This recipe does have a lot going for it. This cake is actually fluffy. It cooks well in any number of different shapes. It's good with icing. It will, however, make your Kitchenaid howl like a damned soul while mixing it. This recipe will fill a 5 quart mixing bowl frighteningly close to the top. It's worth it. When I tell somebody I'm serving fruitcake, they flinch. Then they eat it. Complaints cease. As always, any notes and changes are in blue.

Bourbon Fruit Cake
via About.com 

Ingredients

• 8 ounces red candied cherries, halved (I omitted all the candied cherries and used a jar of drained maraschino cherries)
• 8 ounces green candied cherries, halved (omitted)
• 8 ounces seedless raisins or chopped dates (I'm married so I shouldn't have dates. I used golden raisins)
• 2 cups bourbon (I went with Jim Beam)
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped pecans (omitted)
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the cherries, raisins, and bourbon; cover and let soak overnight. 
2. Preheat the oven to 275°F.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; add the egg yolks and beat well. Stir in the soaked fruit with bourbon. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the flour with the pecans; set aside. Add the remaining flour, nutmeg, and baking powder to the creamed mixture and blend well. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; gently fold into the cake batter. Sprinkle the floured pecans over batter and fold in gently.
4. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan and line the bottom with greased waxed paper. (I have made this recipe several times and have never used a tube pan or waxed paper. I've used loaf pans, cake pans, bundt pans). Pour the batter into the pan; bake at 275° for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean (this does, in fact, take every bit of 3-1/2 hours if you're using a large pan). 
5. Cool the cake. Turn cake out of the pan, peel off waxed paper (which I did not use), and store in a tightly covered container for several days (this recipe makes me think that you're not supposed to eat the cake. Just store it for several days and then shitcan it. Look, if this lasts more than seven days in your house, you must have cooked it wrong. It's awesome).

Good times!

Bacon and Lemon Herbed Turkey

     Nothing says Thanksgiving like a well-made turkey perfectly carved and served up on a fancy platter. One out of three isn't bad. I can give you well-made. The rest is up to you. I know many people love that crispy golden skin on a turkey. I don't really care about that. For me, the skin is there to help store all sorts of good things to flavor the meat. I've messed around with a couple versions of this type of turkey, but I feel this is the final iteration. I am very pleased. The meat is suspiciously tender and is infused with hints of lemon, bacon and herbs. This, my dear friends, is a winner. As always, any notes are in blue.

Bacon and Lemon Herbed Turkey

Ingredients

• 1 turkey (we used a 13 pound bird for this recipe)
• 1 pound thick cut bacon (use whatever kind you want. Applewood smoked, hickory, whatever)
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 sticks butter, separated
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary and sage)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• Uncle Joe's Rub Down

Directions

1. Make sure the bird is defrosted and all the fun stuff is removed from inside. (I'll normally throw those spare parts in the roaster with the bird and serve them to the dogs later. I'll save the neck to throw at the unruly neighborhood children)
2. Take your hand and slide it between the skin and the meat of the bird. Gently work your hand around to separate the skin from the meat the best you can without tearing the skin. (This whole process feels genuinely wrong. I always apologize to the bird when I do this)

   

   I know we've only just met...

3. Mix one of the sticks of butter with the herbs until the herbs are evenly distributed through the butter. Start grabbing handfuls and get your hand back in under the skin. Spread the butter around under the skin the best you can. 
4. Gently lift the skin and lay the lemon slices between the meat and skin. Do the same with a quarter pound of the bacon (It's going to get crowded under the skin. Don't worry too much about having it be neat and tidy under there. The important part is to get it evenly distributed without tearing the skin)
5. Take the other stick of butter and the onion and put it in the cavity of the bird.
6. Shake a coat of Uncle Joe's Rub Down over the skin of the bird (feel free to use any rub or seasoning mix you like. I'm just partial to this stuff)
7. Take the remaining bacon and use it to cover the bird (I absolutely can't be bothered to make a bacon weave)

   

   See? No weave and it looks fine. I can't be bothered with frippery.

