Friday Foodie

I've been so negligent in posting recipes! I actually have TWO new recipes to share, one I tried this week and the other was about a month ago. That's what happens when you're in revival!

Both of these recipes originated with the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen. I was looking for something new and went in to recipe overload on that site. It's wonderful!

The first one is Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta. The original recipe can be found here. I started with that and made a few changes, the most important being the addition of Italian turkey sausage. I was pretty sure the sauce was going to be sweet and thought the addition of the sausage would balance it out - I was right!

• 1 whole Butternut Squash, Peeled & Cubed
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1-½ cup Chicken Broth
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
• 6 cloves Roasted Garlic
• 3 cups, Ravioli
• 1 Italian Turkey Sausage link
  
• ⅛ cups Shredded Parmesan

Preparation Instructions

Bake butternut squash at 350 until softened. You’ll want to cut off the ends of the squash first, and then cut it in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds/guts. Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler–you may need to make more than one swipe to get all of it. Slice crosswise, and then cut up each slice to cube it.

Heat your olive oil in a large skillet and when it’s hot, dump in the cubed squash. Salt & pepper the squash to taste and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

Go ahead and start boiling your water to cook your pasta. Cooking the squash is a very fast process! But before you drain the pasta, be sure to reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta’s cooking water and set aside.

After cooking the squash in the oil, add in the chicken broth (which can be replaced with vegetable broth to make it vegetarian-friendly) and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for up to an additional 10 minutes or until the squash cubes are easily split in half with a fork.

Put the cloves of roasted garlic * into a blender or food processor along with the squash and any liquid still left in the skillet. Blend until the squash is smooth with no lumps remaining. Put the puree back into the skillet and put it over very low heat. Expect the puree to be too thick–that’s what the reserved pasta cooking water is for. Add in a little at a time until the puree is thinned to your liking!

Spoon the sauce over ravioli and place in baking pan. Put in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes (everything is cooked, this just helps the flavors to blend).

While the sauce and ravioli bakes, cook sausage according to package directions. Slice sausage and top pasta dish in final 5 minutes of baking.

For the Roasted Garlic:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the tops of the heads of garlic off so the cloves are exposed. Peel a couple of the outer papery layers off. You can roast these on a cookie sheet or you can use a muffin tin. Place all of your heads of garlic on your pan and drizzle each with olive oil. Sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Pop the tray in the oven for 30-40 minutes. The garlic is done when it gives when gently pressed on the side.

Nutritional info: Sauce only: 54 calories/1.75 g fat / 1.5 g fiber/ 0.9 WW points. Complete dish: 294 calories / 7.5 g fat / 3 g fiber / 5.9 points. Makes 4 servings.


I tried Recipe #2 this week and forgot to take a picture. It is Chinese Chicken Casserole, the original recipe is here. I added Knorr brand Asian sides Teriyaki noodles and omitted the mayonnaise.

• 1 Tablespoon Butter Or Margarine
• 1 whole Small Red Bell Pepper, Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 package (about 6 Oz. Package) Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
• ⅓ cups Slivered Almonds
• 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
• 1 can (10.75 Oz. Can) Cream Of Chicken Soup
• 2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
• 3 cups Cooked Chicken, Chopped
• ¼ teaspoons Pepper
• 1 can (5 Oz. Can) Chow Mein Noodles
• Knorr Asian sides Teriyaki noodles
  

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a large skillet. Saute the red pepper, garlic, and mushrooms until tender. Stir in almonds and the remaining ingredients (except the noodles). While this cooks, prepare Teriyaki noodles according to package directions.

Pour everything into a lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This was very simple and tasted good. It seemed a little dry, but a little extra soy sauce did the trick.

Nutritional info: 228 calories / 7.2 g fat / 2 g fiber / 4.8 WW points. Makes 8 servings.


I also made butterscotch oatmeal cookies this week that were delicious!! Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix + 1 cup butterscotch chips. Mmmm!!