Quinoa & Roasted Butternut Squash Hot Dish!

The Minnesota in me can't whip up a side dish, containing condensed 

cream of soup, without calling it a hot dish.  Sorry.  Not sorry. 

I made this dish in December for a luncheon potluck at my daughter's school, with items I had in the kitchen. I didn't know how it would turn out, but after several moms asked me for the recipe at the luncheon, and another mom just stopped me last week to ask, I decided it was time to get this recipe on the blog. 

What you need:

• 3 cups dry quinoa (which cooked in 6 cups of liquid, water or stock, will yield ~8 cups of cooked quinoa)
• 8 ounce block of cream cheese, room temperature soft
• 2 boxes of condensed cream of mushroom soup 
• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 large onion
• 1 large butternut squash
• Olive oil
• Sea salt & black pepper

Also, I highly recommend you make the Maple Spiced Pecans, also on this blog, as they are the perfect addition of sweet and spicy crunch to this hot dish.  

 Get all that tough skin off the squash quickly, with a vegetable peeler.

I seriously just thought of this in the last 6 months after many a squash 

struggles.  Major 'duh moment'!!

 I cut the 'neck' of the squash off, then bisect the bottom of the squash

for easy removal of the the seeds and pulp.

 Slice the 'neck' of the squash into roughly 1/2 inch slices. Then

cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes.

 Cube the bottom half of the cleaned out squash.

Place the cubed squash on a foil lined baking sheet, topped with 

parchment paper (the foil is only for easy clean up, not needed

if you are a bit more motivated than I am).  Toss the cubes with a 

generous amount of olive oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper.

I forgot about the onion, but remembered to toss it in, right before the

pan made it's way to the oven.

Place in a 400 degree oven.  Roast for 1 hour, tossing with a spoon

after half hour.

While the squash is roasting, and the quiona is cooking (just follow directions 

on the dry quinoa package), combine the 8 oz block of cream cheese, 2 boxes 

condensed soup and 2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable) in a large bowl with a whisk.

This is my favorite brand of condensed soups.  It is also gluten free,

which is wonderful for those with dietary restrictions.

 Add the cooked quinoa to the sauce and stir.  Add sea salt to taste.

Fold in the roasted squash and onions.  

Place in an oiled baking dish.  At this point you can cover the dish and

 place in the refrigerator to bake off later.

For the perfect crust, use the vegetable peel to shave off a bit of butter

and place on top.  This too is one of my favorite little ideas/ 'duh moments'

Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of the shaved butter, and place in a

375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

The top will be golden brown.

Yum!  This hot dish is meal enough, when topped with the

 Maple Spiced Pecans and served with a side of greens. 

Here are a couple other ideas for this delicious hot dish: toss in additional roasted vegetables 

(zucchini, asparagus, root vegetables, portobello mushrooms), stuff large portobello mushrooms

and bake off or serve along side grilled poultry or beef.

Seriously, yum! 

Lunch on the Quick

I, like many, feel rushed most days of the week. I find that if I have some 

good things on hand in the refrigerator, I won't end up eating a bag of Corn Nuts 

(there is no judgement, Corn Nuts are legit) and calling it lunch. 

I always try to have prepared quinoa in the refrigerator.  It is so tasty, 

full of protein and the little ones love it, which is a total bonus!

Put 3/4 cup prepared quinoa in a bowl, cold

(or a Mason jar, if you are on the run)

Top the quinoa with 1/2 cup cottage cheese.

Top the quinoa and cottage cheese with a small handful of 

raw almonds.  

Dig in!

Some delish add-ins that I highly recommend:

• sauteed kale, seasoned with sea salt and cracked pepper
• roasted red peppers (I buy them in jars, I do not roast my own...but you could) 
• roasted squash (if I have leftovers, from the night before)...zucchini and butternut are faves!
• roasted root vegetables

Like I mentioned, if you are on the run, layer in a Mason jar and hit the road!  You'll feel good about what you are eating, and really good about not having a container that will end up in the trash.

xo. 

Baby Food: Roasted Sweet Potato & Quinoa Puree

The adventures of baby food begin...

Peel and cube a large sweet potato into ~1/2 inch chunks.  Toss

with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and slow roast in a 350 degree heated

oven for 40-45 minutes.

Roasted sweet potato (a large sweet potato yielded 1 1/2 cups

roasted sweet potato) and 1 cup of prepared quinoa (cooked

according to package directions).

Two of my favorites, how bad can this be?  

 Pop in a food processor or blender.  I ended up adding 1 1/2 cups

of water, for the perfect puree.  Add the water in 1/2 cup increments

for the perfect consistency for your baby.

Roasted sweet potato & quinoa puree.

I bought 2 sets of lidded BPA-free trays (4 trays total) with my first, 

and just pulled them out of storage, as I begin baby food making 

for my newest (and final) little.

 One large sweet potato, 1 cup of prepared quinoa and 1 1/2 cups

of water yielded 21 serving portions.  I pop the trays in the freezer, and

one day later pop the portions out of the containers (running the bottoms 

of the covered trays under hot water, if they need a bit of loosening), 

and store in a freezer bag or covered container in the freezer 

(making certain to label and date).

I plan ahead for the next day, and pull out the portions I will need, 

to allow them to thaw in the refrigerator. 

 Benny says, 'get in my belly'...

Benny approved!  He was also eating a bit of pureed oatmeal with 

cinnamon and bananas that I portioned out and froze the other night,

so that explains the crazy mess of a bib!  

Layered Salad: Squash, Quinoa, Candied Nuts, Feta & Balsamic Reduction. Oh My!

I picked up a butternut squash at the market, because I planned on spending sometime in the 

kitchen today, making baby food.  Well, that plan fell by the wayside, as it was ridiculously

 lovely outside, and I opted instead to spend that time playing outside with my little Logan.

The butternut squash was just screaming to be gobbled up today, 

so I  raided the  pantry and found some other goodies that I thought would be

 ridiculous, with the squash, on a bed of greens.

Clean out the butternut squash, remove the skin, and cut up in 1/2

 inch chunks.  Toss the chunks with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sea 

salt and pepper on a baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes in a 

400 degree oven. 

In a pan heat 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to boil and reduce to simmer,

until the vinegar thickens into a syrup that coats a spoon.  It will

continue to thicken up a bit, after simmering. 

 In a dry saute pan, over medium heat, combined 1/2 cup chopped raw 

pecans, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, pinch of cayenne pepper.  

Watch like a hawk, the nuts and sugar can burn in an instant.  

Use a spoon to coat the nuts in the lightly spiced sugar.

Pile spinach and other baby greens on a platter.

Top the greens with quinoa. I had prepared quinoa in the refrigerator, 

from the night before. I cooked it according to directions and tossed 

with a bit of sea salt and olive oil.

Top with chunks of feta or goat cheese.

 Top with the sweet and spicy pecans.

Top with the roasted butternut squash.  Pour any olive oil from the 

pan on the salad as well.  I like to think of it as a deconstructed vinaigrette,

as the oil and vinegar marry together on the greens and goodies!

Yummers!

 Drizzle with the syrupy balsamic vinegar.

 Enjoy!

Here's me thinking this will be delicious, leftover...as the greens wilt a bit.