Roasted Winter Squash with Baked Goat Cheese Over Fettucine

Ingredients
6 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (2 1/4 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (4-ounce) packages goat cheese
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 pound uncooked fettuccine
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place squash and bell pepper in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil; toss well. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and black pepper. Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, stirring once.
3. Place goat cheese in freezer 10 minutes. Cut cheese crosswise into 8 equal rounds. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Dredge each round in breadcrumbs; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 6 minutes.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pan; add reserved pasta cooking water, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and garlic, tossing to coat. Place 1 1/4 cups pasta in each of 8 shallow bowls; top each serving with about 1/2 cup squash mixture and 1 goat cheese round. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Originally a Cooking Light recipe

Coconut Shrimp with Orange Marmalade

This is a Paula Deen recipe and there's nothing healthy about it. But it sure does taste good.
Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine coconut and bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. 
2. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumb mixture into 3 separate bowls.  
3. Dredge the shrimp in flour and shake off excess. 
4. Next, dip the shrimp thoroughly in the egg and rub against the side of the bowl to lightly remove excess. Finally, coat the shrimp thoroughly with the bread crumb mixture.
5. Lay out the shrimp so they do not touch on a parchment-lined baking sheet or platter until ready to fry. 
6. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat several inches of oil to 350 degrees F. 
7. Fry the shrimp in batches until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Be careful not to overcrowd shrimp in the oil while frying. Drain on paper towels.
8. For the Dipping Sauce: heat the marmalade in a small saucepan over low heat. Thin with chicken broth as desired.

Chicken Divan with Almonds

Another Food Network Recipe...

Ingredients:

• 1 (2-pound) head broccoli, stems removed
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 12 slices cooked chicken or turkey
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Steam broccoli until tender then drain. 
2. Preheat to oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a shallow 2-quart casserole and set side.
3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat, then add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Gradually add the broth and milk and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper; add the nutmeg, 1/4 cup of the cheese, and the sherry. Stir until the cheese melts, and remove from the heat.
4. Arrange the broccoli in the prepared casserole in a single layer, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top, arrange the chicken slices evenly over the broccoli, and sprinkle the almonds over the top.
5. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, fold into the cheese sauce, pour evenly over the chicken and almonds, and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

A recipe I found on this blog a while back, we use it all the time. Should serve 4 but we tend to eat more than a serving each.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes*
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/2 t coriander
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1 t parsley
• fresh ground pepper (about 10 turns of a pepper mill)

*you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray.
2. Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size. I like mine to be about 1/4".
3. Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them. Use your hands to make sure each one is coated.
4. Then sprinkle on all of the herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.
5. Place the fries on the baking sheet. It's very important that they are not touching, but they can be pretty close together.
6. Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes take pan of oven and flip the fries. If you try to do it one at a time it will take forever, I take a long spatula and get a bunch at at time.
8. Put the pan in the oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. They should be nice and golden brown.

Striped Delight

Graham cracker crust, chocolate, and cream cheese all put together make up my all-time favorite dessert.

 

Crust (I normally just buy a store-made graham cracker crust):

Graham cracker crumbs
6 T butter, melted

Filling:
1 pkg (8oz) Philadelphia cream cheese
1/4 C sugar
2 T cold milk
1 tub Cool WHIP, thawed
3 1/4 cups cold milk
2 pkg (4 serving size each) instant chocolate pudding

Add butter to graham cracker crumbs and mix well. Press firmly onto bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish. Refrigerate.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar, and 2 T milk in separate bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in half the container of whipped topping. Spread over crust.

Pour 3 1/4 cups milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk until well blended. Spoon evenly over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min or until thickened. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding layer. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

*You can top the whipped cream with shredded chocolate or candy bar pieces. Yum!

**This makes an entire 13x9 dish full of goodness. You can half the recipe, and that's about perfect for topping a pie crust.

Giada's Mini Frittatas

These are simple and delicious. And you can add whatever you want (potatoes, bacon, veggies) and they turn out well every time. Original recipe is here.

Ingredients: 

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 cups) with nonstick spray. 
3. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. 
4. Stir in the ham, cheese, and parsley. 
5. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. 
6. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. 
7. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter and serve immediately.

Rachael Ray's Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Nests

Another quick and easy Rachael Ray pasta that sneaks in some hidden vegetables.

 

Ingredients:

• Coarse salt
• 1 lb angel hair pasta
• 3 TB EVOO
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 20 fresh basil leaves (we used dried basil)
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 medium-sized firm eggplant
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (we used dried parsley)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place the whole eggplant, skin and all, on a rimmed cookie sheet. Pierce the skip on top of the eggplant several times with the tines of the fork. Drizzle a little EVOO on your hands and coat the garlic cloves well.
3. Wrap the garlic in a single layer of foil. Place the garlic packet next to the eggplant. Place the pan in the lower third of the hot oven and roast for 18 to 22 minutes, depending the thickness of your eggplant. It will look weird, like a blown tire, when removed from the oven.
4. When the eggplant has been in the oven for 15 minutes, add the pasta to the boiling water with salt.
5. Heat the tomato sauce in a large, deep skillet, over medium-low heat. Add red pepper flakes and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
6. When eggplant is done, carefully cut away skin from the cooked eggplant flesh. Careful, it will be hot. You can be messy because you're just trashing the skin.
7. Unwrap the garlic and pop the pulp from the skins. Place the eggplant and garlic in a food processor with the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and process until fairly smooth.
8. Mix the eggplant mixture into the hot tomato sauce and stir in the basil to wilt.
9. Drain the pasta and toss with sauce and cheese.
10. Grab a meat fork (or just a large one). Stick the fork into the pasta and bring up a heaping forkful. Turn and twist the pasta using your plam to guide the pasta a bit to form a nest. The recipe should yield 8 small nexts, 4 inches wide and 5-6 inches long.
11. Serve 2 nests per person with a small salad and bread.