Roasted Winter Squash Tacos

Strips of winter squash, roasted with peppers and onions, for a seasonal, vegetarian twist on the classic Taco Night

I wish I could be more precise about the kind of winter squash I used for these tacos.  It looked like a cross between a pie pumpkin and an acorn squash, so I am positive both of these types of squash will work.  Ditto butternut or delicata squash, as they'd roast up the same way (and you wouldn't need to peel the delicata). I just got a buttercup squash in the farm share but haven't taken time to play with it yet, so the jury is still out on that one.  If you have a spaghetti squash, I recommend you try Julie's Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos, as that recipe inspired me to look at the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve with an eye to making a vegetarian/vegan and bean free taco night dinner.

This is a Play With Your Benriner meal.  After laboriously halving, deseeding (more fun in next year's compost!), and peeling the squash, I thinly sliced it with my Benriner (link to Alanna's tutorial, or use a mandoline, or a sharp knife).  I gave the ends to the worms in the worm bin in my son's closet, as the composting guinea pig is not a fan.  Nor do pigs like the onion I thinly sliced next.  However, guinea pigs do like peppers and cilantro, so this meal wasn't an entire waste in a composting pig's eye as those were used in abundance.  Putting your seasonal abundance to work, that's what I'm all about.

I chose to roast the squash slices because I wanted a fajita strip shape (since I was using a bag of fajita size tortillas) and it was fun to layer the jalapeño, onion, sage and peppers on top of the squash to finish the whole thing under the broiler.  Only one pan to clean up, which I appreciate!

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Roasted Winter Squash Tacos

3 small winter squash, peeled, gutted, and sliced ~ 1/8 inch thick (about 7 to 8 cups loosely packed)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin (depending on how spicy you like things)

1/2 to 1teaspoon ground coriander (ditto)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (as above)

1 onion, peeled (skins to the soup pack!)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño

1 teaspoon fresh sage leaves, sliced into ribbons

2 cups sliced bell pepper, colors of your choice

Arizona Dreaming or other taco seasoning, a few shakes worth (probably 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon)

tortillas

Optional

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

guacamole

shredded Mexican blend cheese

sour cream

salsa verde

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss squash slices with seasonings, then spread out on a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until soft and tender.  Add onion, jalapeño, sage and pepper strips on top of squash.  Shake a bit of seasoning (Arizona dreaming, or a taco seasoning) on top of the onion and peppers.  Turn on broiler, and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, about 4 inches from the heat, until the vegetables get some color.  Gently combine all vegetables in bowl to distribute the seasonings evenly.

One of the things I like about Taco Night is how everyone can customize their meal.  I liked to spread the tortilla with guacamole, then layer the roasted vegetables, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.  My spouse preferred to add salsa verde on his roasted vegetables for more spicy flavor.  The kids had some squash with their cheese and sour cream.  How would you top your taco?

This post is shared on the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, From the Farm Blog Hop

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Sausage Spinach Mozzarella Ball Pizza

Crumbled Italian sausage, fresh spinach, marinated mozzarella balls and artichoke hearts top this welcoming pizza

The subtitle on this pizza is Homecoming Pizza, and not the dance/football game kind.  If you're interested in the reason behind the subtitle, enjoy the recipe and meet me on the other side.  But first, here's how to make this yummy pizza.

Thanksgiving Leftover Remake--Poutine?!

Roasted potatoes topped with cheese curds and gravy, with optional turkey, turning Thanksgiving leftovers into a new meal.

Gravy seems to be an orphan leftover in my house.  We always seem to eat up all the mashed potatoes but not all the gravy.  Yes, I know I can make a Thanksgiving casserole with all the same stuff I just ate moistened with gravy, but I like to find different tastes for my leftovers.  So what do I do with my leftover gravy?

Well, it's the season of excess plenty, so why not make poutine?

[Big Ol' Honkin Disclaimer:  I have never eaten real poutine.  I am not even Canadian--my Canadian mom chose to take a job in the US where she met my dad--though I've got relatives and friends Up in the Great White North. But it seems very wordy to say "potatoes topped with cheese curds and re-heated leftover gravy" when "poutine" conveys the same idea.]

It never occurred to me to make poutine at home.  For this, I give credit to my son.  He and I share a similar affinity for unagi and furikake, so if he wants to try something it's a good bet that I would also like it.

In my house, on your birthday, you get to choose what you want to eat for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dessert.  My son wanted the appetizer for his birthday dinner to be poutine.

Poutine is no amuse bouche.  I had no idea what I was in for!  I'd heard of it, sure, but had no clue that we'd be too full from the appetizer to appreciate dinner!  I decided to try it again, when I had leftover gravy, as a stand-alone snack/meal thing.

Try this if you have more gravy than mashed potatoes!

Roasted Pumpkin and Eggnog French Toast

French toast made with roasted pumpkin and eggnog batter for a seasonal brunch

My kids are very fortunate French toast eaters.  They are blessed with not one but two grandmothers who rock at making French toast.

