Butternut Squash Feast: Mac 'n Cheese and Muffins

Have you noticed a theme on the blog lately? Lots and lots of butternut squash going on up in here. Because I have butternut squash puree stocked in the freezer and fridge and butternut squash stored in the basement closet, I decided to incorporate it in our Halloween festivities. Turns out that butternut squash is a perfect compliment to macaroni and cheese.

Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese
(adapted from a recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients

1 large box macaroni noodles
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. chopped rosemary
1 cup aged white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare macaroni noodles as directed on package, drain and set aside. In a small bowl stir 1/2 cup of milk into the butternut squash puree and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining milk and  simmer until the it thickens. Add butternut squash and milk mixture and cook for about 3 minutes.

Pour butternut squash mixture over noodles and stir. Grease a casserole pan and pour in half of the noodles. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on top. Pour the remaining noodles in the casserole dish and top with cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Fresh from the garden/cellar: Butternut squash and rosemary.

Friends brought over apps and salads to add to the feast. We topped everything off with Butternut Squash, Chocolate Chip, Walnut Muffins. Sooo amazing! I would highly recommend that you run out and buy a butternut squash, roast it and make these muffins. STAT!

Butternut Squash, Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from a recipe on Take Back Your Table)

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup butternut squash puree
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan.

Beat eggs in large bowl and add sugar, oil, applesauce and butternut squash puree. In a separate bowl combine and stir all of the dry ingredients - except the chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Spoon into muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Check here for the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

Butternut Squash Bread

This year, our garden produced more than 25 butternut squash. It was the most prolific squash plant by far. We'll be enjoying three spaghetti squash and two pumpkins. Sadly, the squirrels attacked the acorn squash before we had a chance to bring it inside. I've roasted four butternut squash and we've given countless away. Still, it seems like they are multiplying.

Although squash breads don't really take much squash, they are a nice treat during the fall and winter months. I figured that if pumpkin puree makes a good bread ingredient, butternut squash should too. Turns out, I was right!

Butternut Squash Bread
(adapted from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients

1 cup butternut squash puree
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cut applesauce
1 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour one loaf pan. Combine puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stir liquid and dry ingredients together until just mixed. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

P.S. Scared of cutting a butternut squash (or any squash) for fear of severing off a limb? Simply poke a few holes in your squash of choice and roast it whole for 60 to 90 minutes at 400 degrees - longer for a smoother puree, shorter for firmer squash to make risotto and other cooked items. Let the squash cool and cut it open easily!

Super Fresh Feast

As noted previously, we pulled out all the stops on dinner Sunday night. It was Pretty Girl's last night in town and the gorgeous weather practically begged us to barbecue. Some of the garden is maturing rapidly, so it was a good excuse to make a meal from what was fresh in our backyard. We were able to make everything, minus the pork chops, from stuff in the garden. I'll list everything here and tag it appropriately.

Uber Sinful Corn on the Cob

Ingredients

8 ears of corn
1 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 block of Cotija cheese

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the corn. Bring water back to a boil, shut off the heat, and let corn sit for five minutes. Remove. Combine mayo and lime juice. Spread corn with mayo and sprinkle with cheese.

From this ...

... to this!

Beer Battered Japanese Eggplant

Ingredients

Olive oil (for frying)
1 cup whole wheat baking flour
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less for your liking)
8 oz. lager beer
8-10 Japanese eggplants, cut in long slices (picture below)
4 oz. Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. salt

Method

Pour oil in large heavy skillet and heat on high. Mix flour, cayenne pepper and lager beer together. Dip eggplant slices into batter. Fry eggplant slices for about two minutes, or until golden brown and then flip.

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and salt for a dipping sauce.

From this ... 

... to this!

