Recipe for Squash, Spinach, and Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto

Before I made this recipe I thought "no way can brown rice make a creamy yummy risotto."  Guess what? I still feel that way.  However, this rice dish was tasty and I was happy with all the veggies and the good nutrition in the recipe and that it was under 250 calories per serving. 



Yield: 6 servings
Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 C onions, chopped finely
• 1 C short grain brown rice
• 5 C vegetable stock
• 3 C baby spinach
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 C sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups roasted, cubed butternut squash
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 3 tsp finely diced basil, plus more for garnish
• Salt and black pepper to taste 

Method:

• Prepare butternut squash (cut in half, roast for 45 minutes in 400 degree oven, cool, peel and cube;  can be done ahead of time).
• Heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat in heavy saucepan and add onions when hot.
• Cook onions for 3-4 minutes then add rice, stirring frequently.
• Cook onions and rice for 5 minutes.
• While onions and rice are cooking, heat stock to a simmer and keep on low heat while cooking risotto.
• Add 1 cup at a time of stock to the rice/onion mixture and stir frequently while mixture simmers/low boil (about 40 minutes to add all stock).
• Check rice for tenderness and if not tender, add additional liquid and keep stirring.
• While rice is simmering, heat 1 tsp olive oil in a separate pan and cook mushrooms for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Once rice is cooked, stir in salt and pepper to taste, and add basil.
• Stir in cheese then spinach.  Stir until spinach is wilted then add mushrooms and squash.
• Serve garnished with basil leaves.

Like any risotto, it's labor intensive so don't plan on making this unless you can hang out right by the stove to do all the stirring!

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Modified from Original recipe 

Recipe for Butternut Squash and Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta

Well, we're back from a long vacation and visits to see family.  After weeks of very little cooking, it's hard to get back in to the groove but I'm trying!  I thought I had misplaced my mojo for looking at what's in the pantry/fridge and throwing something together but I was pleased with how this turned out. Even though we don't have a real "Fall" here on Maui, cooking with butternut squash always makes me feel like we do. 

I did think, after the first bite, "this would be even better with some bacon in it."  That sort of reflects where my taste buds are right now!  Actually, it was just fine without bacon.  I mean, it has the chicken apple sausage in it!  I might try next time subbing some bacon, maybe turkey bacon, for the sausage.   

Servings: 4-6

Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut in to small cubes, about 7 cups
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• ½ pound whole grain rotini pasta
• 2 chicken apple sausages, cut in to small cubes
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup finely diced shallots
• Cooking spray
• 3 TBSP cumin (more or less to your taste)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss squash in enough olive oil to lightly coat, season with salt, pepper, and 1 ½ TBSP cumin; spread on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until browning, stirring 2-3 times.
• Meanwhile, apply a light coat of olive oil to a sauté pan over med/med-high heat.
• Add pecans, shallots and sausages and remaining cumin.
• Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until browned.
• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While pasta cooks, let squash cool briefly then put 2/3 of the squash in a food processor.
• Process squash until smooth.
• Mix together the pureed squash, drained pasta, sausage mixture, and remaining cooked squash.
• Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and fill with mixture.
• Top with cheese and place under a broiler for 4 minutes until cheese is melting and beginning to brown. 

This was filling without being a heavy pasta dish.  It's good to be back home for a while and I hope my mojo is really with me!

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Recipe for Roasted Squash with Mint and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

We sure enjoyed this roasted squash dish when I served it on Boxing Day for ourselves and some of our friends. The recipe is an interesting combination with mint and balsamic vinegar flavoring the lovely roasted flavor of the squash.

I used half butternut and half acorn squash, but pumpkin squash could be used too.


Yield: 8 servings
Time: 50 minutes


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds each butternut and acorn squash (3 pounds total)
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1+ TBSP good aged balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup toasted, salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut squash into wedges, leaving skin on but removing any seeds or strings.
• Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Spread out on large baking sheet, cut side down.
• Roast for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown, turning several times to brown all cut sides.
• Serve drizzled with balsamic and sprinkled with salt and pepper, mint, and pepitas.

Some folks ate the skin. I chose not to, but either way the squash is delicious! It also reheats nicely (microwave).