8. Load the bird into a roaster and cover it with a tinfoil tent (if you have time, feel free to make yourself a hat to block government mind-control rays. It never hurts to be careful)
9. Load the bird into an oven preheated to 325F. Cook until a meat thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165F (This took about 4 hours for our bird. It may take more or less time depending on your stove, size of the bird, altitude, relative humidity, astrological sign, etc. You could always use the old trick of seeing if the leg just pulls off. That usually means the turkey is done. Or has leprosy. It's not an exact science)
10. Once the bird has reached the required temperature, take it out and let it rest for 15 minutes or so (You've already violated it quite a bit. Give it a moment or two before you attack it with the knife. This is a good time to make sure everything else for your meal is done, or to have a cocktail or six)
11. Take the bacon off the top of the bird and set it aside for later snacking. Pull the skin off the bird and clear off the remaining bacon and lemon from under the skin. (Do not be alarmed when you see that you do not have a golden, crisp skin. It's going to be pretty squishy. Just pull it off. You want to get at the now tender and delicious meat).
12. Inexpertly maul the turkey and throw the meat on a platter. Eat until sleepy.

Good times!

Baked Pasta Frittata

     I really like the idea of baked pasta, but it's just not something we do much in our house. I'm not sure what came over me to decide on this recipe. I think I was looking for some sort of pasta casserole and saw this. I had most of the ingredients in the house and had solid substitutions for the ingredients that were not on hand.  The result was not bad. The smoked sausage gave it a nice savory flavor. I think this would be good if I swapped in some spinach or kale. It was a touch on the heavy side and made for a very filling meal. I'll try it again, but I have the feeling this will be one of those recipes I'm endlessly swapping parts on. As always, changes and notes are in blue.

Baked Pasta Frittata 
via The Essential Pasta Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 oz butter
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 6 eggs
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped (the Wife's not a huge fan of green peppers, so we used a yellow bell pepper)
• 4 oz ham, sliced (we decided we had a surplus of smoked sausages in the freezer, so we used a 7 oz smoked sausage, halved and sliced)
• 1 cup cream or milk (we went with heavy cream)
• 3-1/2 oz spaghetti, cooked and chopped (amazingly enough, we did not have spaghetti in the house. We used rotini instead)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (right. Freshly poured out of the jar of Parmesan is more like it)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly brush a flan dish with oil or melted butter (flan dish? Didn't have one on hand. I must have left it in the trunk of my Rolls Royce when I had the butler take it to be serviced. Please. I used my trusty cast iron skillet)
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the mushrooms and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add the pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the meat. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. 
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the pasta, parsley and mushroom mixture and pour into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Good times!

Lemon-Pepper Chicken and Squash with Lemony Couscous

     The garden is in full swing. We are starting to bring in around 3-5 pounds of produce daily. More importantly the wife is successfully keeping the squash bugs at bay.

I question her methods, but there's no denying their effectiveness.

     This has led to the problem that we now find ourselves struggling to find uses for the veggies before they go off or we are forced to can them. I suppose there are worse problems to have, like accidentally inhaling a bug while bike riding, but I love to complain. Anyways, we decided to just freestyle a recipe to burn through some surplus squash and zucchini and a container of leftover chicken. The end result had just the right hints of sweet and tangy. It was super easy to make and I would certainly make it again.

Lemon Pepper Chicken & Squash
with Lemony Couscous

Ingredients
Chicken

• 8 ounces shredded cooked chicken
• 8 ounces (about 2 small or 1 large) zucchini or yellow squash, cubed (we used both. We like to live on the edge)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper or pepper melange
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 inch piece candied ginger, minced

Couscous

• 3/4 cup uncooked couscous
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A little less than 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons butter

Directions

Chicken

1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Sautee garlic and ginger until garlic just starts turning brown. Add zucchini/squash and sautee 3-4 minutes.
2. Add chicken, and remaining ingredients from chicken section. Mix and sautee another 3-4 minutes.
3. Set aside and keep warm.

