Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash

Ready for Stuffing

 This dinner was unreal.  Talk about comfort food.  Talk about perfect for a crowd.  Talk about easy. Talk about it.  Without much further ado...

Equipment Needed:

• Baking Sheet
• Saute Pan

Ingredients:

• 1 Prepared Spaghetti Squash save the shells! Recipe here
• 2-3 Hot Italian Sausage - Whole Foods has my favorite!
• Olive Oil for the pan
• 1 Yellow Onion, quartered and then sliced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced (see image below)

My slippers are untied.

• 6-10 Brown Mushrooms, sliced.  I really like them so go with 10 :)
• 1 Jar of Tomato Sauce, a light cream sauce is best.  "Rao's" Vodka Sauce is my personal favorite for this recipe
• 3/4 cup Frozen Green Peas, more if you like them, less if you don't
• Salt
• Mozzarella Cheese

There were 3 of us, so I roasted 2 squash.  So.  Many.  Leftovers.  So.  Amazing.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Slice the sausages into about 1/4 inch slices and put them in the pan with olive oil that's heated over the flame for a minute or two...you want the sausage to sizzle when you drop it in
• Flip them over after about 3-4 minutes so that they brown on both sides
• Cook for another 2-3 minutes and then remove from the pan, leave the oil in the pan!  It will add flavor to the sauce

• Throw your onions, peppers, and mushrooms in the pan, still hot with oil from the sausage
• Add Salt, a few good grinds from your salt grinder
• Stir and let them cook down in the pan a little, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Don't let them get too loose, you want them keep their form

See?  They aren't raw, but they aren't totally cooked down.  Still have a bit of that crunch

• Add the sauce, the sausage and the peas and give it a good stir, let it cook together for 3-4 minutes

Make it stoppppp.

• Add your spaghetti squash and mix it all together.  Get it good and coated...this was a challenge because I definitely overfilled my pan.  I just got so excited and so hungry
• Fill the halves of your spaghetti squash shells and top with cheese
• Put shells on a baking sheet and into the oven for 15 minutes.  The cheese will melt and the filling should be nice and warm...flavors all married and ready for consumption.  Ugh, now I'm hungry

Ready to go back into the oven...just like a twice baked potato!

No Counter Space?  No problem.  Check out this work space.

En.  Joy.  I really liked this meal the first time, and then for the next two days I just thought about dinner all day long because I knew I had leftovers.  Talk about serving it.  Let me know what you think!

Don't you want to come over for dinner?  Perfect meal...the glass of wine didn't hurt.

Easy as {Enchilada} Pie

Look at those colors...this has to be healthy.  Totally tasting the rainbow.

I made a version of this recipe awhile ago, and I think it was from Pinterest, but I am not exactly sure, and I didn't double check.  Basically, I winged it, and I succeeded.  There is a decent amount of chopping, but if you put on a good playlist, it's really not that bad.

If you ever need to bring a friend or family member dinner (like if someone has a baby, is ill, has had surgery, etc.) this is perfect.  When fully prepared, it fits in one dish and all the recepient has to do with it is throw it in the oven (I say "throw it in the oven" a lot, sounds like I might be harboring some aggression).  Ya'll ready for this?

Note:  This makes a LOT.  You can definitely cut it in half, but I strongly recommend the leftovers.  Really Strongly.  Share some when it's fresh and then save some for yourself for the rest of the week or for after the bars.

Equipment you will Need:

• Baking/Cookie sheet - probably two
• Tin Foil - love that stuff
• Baking Dish - I used a glass pyrex dish, 9x13, about 2in deep.  I never have size dish that recipes call for, so don't stress if yours isn't exactly the same dimensions.  You'll live, I promise.  And this will still taste good, that I also promise.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of caulifower, cut into florets
• 2 poblano peppers, seeds removed, sliced into strips and then strips cut in half - if your grocery store calls them "pasilla peppers," your grocery store and I are talking about the same things but the grocery store is WRONG.  I googled it.  They should look like this:

A whole poblano pepper.

A sliced poblano pepper

• 2 bell peppers, sliced and then cut in half - you pick the colors!  You should pick 1 red and 1 yellow.  Just saying.
• 10-12 Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion - quartered and sliced
• 1/2 of a small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• Olive Oil, you knowwww like 3-4T?  I don't really know I just pour enough to coat the veggies
• Salt - a few strong grinds
• Cumin - um, like 2T.  More if you like it, less if you want it to be more mild
• Cooking spray
• Simple Jarred Salsa - I used "Herdez Casera Medium"
• 1 Can of Green Chiles, diced
• 3/4 Pound Monterey Jack Cheese, Shredded.  If you want to buy it pre-shredded, go for the gold, it's a little bit more expensive, but it definitely more convenient.  It took me 4 minutes to grate the block of cheese, not really that bad if you ask me.  You can decide how much you value your time.
• 8 corn tortillas, the good ones, auténtitcas (I double majored in Spanish, #yup)

