Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Guys, I’m so far behind! I have so many things I still need to share with you but just haven’t either made the recipes or assembled the posts- the recipes from my cooking class in Italy, and also the finished coffee table ottoman I made!

But in the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this grilled cheese, which is pretty darn delicious. I mentioned this very early on in my blog, but Nate is a creature of habit. He literally eats the same breakfast and lunch EVERY day of the week. So occassionally, on the weekend, he’ll request grilled cheese instead of his daily turkey sandwich. 

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

I usually just use up whatever is in the fridge on these days, sometimes coming up with really good combos. That’s how this sandwich came about. I do often add pesto to his grilled cheese, but on this particular occassion there was some leftover roasted butternut squash.

The combo of the squash, the pesto and the melty cheese was just too good not to share. I think you could also use some thanksgiving leftovers for a very tasty grilled cheese combo- maybe with some sweet potatoes? some cranberry sauce? Oh man, the combinations are endless!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

On other fronts, I’m scrambling to make decisions on my house because it’s going much faster than I thought. The demo is complete and framing will apparently be pretty much done by the end of next week. Because of this, my contractor informed me that I need to pick out my roof color by this Friday (!). And then I need to pick out all my bathroom fixtures and cabinetry by the end of next week so that the plumber will know where to put the plumbing. I didn’t realize that the cabinet itself made a difference, but they need to know how high any shelves inside it are, etc, that would obstruct the pipes so they can plan accordingly.

Needless to say, for a decision-making-a-phobe like me, I’m getting quite stressed out :( I really thought I’d have more than 2 wks to decide everything!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Also, this weekend we went down to Nate’s moms and I had him videotape me preparing a dish so I could enter The Great American Cookbook Competition. It’s some contest Rachel Ray is having that my aunt told me about. I highly doubt I’ll win, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try :) Hopefully Nate can make me look better on the video through editing than I actually came across on tape, because I most certainly could never be an actress. 

I hope that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Chanukkah to those that celebrate!!!

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese ~ ElephantEats.com

Butternut Squash Pesto Grilled Cheese
This isn't really much of a recipe, but more of an idea
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Ingredients
  1. Bread slices
  2. Cheese slices
  3. Leftover roasted butternut squash, cut into slices
  4. Pesto
  5. Butter
Instructions
  1. Spread the insides of the bread slices with pesto. Top with a couple slices of cheese and then then enough squash to cover. Using a knife, spread/flatten the squash as much as possible.
  2. Close sandwich and spread butter over the outsides of the bread. Cook in a pan or in a panini press (my favorite way to make grilled cheese) until cheese is melted.
  3. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. The possibilities of fillings inside grilled cheese are endless!
https://elephanteats.com/

Have you been feeling these cooler temperatures? I guess it depends where you live, huh. Well I gotta say that I much prefer the colder weather even with some rain drops than that awful heat and humidity. I was definitely ready for fall.

And nothing quite screams fall like squash: pumpkin, acorn, butternut. There are so many things you can make with this versatile ingredient, from sweet treats to savory suppers.

So when my blogger friend Junia at Mis Pensamientos organized a #squashlove bloghop for the month of November, you better believe I was in!

As I mentioned in my other post, I made a delightful stew to go along with that awesome cilantro flatbread last month. When I was deciding what I should make, I knew it would have to be something with some Indian spices to complement the flatbread.

I had made a great cauliflower/potato mixture with Garam Masala a few nights before for myself. Nate would’t dare touch cauliflower. All the more for me.

Anyway, that dish turned out so well that I wanted to make something with the same flavors that he could enjoy as well.

I settled on using chicken but thought that some butternut squash, diced tomatoes and yogurt would be amazing together. So that’s what I did. This whole dish really didn’t take too long to make.

I call for chicken thighs because I personally believe they stay extremely moist to the point that you can’t really overcook them. If you like dry meat, then go for the breast, but that’s not my thing. And for those calorie-counters out there, there are 110 calories in boneless skinless chicken breast vs 130 calores for boneless skinless thighs,  for the same 4 ounces. I really don’t think 20 calories are worth sacrificing moisture and flavor. But that’s just me ;)

The link below is powered by Linky Tools.
Click here to enter your link and view this the recipes that are part of #squashlove!

I am co-hosting this #squashlove! bloghop with the following fine chefs:

Baker Street | Anuradha : @bakerstreet29
Bloc De Recetas | Salomé : @blocderecetas
Bon à croquer | Valerie : @valouth
Cake Duchess | Lora: @cakeduchess
Cafe Terra Blog | Terra : @cafeterrablog
Food Wanderings | Shulie : @foodwanderings
Hobby and More | Richa : @betit19
Mike’s Baking | Mike : @mikesbaking
Mis Pensamientos | Junia : @juniakk
My Twisted Recipes | Dudut : @mytwistedrecipe
No One Like Crumbley Cookies | T.R : @TRCrumbley
Queens Notebook | Elizabeth : @mango_queen
Simply Reem | Reem : @simplyreem
Skip To Malou | Malou : @malou_nievera
Teaspoon Of Spice | Serena : @tspcurry
The Daily Palette | Annapet : @thedailypalette
The Professional Palette | Regan : @profpalate
The Spicy RD | EA : @thespicyrd
Vegan Miam | Rika : @veganmiam

Indian-Spiced Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew

Recipe by me!

Print this recipe!

Serves 4-6

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1.5 Tbsp Garam Masala
1 tsp tumeric
1 cup lowfat plain yogurt (not greek style)
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 3/4″ cubes (weight after chopping)
2 cups onions, thinly sliced
1 Tsbp vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

 Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl and let marinate 30 min.