Can a grandmother rock at something?  Well, these women sure do.  My kids love Grandma's French Toast--regardless of which grandma they are visiting.

When I first met my mother-in-law, she told me she was a "plain Jane cook".  She sure makes something 'plain' like French toast taste super when we visit!  She has her recipe memorized (and now I do, too):  for every 4 pieces of bread you need 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  It's a no-fail recipe that we love to eat while gathered around the large table, watching the woods outside.

My mom's contribution to my kids' Grandma French Toast Experience is her choice of bread.  Mom buys day-old bread (hmm, I wonder where I get my love of marked down food from?), usually hoagie rolls, and slices it into thick rounds.  She serves the kids breakfast on the bar while they sit on stools overlooking her kitchen.

Combining mom's bread with my mother-in-law's batter results in a delicious breakfast treat when it's just mom making the French toast.  For this post, though, I decided to kick it up a notch.  I thawed some packages of pumpkin (that I'd roasted and put up for muffins) and added it to the batter.  I had eggnog, and decided to use that in place of milk.  Because the pumpkin was pretty thick, I opted to toss the whole thing in the blender to mix it up.  This creamy concoction was so delicious I had to share.

Try this for a special brunch or just for an everyday weekend breakfast.  My kids tell me that the leftovers made a tasty school-day breakfast treat.  Even if it's not as good as when Grandma makes it!

Turkey Pesto Olive Feta FFF-a-boli, Thanksgiving Leftover Remake Pizza Night!

Turkey, green olives and feta cheese combined with pesto in a rolled pizza

I knew when I made these pizzas that I wanted to do a Leftover Remake using turkey.  I just didn't have any turkey to try it with!  Then we celebrated Thanksgiving, I got some turkey leftovers to work with, and I could make this vision a reality.  Turkey, pesto from the freezer stash, green olives, feta cheese . . . sounds like a winning combination.

Then my spouse asked for a Nic-o-boli for his birthday, and I veered off into a different direction.  What if I took that topping combination I'd envisioned, and stuffed it into a rolled pizza?

We all agreed it worked great.  If you have leftover turkey meat, and you've put up your pesto (or have a jar in the fridge) try this FFF-a-boli.  It's delicious (and what I'd be making for Friday Night Pizza Night the day after Thanksgiving if I wasn't a food blogger who has been inspired by this)!

ABC: Apple/Apricot, Beet, Cranberry Sauce--Quick Take

A colorful side dish of cranberries with roasted beets and dried apricots simmered in a sweetened apple cider/orange juice broth. A delicious addition to holiday meals and a terrific way to use farm share beets that gets the whole family to dig in.

New photos for 2015, same tasty recipe!

I'll freely admit I'm a fan of the can.  Not the jellied cranberry sauce (though I'm sure it has its uses).  I have no issue, however, with canned whole berry cranberry sauce.  It's fine. Want a recipe for a doctored up can of cranberry sauce? Here's my Semi-homemade Cranberry Pineapple Pecan Salad.

I also love cranberry-orange relish, and cranberry-apple sauce.  Whole Foods made a cranberry-beet-apricot dish on their salad bar years ago that my mom re-created.  I decided to combine all of those into this side. It's sweet but not too sweet, tangy but not too out there.  And the color is freakishly vibrant.

For more recipes using apples or apple cider, please see my Apples/Apple Cider Recipes Collection. For more recipes using beets, please see my Beet Recipes Collection. For more recipes using cranberries, please see my Cranberry Recipe Collection. This is the only recipe in the Apricot Recipe Collection so don't bother clicking over there. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating locally and seasonally from the farm share, the farmer's market, and seasonal abundance. I've got even more recipe ideas on my Pinterest boards, follow me there to see them. I'm also sharing new recipes on my FB page so check that out as well. Want to know how to use this blog?

Pumpkin Cranberry Maple Kugel

This cross-cultural mash up of fresh pumpkin, cranberries, and maple syrup with noodle kugel makes a lightly sweet (without sugar) dessert--and a terrific post-holiday breakfast!

This post is part of the Thanksgivukkah Food Blogger Potluck hosted by Stefani of CupcakeProject.com.  You can read all about it here, and scroll down for links to many more recipes!

I think it is a natural tendency, when you embark on a new endeavor, to look to those experienced in the field for guidance.

When I became a mother I looked to the women around me who were a few months/years ahead of me on the motherhood journey.  From the practical (my oldest friend took one look at the giant convertible carseat I was lugging in and out every day and loaned me her snap-in infant carrier) to the more intangible (while fretting about the lower percentile my son doggedly stayed in on his growth chart, another friend reminded me that when he gets to college, no one will remember or care where his height/weight fell on the chart at age 6 months). The help I received from those women who have gone before me made a huge difference in my life.

As my children grow into their teens, I continue to look to those ahead of me, and I'm especially interested in the interactions of mothers and their now-adult children.  I avidly observe my friends who have adult children with Spina Bifida, watching and learning the steps of the complicated dance that is supporting yet not directing another adult's life.  It is fun to see photos of a friend enjoying a day at Disney with her daughter who now works there.  It's gratifying to see another friend's daughter drop in to see her mom at work, just for a little Mom time (and not money!).

