Chicken Taco Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Black beans.
Tiny jalapeños.
The perfect avocado.
ANOTHER PATTY PAN SQUASH.

What would you do?

Well, ordinarily I would be googling all over the place. But I've already done that for pattypan squash. Twice. There are plenty of options, but very few transform the squash into a main dish, and even fewer call for a single, giant squash (like the ones my CSA farm tends to grow).

Maybe I was inspired by my upcoming trip to the Mayan Riviera, but......

I made a giant taco.

No, seriously. I have Mexico on the  brain. I am currently searching through a billion possibilities of places to stay on Isla Mujeres, in Tulum, and in Puerto Morelos. This is happening.

Taco Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 80 min

Yield 4-5 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium pattypan squash

1 teaspoon chipotle/southwestern seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

½ cup dried white rice

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3 large cloves garlic, minced

¼ large white onion, chopped

3 tiny jalapeños (or ½ large jalapeño), minced

1 medium chicken breast

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1 – 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup fresh pico de gallo

½ avocado, sliced

Sour cream (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the top off of the squash and remove the seeds and any stringy insides. The patty pan squash should now look like a bowl. Bake for 1–1.5 hours (until a fork easily pierces the skin and flesh). Baking time will vary depending on size of squash.

2. In a large saucepan, heat half of the olive oil on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and jalapeños for 3-4 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté until toasted and slightly golden in color.

3. Dump canned tomatoes (including all liquid) into the saucepan with the rice and onion mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked to desired consistency.

3. Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Cook chicken breast through (about 7-8 minutes per side). Remove from heat and rest chicken for 10 minutes, then shred with a fork.

4. Add chicken back to skillet (and finish cooking, if necessary), add 1 tablespoon of water along with the taco seasoning. Stir to combine and heat through. Add black beans.

5. When squash is finished, remove from oven and stuff with rice, chicken and black bean mixture, and top with pico de gallo, avocado and sour cream.

6. Cut the squash into quarters and serve like a Mexican pie.

Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving, 4):

Calories 439, Total Fat 12 g, Cholesterol 32 mg, Sodium: 1017 mg, Protein 21 g, Fiber 11.3 g

........And then that thing happened where I wasn't following a recipe and tremendously underestimated how long it would take to cook the squash and I ate my taco on a microwave baked potato. Don't let this happen to you. Plan ahead for a giant squash, people.

The potato was good, but the squash was much better (even reheated). Apparently, if you ever find yourself with an abundance of ripe pattypan, I'm your girl. Savory, stuffed, or sweet.

Now back to vacation planning!!

(I think planning my own vacations could be a really great career.)

Double Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

 

Aaaahhhhh. Autumn. It's that beautiful time of year in the south when the temperature dramatically dips into the 80's and we begin craving all things cozy and pumpkin and spiced and comforting. Down here in Texas, there are a good many few of us who can't wait to slip into turtleneck sweaters. Amiright?? J/K. Lolz.

Actually, the weather is quite lovely in the mornings. Newton and I can run a solid 2 miles without alarming passers-by that one of us might overheat and die at any moment. So, our seasons here are a little screwy, but I accept you for YOU, Texas weather!

One of the many great things about my little CSA box, is that I don't have to think about what veggies are in season or out of season (despite the weather). The box just tells me.

Last week, my delivery included sweet potato greens, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, okra, onion, patty pan squash, and spaghetti squash. I was able to use three of those items in the recipe I'm sharing today, adapted from smitten kitchen and The NY Times.

What do I mean by double sweet potato? I used the one huge sweet potato along with the sweet potato greens. If you look at the recipes from SK and the NYT, you'll notice that they both used Swiss chard. The fact is, you can use any greens at all. Spinach. Kale. Turnip. Just get 'em in there.

This dish is warm and lovely. Some notes to make it a success:

• There are a lot of ingredients on this list, and a bit of chopping, but I assure you that the cooking part is easy.
• The trick is to get the lentils cooked through all the way. No one likes a crunchy lentil. No one.
• If you don't have garam masala on hand but you do have a plethora of spices, just make your own blend. See my version below the recipe box.  
• Don't skip the lime. 

Double Sweet Potato

& Lentil Curry

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

½ jalapeno, minced

1 teaspoon garam masala*

1 teaspoon curry powder

3-4 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and chopped into ½” cubes

¾ cup dried lentils (I used green)

1 bay leaf

2 packed cups chopped sweet potato greens

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1 lime, zested

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions until translucent (about 4 minutes).

2. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, garam masala and curry powder. Sauté for 1 minute.

3. Add 3 cups broth, sweet potato, lentils, and bay leaf. Turn heat to HI, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. 

