Cheesy Spaghetti Squash

466.  This recipe for Cheesy Spaghetti Squash is a surprising side to any meat dish.  The recipe is simple to follow but will take time at preparing the squash, baking the squash, mixing the squash and then baking the squash to finish.  Make sure to leave plenty of prep time or start early before dinner.  Here is my recipe:

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. "

 ~Helen Keller

Curry Squash Soup

 353.  Our Farmers Market in town has beautiful homegrown, fresh produce on a weekly basis every Saturday morning.  This week I picked up lovely squash to make soup.
This recipe is similar to my Curry Butternut Squash Soup I made years ago.  I've made a few adjustments and I love the flavor.  Here is a recipe card for you:

                                          To save recipe select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a photo.

This is a delicious soup and is so warm and satisfying.  It also freezes well and you get your turmeric fix as well *wink *wink.

"Only the pure in heart can make a good soup."  ~ Ludwig van Beethoven

"I live on good soup not on fine words."  ~ Moliere

Spaghetti Squash with Pesto & Sausage

345. I've heard so many people say, "Spaghetti squash is too scary!  

I don't know what to do with it."

This recipe will show you how very "doable" spaghetti squash really is and not to mention, so delicious and satisfying!

First, prep the spaghetti squash:

Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds.  Prepare a baking sheet with sides by lining with parchment paper or a large baking dish greased.  Turn the cut squash halves open side down.  Place in a 300 degree oven and bake till the squash is tender when pressed, approximately 1 hour depending on the size of the squash. Leave in the oven till tender when pressed. 

 Remove from oven and turn over to cool slightly.

While the squash is baking prepare the sausage & pesto sauce. 

 Prepare pesto recipe HERE

Crumble a pound of Italian Sausage into a pan and brown.  Drain off any fat in the pan.  Add a large chopped onion and salt and pepper.  Add quartered cherry tomatoes and heat.

Then scrape the squash away from the sides of the skin with a fork.  The squash will come away and resemble spaghetti-like strings.  Place in the pan over the cooked sausage mix.  Add several scoops of pesto and mix all together gently.  

Reheat then plate and top with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

The squash will be hearty, succulent and so satisfying.

To save recipe select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a photo.

"Let my words, like vegetables, be tender and sweet, for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

~ Author Unknown

Squash Soup

321.  Have you tried Panera's Squash Soup available each fall?  This soup is always a favorite of mine, on the same level as "psl's" for others. (That's "pumpkin spiced latte's"😉)
Though, once December came, this yummy soup disappeared off the menu.  So I thought to myself, "How hard could this soup be to make?"  So I decided to try it.  I did a bit of research and discovered the ingredients on the Panera website of menu items.  Then I set out to recreate the magic.

I used a fresh pumpkin, cleaned and then baked at 275∘ F till tender to the touch.

Puree pumpkin in processor and set aside.

I then peeled, and chopped 

1 medium onion

4 carrots peeled and chopped

2 apples peeled & chopped

3 cups cooked pureed pumpkin

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth

I brought to a boil and cooked till tender.  Transfer the veggies to a processor or blender and blend on high/puree or use an immersion blender.

Return puree to the pot.  Add 3 Tablespoons coconut oil

salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Taste and add more salt, pepper, curry or cream as needed.  Bring back to boil then serve in warm bowls adding toasted pumpkin seeds on top for texture. This soup was so simplistic using basic products.  You could use frozen squash or canned pumpkin but the flavor will vary and may not be as bright as fresh butternut squash and pumpkin.

"When the Lord starts out to make an oak tree, He takes 100 years to do it, but He can make pumpkin in 90 days.  More or less life is like that. We must choose whether we desire to become an oak tree or a pumpkin."

-Sterling W. Sill

Harvest Sweet Bread

175. With summer coming to a close and baskets full of garden fresh produce available. I decided to use my last cucuzza squash in a Harvest Sweet Bread recipe. If you don't know what a cucuzzi squash is, you need to check out my post on Cucuzza Squash here.

I grated the squash and measured it out to accompany my Zucchini Bread Recipe and substitute the cucuzza in place of zucchini. The cucuzza worked beautifully. I love this bread, it's the taste of harvest time.

Harvest Sweet Bread

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

1 3/4 cup sugar

3 cups grated zucchini or cucuzza squash

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup melted butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans

cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle over bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 regular loaf pans by spraying with oil.

Place all ingredients, in order, into a large mixing bowl. Blend together with a wooden spoon till smooth, glossy and bubbly. Divide batter between two prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over batter before baking.

Bake 60 minutes until done and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This recipe is delicious and makes wonderful small muffin cakes as well.

"Bread deals with living things, with giving life,

with growth, with the seed, the grain that nurtures.

Its not coincidence that we say bread is the staff of life."
~Lionel Poilne

Cucuzza Squash

166. Fritz and I were in the garden the other day and we realized our Cucuzza Squash was ready to pick!

In May, my honey and I prepared our little plot of land to plant several garden plants. Tomatoes, eggplant, basil, peppers and zucchini. Our backyard is very shaded and the only area with sun is along our fence. This little garden has produced wonderfully in past years. Just enough to handle with our busy schedules.

This is how beautifully it has grown by mid July.

But my story is about these wonderful zucchini plants. Easy to grow, always produce beautifully. I even found a cute sign to place next to them. This year I rotated all my plants and placed the zucchini against the fence so it wouldn't be bothered or the leaves disturbed, which is the key to a healthy zucchini plant. There just happened to be a trellis at this spot.

I am so glad I did because within two weeks, to my surprise, these were not zucchini plants but "Cucuzza" Squash plants. Let's just say, it was like planting the bean that Jack bought! The vines started to grow upwards, wrapping around everything in site. And then I realized this was not just a simple plant but an adventure.

What is a Cucuzza Squash you ask? It is part of the squash family and grows very long. You can prepare it in recipes as you would for zucchini or summer squash. The flowers bloom in the evening and all night long. You have to check out this website: CucuzzaSquash.com and listen to the hilarious song "My Cucuzza" by Louis Prima.

I have heard this squash called many different names before and I have tasted it. Some call it "Guguts", "Cuccuzi" or "Cuzzcuzz" Squash.

The first squash grew to be 24" in length! Amazing! And it was so beautiful.

I washed and sliced it into 1" slices.

Take a small casserole dish and spray it with oil and spoon prepared tomato sauce in the bottom. I layered the Cucuzza across the bottom, and sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese. Then, I repeated a second layer till all the rounds were used. I then sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Then baked it, covered, for approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees. Don't forget to remove the cover during the last 10 minutes so the cheese can brown. You could also add sweet Italian sausage by placing small slices or meatballs around the squash.

It turned out lovely. The Cucuzza Squash is very mild and will compliment this dish. Using it in a vegetable lasagna would be a great idea as well.

"Now you can have your pasta and your Chicken Cacciatore. I'd rather have cucuzza cause for me it means I'm more. So when the moon is shinin' brite from dear old Napolí. I dream of my cucuzza she's the only dish for me!"

~Louis Prima

Pecan Chicken

116. Hey Y'all! Can you tell I've been watching Paula Deen? Isn't she a doll! I rarely have the opportunity to watch all my favorite cooking shows on Food Network, so today was a real treat. While doing my chores, I flipped on the television and there was beautiful Paula Deen making "Pecan Chicken", "Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter", "Pumpkin Cheesecake" and "Pear Fritters". It was her Fall Harvest Episode. Each recipe was so easy to follow and when she served each dish, I just had to know what they tasted like. So tonight is a "Paula Deen" night!

I started first with the "Pecan Chicken". Cut up fryer parts of chicken were easy to come by. I eliminated some of the fat in the preparation by using 2 percent milk, less skin, less pecans and a small amount of sesame seeds. I did have acorn squash, the yellow variety, which worked beautifully! And the Pear Fritters were simply easy. The only recipe I did not make was the Cheesecake...I think I will wait till next week and whip it up for Thanksgiving.

The recipes are available on the Food Network website and the picture is included as well!

Here are the links to each for your convenience.

"Pecan Chicken"

"Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter"

I added a chopped apple to the recipe by peeling and coring the apple and then cutting it into small cubes. Then placing the apple in the center of each squash and placing a dollop of the brown sugar butter on top. And I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

The squash baked so well and all you needed to do was scrape your fork along the inside edge and the tender flesh came away from the skin very easily. We mixed it in with the apples and juices that collected in the center. YUMMY!

"Pear Fritters"

The batter was thick like pancake batter and tasted like pancake batter.

Everything tasted so delicious, was simple to prepare and came together nicely for a fall meal.

The Pear Fritters were not my most favorite...my family loved them...I thought they tasted more like a pancake than a fritter. But we drizzled sugar free maple syrup over and Cool Whip with cinnamon and sugar.

Paula Deen inspired me! Are you inspired now? Then go cook something!

"I think no matter what the occasion may be,

you can never go wrong

by showing up at the dinner table with a hot plate of fried chicken."

~Paula Deen

"Cooking has always brought me a happiness that I didn't think was available.

I just fire up the stove, and things start to fade away."

~Paula Deen