Spaghetti Squash casserole is one of my signature dishes and definitely one of my favorite to make, especially when cooking for the week, when I spend a full day cooking and spread the leftovers over the course of the week. The flavor of this gets even richer when made the day before!

I love starting with a small spaghetti squash — a little squash goes a long way, so keep that in mind. My favorite squash are about 7″ long, which  makes enough for about 4 big servings. This is so heavily vegetable-based, this is great for big, light servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 baby eggplant, diced (I use half a small japanese eggplant and used the rest for a stir fry)
• 1 sweet red pepper, diced
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 6 mushrooms, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
• One small–medium onion (depending how much you like onion), chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes)
• 1 lb lean ground beef

Using a very sharp chef’s knife, cut your squash in half. Scoop out the guts and seeds and throw them away. Take the halves of the squash and place them on a microwave safe dish, cut side down with a little bit of water for 6 minutes. If you can’t fit both on the plate, do one at a time. Let them cool while you’re prepping the veggies for roasting.

Toss the diced vegetables in some olive oil, a little salt and pepper and Italian herbs. Spread in a baking pan and roast for 15–20 minutes. While they’re roasting, brown and drain the ground beef.

Scoop the spaghetti strands out of the squash with a fork and place them in a mixing bowl. Combine all the roasted veggies, the meat, the can of tomatoes with juice, and half the shredded mozzarella in the bowl and mix well. Flavor with Italian Herbs (basil, oregano, etc). Place everything in a casserole dish and top with the remaining mozzarella.

Put the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. The flavor is great right away, but it intensifies overnight! It’s also easy to make for groups, and taking the meat out makes it fantastic for vegetarians, or substituting chicken can make it even lighter.  Definitely one of my favorite recipes!

If you’ve been following this site for any time you know my penchant for taking leftovers and turning them into a delicious Crustless Bisquick Quiche (follow the link for the recipe!). This time I used the leftover potatoes from the lamb roast, gyros meat, chopped onion, tomato and crumbled goat cheese.

As always, it turned out fantastic and was an excellent and easy way to use up some leftovers from earlier in the week and stretch them out just a bit further. I cut this up into 6 pieces, giving my husband and me a quick grab-and-go breakfast that lasts ’til midweek.

I’m not sure if I’ll do it again.

My discouraged attitude comes from the fact that I’d already been burned by the frozen discount salmon I pulled out of the fridge yesterday, all fishy and questionable. A stop at the grocer on the way home from work fixed that, so victory was close. I sprinkled the salmon with some Penzey’s magic, their Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade and some dried dill, then broiled it for about 15 minutes, and it was simply perfect.
QUICK TIP: Place a layer of wax paper on your baking sheet before baking or broiling salmon. It keeps the pesky skin from sticking to the pan, making cleanup infinitely easier.

The artichokes were another story altogether. I prepared them according to Mark Bittman’s instruction in How to Cook Everything, and I did everything right…Until I didn’t. Instead of steaming the artichokes for the full 45 minutes, I removed them with about 15 minutes to go, figuring I’d just sauté the quarters with the leftover pasta, butter and garlic that would become my side dish. Bad idea. The artichokes that were fully cooked were remarkable and tender; the ones that weren’t (most of them) were a little on the spiky side and a disappointment.

But boy were they pretty!

Sticking them back in the steamer helped, but still: giant pain in the ass. However, the flavor is very different from canned artichoke hearts, and that’s pretty spectacular. Worth making again? Oh, who am I kidding; probably.

TOO MANY PUMPKINS! A friend of a friend had a fall wedding and left my friend, the maid of honor, with dozens of pumpkin gourd favors left by guests. She decorated her home with them and wondered what to do with them. I didn’t actually believe I’d do anything with them, but I shocked myself by actually following through.

I found a basic mini-pumpkin soup recipe and modified the hell out of it. I basically used the recipe to get the skinny on cooking the pumpkin and the order in which to do things. I eliminated the italian herbs and parmesan and instead aimed toward a ginger-flavored soup, lightened with whipping cream. I also toasted the pumpkin seeds in oil and salt to use as a garnish. YUM!