Couscous

1. Put lemon juice in a one cup measuring cup. Top with enough water to make one cup. 
2. Put water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil; stir in couscous, cover. Turn off the heat and let stand at least 5 minutes. Fluff before serving.

Throw a scoop of couscous on a plate and top with a scoop of the chicken mixture. 

I found that adding a couple of dashes of Tabasco really made for some
Good times!

Herbed Swirl Bread via Everyday Light Meals

     Who doesn't love bread! Obviously people with gluten intolerance, but you know what I mean. Every time I post a picture of bread on Facebook, people go nuts. Even just a picture of a ball of dough. People can't help but like it.

Oh boy! Bread!

     This was the case with the bread I baked today. Everybody responded in a very positive manner. This is a good thing since I don't think I could handle it if I got a tidal wave of comments about how awful that looked and how much it probably sucks. Anyways, I got the recipe out of the Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals cookbook, so if it's bad, blame them! As always, any changes or notes are made in blue.  With no further delay, I proudly present:

Herbed Swirl Bread
via Everyday Light Meals

Ingredients

• 3 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 2-1/2 cups warm water, divided
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 cups white flour
• 6 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 3/4 cup warm water. Add sugar, let stand for five minutes. Add whole wheat flour, salt, and remaining water. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough bread flour to form a soft, sticky dough. (I ended up using the minimum amount of white flour called for in the recipe, 2-3/4 cup)
2. Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (I just chucked it all in the Kitchenaid and let the dough hook take care of it. My work ethic extends only so far.) Place in a bowl coated in non-stick spray, make sure to coat top (Of the bread, not YOUR top. Unless you're in to that sort of thing. I'm not here to judge.) Cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.
3. In a nonstick skillet, saute onions, garlic, herbs and pepper in butter until tender. Set aside. (I only had fresh green onions. I substituted dried for everything else and doubled the amount of butter. Remember to use smaller amounts if you're switching to dry. You can find equivalents online. I also completely forgot to put in the pepper.)
4. Punch dough down onto floured surface. Cut into two pieces. Roll each piece out to about 14"x9". Brush with some egg, put the rest of the egg in the fridge for now. (Make sure the egg bowl is CLEAN before you put it in the fridge. I just tossed mine in there and apparently there was some drippage. The wife let me know about said dripping in a very loud and annoyed voice.) Spread herb mixture over dough to within 1/2" of the edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting on the short side. Pinch seams to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam-side down in two greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
5. Brush with reserved egg. Bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. (Mine took 46 minutes.) Remove from pans to wire racks. 

At 12 slices a loaf, you're looking at about 135 calories a slice.

Good times!

Monday Recipe: Macaroni & Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

     Ah, meatloaf. The quintessential middle-class dinner. Basically a slab of baked ground beef. My parents used to make a wicked good meatloaf. Naturally, they had no actual recipe. They just threw a bunch of stuff in a bowl and mashed it around with their hands. Then they'd put it in a loaf pan and bake it. They'd top it with a little barbecue sauce and cheese and there you had it. Dinner was served!
     I still do fundamentally the same thing when I make meatloaf. However, last Friday was different. The wife and I were discussing dinner options and meatloaf came up. She enjoys my meatloaf quite a bit and said I should make it. I suggested mac & cheese as a side. Then it hit me. A stroke of genius unlike any other. I would put the mac & cheese IN the meatloaf!

Even Relativity Theory pales in comparison

     The wife raved. People on Facebook raved. I was moderately impressed. Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...

Macaroni & Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients
For Macaroni & Cheese

• 1 5.5 ounce box macaroni & cheese mix
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup shredded colby-jack cheese

For Meat

• 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, plus another 1/4 cup reserved
• 3/4 cup shredded colby-jack cheese, reserved

Directions

For Macaroni and Cheese

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and return to pot
2. Add contents of cheese packet, butter, cream and shredded cheese, stir until all ingredients are melted and incorporated. 
3. Set pot aside