Why am I going on about mothers and adult children?  It was Molly, visiting her mom during sled hockey practice recently, who gave me the idea for this recipe.  See, while I was brainstorming Hanukkah/Thanksgiving mashup ideas, all I could think of was latkes.  Over the years I've been over to my oldest friend's house many times to make--and eat--latkes, but they were the star of the meal.  While I was chatting with Molly and her mom about other Hanukkah dishes, like brisket and roast chicken, Molly suggested kugel.
I just happened to have my copy of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese (Amazon affiliate link) because I was working on this post and wouldn't you know it, there's a recipe in Melt for Sweet Potato Kugel. [Put this book on your holiday wish list, unless you're local to me, then check it out of the library or borrow my copy--I keep finding more recipes I must try, and each one I've made is well-written with delicious results.]  Obviously from the title of this post I didn't make that recipe (I used pumpkin not sweet potato, fresh cranberries not dried, maple syrup in place of sugar and changed up the spices) but since Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord have gone before me into the world of autumnal vegetable kugels I am glad to follow their guidance.

Just like I follow others who have gone before me.

Vegetarian Antipasti FFF-a-boli Rolled Pizza on Sweet Potato Dough

A cheesy mix of mushrooms, artichokes, pickled peppers, pesto and olives rolled in a sweet potato crust

It's been a while since I've shared a rolled pizza.  I started with a Basic FarmFreshFeasts-a-boli, then later a Beef and Mushroom FFF-a-boli.  Coming next Friday I'll have a tasty turkey 'boli using Thanksgiving leftovers.  But today, I am all about the vegetables.

The base of this rolled pizza is a Roasted Sweet Potato crust I shared here. [Can you tell that I make multiple batches of dough in one go, so I can play around with the toppings?]  Since I usually have an antipasti bar going on in my refrigerator door I grabbed a bunch of jars for pizza topping ideas.  I put back the grape jelly, peach jam, sriracha and lemongrass but kept the stuff you see below.  Starting with a base of sautéed mushrooms, I added some pickled peppers, then olives and artichoke hearts, with pesto to tie the whole thing together.  Three cheeses make this extra gooey and yummy.

If you eat turkey for Thanksgiving, but will be serving vegetarians in your post-Thanksgiving Eat All The Leftovers period, keep this pizza in mind.

Cranberry Chicken Meatballs with Cranberry Gravy

Cranberries, sage, and red onion flavor ground chicken in meatballs served with cranberry gravy

My spouse used to buy CDs and books based on the covers (you know, in the days pre-online shopping, when you'd physically scan the shelves and pick up what caught your eye).  He discovered Willy Porter's Dog Eared Dream (Amazon affiliate link) that way (cute dog on the cover).  He also found a cooking with fruit cookbook (which, sadly, has been lost in the many moves).  I always intended to use that book to add more fruit to savory dishes, but it never really caught on with me.

I have a taste memory of a wonderful chicken schnitzel melba (chicken, peaches, brown gravy) from Restaurant Paltzer in Spangdahlem, Germany that is my Gold Standard for a savory, fruit-and-meat entree.  I'm still working on the recipe for that (though my German coworker is helping!), but since it's getting on to cranberry season and I'm all about eating with the seasons (or putting up produce while it is in season to eat later) I'll share these cranberry chicken meatballs.

Even though I tend to stock a lot of local ground beef in my freezer, I am not immune to a good deal on ground chicken at the grocery store.  I had chopped cranberries (from these muffins) and some red onions and sage from the farm share.  The family was pretty pleased at the thought of chicken and noodles for dinner.  Perhaps they were happy about a pink meal that didn't contain beets. Even though I had 2 burners and the oven going, this meal wasn't that much plate-spinning effort.  I threw the meatballs together and chucked them into the oven, freeing up my hands to make the gravy while the noodles and meatballs were doing their own thing.

Mini Cranberry Yogurt Oatmeal Muffins

A pretty little lightly sweet muffin with cranberries, Greek yogurt-soaked oats, and a candy topper.

Note:  I am so glad to have the seasons change--I've been sitting like a swan* a bunch of recipes (because, you know, our family likes to eat each day) that were not really seasonal for posting on the blog at the time I made them.  I mean, who wants to read about cranberries in March?  I'm glad to share them now, and to give you ideas for what to do with your cranberries.  And yes, currently I'm cooking stuff that uses the last of the summer produce so I'll be sharing it next summer.  I'm starting my own personal NaBloWriMo where I plan to write up blog posts as many days as possible in order to deal with the pile of recipes and head notes that clutter my work space.  With breaks for eating muffins, pizza, and beets, of course.  Yes, I am nesting. ;)

I buy cranberries when they are in season and inexpensive, then I store them in my fruit and veg freezer (not to be confused with the meat freezer) until I'm wanting some fruit for a muffin and open the freezer up, scan the contents, and think 'well, why not cranberry muffins?'  That was an entirely run on sentence.  I see where my son gets it from.  I was thinking about my usual Soaked Oat muffins, but was out of buttermilk--though I did have a bucket of plain Greek yogurt.

