Roasted Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Sage Tortellini Dinner

I can’t find a link to wherever I found the recipe, so I’ve posted it below with apologies to the mystery source. It’s good but can be a little dry, Marc suggested serving with a little broth in the bottom of the bowl next time. Try it and see what you think!       

 2 c butternut squash cubes

1 bag tortellini

8 slices chopped thick sliced bacon

8 sage leaves, thinly sliced

Red pepper flakes

2 c chopped fresh spinach

Toss butternut squash cubes with oil and salt and roast on a sheet-pan in a 450°F oven until squash is fork-tender and golden brown around the edges, 15–17 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the tortellini and fry up some chopped bacon until crispy in a large skillet; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving bacon fat in skillet.

Add drained pasta to the fat in skillet along with the sage leaves and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (both optional!) and cook just until sage is fragrant and tortellini is ever so slightly crisped.

Stir in roasted butternut squash and bacon, and serve.

To add some greens, stir in a couple of handfuls of spinach along with the tortellini and wilt slightly in the hot bacon fat.

Authentic Enchilada Sauce

• ▢ I modified this recipe from @isabeleats so that it’s just spicy enough👌🏼
• 
  
• 3 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
• ▢ 2 ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
• ▢ 1 árbol chile, rinsed and stemmed
• ▢ Water, as needed
• ▢ 1 large Roma tomato, pan roasted
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, pan roasted
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes 
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ▢ ⅛ tablet Abuelita Mexican Chocolate (about 12 grams)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

• In a medium pot, add the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles and enough water to cover them completely. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes to soften.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a blender. Add 1 cup of the chile-soaked water, ¼ cup of fresh water, and the tomato, crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt, and Mexican chocolate. Blend until completely smooth. This step may take a few minutes, depending on the power of your blender. Add more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.
• Cover and store until ready to use. It’s perfect for making chicken enchiladas, red chilaquiles, and chicken enchilada soup.

No- Knead Ciabatta Bread

 

Zainebsoven's no-knead ciabatta recipe uses instant yeast to create a rustic, airy bread with a crisp crust.

The simple process relies on a few rounds of "stretch and folds" to develop the gluten instead of traditional kneading. 

I like making two ciabatta loaves which I can use for bruschetta 👌🏼

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp (40ml) olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups (290ml) lukewarm water 

1. Prepare the dough: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Add olive oil and water, mixing until a sticky dough forms. Rest the covered dough in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: Perform three rounds of stretch and folds on the dough at 30-minute intervals, wetting your hands each time.
3. Bulk fermentation: After the final stretch and fold, let the dough rest for one hour until it's puffy.
4. Preheat and prepare: While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Flour a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Shape and cut: Gently turn the dough onto the floured surface, dust with more flour, and shape into a rectangle. Divide into four loaves and transfer to the baking sheet.
6. Final proof and bake: Let the shaped ciabatta rest for 15 minutes. Create steam in the oven before baking for 15–20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Cool: Allow the ciabatta to cool slightly before serving. 

Roasted Strawberry Dutch Baby Pancake

Great recipe from @crowdedkitchen. Swap the strawberries with blueberries or the berry of your choice!

Pancake batter:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk (room temp - can use nondairy) 

2 eggs (room temp)

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter (can use nondairy)

Roasted strawberries (these are sooo good, don’t skip them!)

1 pint strawberries, quartered (~2 cups)

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. 

Place a 9” oven-safe skillet in the oven while it preheats. (We use cast iron.) If you are using two small cast iron skillets, use 2/3 cup of batter in each. 

Meanwhile, add all pancake ingredients except butter to a blender and blend until smooth. Let sit for 10-20 minutes while the oven heats. 

Toss together the strawberries, lemon zest and sugar, then transfer to a sheet pan.

Once oven is heated, add butter to the pan and swirl until it’s all melted, then pour in the pancake batter right away. Place the pancake and the strawberries in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are puffy and golden brown and the strawberries are jammy. 

Top with strawberries and serve warm with maple syrup and/or powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes

 2 cups heavy cream

4 oz butter

2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary 

6 Yukon gold potatoes

Salt

Pepper

Flour

Lawry’s garlic salt

Heat 2 cups of heavy cream with 1/2 stick butter and 2 tbs finely chopped rosemary. 

Peel, slice and rinse 6 Yukon gold potatoes. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and start layering. 

At your side have salt, pepper, Lawry’s garlic salt and a shaker filled with all purpose flour(I use a cheese shaker with big holes). 

Lay down a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic salt and flour, then ladle some of the cream mixture on the potatoes. 

Repeat these layers until you use up all your potatoes and cream mixture. Put on a foil lined cookie sheet and cover with foil. 

Bake for an hour, then check with a knife to see if potatoes are tender. If not, take the foil off, increase heat to 450, and bake until bubbling and potatoes are tender. 

Remove from the oven and let the potatoes rest, uncovered, for 15-20 min. So yum🤩 

No-Knead Ciabatta

This recipe comes from @zainebsoven and is a very easy and flavorful bread.

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp (40ml) olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups (290ml) lukewarm water 

1. Prepare the dough: Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Add olive oil and water, mixing until a sticky dough forms. Rest the covered dough in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: Perform three rounds of stretch and folds on the dough at 30-minute intervals, wetting your hands each time.
3. Bulk fermentation: After the final stretch and fold, let the dough rest for one hour until it's puffy.
4. Preheat and prepare: While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Flour a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Shape and cut: Gently turn the dough onto the floured surface, dust with more flour, and shape into a rectangle. Divide into four loaves and transfer to the baking sheet.
6. Final proof and bake: Let the shaped ciabatta rest for 15 minutes. Create steam in the oven before baking for 15–20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Cool: Allow the ciabatta to cool slightly before serving. 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

This Martha Stewart recipe starts with a great homemade enchilada sauce that is far better than any store bought enchilada sauce. I made some modifications for my taste. 

Since I cook for two, I can freeze half before baking, or share with someone and include baking directions.

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

  1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon diced or puréed chipotle in adobo

  1 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes

• Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Fresh juice from one lime

• 8 corn tortillas (6 inches)

• 12 ounces shredded cooked chicken, skin removed

• 4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (12 ounces)

  1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

• 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapenos

  Optional sour cream for serving

  Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder; cook until onion is translucent, 8 minutes.

  1. Add tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, and 1/2 cup water to saucepan; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until sauce is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Add lime juice. Let sauce cool completely before storing.

  2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat; warm each tortilla, about 10 seconds per side. Mix chicken, 3 cups cheese, cilantro and pickled jalapenos; fill each tortilla one at a time with 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture and roll tightly. Place seam sides down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, or divided into two small baking pans. I use disposable 5” x 8” baking pans from the dollar store.

     Oven method: When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Top with sauce and remaining cup cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and tortillas heated through, 6 minutes or longer if refrigerated. For a crisper top, broil 1 to 2 minutes more.

  Air Fryer Method for a small baking pan(4-6 enchiladas): Bake in air fryer in bake mode, uncovered,  at 350°for 8-10 minutes or until the sides are bubbling and the top is golden. 

  Serve with sour cream, fresh cilantro and extra sauce if needed.