Fall Flashback – Best Ever Butternut Squash

Fall Flashback!

With the holidays quickly approaching…

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is in less than 3 weeks!

I’m tossing this family favorite at you again.

This bad boys is always a hit.

Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving.

Kids, babies, and grownups go gaga for this one.

featured   Fall Flashback   Best Ever Butternut Squash

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes

½ cup light mayo

1 large onion chopped

1 clove garlic

6 dashes hot sauce

1 egg

15 low sodium ritz crackers, crumbled

¼ cup parmesan cheese

½ T olive oil

½ T butter

½ t dried oregano

salt

pepper

WHAT TO DO:

featured   Fall Flashback   Best Ever Butternut Squash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat.  When it’s boiling add in the squash and cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes.

In a small saucepan heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.  Once it is melted add in your crackers, cheese and oregano.  Season with a bit of S&P and stir well.  Remove from heat and set aside.featured   Fall Flashback   Best Ever Butternut Squash

When the squash is cooked drain the water and toss the squash into a baking dish.  Mash the squash with a potato masher and season with S&P.  To the squash add in your mayo, onion, garlic, hot sauce, and egg.  Mix well.  Top with cracker/cheese topping, cover with foil and transfer your baking dish to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Serve.

MMMashed Potatoes

We love love love our potatoes in this house.  We like ‘em baked, roasted, grilled and especially mashed!  I threw a bunch of stuff from the fridge together for these babies and all anyone could say was MMMMMMM.  So here they are, MMMMMMahsed Potatoes!

side dishes   MMMashed Potatoes

Serves 6  Prep Time: 5 minutes  Cook time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes

3 cloves garlic, peeled

S&P

splash of cream

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 T butter

side dishes   MMMashed PotatoesCut your potatoes into quarters and toss them in a medium sized pot with the garlic cloves.  Fill with cold water.  Set over high heat and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling season the water with salt.  Cook until fork tender about 8-10 minutes.  Drain well and transfer to a bowl.  Toss in remaining ingredients and mix with hand mixer or smash with a potato smasher.  Serve with a bit of sauce from chicken marsala.

side dishes   MMMashed Potatoes

Oh oh oh, guess what? I’m guest posting today over at my girl Katie’s at Sassy Silly Spunky Momma She is just awesome and you should go on over and check her out.

Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali Rice

TGIF!  I can’t believe it’s Friday already and you may have arrived here via the Friday follows.  Welcome welcome, come on in, get comfy.  I hope you have a little looksie and be sure to let me know you were here so I can come back and return the love.

side dishes   Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali Rice

side dishes   Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali Rice

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it’s my guest post part deux over at Mommie Cooks.  Today I’m slinging some drinks old school style perfect for your Friday afternoon cocktails.   Go over and visit Julie’s blog for my refreshing little pick me up.

side dishes   Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali Rice

Once again, in honor of my girl Julie, I’m showing the love by sharing with you a fantastic side dish to go along with the chicken we served up yesterday.  She calls this Mexicali Rice, I call it delicious.
side dishes   Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali Rice
1 Cup of Jasmine Rice
2 Cups of Chicken/Veggie Broth
1/2 Cup of Evaporated Milk
1/4 Cup of Sour Cream
1 Cup of Corn
1 Small Handful of Cilantro, Chopped
2 Adobo Peppers, Chopped
1 7 Oz. Can of Diced Green Chiles
1 Cup of Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 tsp of Chili Powder
1/2 tsp of Cumin
S&P
1 lime, zested and juiced

Once again, anything I added is in italics…I have recipe OCD.

side dishes   Mommie Cooks’s Mexicali RicePlace your broth in a pot on the stove and get it boiling.  Add in your jasmine rice, turn it down to low, cover it up and let it cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Now add in your chopped green chiles, corn, and cilantro.  Stir it up and then add in your sour cream, milk and cheese.  Mix it up well and let your cheese take a few minutes to melt.   Now stir in your adobo peppers and spices; the cumin and chili powder.  Stir it up good.  Finally, add in your diced tomatoes and give it a minute to heat up.  Season with S&P, lime zest and lime juice.

