Quinoa and Butternut Squash Stuffing

Here is another of my favorites... I made this recipe 2 ways, one vegetarian for my niece, and one loaded with sausage for the rest of us meat indulgers!

Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa

4 cups chicken broth (or veggie)

1 lb sausage (optional)

1 medium red onion

1 bell pepper

1 large butternut squash

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

1 Tbsp olive oil

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut butternut squash length wise. Remove pulp/seeds. Peal and chop into inch size pieces.

Chop onion and bell pepper.

Spread onion, pepper, garlic and butternut squash in an even layer on a roasting sheet. Season with salt.

Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 20 minute at 350 or until tender to fork.

Add quinoa to chicken broth and cook according to instructions (I usually bring mine to a boil, then cover reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.)

Brown sausage.

Mix roasted veggies with quinoa and sausage and return to the oven in a roasting pan or baking dish for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies

Thanksgiving has to be one of my most favorite days of the year. Last year was our first gluten free Thanksgiving. I found it really difficult to revamp many of our favorites. Most of the substitutes available were starchy and left me longing for my favorite comfort casseroles. This year I just started from scratch, and I must say, they turned out great!!! Here is he first of many I plan to blog today!

Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies:

Ingredients:

2 cups GF baking mix (if you are using GF flour, add 1 Tbsp baking powder)

1 stick butter softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar.

Mix in molasses and egg. Blend until smooth.

Whisk together GF baking mix, ginger, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Add dry to wet and mix until dough forms.

Roll walnut size balls and flatten with the palm of your hand.

Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

All to cool.

Enjoy!!!

Blueberry Cornmeal Scones with Brown Sugar Greek Yogurt Glaze

My hubby got me "the" stand mixer for my birthday... I took this as a challenge to find healthy recipes I could use it with. I'm not going to lie, I've snuck some sweeter ones in, too! Sometimes you just need that one perfect recipe that melds sweet with the perfect touch of savory. I started out with a blueberry scone recipe from BHG, but found myself without a large majority of ingredients, so I improvised a little... Or a lot! I have to say, it turned out quite marvelous!!! I found myself going back for seconds and thirds (maybe even fourths)! I foresee this one becoming a weekend regular in our house!

Ingredients:

Blueberry Cornmeal Scone

1 1/3 cups GF baking mix

2/3 cups cornmeal 

1/3 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Greek yogurt

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

1 cup blueberries

Brown Sugar Greek Yogurt Glaze

1/6 cup butter, melted (remainder of 1 stick)

2 Tbsp Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Grease a large baking sheet. I like to line mine with a silpad or parchment.

Whisk together baking mix, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking powder.

Cut butter into mixture until texture resembles oatmeal.

Stir in Greek yogurt, egg, and milk until just combined.

Fold in blueberries.

Drop dough by the spoon full onto the baking sheet. Leave an inch in between. Makes 12 scones.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Whisk together melted butter, Greek yogurt, and brown sugar.

Drizzle glaze over warm scones.

Enjoy!!!

Hearty Beef Stew

November brings colder weather, and colder weather means my hubby finally stops complaining about one pot dishes, which means I can bust out the crock pot! And that is exactly what I did today. Though I can appreciate braising the beef and slow roasting the vegetables to coax flavor, some days I just want to toss everything in a pot and forget about it until my husband gets home. It took me all of 5 minutes to prep this morning, only because I had to chop the onion, pepper, and carrots! Really you could leave out any veg you don't like or incorporate ones you do. I'm a big fan of using leftovers in my one pot dishes. Leftover steak or pot roast works great with this one and you can toss in most leftover veg, too!

Ingredients: 

3lbs stew beef
3 potatoes, cubed
3 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup carrots, sliced or chopped
1 cub green beans
1 cup peas
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
5 cups beef broth
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp chyenne pepper

Recipe:

Toss all ingredients in a large crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hrs.

That's it!!!

Enjoy!

This recipe makes 8-10 servings and is great for freezing!

Fiesta Eggs Cups

Egg cups have become the second breakfast regular in our house. They are quick and easy, packed with protein, and super versatile. I suppose the fancy name for these would be a crustless quiche or  frittata, but here in the south they are just good old egg cups. Lately, I can't seem to get enough of southwest inspired dishes. That and my need for a super quick Sunday meal prep is where this recipe came about. Less than 5 min prep time on this dish makes it a winner in my book!

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup salsa

1/8 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp salt

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat all ingredients until combined.

Line cupcake tins with parchment cups.

Divide cheese evenly between cups.

Divide egg mixture evenly between cups (about 1/3 cup in each tin).

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!