Squeaky Gourmet

The Superbowl is creeping up on us real fast so I tried to steer my thoughts to making something party worthy.  Well I ended up eating this for my lunch for a couple of days so…so much for the party but it sure killed a huge craving for nachos I’d been having since I saw a monstrous plate of them at Margaritaville in Las Vegas.  So enough on the cravings and on to the deliciousness.  I love beans.  We eat them several times a week around my house.  I usually make a huge pot from the dry stage but sometimes I just used canned. Even better if I can find ones that don’t have anything added to them.  So this is a Really quick recipe that is truly yummy and worthy of your bestest of buddies.

Creamy Bean Dip
Serves 4 (or 2 if it’s your lunch)

1 can refried beans – you can get vegetarian, no fat, regular…whichever you like

1 ripe avocado

½ c salsa

½ t garlic power

2 T lime juice

No fat greek yogurt for garnish- you can omit

Salt to taste- please taste to make sure you get enough

In a medium bowl, scoop out the avocado and mash really well with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix really well.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then mix some more.  At this point I heated the dip in the microwave, topped with some yogurt, finely sliced scallions and some really HOT salsa.  But if you like, you can add some cheese, then melt it all in the microwave, then garnish as mentioned above.  Enjoy!

Some other great ideas…

Chopped tomatoes, lots of diced scallions, make your own tortilla chips

I love vegetables–there I said it. You cannot go wrong with them in a diet or wellness plan. When I was working for the Department of Defense I would get sailors asking me if they can eat carrots or onions and not gain weight–the whole carb scare of the South beach diet taint was rampant with them. I would always answer honestly–I have never met a person with a weight problem who has said to me ” I would be thin if i could just walk away from those darn vegetables–they get me every time!”  Think about that–who over eats carrots? Who has a bulging waist line because the tomato section of the market has a vice like grip on them every time they walk in? Who do you know who joined Weight Watchers because they just won’t stop snacking on onions at night?

vegetables are good for you–I know we should know this but it is so over looked in todays world.  Most people use them as a steamed or boiled boring side dish or try and choke them down in a salad (OK, disclosure i also love salads–if you are choking on a salad I can NOT relate–but I love you just the same.) Here is a fantastic, delicious  way to prepare some vegetables in such an easy way–and so hardy that is can be the entire meal–if you dare!

Vegetables in a Pot
serves 8
16 ounces low sodium pureed tomatoes
1 large head red cabbage cored and chunked
1 large red onion peeled and chopped
10 baby potatoes left whole
1lb baby carrots
2 slices uncured bacon diced
3 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh sage
1 handful fresh basil leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary

Add all ingredients to a crock pot and set on medium heat for the entire day–set this and forget this *snaps fingers*

Serve topped with Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of pine nuts.

Nutrients in 1 Serving

Well not really, we had our first big snowstorm at the beginning of October but I’m still gathering yummies from the garden. I am still able to go dig taters, carrots and onions. I was just tickled to find all this goodness and happy to say the mule deer haven’t figured out how to pull the carrots out of the ground–they got the tops but not the roots.

I wanted to make something by using what I had in the pantry and freezer. I hadn’t had edamame in a while so it turned up in an easy salad.

Edamame corn salad
1 c Organic frozen corn- cook by following directions on bag and let cool
1 c Organic edamame- cook just like the corn and let cool
½ c diced carrots
1 T soy sauce
4 drops sesame oil
1 T flax or olive oil
1 T toasted sesame seeds
2 T rice wine vinegar
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything together in a small bowl and enjoy.

Other ideas: onion, scallions or bell peppers would be great in here.

Cheers,

Jamie

This recipe is part of Real Food Wednesday–check out more real food tips and ideas by visiting the blog carnival!

Squash is so plentiful this time of year, isn’t it? I look at it on my counter and think “Squash again? Really Maureen–again!?” So I try and recreate this winter delight as much as I can when I make it for the family–as for my own self I can eat it the same way day after day.
I am a firm believer in nature providing our body with a lot of the nutrients we need during the times our body will be needing it. Squash is a seasonal vegetable rich with potassium, vitamin A, B vitamins omega fats–all crucial for helping us remain healthy during the cold and flu season. Native Americans values the winter squashes so much they buried them with their dead to provide them with sustenance in the journey to the afterlife.

As for the second ingredients in this dish–really who does not like cheese? If you have no dairy issues that is. (emails will float in now about the lactose intolerance people and my own intolerance to them)

So without further delay:

Roasted Butternut and Parmesan
serves all who arrive to the table in time

1 large butternut Squash
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 9×9 baking dish. Peel, cut open and seed the squash–the easiest way i do this is I seperate the stem from the belly (rounded bottom) , the top you can just peel and chop. The belly you can scoop out the seeds easily if you slice it in half then peel the bottom and dice it up–(I should have taken pictures of how I did this, sorry)

Cube the squash up into 1″ cubes and toss them into the baking pan and cover with the cheese and bake on the middle shelf in the oven until the squash is tender–about 35 minutes. We served ours with pork roast but this would be great with any bird as well!

Simple and so different than the mashed or boiled squash you have been use to!

I do not think I have had salad dressing since sometime in the 1990’s when Susan Powter screamed through my television screen demanding me to “Stop the Insanity!” Looking back, I am sure she should have taken a page from her own book, so to speak. Those many years ago i made an adjustment that I am fortunate enough to have stuck with me–small adjustments in diet which eventually build up into you becoming a healthy eater. Hey, that is what Squeaky Gourmet is all about! So, while looking for things to dip veggies in and add to salads I stumbled on hummus. What a fantastic healthy addition to your diet!

Just look at the wonderful value garbanzo beans bring to your clean eating. Worlds Healthy Foods site provided this image and also tells us that these little legumes are filled with cholesterol lowering fiber. I wonder if they worry that the FDA will ban that claim like they did to Cheerios–I digress. You can see from this chart that this as a vegetable dip or salad topping would offer to you far more than a goopy dressing would. So–why not whip up some hummus! This is a clean food staple and is much less expensive to make than to purchase pre-made.

1 can garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) rinsed and drained

3 cloves garlic

1 T olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

2T toasted sesame seeds

2 T water

Throw everything in a food processor and mix until the right consistency. Add a little water until it’s the right texture.

Other good ideas:
–Add different seasoning to change the notes of the beans, chili powder, cumin, lemongrass, chives
–Add in some chopped peppers and mushrooms, increase the water a bit and top with Parmesan cheese for a party platter dip

I love me my orange vegetables–don’t you? You can read tons of healthy food blogs and see “sweet potato” favored over regular white potatoes. These root vegetables are very high in beta-carotene (vitamin A anyone? yes please!), a great source of vitamin C and is rated very high in studies done for antioxidant powers. They are anti-inflammatory, inflammation is the leading cause of aging of the body ( you thought it was your birthday didn’t you?)so perhaps these should be added to a fountain of soup recipe–I will work on that ASAP! Since this is a root vegetable it grows in the earth, where it can draw into it the minerals we need like maganese, copper, potassium and iron. Not to mention they are low in calorie and high in fiber.

Oh, I should add they are also delicious! No need to hide from the bright color or the health benefits of this one. Since they are coming into season right now, what a great time to offer you an alternative way to serve them aside from the traditional glop of butter and marshmallows.

From page 92 of our book, Squeaky Gourmet:

Savory Sweet Potatoes
serves 4
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 tbls Olive Oil
pinch cumin
pinch ground ginger
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch paprika
juice of one lemon*

Heat a non-stick skillet with the oil on medium heat, cook potato and spices for approximately 15 minutes, stirring to blend. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook until they are golden brown and crisp on the outside, stirring frequently now to prevent burning. Squirt with lemon juice just before serving.

Other Good Ideas:
–Great cooked in the oven as well. Be sure to add oil and spices to a bowl and stir the potatoes to coat them evenly before baking.

Calories Per Serving:
Fat-7 grams
Protein- 1 gram
Carbohydrates- 14 grams

*the book calls for lime juice but in my house lime is the official flavor of the devil. So I use lemon instead

OK–I cannot convey to you the delight of these potatoes and have you fully grasp the fantastic flavor these had. We have a restaurant I cannot venture into because they make the best dirty martinis on the planet as well as the best cheesy fries. Cheesy fries and dirty martinis are like magic–oh I mean are bad for you–yes that is what I meant, bad for you.

Well, recently we had a lot of potatoes from the farm stand and I wanted to use up a good portion of them before they went bad and started a gang or something in our pantry. So, I thought–who doesn’t like potato and cheese mixtures? (Now I will get emails from all the people who do not.)

Potato Say Cheese
serves 12
10 large potatoes, washed well
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves of fresh garlic minced
1 cup your favorite hard cheese-shredded
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbls dried parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thinly slice the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Mix the eggs and milk together fully and pour over the sliced tubers. Add in the onion and garlic and stir, let sit for about 10 minutes.
Next place this mixture into a glass baking dish and cover with the shredded cheese.