FYI – My hubs is one of those people out there who HATES cilantro, I apologize to all the cilantro growers out there.  He freaks out if it’s in anything and can spot it from miles away, so I just substitute parsley for his and all the more cilantro for the rest of us.  Apparantly though it’s true, there is a large number of the population that hate it because it tastes like soap to them.  I saw that on Oprah or something.  And that is hysterical because that is what he always told me.  I tell him he’s ridiculous and that it tastes nothing like soap.  He claims that I clearly never talked back to my Momma and never had to have the Ivory Sandwich.  Not this girl…can you hand me back that halo please????
What about you?  Do you have strong cilantro feelings?

Come Sail Away Zucchini Boats

So I’ve had this zucchini sitting in my fridge and I’ve been trying to find a unique way of making it.  I’ve roasted it, I’ve sauteed it, I’ve even sliced it thin and served it as a salad, but what would be a fun way to get the kids to eat it?  Hmmm, a boat!  Let’s stuff it and call it a boat.  Did they go for it?  Aye aye captain.

side dishes   Come Sail Away Zucchini Boats

2 large zucchini squash

Olive oil

S&P

1 T butter

1/2 t red pepper flakes

8 oz mushroom chopped fine

1/2 onion chopped fine

2 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 t dried oregano

2 T chopped parsley

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 shredded mozzarella cheese

juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut your zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers to create a canoe like boat.  Sprinkle boats with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Pop into the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a skillet over medium high heat.  Sautee your onions, mushrooms, and the zucchini that you reserved until soft.  Season with S&P and a dash of red pepper flakes.  Add in your garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Toss in bread crumbs, oregano, parsley, and your cheeses.  Stir together and allow to cook for an additional few minutes.  Remove from heat and squeeze in your lemon juice.

side dishes   Come Sail Away Zucchini BoatsRemove your boats from the oven and transfer stuffing into the canals.  Put them back into the oven and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.  You can even make little sails for the boats out of toothpicks and flags!  You can even make this into a meal by making your stuffing more hearty.  Try it with ground beef and rice or even turkey or sausage.  Mmmmm.

Hasselback Potatoes

These are a easy and delicious side dish, and they look they actually are hard to make!  The hubs was horrified and thought that I had created them and given them the name Hasselback after that quarterback but I assured him they already had the name and were created by a restaurant in Sweeden.  I already named our son Brady, how many things do we have to do in honor of the best Quartahback Eva (best quarterback ever for those of you who don’t speak Boston) that led the Patriots to be the most underrated dynasty in football history???

side dishes   Hasselback Potatoes

Serves 4  Prep Time:  5 minutes  Cook Time:  1 hour

4 large russet potatoes

1 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin ala “Goodfellas”

S&P

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Using a very sharp knife slice each potato across creating a slit, but not going all the way through, just go about halfway.  Continue to cut slits about 1/4 inch apart.  Next, put a piece or two of your sliced garlic into each opening.  side dishes   Hasselback PotatoesContinue with all your potatoes.  Sprinkle with olive oil and rub each potato in your hands so they are all coverd.  Now sprinkle with S&P.  Place them into the oven (you don’t really need a baking sheet but you can use one if you want) and bake at 400 for 1 hour.  Remove and serve with some sour cream.  I flavored mine with garlic, horseradish, and chives.  SO GOOD!

Roasted Asparagus

This is a quick, delicious and nutritious side dish for you. Cooks up in minutes and will get you rave reveiws!

healthy eating for kids   Roasted Asparagus

Serves: 6  Prep Time: 0 minutes  Cook time: 12 minutes

1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and trimmed

1 T olive oil

S&P

1 T parmesan cheese

1 T basil chiffonade

1 T toasted pine nuts

healthy eating for kids   Roasted AsparagusPreheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss asparagus into a roasting pan.  Sprinkle with olive oil and S&P.  Mix well with your fingers to coat each asparagus stalk well.  Cook for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.   Remove from oven and sprinkle on cheese, basil and pine nuts.  Toss well and serve immediately.

So good…

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