A quick check of my muffin bible, Muffins: A Cookbook (Amazon affiliate link) reassured me that it was possible to use yogurt in muffin batter, and in fact their recipe for Cranberry Yogurt muffins is very slightly adapted here.  I didn't use the entire bag of cranberries in this recipe, but don't go on a rant about it like I did, instead come on back next time, because I will share the Cranberry Chicken Meatballs with Cranberry Gravy I made using the rest of the cranberries I'd chopped.

Another Note:  I made these to serve as an after school snack to a bunch of girls (who came over to unplug my fruit and veg freezer work on a school project).  I was concerned that the cranberries would be too tart, so I added a candy melt for a hit of sweetness when you popped the muffin in your mouth, and made them mini because they looked cuter (sort of like wee Oliver, our new-to-us wiener dog).  If you don't have or don't want to use candy melts, please feel free to bump up the brown sugar to 1/2 or 3/4 cup if you're concerned about the tart vs sweet level.

Beef and Cheddar on Pumpkin Pizza Dough

A hearty pizza of roast beef, mixed with barbecue sauce and topped with cheddar, on a roasted pumpkin pizza crust

I realized that despite the large amount of cow in the freezer, I rarely share very meaty pizzas.

I think it stems from a desire to Use All The Vegetables from the farm share, plus a desire to decrease the amount of meat per serving, but regardless of the desire, the end result is that we rarely eat a (homemade, at least) very meaty pizza.

This is a very meaty pizza.  I had leftover shredded beef (Sarah at Imperfect Kitchen's Perfect Pot Roast sounds like a good way to have some leftover shredded beef) as well as a pumpkin pizza crust, and I wanted the opposite of the Pumpkin and Black Bean pizza I shared last week.

It worked--this is nothing like that pizza, though if you gave me a slice of each I'd eat them both real fast.  I'd finish with this one, though, because the BBQ beef and cheddar flavors want to linger on my tongue.  [I like my last bites of a plate of food to be my favorite ones.  Strange, I know.]

Potato, Beet, and Leek Soup (And How To Make Vegetable Stock)

A thick vegan or vegetarian or omnivorous soup of potatoes, beets and leeks

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My spouse is a vegetarian, at least while he's away on his all-expense paid work trip to an exotic foreign locale.  If you think it's ironic, considering I just shared a post on 106 Recipe Ideas Using Ground Beef because I have 110 pounds of ground beef in the freezer, you're in good company.

Since the rest of the household is omnivorous, I've been experimenting with ways to create meals we can all enjoy.

I've heard homeschoolers will use the Bus Stop Method of teaching--introducing a subject, then dropping off students to work at different levels while continuing to teach that subject.  I consider recipes like this, and my Vegan/Vegetarian/Omnivorous Valentine's Pizza and my Acorn Squash, Beet, and Sweet Potato Chili, to be similar to the Bus Stop Teaching.  Call it Bus Stop Cooking (though bear in mind I am cooking in my kitchen, not at a bus stop, and I have access to running water, an oven, stove, and all that).

 The base of this recipe is a vegetable stock, slowly cooked in the slow cooker (is that redundant?) all day (and in fact I kicked this batch over to Keep Warm and let it go overnight since I didn't feel like dealing with it in the evening).  I like mushrooms in my vegetable stock, so when I realize that I'm not going to finish a package I'll toss them in with the rest of the cast of vegetables into a Vegetarian Soup Pack in the freezer.

The inspiration for this soup came from Alanna's Greens 'n All Beet Soup.  I love the flavor of that soup, but my kids aren't crazy about chunks of vegetables, and lately with my obsession with sautéed beet greens there just wasn't any left for soup.  So I figured I'd adapt Alanna's recipe with the veggies I had.  Once I simmered and pureed the soup, I had a rick, thick, vegan bowl of yumminess (shown above).  That's Bus Stop #1.  Adding a dollop (love that word) of sour cream makes a nice vegetarian bowl (shown below left).  Bus Stop #2.  Adding a pound of browned and drained ground beef to the pot means that we've arrived at the final destination--a soup for omnivores [aka another way to get my kids to eat beets.  With beef.]

I don't know if my spouse will continue as a vegetarian when he returns.  He says he'll eat "happy meat", so I've sourced a "locally-raised on locally-grown and -ground GMO free feed" turkey for Thanksgiving.  I do know that I will continue this Bus Stop Cooking method, because it tastes good!

106 Recipe Ideas Using Ground Beef

When 110 pounds of ground beef arrives in your freezer, you experience a variety of emotions.  When it appears just days after you'd donated 55 pounds of ground beef to the Foodbank to make room for the new beef . . . well, let's just say that the need for new ground beef recipe ideas becomes imperative.