We also ate slices of fresh tomato with nothing more than a little salt sprinkled on top. We finished the feast with a delightful peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream. Our peach tree didn't produce any peaches this year (thanks to all the squirrels that knocked them off in the early summer). A neighbor was kind enough to give us a bag full of peaches from her tree.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

6 large peaches, cut into thin wedges
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

Method

Preheat oven to 425. Mix peaches, 1 tbsp. sugar, lemon juice and corn starch into an oven-safe casserole dish. Cook for 10 minutes.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend in butter with a pastry blender until mixture looks like coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Spoon flour mixture on top of peaches in clumps. It will spread while baking. Bake for 25 minutes.

Fresh from the garden: corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant and peaches (from someone else's peach tree).

Banana Birthday Cake

Last year I brought banana cake with cream cheese frosting to Benny's daycare for his birthday. It's a relatively easy cake to make. Tastes like banana bread with cream cheese frosting. I haven't made the cake since.

When I asked Benny what kind of cake he would like to celebrate, he didn't skip a beat: Banana Cake. That kid has a memory like a steel trap. I ended up following the directions (unlike last year) and the cake was delicious. Even better with fresh berries on top! And all of Benny's school friends loved it - and he loved being the center of attention.

Banana Birthday Cake

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients.

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (room temperature)

Beat with a mixer on low speed until all ingredients are combined. Add eggs and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour batter into a 13x9x2 greased pan. You can also use two round cake pans - I just don't have those. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup powdered sugar.

And with that, I think Benny's birthday celebrations are finished, along with my summer cold/allergies. It's been an entire week of snot, snot, snot, sore throat, lost voice. I'm finally running again after an entire week.

*Don't have buttermilk on hand? Yeah, I don't either. Make sour milk by combining 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar and let sit for 5 minute. Easy as that!

The Redeemers (with Lemon Zest)

This weekend I made cinnamon rolls for the first time. Benny was so excited to make them with me. I used a recipe from a friend and assumed that they would be perfect. They weren't. They were so bad Nate asked me to throw them out a day after I made them. I was a little hurt until I tried to eat one. It was like eating a rock. Seven cups of flour wasted.

I'm not much of a baker. I tend to cook more. But after having an outstanding lemon poppy seed cupcake during a family bike ride on Saturday and following it up with a lemon poppy seed pancake at breakfast on Sunday, I had lemon poppy seeds on the brain, so to speak. Wonder if it was the opium...

I found this recipe at the Brown Eyed Baker. Overall, it was good. There wasn't nearly enough liquid though, so I threw in some milk (about 1/2 cup) at the very end. They are definitely more muffin-y than cupcake-y. I think they would be fantastic with a little sour cream frosting, but I just didn't have the time to throw that together today.

The Redeemers (adapted a bit from the Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (throw in zest from 2 lemons - 1 isn't enough)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4-1/2 cup milk if the batter is too dry
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Method
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cookie Monsters

Changing my work situation has led to countless improvements in my life: Teaching at the University of Denver, being able to set my own hours as a consultant, making more money. One of the biggest benefits has been staying at home with Benny and Lila two days a week. When I hatched this crazy plan, spending more time with my kids was one of the biggest motivators.

Being at home with both kids has been such a great experience. They play together now and make each other laugh. We get to do fun stuff and I can actually clean and cook and do things around the house. Benny and I now make cookies together every Friday. He gets to pick the recipe from his cookie cookbook and then we spend Friday afternoon making the cookies. As a result, I have created two cookie monsters! Lila is especially fond of our Friday afternoon activities and how they benefit her.

Cocoa Crackles (aka Our Current Favorite Recipe)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir together wet ingredients and sugars in large bowl. Beat wet ingredients until mixed then gradually add dry ingredients.

Form small balls of cookie dough and then coat with powdered sugar. Bake for about 11 minutes.

All You Need Is Love

Ugh! It's Valentine's Day and Lila and I are both getting over a nasty bug. We had to ask our favorite babysitter to come over and watch her so I can get some work done today. The whole day of love thing kind of got lost in the shuffle with all of that.

Although Lila cuddled with me for approximately 8.5 of her 9 waking hours yesterday, Benny and I did manage to make some homemade Valentine's for his classmates. I didn't get any pictures. Shocking.