4. Add sweet potato greens, salt and pepper. If lentils look dry, add remaining vegetable broth.

5. Cook for 20 minutes longer, or until lentils and potatoes are tender.

6. Serve topped with scallion, lime zest, and lime wedge.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (Per serving):

Calories 220, Total Fat 4.0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 1138 mg, Protein 5.7 g, Fiber 7.0 g

* Garam Masala: (this makes just enough for the recipe above, adapted from here)

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Aaaaaannnnndddd... Finally, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT SODIUM. The recipe calculator likely used a high sodium broth. To ensure your sodium intake isn't through the roof, I'd recommend using a low sodium veggie broth.

Happy fall, ya'll!

Arugula Spinach Tomato Pesto (ASTP) with Gnocchi & Chickpeas

Aaaaahhhhhhh. The benefit of being (temporarily) unemployed is multifaceted, but one particular bonus is sleeping past 6 am. Every. Day.

Another bonus is having the time to do something other than work, study, or pack boxes. Unpacking.... well that's another story for August. In the meantime, trips to the farmer's market and shoe shopping for one particular upcoming wedding have been a much appreciated change of pace from the daily hospital grind.

Are you ready for another, absolutely delightful permutation of beans n' greens? Not quite to the eat-to-live standards (hello olive oil... and cheese.. and pasta) but full of healthy things nonetheless (arugula-spinach-tomato pesto = ASTP!). The ingredients for the pesto actually make enough for two nights. Use half today and freeze the rest.

The great thing about pesto in general is how forgiving it is. Don't have spinach? Add extra arugula. Prefer less garlic? Reduce it to three cloves. Where the heck to I find pepitas?? Use walnuts.

Arugula-Spinach-Tomato Pesto on Gnocchi & Chickpeas

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 5 min

Servings: 4  servings

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups packed fresh arugula

1 cup packed fresh spinach

6 cloves fresh garlic

¼ cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or pine nuts

2 chives

6 large basil leaves

¼ cup virgin olive oil

1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 - 14.5 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 500g package of potato gnocchi

2 oz herbed feta cheese, crumbled (I used tomato basil)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Drop arugula and spinach into boiling water and allow to cook for 20 seconds. Then strain out greens and submerge in ice water. Reserve boiling water for gnocchi (step 5).

2. Peel the garlic and add it along with the basil leaves, pepitas, and chives to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is minced.

3.  Squeeze all of the water from the blanched greens and add them to the food processor along with the tomatoes. Pulse until finely chopped and well incorporated with the garlic mixture.  

4. With the processor running, add olive oil. Blend until well combined. Set half of the pesto aside and freeze for later use.

5. Add garbanzo beans and gnocchi to the reserved boiling water and cook according to gnocchi package directions.

7. Strain gnocchi and beans; scoop into serving bowls immediately. Divide the other half of pesto over gnocchi and sprinkle each serving with feta cheese. 

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Calories 436, Total Fat 12.8 g, Cholesterol 12.6 mg, Sodium: 507 mg, Protein 8.7 g, Fiber 4.9 g

This was my first time using gnocchi, which are small, soft, dumpling-like pasta balls. They cook up super quickly, and were easy to find at Trader Joe's and the local grocery store. This ASTP has a great bite from the garlic and arugula, and is lightened up with the tomatoes so that it would be great on any pasta. Or, you can try it one of these other 10 Ways to use Pesto Beyond Pasta from The Kitchn.

Spring Chicken Linguine No-Fredo with Peas and Asparagus

Do you like peas?

No. 

How about asparagus? You like that?

No. 

Perfect.*

Muahahahahahaaa!

My I present to you: Spring Linguine Chicken No-Fredo with Peas and Asparagus (and Bacon)!!**

There is a reason this is called no-fredo. Because this is NOT alfredo sauce. I don't often go for half-ass healthy recipes (like alfredo made with half and half...), but there is a recipe for one such pasta with peas and bacon in one of my old Cooking Light mags that has survived a couple of cross-country moves.  So, as you can see... no-fredo and I have a history. 

I love pasta. But, as you know, noodles (along with bread and other deliciously simple carbohydrates) sure do pull the short end of the stick when it comes to healthy eating. So, when we choose to make it for ourselves, it makes the most sense to pack it full of vegetables and use ingredients with a lot of flavor.

Spring Linguine No-Fredo

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 20 min

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices center-cut bacon

2 shallots, chopped

5 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (divided)

16 oz linguine pasta

5 Tbsp butter, salted (divided)

16 spears fresh asparagus, cut into 2” pieces

2 cups half and half

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded (two generous handfuls)

1 cup peas, frozen

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Remove cooked bacon from pan, crumble and set aside.