Why do I have so much ground beef in my freezer?  Simply put, I like to know about where my food is coming from, and in addition to eating from our CSA farm share, I like to get meat and eggs locally as well.  If you'd like to purchase beef local to where you live, check out the upper left corner for the Local Harvest options in your area.  If you live in the Seattle, WA area check out Farmstr where you can connect directly with food producers.  I've got a NOTE below, more about the beef in my freezer, but I don't wish to offend anyone's tender sensibilities so I first I will share the following wonderful recipe ideas shared by a variety of food bloggers who answered my plea for ground beef recipes.

I broke this list into 9 groups, but you'll find there are some posts that could fit in multiple groups.  Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic's Lasagna Soup is one of them, as it fits in both the Lasagna category and the Soup/Chili/Slow Cooker category.  Wendy of Around My Family Table's Slow Cooker Taco Meat is another one, fitting into both the Taco/Nacho category and the Slow Cooker/Chili/Soup category.  Chanie of Busy In Brooklyn's Spaghetti Squash Bolognese . . . I could go on!  Just like my Visual Recipe Index, where I break up categories by vegetables above or under the ground, know that my mind is an interesting place and the categories seemed good at the time, or made better-sized collages.

Ground Beef in Lasagna

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Lasagna Soup from Cravings of a Lunatic
Easy Spicy Lasagna from Cravings of a Lunatic
Easy One Skillet Lasagna from I Heart Eating
Spicy Tortilla Lasagna from The Kitchen Is My Playground
Easy Italian Lasagna by Modern Christian Homemaker
Quadruple Roasted Vegetable Mock Florentine Mock Lasagna by me!

Ground Beef Stuffed into Things

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus a couple of mine that didn't fit

Meat & Rice Stuffed Baby Eggplants from Busy in Brooklyn
Baked Spaghetti and Spaghetti Squash with Optional Ground Beef from Kitchen Treaty
Chipotle Stuffed Zucchini Boats from Nutmeg Nanny
Spaghetti Squash Bolognese from Busy in Brooklyn
Pepper Potts' Stuffed Peppers from Mom on Time Out
Paleo Stuffed Eggplant (With Ground Beef) from Everyday Maven
Millet and Dukkah Stuffed Squash from This American Bite
Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Bulgur Wheat from The Lemon Bowl
Tomato and Capsicum Beef Mince Farcie with Polenta from Masala Herb
Lebanese Stuffed Cabbage Rolls from The Lemon Bowl
The Best Beef Samosas from Rock Recipes
Stuffed Breakfast Biscuits from Around My Family Table
Basic Farm Fresh Feasts-a-boli from me!
Beef, Mushroom, and Fresh Tomato FFF-a-boli from me!

Ground Beef in Sauce

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus one of mine that didn't fit

Bolognese Sauce from Cravings of a Lunatic

Easy Korean Beef over Rice from Juanita's Cocina

Pasilla Bolognese Spaghetti from girlichef

Beef and Broccoli Alfredo from Blueberries and Blessings

Our Best Simple Bolognese Sauce from Rock Recipes

Korean Beef and Broccoli from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce from Crumb Blog

Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes from Blueberries and Blessings

Veggie Pumped Picadillo from me!

Very Veggie Sloppy Joes for a Crowd from me!

Ground Beef in Pie

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Tamale Pie from The Kitchen Is My Playground

Shepherd's Pie from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Frito Pie from girlichef

Shepherd's Pie from Persnickety Plates

Chili Corn Chip Pie from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie from This American Bite

Pasties from me!

Thanksgiving Leftover Shepherd's Pie from me!

Beef and Bok Choy Pie from me!

Ground Beef in Mexican Dishes

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus one of mine that didn't fit

Smothered Burritos by Nutmeg Nanny

Molly's Beef Enchiladas by Persnickety Plates

Grilled Game Day Nachos by Supper for a Steal

Tostada Dip by Modern Christian Homemaker

Frito Olé by Home Cooking Memories

Baked Flautas by Home Cooking Memories

Taco Salad in a Bag by Like Mother Like Daughter

Dutch Oven Beef Enchilada Casserole by Like Mother Like Daughter

Beef and Vegetable Enchiladas by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Low Fat Taco Salad by Rock Recipes

Gorditas with Picadillo by Juanita's Cocina

Beef Taco Lettuce Wraps by Everyday Maven

Cheesy Ground Beef Taquitos by Miss in the Kitchen

Taco Salad with Salsa Ranch Dressing by Miss in the Kitchen

Garlic Beef Enchiladas by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Taco Farro by me!

Stretching Meat:  Tacos by me!

Ground Beef in Meatballs and Meatloaf

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus one of mine that didn't fit

Amnah's Moroccan Meatball Tagine by Maroc Mama

Kosher Swedish Meatballs by This American Bite

Paul's Make the Whole Crew Happy Sausage Meatballs with Red Gravy by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Egg and Ground Meat Tagine (Kefta Mkawra) by Maroc Mama

Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs by Supper for a Steal

Austrian Beef Bread Dumplings Sainehonsa Bratknodel by Masala Herb

Greek Meatballs (Soutzoukakia) by Supper for a Steal

Polpettone alla Toscano or Easy Italian Meatballs by The Culinary Life

Soutzoukakia (Cumin Meatballs in Tomato) by girlichef

Paleo Pesto Meatballs by Everyday Maven

Mini Parmesan Meatloaf by Modern Christian Homemaker

Holiday Traditions Swedish Meatballs by me! (ok, technically my folks')

Stretching Meat:  Meatloaf by me!

