Winter Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart

This blog is essentially our family cookbook and scrapbook. Nothing fancy. I've been posting a lot of recipes lately because we are in a food rut. I'm putting new recipes we like on the blog, so that I can find them easily next time I'm in a rut. 

Post-nap, pre-dinner is really not my favorite time of day. So when a new friend shared the idea of PrepDish, I was sold in about 2 seconds flat. I've always been skeptical of plans that require you to spend all day Sunday in the kitchen, preparing food for a week. This only took 1 hour and 45 minutes of my Sunday, and it was seamless. (It would've taken even less time if I hadn't been interrupted by broken glass and a toddler meltdown).

The premise, of course, is that you prep a lot of stuff beforehand, and basically assemble and bake or re-heat the day of. We've only eaten one meal so far, and it tasted incredible. Especially given how simple it was! 

The recipe was for a butternut squash, caramelized onion, and blue cheese tart. I altered it just a little, but I don't think it affected the essence of the dish at all. This was so good.

Ingredients

1-2 tsp dried basil

2 slices of bacon, cut into cubes (alternately, I used 1 large handful of EPIC Hickory Smoked Bacon Bits)

2 large delicata squash (or 2 small butternut squash, or 2 bags of frozen butternut squash cubes)

1 large red onion

4 oz blue cheese or goat cheese (alternately, I used Treeline Cracked Pepper Aged Cashew Cheese)

3 cups almond flour

4 Tbs butter, melted

1 egg

pinch of salt

olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is warming up, wash and dry the squash. Cut in half length-wise and remove the seeds. For delicata squash, you don't need to peel. Just slice into thin rounds. For butternut, peel and then cut into cubes. Toss the squash with 1 Tbs olive oil, salt, pepper, and bacon if it's uncooked. Spread into a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 30-45 minutes, removing to toss occasionally.

2. Thinly slice the red onion. Heat 1 tbs oil over medium heat, add onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally for 20-25 minutes until caramelized. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the almond meal, butter, egg, and salt. Press dough into a greased or lined 9x13 inch baking dish (I lined with parchment paper to make cleanup easier). Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until set.

4. Top crust with caramelized onions, roasted squash and bacon, and cheese crumbles. Place in oven for another 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese. Then top with basil, and drizzle with balsamic reduction, if desired.

Did I mention it was so stinking good?

Oven 'Fried' Salmon Cakes

I looove crab cakes, but haven't had them since going gluten-free years ago. I've seen recipes for salmon cakes, but they always intimidated me. After last night, I have no idea why. These were so delicious and so easy!

The original recipe is here. Below is the recipe with my modifications based on ingredients I had on hand:

Salmon Cakes

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can wild-caught pink or red salmon
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 Tbs diced onions
• 3 Tbs Tessemae's Lemon Chesapeake Dressing
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ghee or butter, melted
   

Preheat the oven to 425 and line a large baking pan.

Drain the liquid from the salmon and crumble the fish into a large mixing bowl, removing the bones. Add the pumpkin, eggs, almond flour, onions, dressing, salt, hot pepper sauce, paprika, and black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Brush the pan with some of the melted ghee, then use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop the cakes and drop them onto the parchment. Flatten slightly with the back of a spatula. Brush the tops of the cakes with ghee, then bake for 20 minutes. Then carefully flip each patty with a spatula and return to the oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and your sauce of choice.

Amazing!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

Super easy, super flavorful, super healthy. Win-win-win.

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
12oz bottle hot sauce (any brand that has just aged cayenne pepper, distilled vinegar, and salt as the ingredients)
1/4 cup Tessamae's Ranch dressing (optional)
1-2 Tbs ghee (optional)

Dump the chicken, onion, pepper, hot sauce, and Ranch (if using) into the crockpot and mix together. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until the chicken shreds easily with a fork. When the chicken is cooked, add the ghee or butter, if using, and stir it in as it melts. Then remove and serve as desired. Ross ate his on a tortilla, and I served mine alongside a roasted sweet potato. Yum!

Homemade Hemp Milk

I'm not usually one to sit down with a cold glass of milk-- dairy or otherwise. But homemade versions are just so much tastier than the store-bought versions, that I always find myself sipping on a glass when I make a fresh batch. Hemp milk is possibly the easiest ever, because you don't even have to strain it.

Hemp Milk (based off of this recipe)

1 cup shelled hemp seeds
3 cups filtered water
2-3 pitted Medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients on high till they are smooth, and enjoy!

Lemon Ginger Meatballs

Another Whole 30 recipe we loved this week! I served these with some roasted yams whipped with ghee and fresh lemon zest (a nice change from the usual coconut oil and cinnamon that I tend to default to). Even Noah inhaled this dinner!

Lemon Ginger Meatballs adapted from Homegrown Paleo
(served 2 adults + 1 toddler for dinner, and leftovers for 1 adult + 1 toddler for lunch)

1 lb ground turkey or pork
4 shitake mushrooms, stemmed and minced (I couldn't find any, so went without this time)
1 tsp dried mint (or 1Tbs fresh)
1 tsp dried basil (or 1Tbs fresh)
1 tsp dried Italian parsley (or 1Tbs fresh)
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl, and combine until spices are well-incorporated. Form into 18 meatballs and place them in a glass pie dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes, and dig in!

Sausage and Veggie Roast

This is barely a recipe, but we inhaled it this week, and I'm making it again next week... that's how much we loved it! I'm on day 12 of the Whole 30, and these meals have been a great change from the norm for us. This one was particularly simple, and a perfect winter meal. We couldn't stop picking bites off the baking pan!

Sausage and Veggie Roast (Paleo, gluten free)
makes 3-4 servings

4 bratwurst (we used Gilbert's chicken brats)
1.5lbs fingerling potatoes, rinsed and dried
1 10oz bag frozen green beans
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1-2 Tbs olive or avocado oil
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1-2 tsp Cajun spice blend, or Italian spice blend
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the sausage into bite size pieces. Add sausage, potatoes, garlic, and green beans to a large jelly roll pan (something with sides, as opposed to a cookie sheet). Drizzle with oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with spices as desired. Mix together and bake for 45-60 minutes, flipping once or twice during cooking, until potatoes are cooked through.

The veggies, sausage, and seasoning are basically endlessly adaptable. I can't wait to try more combinations!