Butternut Squash Orecchiette with Ricotta

 Another winner on our quest to cook with squash. We don't eat many meatless dishes but this one kept us full and satisfied for the evening.

For those who haven't had experience with cutting up squash, they can be a bit tricky. The butternut squash is easiest peeled first with a vegetable peeler and, then, sliced in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and seeds, and cut it up. 

Butternut Squash Orecchiette with Ricotta

1 butternut squash cut up into bite size pieces

1 yellow onion, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly 

about 20 fresh sage leaves

olive oil

1 lb. orecchiette

15 oz. whole milk ricotta

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place butternut squash, onion, garlic and sage on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and mix to coat. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring a couple times.

Cook orecchiette al dente in a pot of boiling water. Reserve about 1/2 c. of pasta water and dispose of the rest after cooking. 

Place cooked orecchiette with pasta water into a large bowl. Mix well with ricotta cheese. Stir in roasted veggies and sage with the pasta and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 4 servings.

Meal Planning : Weekly Eats with Whole Parenting Family {Vol. 3}

I like trying new recipes. (I guess that is obvious since I also like to create them.) Most weeks, it works out about half old, half new recipes. I strongly suggest trying at least one, if not two new recipes a week. They don't need to be difficult. But just something to help expand your repertoire.

Always when you are thinking of trying a new recipe, read it ALL THE WAY THROUGH before you commit. Before you go grocery shopping. There may be a new skill involved that might take more time. There may be an ingredient that is too expensive, so best to substitute or move on. (I really love The Flavor Bible for substitution ideas. It is the number one book all those who love to cook should have.) It is just best to know what you are committing yourself to.

This week is heavy on the new recipes (including two I've developed myself). I suppose I felt a bit ambitious this week. Not always the norm. :)

Monday - Beef-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tuesday - Frozen Taquitos and leftover stuffing from squash (I doubled it)

Wednesday - Butternut Squash Orechiette with Ricotta {recipe in progress...}

Thursday - Spaghetti with meat sauce and mushrooms and green beans (just basic ground beef, sauteed mushrooms and store-bought marinara -- frozen green beans)

Friday - Crockpot Pot Roast with mashed potatoes

Saturday - Chicken Cheddar Broccoli Soup with French bread

Sunday - Pepperoni Pizza {{for the birthday girl!}} (picked up pre-made pizza dough and toppings from Trader Joes)


What are you cooking this week?

Linking up with Whole Parenting Family for Weekly Eats Saturday.

Beef-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn squash is one of the quintessential autumn veggies. It is a treat roasted on its own with a bit of butter and brown sugar. But make it the center of your main dish by using it as a receptacle of your protein and it can really stand out!

The nutty flesh of the squash pairs itself well with Mexican-inspired seasoning in this simple dish, easy to put together quickly on a weeknight.

The squash are roasted separately while the meat filling comes together on the stove. Finish it off with a sprinkling of cheese and a few minutes back in the oven once stuffed and you're set!

Beef-Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 acorn squash, halved with the seeds and pulp scooped out

olive oil

salt

1/2 lb ground beef

1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. cooked rice

1/2 c. black beans
1/4 c. crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. oregano
dash of cayenne pepper

1/3 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle acorn squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place face down in a baking dish and bake 35-45 minutes.

While squash is baking, brown ground beef in a saucepan over medium-high heat on the stove. Add onions and garlic, cooking for another couple minutes until onions are softened. Turn heat down to low. Add in rice, beans, and tomatoes. Mix well. Then, add in spices and mix well again.

 Flip acorn squash cavity side up and fill each with a quarter of the filling. Sprinkle cheese on top and put back in the oven for about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Meal Planning {Link-Up}

Mama Nell over at Whole Parenting Family has come up with a brilliant plan for all moms (and dads if you're the ones cooking) to help each other out. She's hosting a weekly link-up on Saturdays for each of us to post our meal plans for the week, complete with recipes if available. (Don't know that I'll make every week, but here's to good beginnings!)

Hopefully, this will help motivate everyone to make the effort, but it also serves as an opportunity to share recipes so that we are not all stuck in the same twenty-recipe-shuffle every week.

I love meal planning as it keeps me from overspending when I go grocery shopping (SO easy to do!) and it also appeals to my organizational heart. :)

I don't really plan breakfasts and lunches to a T like I do with dinners. We just have a few options available for each, and many lunches are simply leftovers from previous dinners. Breakfasts are usually cereal or granola with milk or yogurt. On the weekend, we typically have at least one elaborate breakfast with eggs, meat, and a baked good which I do from scratch. (Many recipes for those up here on the blog as breakfast goodies are my speciality.) If it's not leftovers, lunch will be a sandwich of some sort -- pb&j, lunch meat, or grilled cheese.

As you will see, we are currently making more of an effort to eat seasonally and incorporate more whole grains into our meals. Also, if a meal doesn't have a recipe attached, it is probably because I'm developing a recipe for it. Watch for it later on the blog!

Without further ado, here is what's up this week:

Wednesday - Pizza (with pre-made dough from Trader Joe's) with mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes, and chicken sausage

Thursday - Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach, and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette served alongside grilled pork sausages

Friday - Zuppa Contadina with pork sausage and a loaf of crusty Italian bread for dipping

Saturday - bbq with friends -- pork shoulder, sides and dessert {better get on this!}

Sunday - dinner at my parents' house for my brother's birthday

Monday - tacos: typically, ground beef using this recipe for homemade taco seasoning (will never go back to the high sodium pre-packaged stuff) in hard shell corn tortillas served with refried black beans, grated cheddar cheese, guac, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, salsa and hot sauce

Tuesday - Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash {recipe in progress...}

Wednesday - Nutty Barley Salad served with chicken apple chardonnay sausages

Crockpot Beef Stew

We finally had a day last week that didn't top 80 degrees. I marked it on the calendar when I was meal planning earlier in the week. I've been ready for cold weather food for so long, and here was our chance. 

We purchased 40 lbs of delicious, grass-fed beef through Alpine Ranch in Reno, Nevada. The freezer is chock full of a variety of cuts of beef that should last us at least through mid-November with the rate at which we consume red meat. 

I dug out the stew meat a couple days in advance of our cooler weather. When we reached it, first thing in the morning, I filled the crockpot with this hearty stew which I'm sure will have repeats throughout the winter. 

Crockpot Beef Stew

2 lbs. beef stew meat

1 large onion, diced

4-5 carrots, sliced into 1-in. pieces

2 large russet potatoes, cubed

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 c. fresh parsley, minced

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 t. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

 1 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 c. beef broth

1 c. frozen peas

1/4 c. flour

Place meat, onion, carrots, potatoes, and garlic into your crock pot. Sprinkle with parsley, salt, pepper, oregano and top with a bay leaf. Stir Worcestershire sauce into 2 1/2 c. beef broth. Pour across the top. Cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours or LOW for 10. 

About a half hour before serving, stir in frozen peas and flour, and re-cover the pot.

Serve alongside warm, crusty bread for dipping.