Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos

I got this one from HERE.

I didn't have everything this one called for, like Daiya cheese, but threw in what we had.  I also used leftover sticky rice instead of making new brown rice.  We thought these were pretty filling and tasty.  It's pretty easy too especially if you've cooked your squash ahead of time.

Yield: 4 burritos or 3.5 cups of filling
Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed, & roasted
• 1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (yields: 1.5 cups cooked)
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• One 15-oz can black beans (about 1.5-2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup Daiya cheese
• 4 tortilla wraps (large or x-large)
• Toppings of choice: (avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream, spinach/lettuce, cilantro, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large glass dish with tinfoil. Drizzle olive oil on squash and give a shake of salt and pepper. Coat with hands. Roast chopped butternut squash for 45 mins. or until tender.
2. Cook brown rice (for directions, see here)
3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, onion, and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in salt and seasonings and stir well.
4.  Add chopped red pepper, black beans, and cooked rice and sauté for another 10 mins. on low.
5. When b’nut squash is tender remove from oven and cool slightly. Add 1.5 cups of the cooked butternut squash to the skillet and stir well. You can mash the squash with a fork if some pieces are too large. Add Daiya cheese and heat another couple minutes.
6. Add bean filling to tortilla along with desired toppings. Wrap and serve. Leftover filling can be reheated the next day for lunch in a wrap or as a salad topper.

Butternut Squash and Quinoa Stew

I really really really loved this.  I thought it was delicious.  This comes from Mel's Kitchen Café. Here's the LINK.

 I cut up the chicken into bit-sized pieces instead of following the directions below and thought it turned out ok. The only thing I'm going to change next time is to add 4-5 cups of spinach. 

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
• 1 can (14-oz) petite or regular diced tomatoes
• 3 cups chopped butternut squash (about 1 medium squash, peeled and seeded)
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1-2 cups chopped fresh spinach

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large 4 quart pot heat the olive oil until hot. Add the chopped onions, oregano, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is softened. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and boil until the chicken is cooked, 7-9 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
2. Add the tomatoes, butternut squash, and quinoa. Simmer for 15 minutes until the squash is tender and quinoa is cooked. If desired, scoop out some of the squash, mash it and return it to the pot. Shred the cooked chicken and return to the pot. Add the salt and pepper, adding more salt to taste, if needed. Stir in the spinach. Cook 1-2 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Serve warm.

Recipe Source: adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

Mark Bittman's Mac and Cheese

from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

 

6 TB butter softened

salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups milk

2 bay leaves

16 oz. cut pasta

3 TB flour

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

 

Butter a 9x13 pan.  Boil water for pasta.

 

Scald milk over med-low heat with bay leaves.  When small bubbles appear around milk's edge (after about five minutes), turn off and let sit.

 

Cook pasta to chalky white in the middle (when bitten-into)--about 3 minutes.  It should be underdone.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

 

Spread a third of your pasta in the pan, Sprinkle half the flour and dot with butter. Cover with 1/2 cup of cheddar. Salt and pepper.

 

Repeat previous step.

 

Lastly, spread remaining pasta and top with cheddar and parm.  Remove bay leaves from milk and pour milk over all.  Top with bread crumbs.

 

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbling and browned on top.

 

 

My modifications: I use far less butter than is called for; I just dab some here and there, not measuring it at all.  I don't really measure the flour either.  I just do a dusting of it for each layer. I don't measure the cheese anymore either.  I did all the measuring the very first time I made it, but since then I kind of just eyeball it and it usually turns out ok.  I like to use penne or mini penne with this recipe and haven't tried any other cut of pasta yet.  It tastes especially yummy with fresh/real/non-pre-shredded parm.