Alfredo Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

We love meals stuffed inside other foods -- potatoes, squash, etc! Buffalo chicken spaghetti squash is a huge favorite in our house. So when I saw the recipe (and pictures!) for a 4 Cheese Roasted Garlic Alfredo Stuffed Spaghetti Squash on one of my favorite sites, Half Baked Harvest, I knew I had to try it! 

I am sharing the original recipe below, but I did make a few changes. 

I roasted the squash ahead of time to make sure it was cooked through, as she mentioned in her notes even though my squash were on the smaller side. I really l love the flavor of a nicely roasted squash. I used an Italian blend of cheese, as well as additional mozzarella and parmesan for this recipe. I also baked and chopped chicken thighs to add in to this to make it a little heartier. 

I used heavy cream (because I had it on hand from making chowder). I mixed the cream, cheeses and spices together, but held off on the spinach for the moment. 

I filled one squash half with this mixture for my non-spinach loving girl.

After filling that one, I added in the spinach for the remaining halves.

I baked according to the recipe. I had started the garlic when I began the squash so I was able to take it out earlier, let it cool and make the garlic butter ahead of time. I did pop the squash back in the oven under the broiler after putting the garlic butter on top. 

It was delicious and a perfect addition to your menu as this weather is turning chilly. 

4  Cheese Roasted Garlic Alfred Stuffed Spaghetti Squash from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c whole milk or heavy cream

6 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 c shredded fontina cheese

1/2 c shredded mozzarella or creamy gouda

1 c shredded provolone

2 medium spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed

1/4 c parmesan

1 head garlic

olive oil

2 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat over to 425.

In a medium bowl, mix together milk, spinach, sage, thyme, fontina, and mozzarella. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Place the squash in a baking dish and season cut sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 of provolone cheese into the bottom of each squash, then evenly divide the milk/cheese mix among the squash cavities. Top with the remaining provolone and parmesan. Cover the squash with foil.

Slice off the top portion of the garlic head to expose some fo the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap it up.

Bake the squash and garlic for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from both and continue baking the squash and garlic another 15-20 minutes or until the squash is tender and the cheese is golden brown on top.

Let the garlic cool, then squeeze the cloves out into a bowl. Add the butter and 1 Tbsp sage. Mash the cloves into the butter with a fork. Spread the butter over the squash, then use a fork to scrape the squash into strands, mixing the cheese with the squash. Enjoy!

Notes

Roasting the Squash: If your squash is on the larger side, pre-roast it for 20-30 minutes before adding the cheese mixture.

White Chicken Chili

I was going away for a weekend ski trip and was bringing dinner. Regina shared this chili recipe. It was a huge hit. I made it again on Friday a cold, snow day for us and Molly also loved it. I love that it is quick. The only change I made was I like the cilantro lime pesto from this recipe. When ever I have cilantro that is starting to go bad I make this. I added 1 cup of this to the chili with the corn.  Thanks for the recipe. 

Sweet potato Waffles

Molly like Erin loves a big hearty breakfast. Over the years we have found that waffles work well. Make a mix for the week, then in the am heat the waffle iron, pour batter in and wait for a hot crispy waffle.  We have done regular and usually every fall we have a spell of pumpkin waffles but this year we found a sweet potato one that is a winner. The recipe also says that you can make ahead and reheat in the toaster. 

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 cup all purpose flour 

2 TBSP sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 - 1 1/3 c milk 

1 cup mashed orange sweet potatoes

4 TBSPS butter, melted 

1) In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

2) In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sweet potato and butter. 

3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mis until just combined. 

4) To make waffles:  Heat a waffle iron and brush with high-heat oil. Ladle the batter into waffle iron, being careful not to overfill. Cook until golden brown. 

5) To make pancakes- add a little extra mils to thin the batter. Heat a large cast iron pan or griddle over medium - low heat. Add a small amount of high-heat oil just to coat. Spoon batter into the pan. cook until bubbles begin to form in the center of the pancakes. Flip the pancakes and cook until brown.  While trying to find a waffle Maeve might enjoy, I found a peanut butter one that was also very good. 

Ice Cream Social

Somehow this never posted. I wanted so save amounts. While planning an ice cream social graduation open house I found the site that lays out how much you need for an ice cream social for 200 or 250. We were not planning that many but this called for scooping to control portions and we were not. Katie also was able to provide me with the figure of 10 - 15 oz of ice cream per person. So I'm sharing our plan and what we had left over. 

I was able to get Kemp's ice cream in gallon tubs on sale for $4.99 and had the freezer space to store it so I got. 

2 gallons vanilla

2 gallons chocolate 

1 vanilla frozen yogurt

1 cookies and cream

1 chocolate chip

3 mint chocolate chip (1 ahead of time and then night before it was on sale for $3.99 the girls love mint ch chip I got 2 more) 

2 quarts sherbert 

4 quarts non dairy ice cream 2 vanilla 2 chocolate (one of each soy or coconut milk) 

Erin said it was all about the toppings. 

So I started buying in after easter sales and putting away 

2 big bags M& M, 

1 regular bag of peanut M&M

3 bags Hersey Kisses 

2 bags Recess Peanut butter cups

1 bag mini kit kats 

1 bag mini snickers 

1 bag coconut 

1 big container peanuts

2 pints ice cream sprinkles (one rainbow & one Chocolate ) bought from Grand Old Creamy 

Gummy Butterflies (5lbs) 

2 packages Oreos 

1 bag marshmellows

2 packages mint Oreos 

3 bunches Bananas 

10 cans Whipped Cream 

5 jars of cherries 

4 bottles of chocolate sauce (store bought) 

4 boxes of waffle bowls

3 boxes of waffle cones

2 boxes of sugar cones

1 large box of cake cones

1 box of sample cones

Homemade toppings 

1 quart strawberries topping (Grandma's recipe) 

1 quart hot fudge 

1 quart peanut butter topping

1 pint butterscotch topping 

1 pint nondairy hot fudge topping

We served homemade cookies Grandma made Peanut butter, Sophia Haley - snickerdoodle and chocolate. 

Ice tea, lemon aid and pop. I had hoped to have L shaped tables on the porch but it did not work so we has wash tubs of ice set up on the counter and rotated ice creams out (did I mention it was 90 degrees out) . Most toppings were on a round table. I had a big bin with ice for toppings to stay cool - whipping cream, store bought chocolate, strawberries and butterscotch toppings.  And then we had a separate table for all the peanut stuff. 

We had a lot of food left over. The only things to go completely were the chocolate chip ice cream and the 5lbs of gummy butterflies. Would do 1/2 the homemade toppings next time or less store bought. 

Baby, it's cold outside ...

 So much of my cooking inspiration comes from family. Yesterday, my sister posted to our Facebook group looking for her own inspiration:

Hey sisters. We are going to a trivia night fundraiser. Each couple is bring one savory & one sweet thing. I’m thinking somewhat hearty BC it will serve as dinner, and easily portable. There are 4 couples. Any suggestions?

The responses started rolling in:

Mini beef wellingtons in puff pastry or mini reubens en croute

Empanadas

Tomato-basil-parmesan soup shooters with grilled cheese & caramelized onion toppers

Pulled pork or Italian beef or buffalo chicken sliders. We all must be feeling the cold since most of our suggestions are for warm food!

So, I had to have tomato-basil-parmesan soup with a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for lunch.

Full disclosure: I’ve been craving a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for a couple of weeks now.

I had great When Pigs Fly Sourdough Bread in my freezer; you know, just in case of emergency. I had an assortment of cheeses in my deli drawer, from various cheese platters that didn’t get finished, but I just couldn’t bring myself to through out. And I had caramelized onions in the freezer; again, just in case of emergency. Whenever I make caramelized onions, I make a ton, then freeze them in small batches for just this type of emergency. Voila! The perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

This recipe for caramelized onions is adapted from the base of The New Basics Cookbook’s Onion Soup au Gratin recipe. Simplicity is key in this recipe.

Caramelized Onions

8 T butter
8 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rosemary, thyme, or cayenne, optional

Melt butter. Add onions and garlic, and cook, covered, for about 5-10 minutes until onions are “sweated”. Once, onions are translucent and soft, add sugar, salt, pepper, and other flavorings, if using. Continue cooking until onions are light brown and sugar is melted and incorporated with onions and their juices.

Next up, the Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup. Again, this is an easy fix, perfect for unexpected visitor for lunch, even if that visitor is a craving.

Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup

1 can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
1 can milk
1 t dried basil or 1 T basil pesto
¼ t freshly ground pepper
¼ c Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, then warm in saucepan over low flame. Do not boil or milk will scorch. Serve topped with a dollop of basil pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Leftovers by any other name (part 4) ... Put an egg on it

hash trio with poached eggs

At Thanksgiving, my friend Kelly said she has a put an egg on it rule for her leftovers: If you can put an egg on it and make a meal out of it, it is a good leftover. And in this season, we really do need new ideas for leftovers!

Last night, in an effort to clean out the remainder of our Thanksgiving leftovers, but not eat the same meal again, I made three kinds of hash with poached eggs. Hash is basically cooked meat and/or vegetables cut into small pieces and cooked again, usually with potatoes. I love onions in my hash, some people also like bell peppers in their hash too. We had ham and sweet potato hash, potato duo hash, and garden vegetable hash. They were delicious, and it was a joy to eat a new meal.

Ham and sweet potato hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover ham

Seasonings

Potato duo hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover mashed potatoes

Seasonings

Garden vegetable hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover eggplant

Leftover zucchini

Leftover summer squash

Leftover beets

Seasonings

How to make your hash

Melt butter in a skillet. Add finely chopped onion and saute until soft. Add chopped meats and vegetables. Saute until hash starts to brown and crisp. Serve topped with an egg -- poached, fried, or soft-boiled work best.

What leftovers do you have in your refrigerator? Hash is versatile, make up your own!

Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I have 3 versions of Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar recipes.  One is from here Katie added to a comment under a Choc PB bar Eileen posted.  One is in my hand writing, from Mom's house before I got married (1 1/2 sticks butter, 18 oz PB, 1 pack Graham crackers, 1 LB confectioners sugar)  and then I have a 3rd off of a Nestle's chocolate chip package.  As a non chocolate lover, I don't make them often however, whichever one I've used in the past (2 or 3 times) they came out very crumble.  The bars didn't hold together, I was quite disappointed with the results.  Therese has requested them and I'd love to bring them with us next Saturday for Parent's weekend.  Can someone who makes them regularly confirm the recipe?