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Original recipe from Bon Appetit


Other squash recipes you may enjoy:
Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat's Cheese and Pine Nuts

Butternut Squash "Fries"

Recipe for Squash, Apple and Bacon Pizza

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas!


Here is a pizza with an amazing combination of flavors. I could (and did) literally eat the sauce of pureed squash/apples/onions, sour cream and bacon with a spoon.  That combination will be featured soon as a stand alone casserole!

Doesn't that look delicious?!

A little blurry. Here is the pizza as it was going in to the oven.  Homemade whole wheat pizza dough, spread with the squash puree, then topped with more of the roasted squash and apples, caramelized onions, and bacon.


I got the inspiration from a recipe for a squash and apple galette from Cheryl and Adam over at Picture Perfect Meals.  I enjoy their blog-they are recipe developers and food photographers.  I thought the combination would be great for a different twist on pizza.  


Pizza needs some sort of sauce (or that is a belief held in our household).  I originally thought about a thin layer of sour cream but decided it needed more than that.  I started with pureed squash and just started throwing stuff in the food processor.  The sauce ended up being divine, and as I mentioned, it could stand alone as a squash casserole.


The caramelized onions look carbonized in the photos.  They tasted fine but next time, I would add them on for the last few minutes of cooking time.


Yield: 3 servings (depends on the size of your pizza crust)
Time: 45 minutes


Ingredients:

• Your favorite pizza dough (I used the whole wheat one from Hertzberg and Francois' Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day)
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup cubed Granny Smith apple
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 3 TBSP plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided
• 3/4 tsp dried sage
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 TBSP pure maple syrup
• Salt and pepper
• 1 TBSP butter
• 6 slices bacon
• 1/3 cup low fat sour cream

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix squash and apple with 2 TBSP olive oil, sage, nutmeg, syrup and generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.
• Spread squash/apple mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.
• While veggies are roasting melt butter in 1 TBSP olive oil over medium low heat and cook onions until soft and lightly caramelized.
• Also, cook, drain and chop bacon.
• Adjust oven for pizza crust (for me, 500 degrees).
• Add 1/2 of squash mixture, 1/2 of onions, and the sour cream to food processor and puree until smooth.
• Stir in 1/2 of bacon.
• Prepare pizza dough (spread/roll on a cornmeal dusted parchment on a pizza peel).
• Spread about 1/2 of puree over dough (or more if making a large pizza; save any leftovers!).
• Top with enough of the reserved squash/apple mixture to sparsely cover (you don't want to "over top" it).
• Sprinkle with remaining bacon and onions (or reserve onions and drop on for the last few minutes of cooking time).
• Brush rim of crust with 1 tsp of olive oil.
• Bake for 5 minutes on the parchment on a pizza stone then carefully remove parchment with the help of a large spatula and continue cooking for a total of 12-15 minutes.

We really enjoyed this pizza and I can't wait to make the casserole as a side dish.  How can you go wrong with bacon and caramelized onions after all?


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Recipe for Butternut Squash "Fries"

I put fries in quotation marks for this recipe because these are not crispy like potato fries.  They are even less crispy than sweet potato fries.  However, they are good and easy to make; another way to get some good veggies on the plate.   We ate them with buffalo burgers-yummy!

I had half a butternut squash left over from making pan-cooked veggies and was standing with the refrigerator door open, noodling over what to have with the burgers I had on the menu plan for the night.  I had a packet of sweet potato fries in the freezer but had recently seen a couple of blogs featuring butternut squash fries (sorry, I can't remember which blogs).  So...I thought I'd give it a try.  I simply rubbed the squash slices with olive oil, baked on 400 for 20 minutes and sprinkled with salt.  Nice.

I figured the squash would be like sweet potatoes-difficult to crisp up in the oven due to the moisture content. I used the technique I use with sweet potato fries (a cooling rack over a baking sheet).  They browned nicely but as expected, didn't crisp.  Don't let that deter you though.  These are tasty!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 25 minutes


Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium butternut squash
• 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
• salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Peel squash and cut into fries.
• Rub olive oil over fries and place fries on cooling rack set over baking pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Do you have a method for veggie fries that works to crisp them up?  

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