As a parent, I find there's a lot of pressure to give "stuff" on these relatively insignificant holidays (not that love is insignificant). Nate and I are trying really, really hard to provide the guidance for our kids to appreciate experiences and small symbols of love rather than to expect gifts. I also hope my kids understand that I love them EVERY minute of EVERY day without the influence of gifts and other stuff. I'd rather give them an extra hug or read them an extra book or take them to see a cool exhibit or help them make homemade Valentine's.

Although it's not technically a Green Means Go(od) day (totally missed it yesterday - see the reference to being sick), here's a great homemade double chocolate cookie recipe. It's completely sans preservatives. Benny and I have started a ritual of making cookies together every Friday. It's one of my ways of showing a bit of love without buying stuff.

All You Need is Love (and Chocolate) Cookies

Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
.5 tsp. salt
1.5 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup applesauce (trust me)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
8 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Melt the unsweetened chocolate on low, cool slightly.

Sitr together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat in the sugar, olive oil, apple sauce and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the melted chocolate and then gradually add the flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 11-12 minutes or just until set. Cool cookies on wire rack.

Halloween Festivities Preview

How appropriate that Halloween falls on a Monday this year and we're planning a sustainable celebration! Thanks for visiting the final October installment of Green Means Go(od)! What are you doing for Halloween this year?

Halloween festivities to be complete with a homemade costume, a re-used costume and homemade pumpkin, chocolate chip cupcakes.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to actually comment on our Halloween festivities until later today, but I wanted to give preview for my final October installment of Green Means Go(od).

We're all but finished with Benny's Halloween costume. The helmet and jet pack have been painted, the space suit has been assembled and the snow boots have been temporarily renamed the moon boots. Lila is lucky to have a hand-me-down costume from Maggie, who contributed to Green Means Go(od) earlier this month.

After making Benny's costume, I wondered if it really was cheaper and more environmentally conscious to make it ourselves. Here's the rundown:

• NASA T-shirt: $12
• Blue sweatpants: $5
• Silver spray paint: $2.50
• Red duct tape: $5
• Papier mache helmet, personalized: $1 (the helmet was a re-used snack container with sparkly letters for personalization)
• Jet pack with NASA sticker: $4 (the jet pack was a re-used snack container that we sprayed silver)
• Moon boots: No cost
• Orange paper to make fake "fire" from jet pack: $1

Grand total: $30.50

However, I bought the t-shirt and the sweatpants as actual articles of clothing that Benny will wear again (over and over), so I'm going to subtract $17 from the total. That makes the costume a whopping $13.50. Plus, I feel good about re-using a plastic tub and newspaper and re-purposing a T-shirt, pants and snow boots. And we can use the tape and sparkly letters for other art projects (Benny has already made party favors for his friends by spelling their names in sparkly letters).

On the menu for our potluck sustainable celebration tonight: salad, butternut squash soup and homemade mac cheese. For dessert: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Here's a preview of those delicious morsels (with pumpkin from the garden!)...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 2/3 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. all spice (or I used nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon in a pinch)

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix the liquids:

1 cup chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup melted butter (I substituted olive oil because I was out of butter)

Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into greased cupcake pan (no cupcake liners here!). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Use electric mixer to mix the first four ingredients together. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Frost the pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes and you have a seasonal yummy Halloween treat!

Happy Halloween!

Scrumptious Pumpkin Bread

Last night Benny helped me make my third batch of pumpkin bread. We've got to use these pumpkins up and I can only make so much bread, soup, and pie before we're sick of all things pumpkin. My friend, Amanda, sent me this scrumptious pumpkin bread recipe. She always comes through! Check out her blog, The Rhythm of Cooking, for many more great recipes! And try this pumpkin bread recipe. It's simply delish!

Scrumptious Pumpkin Bread

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup nut oil, such as walnut or almond or
  sunflower seed oil (I use coconut oil, but good olive oil would work too!)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (bump this up if you love cinnamon)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth, about 1 minute.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. The batter will be thick. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the dates just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top is browned and crusty and develops a long center crack, 60 to 70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Unmold the loaf onto the rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature, cut into thick slices. Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf.