Thursday, October 2, 2008

Butternut Squash

by Meghann on October 2, 2008

I was so happy when Jenn selected Butternut Squash as the secret ingredient for this week. I had bought one at Publix on my weekly shopping trip and was already brainstorming what to do with it when I found out it would be the secret ingredient of the week.

I’ve only ever cooked with butternut squash once in the past. Over the summer I made a killer Butternut Squash Lasagna that I had been dying to recreate. However, I decided to branch out from the pasta realm and try to be a little creative for the contest this week. So after some researching and inspiration from this recipe I came up with the final product that I would like to officially submit to the secret ingredient contest this week. :)

Butternut Squash Strata

CIMG1879

 

  • 2 cups cubed Butternut Squash
  • 1/2 cup shredded Zucchini & Yellow Squash
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion
  • 1 clove of Garlic
  • 1/2 cup chopped Mushrooms
  • 3/4 cup Fat Free Milk
  • 2 Whole Eggs (this is all I had otherwise I would have used just egg whites)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used leftover 1.5% Jalapeno Jack Cheese)
  • 2 slices toasted Whole Wheat Bread
  • Nutmeg
  • S&P
  1. Here’s a good tip: Peel the butternut squash, poke with some holes and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. This will make it a little soft and easier to cut into cubes :)
  2. Place the cubes of butternut squash in a baking dish and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
  3. While squash is baking sauté onions, garlic, mushrooms and shredded squash until tender.
  4. Once butternut squash is done reduce the oven temp to 375
  5. In a mixing bowl combine egg, milk, 1/4 cup of the cheese and spices
  6. In an 8 in baking dish combine the veggies, egg/milk combination and pieces of toast.
  7. Top with remaining cheese
  8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center is cooked through

CIMG1883

I had a nice hefty serving of this dish and ate every bite…. and maybe went back for a couple of forkfuls right out of the baking dish :)

CIMG1882

I’m really happy with the way it came out. This makes me want to explore with butternut squash more, I wonder what else I can create with it?!?!?! I’m so glad they’re in season right now. I see alot of butternut squash in my future so stay tuned. I can tell you for sure I will be recreating the Butternut Squash Lasagna in the near future!

In other news look what I found in my mailbox today.

CIMG1877

I received my free Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip cookie! So of course I had to try this for dessert tonight. So, while I was taking Abbie on our nightly walk at the park, I dug in. Unfortunately, the cookie did not travel well and crumbled when I opened the package. So, I was unable to get a pretty picture of the actual cookie.

The verdict? It was a pretty small cookie for 130 calories, but it did have a nice chew to it. I like the fact that it wasn’t overly rich or sweet which always scares me away from cookies. With that being said I would have liked a few more dark chocolate chips thrown in there. Overall, I don’t think I would buy a package of these on my own, but I will happily eat more free samples if they had an urge to send me more. :)

Is everyone ready for the debate tonight?!?!?!?! Let’s just hope it’s not too embarrassing for certain people debating (*cough* Palin *cough*) :)

{ 15 comments }

Mr. Pita

by Meghann on October 2, 2008

 Mr. Pita was interesting.

It was a lot smaller of a restaurant then I thought it would be. I was picturing this huge place with a decent pita buffet similar to the size of CeeCees’ Pizza buffet. Instead it was a small sad looking place with just a few customers. Mr. Pita is fairly new to the location and with how cute the website was and the displays on the outside, I was fairly disappointed with the boring look of the inside. Nothing special.

I was also reminded why I don’t do buffets, they’re so dirty! The food looked unappetizing like it had been sitting out for a while and I kept thinking how many other hands could have touched it. In fact when we were leaving I caught my cousin grabbing a slice of a pita pizza off the buffet with his bare hands! I am in no way a germ freak but this grossed me out for some reason.

The actual pita that I ate was not that, if not a little dinky.

I ended up with the Hawaiian Chicken Pita which came with chicken, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, lettuce and tomatoes in a whole wheat pita.

 

 I got the combo and had a small Minestrone Soup on the side.

  

As I said over all the food was not that bad, but I’m not sure I would visit here again unless the person I was eating with desperately felt the urge to. I think I will stick to Pita Pit for all of my pita cravings. J

Wow that’s 0 for 2 on lunch outings this week! I am definitely going to try to stick to eating at home for next week. I always feel better just eating at home. J

Before my lunch adventure I snacked on some left over zucchini, squash and apple slices.

 

For my part of trying to be green I recycle my Ziploc bags whenever possible. This one must have housed an onion before the zucchini and squash because they had a slight onion flavor to them. It wasn’t bad I’m just glad the apple wasn’t in there long enough to absorb the flavor as well. J

This afternoon I brought a Blackberry Graham Kashi Cereal Bar to munch on when the mood calls for it.

 

I am very much looking forward to this snack. J

Tonight I am going to test out my Secret Ingredient recipe for the week. Now lets cross our fingers it comes out edible. I’m really excited to try it!

{ 6 comments }

An Autumn Themed Breakfast

October 2, 2008

The mornings are definitely getting cooler in god ole central Florida. It was a tiny bit chilly when I first took off on my run this morning, but my body warmed up a ½ mile into it and there was no problem. Falls and winters always have off weather patterns here. We could be freezing more »

Read some more →