I made sure to really shred mine on the thinnest shredding to make sure it covers and blends with the potato–one cup can go a long way if you do this.

Bake the potatoes for about 45 minutes or until they are fork tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Other Good Ideas:
–add in various seasonings to change the experience -chili powder, cumin, paprika
–add to a crock pot and allow to cook all day while you salivate waiting for them

We eat chicken a lot in our home–it is affordable, it is lower in calories than other meats and it is very versatile. We also are a stuffing kinda household but now with the recent emergence of Celiac disease in the family I am looking for gluten free answers to all of our life dilemmas. Well, OK only the food dilemmas because no matter how hard you try, gluten free cookie dough will not find missing socks.

Recently I was staring at a raw chicken, some raw quinoa and a freshly picked butter nut squash and thinking–I will mash you all together in harmony! So I did and it was a big hit (figuratively of course).

Quinoa Stuffing w/ Roasted Squash
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 large butter nut squash peeled and chunked
1 fresh onion
1 bunch of fresh sage chopped finely.
1 tb. Olive Oil
1 large clove fresh garlic minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and prepare bird for stuffing. In a bowl add all the ingredients together aside from the quinoa and mix well. Add to a baking pan, cover and roast for about 20-25 minutes, you want to just stick a fork into the squash but not have it fall apart under pressure(it has a job to do and now is not the time to crumble!)

Remove from oven and place in a cool dish and set in the fridge to chill out.

When the vegetables have cooled enough to handle mix the quinoa in and blend well. Return to the ice box to let the flavors get to know one another, hope for marriage here! This will only take about 30 minutes–during all this cool down time you can bake some potatoes in the already heated oven to save for double stuffed taters later in the week.

Stuff the bird with the cooled stuffing and bake until the bird is done. The time will vary depending on the size of the bird. This stuffing was so delicious, I loved the outside of the stuffing that had browned in the oven by my husband preferred the softer stuffing from inside the bird. I prefer this now over bread stuffing, the texture is more rewarding and the aroma and taste far fresher than stale bread!

Other good ideas:
–bake stuffing in a baking pan and use to serve with a meal if you prefer out of the bird stuffing
–stuff peppers or even squash with this stuffing
–add dried cranberries and walnuts for a more seasonal stuffing

Now for a vegetable you rarely see in your local grocery, kohlrabi. This vegetable is in the cabbage family but really has a mild flavor and is really crunchy. I usually eat them raw but thought this would be fun. Hopefully you can find some at your local Farmer’s market.

Kohlrabi Quick Pickles

3-4 peeled and sliced kohlrabi

2 t pickling salt

Combine the kohlrabi and the salt in a bowl and let sit out for 1 hour. Now drain and put in a quart jar or something similar.

In a small pot combine-

1 c water

1 c seasoned rice wine vinegar

3 t chopped garlic

Zest from 1 lemon

2 T sugar

1 t coarse ground black pepper

½ t crushed red pepper flakes

1 small slice peeled fresh ginger

Bring to a boil and then pour over the drained vegetables. Let cool then refrigerate for 3 days before serving. These will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. These are crunchy, fresh and gingery.

My garden is now overflowing with fresh produce but the nights are getting cooler and we have come close to a frosty night a couple of times all ready. So with that being said, I am starting to think of new things to do with all of this produce besides sell it Saturday mornings at the local Farmer’s Market. I live in a rural community which values the availability of fresh produce. People around here really do a lot of canning and preserving. It’s impressive really, this is my first summer to try my hand at any sort of pickles but I’m pretty happy with the quick ones I did so I know you will like them too. I mean, what better way to insure you are giving your family the best produce into the winter months but to ‘put it up’ (preserve, pickle, can….) yourself.

If you don’t all ready eat beets, please try them. These are by far my favorite vegetable so if you haven’t tried a fresh boiled or roasted beet in ages, DO.

Here is another good thing to do with beets and it’s easy and really pretty.

Simple Marinated Beet Salad

5 medium sized whole beets

Clean the beets and put them to boil in a large pot of water until they are fork tender. This takes about 25-30 minutes for 2” beets.

When the beets are done, drain and run under cool water until they are cool enough to handle. Hold a beet in your hand and squeeze the skin off. It peels off very easy and is fun to do. Slice the beets into thin slices and put into a med sized bowl.

½ of a sweet onion – sliced thinly

3 T olive oil

5 T cider vinegar

Pinch sea salt

Pepper to taste

½ t Dijon mustard

Combine everything in with the beets and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.