Tag: sage

Fall Pasta Dishes

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I’ve been playing with combining squash and pasta for comforting Fall/Winter dishes.  Like last weeks White Lasagna or the Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells from the beginning of the month.  And now I have a few more, starting with this Butternut Squash and Leek Pasta Sauce.

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This is simple and delicious – pureed squash, leeks, garlic, butter, sage, and Parmesan form a rich and creamy sauce to perfectly coat spaghetti.

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Next up is Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese with Amaretti Crumbles.

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Roasted pumpkin combined with noodles, cheesy bechamel, and sage.

SAM_2908‘Then topped with delicious almond cookies and baked.  Yum!  So comforting in cold weather. (more…)

Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells

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Spiced butternut squash puree?  Creamy bechamel?  Gooey cheese?  Yes please!  This dish is so comforting and delicious – just perfect for fall.

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Roast  some butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Mash it up with mascarpone, Parmesan, brown butter, garlic, and shallots.

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Stuff the filling into large pasta shells – I used whole wheat to add a semblance of health.  I found one box of shells to be too many, actually – so I filled the others with cheese and tomato sauce. (more…)

Christmas 2012

I wanted to do a big Christmas dinner, but I didn’t want to be in the kitchen all Christmas Day. I also wanted to try something different than the usual rib roast and Yorkshire pudding. So I decided to do dinner on Christmas Eve and to do some easy, low-prep dishes for Brunch on Christmas Day.

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I ordered a half fresh ham through Whole Foods to try cooking a Christmas ham for the first time, but I made a few mistakes.  I wanted to cook it in the slow cooker with brown sugar and cider to make a glaze, but I didn’t realize that “fresh ham” is not really what we consider ham – without the curing or smoke, it is more like a pork roast – so I didn’t really get the flavor that I wanted.  I also couldn’t get the whole thing to fit in my (very large) slow cooker insert, so I had to chop a chunk off – which actually ended up being a good thing because I roasted that piece and it came out better. (more…)

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash


When my friend Melissa and I get together it is usually to bake, or cook, or go out to eat – which is fitting for two food bloggers. We wanted to get together recently and cook up something satisfying and healthy. Melissa, who is a vegetarian, came up with a wonderful recipe for Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash – and you can read all about her take on her blog, Smells like Brownies.

This recipe is full of delicious veggies, packed with flavor and texture, and super healthy! Quinoa is not quite in the popular lingo yet, so for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, here is a brief rundown. Quinoa is a grain, similar in use to rice or couscous, but it is better than either of those because it is both a whole grain and a protein! It’s basically a super food. (more…)