Roasted Squash Trio by Dawn Jackson Blatner

I have made this twice now since I attended Dawn’s class at The Chopping Block. It is just so awesome! I make a ton so I can have leftovers throughout the week. It is a great recipe for those who are not a huge fan of veggies because they are so delicious. I thought the cumin mixture was the best but if you want to try all three it’s fun to see how different they are.

Roasted Squash Trio

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 3 small squashs, seeded and cut into 6 pieces (2” each) – you can use acorn, butternut squash or calabaza.
• 1-2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
• 1-2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 6 Tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Make dressing by combining vinegar, oil, honey, salt and black pepper and separate into 3 large bowl (large enough to toss squash in)

2. Toss 1 squash with 2 Tablespoons dressing and sage. Toss another squash with 2 Tablespoons dressing and chipotle peppers in adobo. Toss the last squash with 2 Tablespoons dressing and cumin.

3. Place the squash on baking sheet upside down in a few centimeters of water (this cuts the cooking time in half). Roast for 20 minutes; flip and roast 20 more minutes. Remove from the oven once browned and a fork pierces it easily. Garnish with hazelnuts.

NOTE: Eat the squash skin, it will be tender, flavorful and filled with nutrients.

Nutritional facts: (1 serving= 3 pieces) 200 calories; 10g total fat; 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 95mg sodium; 31g carbohydrate; 6g fiber; 11g sugar; 3g protein; vitamin A 270%; vitamin C 60%; calcium 10%; iron 10%

Dawn explained that nuts get a bad rap for being high in fat, which they are but fat is good for you, necessary in fact, in small amounts. Toasted nuts, salted nuts, or altered nuts in anyway (a.k.a anything but raw) brings out the flavor and stimulates appetite making you overeat. You will be satisfied with a small portion of raw nuts however altered nuts will not satisfy your taste buds enough.

Stuffed mushroom appetizer

Well folks its back to reality this week. I’m home from my long Thanksgiving vacay in Minnesota and back to work, as I’m sure the rest of you are too. The time between Thanksgiving and New Years is always a weird one. Either you are crazy busy or not busy at all – I guess it depends on the industry. Either way I love this time of year. Getting together with friends for holiday parties, getting dressed up for the holiday parties, and my favorite, cooking for holiday parties – YAY! I tried this stuffed mushroom appetizer on my friends and family last week and it may be my favorite appetizer recipe I’ve tried, and definitely the biggest crowd-pleaser. I had a lot of leftover filling so I used it as a dip with crackers the next day, which was fabulous! This is a great recipe to bring to holiday parties and is super easy to make. (You can get creative with this one too and incorporate meat, other cheeses, etc.)

Ingredients

• 12 large crimini mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used Tofutti vegan cream cheese)
• 3 tablespoons port wine (I used Cabernet)
• 1 teaspoon Italian-style seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 dashes hot pepper sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Remove stems from mushrooms. Set aside caps. Finely chop stems, discarding hard pieces.

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in mushroom caps, garlic and green onions. Cook and stir until soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool until easily handled.

In a medium bowl, mix together chopped mushroom stem pieces, cream cheese, wine, Italian-style seasoning, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, ground black pepper and hot pepper sauce.

Stuff mushroom caps with the mushroom stem mixture. Arrange on a medium baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

They look a little messy here but they are so good!