Heat the oil over med-hi heat. Add onions and saute 5 min or until soft. Add ginger and garlic and saute 1-2 minutes.

Add butternut squash to pan and saute 1-2 min. Add chopped tomatoes with juice. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Add chicken. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 min, covered. Uncover and cook an additional 5 min.

Take 2 Tbsp or so of cooking liquid and put in a cup. Mix with the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve. Add cornstarch mixture back into chicken mixture and stir. Cook another few minutes until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir cilantro in and serve.

Last night was pretty windy out, but it was almost 60 degrees , so I decided to hoof it home from work. I work down in the financial district and live on the Upper East side. For those of you not from the nyc area, I walked 6 miles home…and let me tell you, 2 hrs of walking can leave your mind to think about all sorts of things.

But the main thing my mind always drifts back to is food. You better believe I was dinner brainstorming. I was trying to figure out what I could do with the barley in my pantry, that would also involve the butternut squash I had left in my fridge from roasting a couple nights before.

I decided I could go with something on the sweet side…adding some dried fruit (feel free to use whatever types you have on hand rather than the specific ones I chose to use) and fresh fruit. This kind of got me thinking about Waldorf Salad, and because I had a lot of yogurt in my fridge, I thought a nice creamy, sweet yogurt sauce would be the perfect addition. I also added some toasted sliced almonds to give it a crunch (much to Nate’s dismay) and a little cinnamon for some spice.

I have to say, it came out better than I expected. The only thing lacking were the photos because I was really hungry and didn’t feel like setting up my nice backdrop. Also, I was going to sprinkle the almonds on top (which would have been prettier), but I forgot and mixed them in.

Pardon the appearance, but do try it for yourself! It would even make a delicious breakfast.

Also, I submitted my recipe in a nut butter contest and you can check it out featured here!:

They haven’t announced a winner yet, so we’ll see.

 

Creamy Fruited Barley Salad

Recipe by Me
makes 2-4 servings as a side dish

1/2 cup pearl barley, uncooked
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
3-4 dried figs, chopped
1/3 Granny Smith apple, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup cooked butternut squash, cubed
salt to taste

4 oz. honey flavored Greek yogurt (or plain with honey added)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup orange juice

Boil 2 cups of water and and bring to a boil. When boiling, add barley and cook til tender and liquid is absorbed.

While barley is cooking, put orange juice through figs in a small pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until liquid is absorbed and fruit is tender.

Whisk yogurt, cinnamon and 1/2 cup orange juice into a sauce.

Add cooked barley and toss to coat. Add rest of the fruits/veggies. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

I checked the weather before I headed out the door this morning and it said it was going to be in the high 40’s today. Since the last few days had been chilly, I figured this was toasty walkin’ weather! I left my apartment with just a light jacket and no gloves. Totally fine for the morning walk.


It was a different story, however, when I left work this evening. It was blustery out! (Nate loves that word…he says it reminds him of Winnie Pooh and the Blustery Day) Man, that wind was seriously strong and I had decided to walk all the way home to my apt from Grand Central Station, which was a 30 min walk.

When I walked in the door to my apartment, my hands were frozen solid and my ears weren’t much better. It was definitely time to make something for dinner that would warm my tummy! I’d been wanting to make this recipe I saw in the New York Times for some time now, and this seemed like the perfect night.

Yes, that's my towel hanging in the background. Yes, I have to take my pictures in the bathroom since it has the best lighting there is for nighttime. Don't judge.

Thank goodness Nate doesn’t get home til 9ish, because I’m not going to tell you this recipe came together in a snap. There were several steps, and the puff pastry got a little messy (but maybe that’s because I’ve never used it before), but in the end, not only was it beautiful, but delicious as well.

No, I mean seriously amazing. You MUST make this. It was just what I needed to defrost, relax, and enjoy my Friday evening.

Oh, and stay tuned…I got a tasty cheesecake comin this weekend…

Pardon the crappy pictures…they were taken with my point-and-shoot which doesn’t know how to focus on the objects I want it to. Hopefully I’ll have Nate’s nice camera for my next pics.

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Wellington
taken from the New York Times (directions slightly edited by Me)
Serves 6-8

Print this Recipe!

3-4 tablespoons butter
1 small butternut squash (1 1/4 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika or regular paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Flour
1 (14-to-16-ounce) package puff pastry
1 cup crumbled goat

1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment.

2. In a very large skillet over high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the squash in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. (If squash won’t fit in a single layer, cook it in batches). Stir and continue to cook until squash is golden, 7 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the syrup, thyme, paprika and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook one minute. Scrape mixture into a bowl.

3. Turn the heat down to medium and melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Stir in garlic and shallot; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and remaining salt. Cook until mushrooms are soft and their juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is dry, about 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper and parsley. Taste and add more salt if needed.

4. On a lightly floured surface, unwrap the puff pastry. Cut into 2 5-by-15-inch rectangles. *If pastry is already two sheets, no need to cut. Spread mushrooms on each pastry rectangle leaving 1/4-inch border. Spoon the cheese crumbles over the mushrooms. Then spoon the squash over the cheese, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border (it will look like a stripe of squash lying on a bed of cheese and mushrooms).

5. Brush half of the exposed borders of dough on each rectangle with the egg wash(*You will be pinching these together to seal but if both sides to get pinched have egg wash, they wont stick together as well. Better to have one wet side and one dry side meeting). Fold the long sides up to meet in the middle and pinch together to seal; pinch the ends, too. Transfer the pastries to the baking sheet and turn them over so that the seam is face down. Brush the tops with more egg wash. Bake until they are puffed golden, and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, slice and serve.