The Best Spaghetti Squash Recipe Ever

We had an abundance of spaghetti squash in this year's garden. I searched the Internet for some recipes, and stumbled upon this one in several different variations. I tweaked it a little to suit my own tastes, and the result is awesome! My husband, who does not like spaghetti squash, told me that "Now I *love* spaghetti squash, as long as you always make it like this!"

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH JALAPENO CREAM SAUCE

1 spaghetti squash

2 jalapeno peppers, minced

½ cup cream

1½ cups milk

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine

3 Tbsp. flour (I like to use Wondra for sauces like this)

1 tsp. salt

1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

• Cut spaghetti squash in half; remove seeds; place in large pot of boiling water; boil for approximately 30 minutes, or until you can insert a knife into the rind of the squash and have it come out easily.
• Remove cooked squash from water, cool. Once it has cooled, you can scrape the inner flesh into a big bowl with a fork. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Put minced peppers into a small sauce pan; add cream; bring to a simmer.
• Add milk; cook just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan; remove from heat and let it set for 15 minutes.
• Strain the minced peppers out of the cream mixture.
• In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
• When the butter stops foaming, whisk in the flour and cook, whisking over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens.
• S l o w l y pour in the cream mixture, whisking constantly, and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens.
• Once mixture is thickened, stir in salt.
• Pour sauce mixture over the spaghetti squash and mix well.
• Place all into a 2-quart casserole/baking dish; sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.
• Bake until brown and top and bubbling throughout, approximately 30 minutes.

This is great as a side dish, or as a main entree with a salad and some warm bread/rolls.

Lentil Tomato Soup

4 1/2 cups of water
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. garlic salt)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon (or 1 tsp. minced fresh )
1/4 tsp. pepper

• In a large pot, combine the water, carrots, onion, and lentils; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until veggies and lentils are tender.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients; return to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

This is a quick fix for a cool fall, or cold winter, night. Add some biscuits or bread, and you have a good meal.

(I adapted this recipe from the November 2011 Taste of Home magazine.)

The Best Traveling Birthday Cake Ever

Years ago I started mailing my homemade angelfood cake to my niece, Meghan, for her birthday, so no matter how far away from me she may be, I'll always be with her in some small way for her birthday. It's tradition now, so for every birthday for her, and for AA&T, I bake an angelfood cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, pack it in a foil-lined box filled with air-popped popcorn for packing, and mail it off. I make a kickass angelfood cake, if I do say so myself. Here's the recipe:

1 cup flour (cake flour OR regular flour)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups egg whites (12 JUMBO eggs, warmed to room temperature BEFORE breaking)

1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix flour and powdered sugar together, set aside.
• Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large mixer bowl on medium speed until foamy.
• Beat in granulated sugar on high speed, 2 Tbs. at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy.
• Add salt, vanilla, and almond extract with last addition of sugar. Do not underbeat!
• Sprinkle flour/powdered sugar mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over meringue, folding in just until flour/powdered sugar mixture disappears.
• Pour batter into ungreased tube cake pan (not a bundt pan; use a regular angelfood cake pan).
• Cut gentlely through the batter with a metal spatula.
• Bake until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly.
• Invert pan onto empty glass (wine) bottle and let hang until completely cool.
• Remove from pan.

You can glaze or frost the cake as you wish. We prefer our angelfood cake naked, sometimes with a little bit of fresh berries for garnish.

And the secret ingredient, corny as it may sound, is love. Make this cake with patience and lots of love, and it will be beyond perfection!

The Perfect Summer Brunch Casserole

Egg & Squash Brunch Casserole

(adapted from a recipe by Liz Shenk in the Sept. 2011 relish magazine)

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 glove garlic, chopped

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 medium yellow squash, sliced

3 eggs

½ cup half-&-half

½ to 1 tsp. salt

½ to 1 tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

½ package peppered bacon bits

Optional topping:

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat butter and oil in large skillet and cook 2 minutes.
• Add zucchini and yellow squash; cover and cook over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• With slotted spoon, transfer mixture to a buttered 2-quart casserole.
• Combine eggs, half-&-half, salt, pepper, thyme, and bacon bits.
• Pour egg mixture over squash in casserole dish and mix well.
• Bake 35 minutes.

For optional topping:

• Remove from oven and top with panko breadcrumbs and cheese.
• Place under broiler and broil until brown, about 3 minutes.

I made this for Labor Day brunch, using zucchini and yellow squash from our garden. It's a great way to use some of the squash bounty from your garden this time of year, little ones. Enjoy!

Treasures Deep in the Recipe Box

I was trying to figure out what to make for supper earlier this week and coming up with nothing, so I started going through one of my recipe boxes to see if anything sounded good. I came across a recipe I wrote done in either the late 1970s or early 1980s. My memory is shot, but I *think* it originally came from Lora. 

St. Paul's Casserole

• 1 lb. sausage, browned and drained
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup raw rice (NOT instant)
• 2 packages chicken noodle soup mix
• 1 cup green pepper, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 4oz. can mushrooms, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the water, add rice and soup mixes, and boil another 7 minutes. Mix all ingredients together and put all in a greased casserole dish. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes.

This is super simple and super good. Chuck said, "I remember this; we haven't had it in decades. It's a keeper for sure!"

So, little ones, next time you're stuck for an idea for dinner, mine through your recipe box...you might be pleasantly surprised by the gems you find in there!

Broccoli/Tortellini Salad

This recipe comes to me via my friend Paula, who says she's "not a salad person, but this is wonderful!" I made a few minor tweaks, but the majority of the recipe Paula shared is in tact.

Broccoli/Tortellini Salad

• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled -OR- 6 Tbsp. of bacon bits (I prefer Hormel Real Bacon Bits - Peppered)
• 1 9 oz. package of cheese tortellini 
• 3 crowns (small heads) broccoli, trimmed and cut
• 1 cup raisins or craisins (I prefer craisins)
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 small to medium onion, diced (you can use any type of onion, including green onions)

Cook tortellini as directed; drain, rinse with cool water and let cool. Mix all ingredients together in big bowl.

Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Kraft Olive Oil w/Cracked Pepper Mayo)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (the original recipe called for 2 tsp.)

Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Serve chilled.

I AM a salad person, and Paula's right, this IS wonderful; and the bonus, little ones, is that it's a great way to use the abundance of broccoli in the garden this time of year.

Baking in the Backwoods

I love to bake. I love to cook. (And I love to eat.) I'm not a very original cook...nearly everything I make starts from someone else's recipe. But nearly every recipe I use, I alter...a little more of this, leave out that, substitute those...and sometimes the final product is actually something good enough to merit the words "that's a keeper!"

I live in a small rural town in northwest Nebraska. Access to fresh ingredients is spotty at best (except in the summer when gardens are growing), and access to any "out of the ordinary" ingredients is, well, nonexistent - except for the occasional trip to Rapid City, SD, where I try to stock up on any "out of the ordinary" ingredients I might have occasion to need. My local grocery stores just don't like to think outside the box, so there's a lot I buy either in Rapid City, or online (amazon.com has been a good source for my pantry more than once...).

But even with the limitations I sometimes face re: ingredients, I manage to create some pretty decent dishes in my kitchen. I love my kitchen...it's truly the heart of my home. And this summer it was remodeled from the top to the bottom. Here are before and after collages:

BEFORE

AFTER

I now have a kitchen truly made for cooking, and I fully intend to use it to the max! The "keeper" recipes are what I plan to share on this blog. Hope you enjoy them, little ones!