Ground Beef in the Slow Cooker, in Soups, and in Chili

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus a few of mine that didn't fit

Zesty Hamburger Soup by Cravings of a Lunatic

Healthier Homemade Sloppy Joes by I Heart Eating

Slow Cooker Taco Meat by Around My Family Table

Slow Cooker Meatloaf by The Kitchen Is My Playground

Slow Cooker Chili by diethood

Chili Con Carne by This American Bite

Bill's Chili by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Frito Chili Pie--Crock Pot or Stove by I Heart Eating

Slow Cooker Squash and Beef Masala by me!

Acorn Squash, Beet, and Sweet Potato Chili by me!

Slow Cooker Green Tomato Garlic Chili by me!

Ground Beef in Casseroles

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Beef and Wild Rice Bake from Miss in the Kitchen

Hamburger Stroganoff by Julie's Eats & Treats

Hamburger Wild Rice Casserole by Julie's Eats & Treats

French Fry Hot Dish by Julie's Eats & Treats

Sloppy Joe Under a Bun Casserole by Julie's Eats & Treats

Cheeseburger Macaroni by Around My Family Table

Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni by Texanerin

Easy Slow Cooker Hamburger & Corn Gulash by Farmer's Wife Rambles

Beef and Potato Skillet Supper by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Ground Beef in Burgers

Links below are shown in this collage Left to Right, Top to Bottom, plus one of mine that didn't fit

Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Mushrooms by Miss in the Kitchen

Sloppy Burger Grilled Cheese by Snappy Gourmet

Herbed Half & Half Burgers by Everyday Maven

Truffle Salt Burgers by Everyday Maven

Bacon and Cheese-stuffed Chili Burgers by Juanita's Cocina

Teriyaki Burger by Juanita's Cocina

Skillet Blue Cheese Burgers by Vintage Kitchen Notes

Cooking 101 Homemade Hamburgers by Around My Family Table

Green Chile Cheese Burgers by Modern Christian Homemaker

Korean BBQ-Style Asian Burger by The Culinary Life

Worcestershire Blue Cheese Volcano Burgers by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Brie and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Burgers by All Day I Dream About Food

Sweet Pepper Burgers by Busy in Brooklyn

Moroccan Hamburgers with Harissa Mayonnaise by Maroc Mama

Jangsanjeok Korean Simmered Teriyaki Style Beef Patties by Foodie With Family

Chili Beef Sliders by What's Cookin' Chicago

Stretching Meat:  Burgers by me!

NOTE:  The steer in my freezer that will feed my family for the next year had a name.  It is not my intention to offend any tender sensibilities by sharing more about him.  It is my intention to know more about the food I feed my family.  If you don't want to learn more about the steer, please skip over the next paragraph.  I indented and italicized it too, to make it easier if you wish to avoid.  Join us after the photo for some final thoughts.

The steer below was born on a dairy farm in western Ohio.  There's not much use for boy calves on dairy farms--yes, technically he was a bull calf--so he was given to my neighbor's friend's wife because she used to work on the dairy farm.  My neighbor's friend and his family allow their steers (that's a neutered male, BTW) to free range on 13 acres of grass and shelter under the barn.  The kids named this steer Butch, and regularly fed him and his buddies dandelions.  My neighbor's friend built an earthen ramp to minimize the stress of loading the animals into his trailer for the short trip to the butcher shop.  The butcher shop is known for not stressing the animals and only processes 2 animals a day.  Butch was dry aged for a couple of weeks before cutting and packaging.  We got a quarter of Butch (don't ask which quarter, as I've got both his tongue and his tail).  As I don't cook large amounts of meat at one time, I prefer getting smaller one pound packages of ground beef in lieu of roasts.  Why did I have so much ground beef left over from the previous animal?  Apparently I'm pretty good at stretching meat.  

I've thoroughly enjoyed working on this recipe round up.  So much so that I'm planning another one for what to do with the Band Fruit Fundraiser citrus that will fill up my crisper in a few months!  Any ideas for future recipe round ups, (25 uses for kohlrabi?  17 ways to love beets?) please leave 'em in the comments.  Thanks!

This post is shared on the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Week In Review, Tasty Tuesdays  Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up and What's Cookin' Wednesday, From The Farm Blog Hop,

Pumpkin and Black Bean Pizza on Roasted Pumpkin Dough

A hearty vegetarian pizza with pumpkin, black bean, and maple topping on a roasted pumpkin dough

Once you've shredded butternut squash and made pizza dough out of it, or roasted sweet potato and made pizza dough out of it, or steamed spinach and  made a pizza dough out of it, pumpkin pizza dough is not much of a stretch.