2. In the same pan, sauté shallots, garlic, and 1 ½ tsp thyme in the bacon fat until softened (about 3 minutes).

3. While shallots and garlic are cooking, sauté asparagus in a separate pan with 1 tablespoon butter and ½ tsp thyme until crisp-tender (about 4 minutes).

4. Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan, then add half and half and chopped parsley.  Gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add Parmesan a little at a time, whisking until all cheese is melted before adding the next batch. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. 

5. While the no-fredo simmers, boil the pasta to al-dente according to package directions.  

6. Add the peas, mushrooms, sautéed asparagus, and sliced chicken breast to the shallot mixture in the big skillet. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and the chicken is heated through.

7. Drain cooked pasta and add to big skillet.

8. Pour no-fredo sauce over the pasta and gently stir to combine with pasta, veggies and chicken. Voila!

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Nonfat half and half: Calories 492, Total Fat 15.0 g, Cholesterol 74 mg, Protein 32 g, Fiber 3.5 g

Regular half and half: Calories 535, Total Fat 21 g, Cholesterol 95 mg, Protein 32 g, Fiber 3.5 g
(Heavy cream [1cup]): Calories 559, Total Fat 25g, Cholesterol 111 mg, Protein 32g, Fiber 3.5g)

Don't get me wrong, this pasta would be absolutely heavenly with a thick, velvety, alfredo cream sauce. And more bacon. But that's not what I made. The lower fat version of no-fredo sauce is thin and won't pull together like a heavy cream sauce, so please don't expect that if you choose the non-fat route. In fact, the sauce pretty much broke down over heat. But, gosh darn it, this pasta was tasty, cost less than 500 calories per serving, AND it reheated well for lunch the next day. Feel free to use whatever type of cream you desire, but if you go full-fat alfredo on me, I recommend following a different recipe for the sauce (like this one from the Pioneer Woman) rather than simply subbing cream for the half and half.

* See the beginning of this post regarding my favorite thing to do when choosing dinner recipes.
**Don't feel too bad for him. In all honesty, HE is the one who suggested an asparagus pasta. And he actually enjoyed the asparagus in this dish (at least more than the peas). 

Glazed Vegan Lentil Loaf

It's been busy around my little house. Or, rather, I should say it's been busy outside of my little house.
So much to think about.
So much to do.

Cabinets to organize.
Articles to read.
Budgets to narrow.
Lists to make.
Papers to shred.

But that's why weekends like this one make me feel so content. Toes in the water, legs in the sun, surrounded by a family that makes it look so easy to love and be loved (no matter the drama or responsibilities swirling in the background). Even though they are not technically my own, I will always be grateful for people like that.

Salt of the earth.
(I believe he said it best.)

______________________________

So, after a long Memorial Weekend and a little over-indulging, I have just the thing. Don't balk at the long list of ingredients -- the end result is incredibly flavorful and just absolutely full of veggies! I followed this recipe for The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf from Julie at The Simple Veganista.

First of all, I doubled the recipe so that we'd have leftovers for a couple of future weeknight dinners. Also, in place of the bell pepper, I used a bag of frozen Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions (I really love the layer of flavor that the fire roastedness adds).

And oat flour! This was my first opportunity to make oat flour with the milling blade of my trusty Nutribullet. If you don't have oat flour or a mill grinder, I'm thinking regular all-purpose or whole wheat flour would be fine. Of course, the texture of this loaf is a little softer than your average meat loaf, but it actually stands up really well. J and I even made "Lentil Loaf Sandwiches" for lunchtime leftovers the next day.

Glazed Vegan Lentil Loaf

Prep time: 45 min 

Cook time: 50 min

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

Loaf

1 cup dry lentils

2 ½ cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons flaxseed meal

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 large garlic cloves

1 small onion

1 small bell pepper

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1.5 heaping teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
½ heaping teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

¾ cup oats

½ cup oat flour

Glaze

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rinse lentils and combine with broth in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.  When cooked, set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

2. Mix the flaxseed meal with the water and refrigerated until needed.

3. Coarsely chop the garlic, onion, pepper, carrot and celery. Toss in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

4. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add chopped vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes. Add next 7 ingredients (all spices) and mix until well combined. Turn off heat and cool for about 10 minutes.  

5. While vegetables cool, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs the side.

6. Pulse ¾ of the cooked lentils in the food processor until coarsely blended.

7. In a big bowl, mixed blended and whole lentils, sautéed seasoned vegetables, flax mixture, oats and oat flour.

8. Press the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment overhanging the sides - OR - scoop equal spoonfuls into 12 greased muffin cups. 

