.you'll fall for this.

Har har. Cause it's fall. Get it? I'm awesome.

Anyways, a few weeks ago the man, bebe and I headed to Wintergreen, Virginia to meet up with friends. Brian and his friend, Dennis, competed in the Tough Mudder, which was awesome. We ate at the Devils Backbone Brewing Company one night and although I did not get any beer or wine (booooo!) I did eat the most quintessentially fall meal I've ever had. I mean, they call it Fall gnocchi! And it was delicious, at that. I decided that I absolutely must recreate this dish. All I had to go on was the meal description but it's all fairly simple ingredients so I felt confident I could nail it.

Boy, did I! Obviously my dish isn't exact but it's pretty tasty regardless. I used whole Brussels sprouts, rather than petals and store bought gnocchi. Potato gnocchi is on my bucket list to make but the wee one isn't allowing me quite that much free time yet. Next time I make this I'm hoping I can make my own gnocchi. Y'all know I'll tell you all about it when I do! The measurements on the veggies are approximate. I kind of just threw in as much as I thought looked good. I also added some skillet steak at the end, pretty good, but not as good as the flank steak I had at the restaurant. I need to work on my steak cooking abilities, for sure.

Recreated Fall Gnocchi serves 4
1.5 cups carrots
1 cup Brussels sprouts
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes
1.5 cups butternut squash
2-4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper for taste
1 small box of potato gnocchi

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prep all the veggies and chop them into bite size pieces. The Brussels sprouts take the longest, peeling the outer layers off. Mince the garlic. Add together and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper. I did this in a large tupperware container. It made it much easier to make sure each vegetable was coated!

Place in a thin layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes. After the veggies are roasted cook the gnocchi according to the package. Mix together.

You can eat it like this or add whatever protein you desire. Enjoy!

XO

.squash-licious.

Alright, for my first recipe since I've been back I wanted to share something really tasty with y'all. I wanted it to be something that I would be able to eat for leftovers as well, and I'm trying to get in tons of fruits and veggies this week. I might have over-indulged a little when I was home in Texas. Either that or la bebe moved a TV into my womb, and not the lightweight flat screen kind, if you get my drift. So, tonight for dinner I made a really tasty squash recipe that my father made while I was staying with them. He doesn't cook much, but when he does it's usually pretty good. I think it might help that it's home grown squash! Yum!

My parents live out in the country. The sticks, the boonies, BFE, if you want to get inappropriate about it, and my father has a decent sized garden that provides them with a large amount and variety of fresh, organic fruits and veggies. Who needs a farmer's market?! They also have chickens that lay eggs, I'm a bit jealous, but we won't get into that.

Butternut?

My father kindly sent me home with a bag of various squash. I'm pretty sure you can use any type of squash for this recipe, but I used (what I think) was a butternut squash. Perhaps the father can chime in with a comment about the type, after seeing a picture. I also changed the recipe up a little, using plain breadcrumbs instead of panko, and using butter spray instead of regular butter. I also did something a little crazy and out there, I used goat cheese instead of parmesan. Okay, I guess if you know my obsessive love of goat cheese that's really not too unimaginable and crazy, coming from me. My Grammy also said that she usually uses cornmeal, so you could also go by that variation.

Papa's Squash Recipe makes 2 servings
1 small to medium butternut squash
1 egg
small amount of flour
1 cup of breadcrumbs
Cheese of choice, for sprinkling
salt for taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with butter flavored cooking spray.

First I arranged my 3 bowls for the breading. One bowl with the egg, whisked, one bowl with the flour, and one bowl with the breadcrumbs. You could use whatever type of seasoning you want in the crumbs, I went simply with salt.


Wash and peel the squash. Cut into rounds. One at a time (or really however you want to do it) dip a round into the flour, dust off all excess, then dip into the egg, then dip into the bread crumbs, completely covering. Place all the rounds on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven, sprinkle your cheese of choice onto the tops of the squash rounds, then place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Before going into the oven!

Halfway done, getting their cheese!

When these come out of the oven they will be crispy on the outside, tender and sweet on the inside, and the goat cheese I used provided a delicious tanginess. I paired this with some mushroom ravioli with garlic salt and fresh cracked black pepper. It also is great with pork chops or chicken. I texted the man and told him I was sad he wasn't here to enjoy it, as it was probably the best thing I've cooked in a long time! 

XO

.little bit of this, little bit of that.

So I was going to make some simple spaghetti for dinner tonight but as I looked through my fridge and cupboard I realized I had some things that really needed to be used up. One of the items I found in the cupboard was some no-boil lasagna noodles.

There was also cheese in the fridge.

And half of a butternut squash. And a few handfuls of spinach.

And some tomato paste. And half a pound of ground turkey.

BAM. Lasagna was born.

Ok, so there was a little more to it than that. But, not a whole lot.

I really did just kind of throw this together based on what I had, so I won't be giving any real measurements but I will tell you my steps to this delicious concoction.

First preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then peel and cut the squash into small chunks. Place in a microwave safe bowl, throw in a splash of water, cover with a damp papertowel and microwave. I went in 5 minute intervals and it took roughly 16 minutes.

While the squash is in the microwave brown the turkey in a saute pan with a little bit of salt and pepper. After it's browned add the tomato paste. Then I also added a whole can of diced tomatoes. Simmer for a few more minutes.

While everything else is going get the cheese mixture together. I used roughly 1.5 cups of grated, Mexican blend cheese and about 3 heaping spoonfuls of cottage cheese. I have never used cottage cheese in lasagna before, always opting for the way fattier ricotta cheese but, wow. The cottage cheese was so good. It added a cheesy flavor to the lasagna, but not that super heavy feeling most lasagnas have. I am now a believer.

After the meat mixture is browned and the tomatoes have been heating together with it put it in a bowl. By now the squash should be done, mash it up with some chili powder, garlic powder, and cinnamon.

Arrange a little assembly line and put together the lasagna. Start with a thin layer of the sauce mixture, place lasagna noodles over this. Put a slightly thicker layer of sauce, a layer of spinach, a layer of butternut squash and a layer of cheese mixture. Repeat until all ingredients are used. I only got two layers, but that was more than enough.

Put foil over the dish and cook for 50-55 minutes. The top should be bubbly and slightly browned in areas.

XO