For Meat

This is what you should have
at step #4

1. Preheat oven to  375F. Put a crappy cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch the inevitable drippings.
2. In a large bowl, add meat, onion, bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. Mix well with hands. Yes, your hands. This is how it's done. Stop being a baby and get in there.
3. In a loaf pan, put a layer of meat (about 1/2") on the bottom. Then take more meat and use it to build walls. You should end up with a trench in the middle. It should look like bathtub made of meat. 
4. Fill the trench with as much of the mac & cheese mixture that you can. Don't go above the top of the pan. Feel free to eat any of the leftover mac & cheese as you cook. That's what we did. At this point, things should look like the picture above.
5. Cover the mac & cheese with the last of the meat. Pat it down. 
6. Put in the oven for about 40 minutes. You're going to need to take it out a couple of times and drain the fat. If you have one of those fancy meatloaf pans (as seen on TV!) it will be much easier. Otherwise, use a wooden spatula to hold the meatloaf in place while you tip the pan to drain the fat. Be careful to not let the top of the meatloaf break off. You'll have to drain the fat a couple of times during the cooking.
7. After 40 minutes, take out and spread remaining barbecue sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the barbecue sauce. Return to oven until cheese is melted, about 10-15 more minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Be extremely careful if you're going to take it out of the pan before slicing. You may want to use two spatulas and come at it from both ends. Cut gently with a large knife. I used my big bread slicer.

Good times!

Italian Pinwheel Rolls (via Everyday Light Meals)

     It seems that every time my wife leaves me unattended in the house I end up baking. I'm not sure why that is, but she hasn't complained yet. Today she went out for a couple of hours and I immediately started looking for something to bake. I busted open a well worn cookbook (Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals) and started searching for a recipe that I could make with what I had in the house. I ended up with these rolls. I threw in some dried tomatoes we had left over from last season and they added a nice sweet note to the rolls. The wife was suitably pleased with the results and wound up eating three or four.

Italian Pinwheel Rolls 
(via Taste of Home Everyday Light Meals)

Ingredients

• 1 package (.25 oz) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (100-115F)
• 1.5 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2.25-2.5 cups flour

Filling

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• .25 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (omitted)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, butter, salt and 1 cup flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I wound up using just shy of 2.5 cups of flour)
2. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (I just chucked it all in the Kitchenaid with the dough hook and let it do the work). Place in bowl coated in non-stick cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about an hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and roll into 12x10" rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle Parmesan, parsley, garlic, oregano and desired fillings to within 1/2 inch of edge. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting on long side. Pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 rolls.
4. Place rolls cut side up in a baking pan covered in non-stick spray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (mine took 25 minutes). Remove from pan to wire rack to cool.

About 110 calories per roll.

Good times!

Maple Braised Butternut Squash with Fresh Thyme (via Bon Appetit)

     As we close in on Thanksgiving, I figure the logical thing to do would be to give you some of my favorite recipes for the big meal. For me, side dishes are everything. Don't get me wrong, I love turkey. I have pretty much nailed down my turkey recipe. However, that bird doesn't shine without a brace-load of good side dishes. You know what I'm talking about. The potatoes, casseroles, stuffings, and such that are really where the damage to the waistline gets done.

     While I do have plenty of the standard side dishes, I do like to entertain other options. This butternut squash recipe is one of them. The wife is a huge squash fan, and when I found this recipe, I knew I had a winner. This really is an easy recipe, and fairly inexpensive. I used dried thyme and had no complaints. The dish is a good substitution for sweet potatoes. I will say you need to watch the time and temperature while you're cooking this or it can get a touch mushy (I have kindly included a picture of said mushiness from the first time I made it). Either way, it's simple and tasty. Good times!

Maple Braised Butternut Squash with Thyme (via Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) butter

1 3-3 ½ pound butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1” cubes

1 ¼ chicken broth (low-sodium)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¼ teaspoon (or more) black pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in heavy large deep skillet over high heat. Add squash, saute 1 minute.
2. Add broth, syrup, thyme, salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 8-10 minutes, until squash is almost tender.
3. Using slotted spoon, transfer squash to large bowl. Boil liquid until thickened, 3-4 minutes.
4. Return squash to skillet. Cook until tender, turning occasionally, 3-4 minutes. Season with more pepper, if desired.

Good times!