9. Mix ketchup, vinegar and maple syrup for the glaze and baste over top of the loaf.

10. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes - OR - muffins for 35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Calories 216, Total Fat 7.7 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 685 mg, Protein 7.4 g, Fiber 7 g

Don't skip the glaze. It adds yet another layer of flavor and tastes a bit like barbecue sauce. You might even want to save some to baste after baking. If you choose to make muffins instead of a larger loaf, you'll reap the benefit of a much shorter bake time and easy portion sizes for freezing and defrosting a weeknight dinner. So good, and soo good for you! If I've piqued your interest, please give it a try and let me know what you think.

______________________

I've had a lot of "AHA!" moments this year. (This lentil loaf is only one example of an AHA! moment.) You know - those little bursts of clarity that provide peace of mind and confidence in your own decisions? Such maturity makes me feel very adult-ish, but I actually don't mind growing up at all. It takes only a single second to remember that I am an incredibly lucky girl and I have so much to look forward to - anywhere my feet should land.

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Black Bean Taco Salad

I often think that having a second one of myself at home would be pretty great. I'm fun. I'm easy going. I cook. Right now, for example, my stomach is grumbling so loud that it could possibly be mistaken for the thunderstorm outside because it's after 10 am and I haven't made anything for breakfast. (But wait!! I have showered and combed my hair, so let's not go making any assumptions about how productive I will be today.) So, anyway, while this girl lays on the couch wondering what to eat, the other Lindsey would've already made some sweet potato almond butter muffins and the house would smell like fresh baked yum.

Yeah. Since that's not happening... I do have another sweet potato recipe that I'm pretty excited to share with ya'll this weekend. It's sweet. It's smokey. It's spicy. And guacamole.

My recipe is inspired by this one, written by Erin of Naturally Ella. These tacos have made their way into our bellies a few times already. The first time we made them, I was so pleasantly surprised by the flavor combo that I didn't for one second miss the cheese or sour cream that generally adorns your average taco or taco salad.


This go 'round, I decided to skip the tortillas and mix everything together with some salad greens to increase leaf intake (it's all about the beans n' greens, ya'll) while cutting the refined carbohydrates. With a little extra lime juice and a big dollop of guacamole, I didn't need to add salad dressing, but a light avocado vinaigrette would work really well here (if you are so inclined to make some, try blending avocado, white wine vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil with a little S&P).

Did you know that chipotle peppers are really just smoked jalapeños? These babies truly supply the flavor to this dish and cannot be substituted or omitted. Chipotle peppers come either canned in adobo sauce or dried. J and I both keep the dried variety in our respective spice cabinets. While this kind does take a little time to rehydrate and we miss out on the adobo sauce, they're super cheap and so easy to pull out  at a moment's notice (without an extra trip to the grocery store). If you purchase the canned variety, you should omit the water and add the adobo sauce to the blender instead.

Intimidated by the heat of chipotle? The spice is toned down a bit with the addition of honey, but you should probably use a small pepper (or half of a large one), or de-seed a dried pepper if you are not sure you can handle the spice. Definitely use less chipotle if you are reducing recipe. For the guacamole, you may also choose to substitute a de-seeded jalapeño for the serrano since jalapeños are not quite as hot.

 Chipotle Sweet Potato & Black Bean Taco Salad with Guacamole

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 30 min

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

Salads:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed (about 3 cups)

4 cloves garlic

1 dried chipotle pepper, rehydrated in ¼ cup warm water for 30 minutes

1.5 Tbsp honey

Juice of 1 large lime

29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Guacamole, for serving
10 cups salad greens - or - 12 corn tortillas
avocado vinaigrette, optional (see text)

Guacamole:

2 small, ripe avocados

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ large onion, chopped

1 serrano pepper, minced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

1 roma tomato, seeds removed and chopped

Juice of 2-3 lime wedges

¼ tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add onions, garlic and sweet potato. Saute for 4 minutes.

2. In a blender or food processor, liquefy the rehydrated chipotle and water with honey and the juice from one lime. Add the chipotle sauce to the skillet and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add black beans to the skillet and gently mix to combine. Cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked through.

4. While sweet potato mixture is cooking, prepare guacamole. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mash with a fork. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

5. Spoon sweet potato mixture over salad greens (or into corn tortillas) and top with guacamole. Serve with a lime wedge and a cold beer.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per salad serving, 6):

Calories 337, Total Fat 10 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 192 mg, Protein 12.4 g, Fiber 15.2 g

Try it this week! As I alluded, the original recipe is for sensational tacos, so if you are in the mood for un-salad, by all means - grab a couple of tortillas and get busy! I recommend small corn tortillas over flour. You won't be disappointed. Either way, the final addition to this delicious tasty fest is a cold beer with a slice of lime. Dos Equis is my favorite. Obvi. 

Speaking of XX, we should probably add that to my invisible grocery list. If I had another Lindsey around here, she'd probably be writing this down and making plans for dinner tonight. Just sayin'.