Stuffed Squash

 This was actually made up by me, but I'm sure there's a bunch of recipes like this out there.

2 squash
1 cup quinoa
a few strips of turkey bacon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
drizzle of olive oil
dollap of balsamic vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375. Take any kind of squash- smallish in size. Acorn or those cute little pumpkiny ones. Cut in half, seed, drizzle olive oil on a cookie sheet and lay the squash cut side down. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size.

2. While it's roasting throw a cup of rinsed quinoa and two cups of water in a saucepan and cook. Fry up some bacon and toast some walnuts.

3. When the quinoa's done fluff it and then add the olive oil, vinegar, chopped up bacon, walnuts, and parmesan. Scoop into the little squash bowls and feed it to your three year old and then to yourself. YUM.

Pumpkin Pie Waffles

from Waffles from Morning to Midnight

5 TBSP butter
1 cup pumpkin puree (ha! I read this 1 CAN and put the whole can in-- no wonder the batter was so thin and they were totally floppy- but very tasty anyway)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp peeled grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
(***OR you can replace all those individual spices with 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp cinnamon)
pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 TBSP orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter. Reserve. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugars, spices, and salt. Mix together well.

2. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. The mixture will be thick and a little lumpy. don't try to smooth it out; just mix until the ingredients are incorporated.

3. In another bowl, beat together the milk, yogurt, eggs, juice, and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the melted butter and start cookin'. (Spray the waffle iron well, this is sticky batter.)

Pear and Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding

 from Everyday Food

 OH MY HEAVENLY!! I haven't had a dessert THIS GOOD since my days in France. So good, in fact, it deserved two photos.

unsalted butter, room temperature, for baking pan
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used about 5 oz. real dark chocolate from France :)
7 oz. brioche or challah, cut into eight 1/2 inch slices, halved diagonally (note to self- just place the bread in there-- you'll know how much to put.
1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe pears, such as Anjour or Bartlett (about 3), cored and very thinly sliced
3 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar (I cut this in half and it was plenty sweet)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP sanding or turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325. Butter a shallow 2 quart baking dish and sprinkly bottom evenly with chocolate. Arrange brioche in dish, alternating each slice with 3 or 4 pear slices.

2. In a large bowl, gently whisk together eggs and egg yolks, milk, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour mixture evenly over bread and pears and let sit 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.

3. Bake until brioche is puffed and custard is just set, 50-60 minutes. Serve warm!! Oh my yumminess.

Quinoa black bean salad

from Food.com

Good in burritos with all the fixins. Also very good as is.

    1/3 cup quinoa

    1 cup water

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    4 teaspoons fresh lime juice

    1/4 teaspoon cumin

    1/4 teaspoon coriander

    1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro

    2 tablespoons minced scallions

    1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

    2 cups diced tomatoes

    1 cup diced bell pepper

    2 teaspoons minced jalapeno chiles

    salt and pepper

Directions:

    1. Rinse the dry quinoa first. Cook the quinoa in the water. Allow to cool slightly.

    2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro and scallions.

    3. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and chilies (I omit the chilies and it’s still

         quite tasty).

    4. Add the cooled quinoa.

    5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Click here for the link.

Black bean chili with butternut squash and swiss chard

 from Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh

Probably my favorite autumnal stew of all time.

2 TBSP olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces of peeled butternut squash
2 TBSP chili powder (I omit this and it's still very tasty)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans black beans (15 oz. cans)
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes in juice (15 oz.) or better yet- dice up a couple fresh tomatoes
3 cups packed coarsely chopped swiss chard leaves (I use the stalks too) or kale or any other yummy greens

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth and tomatoes with juice (if you're using the stalks, put them in now to give them time to soften); bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is as tender as you want it (the book says 4 minutes, but I like more tender). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

** Very easy if your husband cuts up all the ingredients for you the night before. Then, when the dinner hour rolls around you throw it all in a pot and let it simmer for a long time.
*** Serves only 4, so I like to double it. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like this, even our picky friends and friends' kids will eat this.

Autumn Waffles

From William Sonoma Waffle cookbook

4 TBSP butter
6 oz. acorn squash (about 1/2), peeled and seeded (**note to self: choose an acorn squash that is as smooth as possible. It's so hard peeling a squash will a lot of ridges!)
1 medium McIntosh apple
1/3 cup pecans (I omit these since I don't like nuts in my waffles)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 TBSP baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (it could use 1/2 tsp or more)
1/8 tsp cloves (again, double this, too)
1 1/4 cups REAL apple cider
2 TBSP PURE maple syrup
2 large eggs

1. Preheat waffle iron. Melt the butter, reserve.

2. Using a box grater (or the food processor! It's easier!) grate the acorn squash. You should have 1 1/4 cup packed acorn squash. Place the squash in a bowl. Peel and core the apple; cut it into small dice and add it to the bowl with the squash (or just put the apple in the food processor and grate it too- less work). Add the pecans if you're using them.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the lour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the cider, syrup, and eggs until very well mixed. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and stir with a whisk until just combined. Stir in the squash and apples and fold in the melted butter.

4. Lightly butter or spray your waffle iron and go to town.

** Good idea to double this and then enjoy 24 waffles in your freezer.