This dish is actually something I had years ago that my mother made. It is one that I've always wanted to recreate, and with the help of 2-3 other recipes I did! It's sweet, savory, gooey, colorful, and fun! Also, acorn squash is good with just some butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar if you're looking for a delicious side/dessert/snack...
What you'll need:
2 acorn squash, halved with the seeds/pulp removed
1 lb of Italian sausage
1 bag of frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but I'm sure anything works)
Ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger (optional, barely used any really, but I felt it added a little something)
1) Preheat oven to 375. Put the acorn squash cut side down in a baking dish. Fill dish with water until 1/2-1 inch full, then put in the over for 40-45 minutes. Make sure you cut a tiny bit off the bottom of them so they stand like bowls first - this is important later.
2) In a medium skillet or saucepan, cook the onions, garlic, and sausage until the sausage is brown all the way through over medium-high heat. Drain
3) Add the spinach, and continue cooking until everything is mixed up nicely. At this point add just a dash of the spices if you find it necessary to listen to my opinion.
4) Turn heat down to simmer until squash is done.
5) When squash is ready (is should be tender if not breaking off in lovely chunks when you grab it), take out of oven and flip over. Fill each one with the sausage mixture as much as you can! Really, squeeze it in.
6) Cover each squash with a hearty helping of cheese, then put back in the oven for 10-20 minutes, until the cheese is nice and melted.
7) Remove from the oven and enjoy warm. You can eat two if you want, or one and a salad or soup, or just one alone.
*Nothing in this recipe is exact (except for the squash. Halving it is pretty exact...) Feel free to alter and change to your liking, as always!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
What are you, chicken?
So, this is what I made for lunch the other day, and then had again for dinner the other night. Everyone said it smelled wonderful, and the couple of friends I let have a bite said something along the lines of, "Wow! That's good! Why didn't you make me some? Eli, you are a cooking god!" (Probably not the god part, but I like to embellish). Also, my stove is totally worthless and I have just now started being able to cook chicken on it without the whole house filling with smoke. Yay college towns! I'll start putting pictures up once I find my camera battery charger; until then you'll just have to imagine the food (unless you cook it yourself in which case you get a real time experience...)
What you'll need:
2 Chicken Breasts (1 per serving [skinless, boneless {mine was frozen}])
1 cup pasta (per serving [I used whole wheat penne])
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1-2 tbsp of butter
Worcester sauce
1 tsp of olive oil (optional?)
A pinch of rosemary (completely optional, I don't think it did anything, I just love to throw stuff in)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Melt butter into a medium skillet or sauce pan. Add onions and garlic and saute for 5-10 minutes-ish. Onions should be a golden brown if not just before
2) Add 5-10 splashes of Worcester sauce - whatever you feel is necessary. Judge amount by sound, smell, and how it looks in the pan. If everything starts turning a sexy brown with a delicious smell, you added the perfect amount. Continue sauteing for 5-10 minutes-ish.
3) Add chicken to the pan, surround and cover with onions. Think that the chicken is lonely and wants to be loved, and as it happens the onions are right there to meet it's needs. Cook for about 6-10 minutes, then flip and do the same. (However you cook whole chicken breast is best, since it is YOU who has to eat it).
4) Boil water and cook your pasta, like any average person does with pasta they wish to eat - remember to salt your water if you plan on your pasta tasting good!
5) When chicken is done, remove pan from heat and put your chicken on a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. THIS IS IMPORTANT! If you've ever eaten dry meat, it's because it didn't rest after cooking. Think about it, if you just had a wonderful time getting all cozy in a sauna or hot tub, you don't immediately run off to work - you relax for a bit longer, letting your good times sink in a bit longer. After you let it rest, cut the chicken into strips or chunks, however you feel is best to eat.
6) When the pasta is done, drain and put into a bowl and toss with the chicken and half of the onions to eat. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy your delicious new meal. (Other half of the onions and the chicken breast just hang out in the fridge until you decide to eat them for leftovers, which might or might not be later that evening...)
*Nothing in this recipe is exact, so play around with it. Add salt and pepper whenever you think you should, throw in extra spices, take stuff out. Make it your own!
What you'll need:
2 Chicken Breasts (1 per serving [skinless, boneless {mine was frozen}])
1 cup pasta (per serving [I used whole wheat penne])
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1-2 tbsp of butter
Worcester sauce
1 tsp of olive oil (optional?)
A pinch of rosemary (completely optional, I don't think it did anything, I just love to throw stuff in)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Melt butter into a medium skillet or sauce pan. Add onions and garlic and saute for 5-10 minutes-ish. Onions should be a golden brown if not just before
2) Add 5-10 splashes of Worcester sauce - whatever you feel is necessary. Judge amount by sound, smell, and how it looks in the pan. If everything starts turning a sexy brown with a delicious smell, you added the perfect amount. Continue sauteing for 5-10 minutes-ish.
3) Add chicken to the pan, surround and cover with onions. Think that the chicken is lonely and wants to be loved, and as it happens the onions are right there to meet it's needs. Cook for about 6-10 minutes, then flip and do the same. (However you cook whole chicken breast is best, since it is YOU who has to eat it).
4) Boil water and cook your pasta, like any average person does with pasta they wish to eat - remember to salt your water if you plan on your pasta tasting good!
5) When chicken is done, remove pan from heat and put your chicken on a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. THIS IS IMPORTANT! If you've ever eaten dry meat, it's because it didn't rest after cooking. Think about it, if you just had a wonderful time getting all cozy in a sauna or hot tub, you don't immediately run off to work - you relax for a bit longer, letting your good times sink in a bit longer. After you let it rest, cut the chicken into strips or chunks, however you feel is best to eat.
6) When the pasta is done, drain and put into a bowl and toss with the chicken and half of the onions to eat. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy your delicious new meal. (Other half of the onions and the chicken breast just hang out in the fridge until you decide to eat them for leftovers, which might or might not be later that evening...)
*Nothing in this recipe is exact, so play around with it. Add salt and pepper whenever you think you should, throw in extra spices, take stuff out. Make it your own!
In the Beginning...
So I've never blogged before. I decided to try this out because my FB friends were getting annoyed I think with me constantly posting about my lunches and dinners that I was making, and quite frankly so was I. As it turns out I cook at the mother fucking time, and a lot of times it's good too... kind of. So now I want to do this right - take photos, write down my recipe, and share my experience.
SO: In the beginning, there was man, and he was hungry. So he ate. As it turns out, eating raw meat gave him worms and they made their way to hi brain and killed him, so his friends decided, "Let's cook this shit!" Thus and verily cooking was created. And so shall I create, and so shall I share my creations - good and bad.
SO: In the beginning, there was man, and he was hungry. So he ate. As it turns out, eating raw meat gave him worms and they made their way to hi brain and killed him, so his friends decided, "Let's cook this shit!" Thus and verily cooking was created. And so shall I create, and so shall I share my creations - good and bad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)