Also, the product of the day is The Ginger People’s Minced Ginger. I’ve moved at least twice with this jar of ginger, which means I’ve had it at least 4 years and it’s still delicious, spicy and wonderful for flavoring asian dishes and, well, this particular soup. It’s exceptionally strong, so a little goes a LONG way. I’m finally running out and will definitely be buying a new jar!

This super-simple glaze adds a really unique kick to pork chops or chicken. To make the glaze, I mixed 3 tbsp honey with 1 tbsp water and chopped up 3 chipotle peppers (seeds removed). That’s it. Seriously.

I made it with Near East brand Curry Rice, one of my favorite quick-side-dish brands. With a wide variety of rice, couscous and pasta flavors that are all far more flavorful than the more mass-market brands like Knorr and Lipton, Near East makes it super easy to keep your side dishes intriguing and flavorful without being too heavy on the salt.

This is one dinner with SOUL! I love making soul food once in awhile, and this dinner was a true test of the term “non-perishable food item”. After doing inventory of my pantry, in the back I found two cans of crabmeat that were at least 3–5 years old. Scary stuff, but still worth a shot, I thought.

I prefer kale to collard and mustard greens, but they’re all quite good. I just used a recipe in my trusty How to Cook Everything book and it was a huge success.

The crabcake recipe was improvised with stuff I had around the house and it was absolutely incredible; extremely flavorful and even better the next day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans crabmeat (lump is best, but I just used regular crabmeat)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise (I used half regular and half chipotle mayo)
• Creole seasoning (I like Zatarain’s)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 small onion, diced fine
  1/2 bell pepper, diced fine

Butter & EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Whisk together the eggs, mayo, and seasoning. Then add in breadcrumbs and let them soak for a bit. Next, drain the crabmeat and add the meat. Mix it all together and toss in the fridge or freezer.

Sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Mix into the crabmeat mixture, then toss back in the freezer for at least 10 minutes, the fridge for half an hour. This will make the cakes more solid and easier to form.

Add butter (about 2 tickmarks worth… can’t remember how much each tickmark is) to pan and melt. Form the first patty, about 3-3.5″ across, and place in the pan. Fry over medium heat about 4 minutes each side, adding more butter as it gets soaked up. Keeping the heat at medium should let the cakes cook through without charring the crust.

I served this over some mashed purple potatoes acquired at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market. The result is a bit strange-looking but really delicious. Purple potatoes have a really delicious, rich, earthy flavor that are a great contrast to your average mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb Pork Steaks, Country Ribs, or Pork Chops, chunked
• 1/2 onion, sliced ; 3–4 cloves garlic, crushed or sliced
• 1 envelope Onion Mushroom Soup Mix (or any variety of Onion soup mix)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp Tomato Paste (I prefer Amoré Double-Concentrated Tomato Paste in a tube… you won’t waste half a can of tomato paste ever again!)
• Baby carrots, frozen corn, frozen peas, vegetables as desired

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Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil. Add pork chunks and brown on all sides. Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer on low until vegetables are tender and meat is cooked through, about 15–25 minutes.

I like serving this over mashed potatoes, but you can also cut up potatoes and add them to the stew as well.

After nearly 6 months I finally decided it was time to step up. Oh, some yummy Garam Masala and pakistani peppers from Penzey’s helped a lot. So I put the curry paste together with some diced tomatoes, chicken, onion, baby carrots and sweet potatoes and *POOF!*

I’m no longer scared of curry paste. Well, maybe a little, but this was outstanding.

Even better, I served this with bread made from my favorite bread machine mix, Classic Hearth Brand Hawaiian Royal Sweet Bread Mix. The sweetness of the bread paired perfectly with the spiciness of the curry. An accidentally brilliant combination for sure!

It’s no secret that I love prepared ethnic sauces, but Iron Chef’s line of Asian sauces is far and away the most tasty and restaurant-quality that I use for Asian sauces. Any combo of meat and vegetables can be quickly thrown together and tossed over rice for a quick and awesome meal. Last night’s was a bottle of Thai Sweet Pepper & Garlic that I bought in the clearance bin at Dominicks for $2 awhile ago, and what a find!!

I took onions, cabbage and green peppers and tossed it all with sliced chicken breasts and served it over jasmine rice. Super quick and really fresh, and it just took a few minutes of prep!