Roasted beet pizza dough?  A stretch.  A vibrantly-colored-yet-amazingly-found-in-nature stretch.  And a tasty one, to boot.  Where was I?  Right, roasted pumpkin in a pizza dough.

With this non-stretch of a pizza dough, I wanted to go a bit wild with a meatless topping.  I'd read Aimée's account of tapping her maple trees and making syrup (I love the photo of her daughter 'nursing' on the tree) so I was primed to include maple syrup in the mix.  The black beans and pumpkin flowed from there.  This is a hearty, filling, cold weather pizza that left my belly quite satisfied.  The kids proclaimed it "strange" but finished their pieces anyway.  I used too much filling in my pizza, above, and I have adjusted the amounts below accordingly.  This filling is quite tasty, and would be tasty in a rolled pizza, folded into puff pastry, or in a quesadilla as well as this pizza.

We have Friday Night Pizza Nights around here, but if you do Meatless Monday this recipe lends itself to weekend prep/weeknight cooking.  Fix the dough and topping on the weekend.  Have the kids take the dough out of the fridge when they get home from school (or tuck it with your lunch at work and take it out--put it by your house keys--an hour before you're due to leave work).  In the time it takes to preheat the oven you can stretch the dough and spread the toppings.

Squash, Mustard Greens, and Chick Pea Curry (Fast From The Farm Share)

A quick vegetarian stew of sautéed zucchini and yellow squash with mustard greens and chick peas in a prepared masala sauce.  Bring the farm share home and have supper on the table quickly.

For other recipes using Mustard Greens, please see my Mustard Greens Recipes Collection. For other recipes using Cooking Greens, please see my Recipes for Cooked Greens Collection. For other recipes using Summer Squash, please see my Summer Squash Recipes Collection. 

These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share. For other Greens recipe ideas from around the web, please follow my Greens board on Pinterest.

I've categorized fast recipes on this site as Quick Takes, and before I discovered some wonderful Wednesday link ups I used to post fast recipes on Thursdays, because Thursday is one of the days that I'm running kids around right up until suppertime.
However, I've been kicking around the phrase "Fast from the Farm Share" in my head for a while, so I'm going to share an occasional series of recipes that can get on the table quickly using ingredients from the CSA farm share (or your garden, or the farmer's market, or grocery store).

You'll notice I'm relying on a prepared sauce for this stew.  Sure, I can make my own masala (with chicken and chick peas here, or with patty pan squash and ground beef here, or with sweet potato, chicken, and chick pea here) but those are slow cooker recipes which don't fit with the fast theme.

This recipe is for those nights when you've got fresh vegetables that you need to eat and no time/desire to think about what to do with them or make some elaborate concoction.  It comes together quickly (cooking the rice takes longest, so if you've got the option, I'd set up the rice cooker before work, or have a kid start the rice cooker after school, or buy precooked rice) and tastes wonderful. And my kids snarfed up the mustard greens very quickly this way (magical naan, that is) so that's a win in my book.

Mac and Cheese in a Pumpkin from MELT

Creamy macaroni and cheese with bits of Italian sausage baked in a pie pumpkin from the new cookbook MELT:  The Art of Macaroni and Cheese by Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord

I'm going to talk about this recipe first, then the cookbook where I got it.  Before I get too wordy, some notes:

MELT will be on sale on 22 October 2013.  You can preorder a copy from a variety of vendors, check here for a list of links (link to meltmacaroni.com website).

If you preorder a copy, or even if you don't, you can participate in a $500 Le Creuset cookware giveaway!  Click here for details on the giveaway (link to meltmacaroni.com website). 

I received a review copy* of MELT and chose to post my experience making this recipe from the book because it's tasty and uses seasonal vegetables from my CSA farm share.  I am not involved in the cookware giveaway (just passing the info along to you), I do not benefit from the links posted above, nor was I compensated for this post.  I do get to keep the cookbook, though, which rocks.

What's all the fuss about baking in pumpkins? 

When I see photos of things baked in pumpkins I tend to think it's a gimmick, more for the presentation aspect than the actual taste.  I mean, how often do you see photos of the food actually being served? [Yeah, I went there.  Seems only sporting to share reality.]  As it turns out, while the mac and cheese in this recipe is delicious, it's even better baked inside the pumpkin!  How do I know this?  The recipe calls for a 5 pound pumpkin and the largest one I'd gotten from my farm share was only 2 pounds.  So I baked the rest of the mac and cheese in a pretty Polish pottery bowl alongside the pumpkin.  The pumpkin adds a creamy sweet vegetable base to the mac and cheese which is truly amazing.

What if I don't have access to little pumpkins?

Since I've lived around the world where seasonal, traditional American plant items are pretty pricey (I'm talking pumpkins and Christmas trees) I've given this situation a bit of thought.  I would suggest using a can of pumpkin puree (not the pie filling, just the puree) and spreading a layer of canned pumpkin along the bottom and up the sides of a 2-3 quart casserole dish, then adding the filling, covering, and baking as directed below.  No access to canned pumpkin?  Roast whatever winter squash is local to you, and spread that inside a casserole dish, cover and bake.

