Recipes I've been digging (into!) lately

Well, Halloween is tomorrow and I nearly made it through the month of October with just ONE post. Embarrassing! So, in the interest of sharing what we've been loving lately (even though there are no exciting new recipes to post) here are some faves:

Cooking Light's Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie - I made this twice in a week. Both times we demolished it. Do add red pepper to taste - a little goes a long way and before you know it, the back of your throat is burning, and the only solution is more whipped cream!

I REALLY wanted some baked pumpkin oatmeal a few weeks ago after seeing this post on Kath Eats. I didn't want bites though, I wanted a nice, big vat of it, and this recipe I found by Lynn's Kitchen Adventures (new to me blog) hit the spot! Made it twice, once about 2/3 of a recipe, and the second time a full recipe. Do be mindful of the dimensions of your pan though - I used a 4 x 9 (ish) dish making the oatmeal deeper and thus took another 15 minutes to cook. Great to bake the night before, then let it warm up while you take your dog on a walk or do your hair. Great topped with nut butter, maple syrup and coconut flakes!

Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup with Shrimp from WFM was a surprising hit! I love bsquash soup and make it a few times a year - always mixing up the seasonings to keep things interesting. I was unsure how I'd like it with the addition of shrimp -but adding even less than a pound made the soup feel substantial.

The ultimate make-ahead dinner award goes to... Char Siu Pork Roast from Cooking Light! Reasons why this dinner rocked:

• No dicing of the meat required beforehand
• No searing required
• Marinate overnight for easy flavor (and no veggie chopping!)
• If you have a programmable rice cooker like me, you also have rice ready when you get home
• Bonus points if you trim Brussels sprouts the night before and then roast them as an easy side while you cook down the sauce

What's cooking in your kitchen lately?

Menu October 13, 2013

Happy October! I've been too busy enjoying cool weather, rainy weekends, baby showers (my sister's!) and trips to New Orleans. But trust me, there have been plenty of tasty meals in between. Take this weekend, for instance. Something about a rainy weekend in Austin is so unique and magical (except for maybe those who were at ACL this weekend - sorry about that!), it's like snow. When that happens, it pretty much cries for a day in the kitchen. So, I roasted a chicken and prepped food for the week. Delightful! I hope your week is too:

• Sunday - Roasted chicken with sage and a butternut squash, lentil and goat cheese salad (recipe below)
• Monday - Greek Salad with olives, cranberries and feta (I had a delicious one at Phara's this weekend, trying to recreate it. Stay tuned for the recipe if it works!)
• Tuesday - Spaghetti squash with a walnut-miso glaze from Saveur with a salad
• Wednesday - Chicken parm with oven roasted tomato sauce from Cooking Light with broccoli
• Thursday - Spaghetti squash fritters with sriracha mayo from Cooking Light
• Friday - surprise dinner out!

And now for the delightful part - it's our two year anniversary on Monday! We're kicking off festivities with lots of tasty eats and fun this weekend.

Butternut squash, lentil and goat cheese salad

2 cups butternut squash cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup green lentils
1 clove garlic
4 ounces greens (I used a mix of spinach, kale, chard and mustards)
2 ounces Pure Luck chevre (or your favorite goat cheese), crumbled
2 tablespoons pickled mustard seed maple syrup (recipe on Ladies' Home Journal)

Preheat oven to 374. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast 35 minutes. Meanwhile, place lentils in 6 cups of cold water with garlic clove and salt and peppper. Bring to a boil, lower temperature and cover, cook for 15-20 minutes. Strain and remove garlic clove.

In a large bowl, add greens, goat cheese and dressing. Top with squash and lentils and toss. Enjoy!