Kalua Pig Pizza with Chinese Cabbage (Pizza Night!)

Slow cooked Kalua pig with sauteed Chinese cabbage and caramelized onions on a pizza.  Serve with pineapple on the side and have a real Hawaiian pizza.

When I saw Marlene's and Dorothy's Slow Cooker Kalua Pork posts within days of each other, I knew it was the sign I needed to share this pizza.

Here's how I make my Kalua Pig in a slow cooker!

See, Kalua Pig is an ono grind, but unless you're hosting a luau you're going to have leftovers.  Lots of them.  Normally I pack up multiple bags of Pig to freeze, with a little pan juice, so that we enjoy the Island flavors many times over several months.  We'll eat our first meal with sautéed cabbage, "2 scoop" rice, and fresh pineapple.  Then I get to play with the rest.  I stick to the cabbage and pineapple sides, though, because Kalua Pig and cabbage is like PB&J to our family.  They just go together.  

Stupefyingly Simple Chicken, Rice, and Butternut Squash Soup

One taste of this soup, and you too will be stupefied.  And your body slammed with enough beta carotene to . . . . well to do something astounding.  Maybe even run or something crazy.

For me, making soup is not a quick or easy thing.  I think it's a Production.  I have my Soup Packs.  There's lots of chopping involved.  I plan to spend hours over my pretty purple pot.  And I generally end up with something good that my family eats happily the first time but the soup leftovers don't usually get fought over like other things.

The day I made this, I had 2 kids home sick with colds, and I was busy with baking.  I didn't have time to devote to soup, but I thought the kids would benefit from a warm bowl for lunch.  The oven was on anyway, so I selected a small butternut squash from the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in the corner of the breakfast nook, split it, scooped out the guts, and roasted it upside down on a rimmed baking sheet with a cup of water for 45 minutes until it was tender.  That part was easy.  I kept going.

Since I wasn't Making A Production out of the soup, I grabbed a large saucepan, preheated oil in it over medium heat, and dropped in about half a cup of carrots and celery from a freezer bag of pre-chopped veggies.  After they had started to soften I tossed in some Onion Onion and minced garlic.  I also tossed in 4 bullion cubes because I didn't have any soup stock on hand.  After my electric kettle had come to a boil I added about 4-5 cups of water to the pan.  Then a can of chicken, half of a squash, and let it simmer gently until lunchtime (give it at least 30 minutes, could go up to 2 hrs).  When it was time to serve, I scooped out the remaining rice from the rice cooker (last night's dinner leftovers), added it to the pot, and dished up bowls of warm soup.

Stupefyingly easy and surprisingly tasty, especially given the utter lack of effort on my part.

Savory Butternut Squash Soaked Oat Muffins

As the weather turns colder and my farm share starts including butternut squashes, I tend to do one of two things:  I roast them or I pile them up in a cold corner of my breakfast nook to make my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (link to my FB page photo of SWSR 2013).  With the roasted squash, I make different main dishes or side dishes.

Late last winter, however, when the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve was the only source of 'fresh' CSA farm share vegetables [still had stuff put up in the freezer and pantry], I got creative.  I shredded the squash.  Shredding a vegetable that you normally use in a mashed form gives you all sorts of options (like Chicken Saltimbocca).  I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here.

Since I'm crazy flexible enough to add vegetables to oatmeal and buttermilk and make muffins, I thought I'd throw a cup of shredded butternut squash in the bowl and see what happened.  The lovely thing about this soaked oat muffin recipe is that you toss the first few ingredients together, then have plenty of time to figure out just what you're going to make in the hour before you finish the muffin batter and start baking.  Plenty of time to dither between sweet and savory muffins.

In the end, I veered into the savory muffin direction (oh come on, the title of today's post gave it away). I had a bit of leftover dribs and drabs from a ham, and figured I'd chop them up and add them to the batter.  I added a bit of cornmeal for crunch, and a bit of thyme because I could, and honey in place of sugar for a hint of sweetness--not too much.   For a rather virtuous muffin (whole grain, no processed sugar) they are delicious.  Come see!

White Chicken Leek Pizza on Sweet Potato Crust

Chicken, leeks, and herbed cream cheese on a tender sweet potato pizza crust.

Changing it up again--recipe first, words later, because I'd like to share below how I store some crops from the garden and the CSA farm share.  One long term storage crop is sweet potatoes.  I've made pizza crusts from (links to my other recipes) shredded butternut squash, roasted or shredded beets, steamed spinach and steamed kale.  Why not sweet potato?  Just like the addition of sweet potato to biscuits results in a tender crumb, adding it to pizza crust results in a tender, flavorful crust.  I made a triple batch of dough and will share have shared my creations throughout this fall--including 2 delicious FFF-a-boli rolled pizzas, one for vegetarians and one for omnivores--created using ingredients that will be leftover after Thanksgiving. Everything is up on the Visual Pizza Recipe Index.
First up, a white chicken leek pizza (with a fresh tomato pesto & fontina option for vegetarians, photo below), since I got both sweet potatoes and leeks in last week's CSA farm share.