Directions (I am so excited for you to make and eat this!!):

• Preheat the oven to 400
• Line your baking sheet(s) with tin foil
• Put allll your veggies on your baking sheet(s).  Use two if they are over-crowded
• Drizzle with Olive Oil, grind your salt, and sprinkle with Cumin
• Toss the veggies with the seasoning.  Just use your handsssss.  Ina Garten says that our hands are a chefs best tool...just wash them first por favor (there's that Spanish major again)
• Throw those veggies in the oven and let them roast for 20-30minutes, tossing every 8-10minutes so that they brown on all sides
• While the veggies are roasting, spray your baking DISH with cooking spray
• Mix together your salsa and your diced green chiles.  Literally, dump the green chiles in the jar of salsa, or dump them together in a bowl and stir.  Whatever you like.
• Spoon a little bit of salsa into the bottom of the dish, like 2T 'ish
• Tear up 1-2 tortillas into pieces and lay the pieces in the bottom of the dish, over the salsa

Little bit of salsa, and pieces of tortillas starting to lay down in there

• When the veggies are done...take them out of the oven (shocking, I know)
• Spoon enough veggies into the baking dish to cover the tortillas
• Sprinkle cheese over the veggies.  Oh come on, don't be so shy...a little bit more...
• A little bit of salsa
• A layer of tortillas
• A lot of salsa
• Veggie layer
• Make as many layers as your dish will fit, finishing with tortillas, salsa and then cheese on top (at this point, this dish is transferrable to the sick, to those with a new babe, or if you offered to bring the main course to a friends house...bless your soul if this is the case)

I love cheese.  Almost ready to bake!

• Bake for 20-30 minutes until its bubbly and the cheese is melted.
• Spoon it out like a casserole and enjoy

Yummmm

Just like cheesey, saucy vegetables...but still so healthy

**Optional:  Serve with guacamole and/or sour cream.  The leftovers are reallyyyyy good with eggs.  Really good.

***Also, if you have leftover veggies, they are so good in salads and 

Chicken Noodle Soup that Rivals Your Grandma's

Can you see the steam?  I can.

There is something so traditionally comforting about Chicken Noodle Soup.  Maybe it's that it's the go-to soup when you aren't feeling well, maybe it's that you have this idea that Grandma's make it (although I don't think mine ever did), or maybe it's just that is really good and warms you from the inside, out.  Love that.

I like my Chicken Noodle Soup, simple and classic, just how I like my men.  The best part of that?  It's easy to make and doesn't require a ton of ingredients.  Double win.

Equipment you will need:

• Stock Pot

Eagerly awaiting the addition of broth.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil, 1 1/2T, just enough to cover the bottom of your pot, don't measure it.  You don't want oily soup so don't go overboard
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 stalks of celery (4 single stalks, not 4 full hearts.  That would be overwhelming.), sliced into little half moons, about 1/4in wide.  Small.
• 2-3 Carrots (2 if they are big, 3+ if they are little guys), cut lengthwise and then sliced into half moons.  The celery and the carrots will be about the same shape
• Home Made Chicken Broth, ideally (if you don't have time, I won't look while you empty a carton into the pot).  If you are trying to impress anyone, you should really make your own broth, not to be pushy. Recipe is here.  If you are buying it, get at least 2, 32oz boxes.
• Leftover shredded chicken - could be from a rotisserie, from last nights dinner, from the carcass that you used to MAKE your chicken broth.
• Fresh noodles, I like fettuccine, broken into 2-3in pieces
• Fresh Parsley (optional, but really adds a bright flavor at the end).  Half of a bunch, roughly chopped
• Salt and Pepper

Way to long to be eating with a spoon, which is why your tear them.  I love fresh noodles. So much.

This is home made.  Amazing body.  Not because it works out, but because of the depth of flavor

Directions:

• Heat your olive oil in your stock pot over a medium flame
• Add the onion and a few grinds of salt of pepper and cook until the onion pieces start to get translucent and soft
• Add your celery and carrots, stir with the onion so that the olive oil is distributed on all the veggies
• Hit it with a little more salt and pepper.  Then hit me with your best shot.
• Add your broth.  You are waiting for me to give you an amount, I know.  It's up to you.  Do you like it "brothy?"  Add a lot.  Do you like it "hearty?" Don't add so much.  I love Homemade Broth, so I like it brothy, homemade brothy.  Am I making myself clear?
• Cover with the lid and let the broth warm over a low-medium flame
• Once the broth is warm, add your noodle pieces.  Fresh noodles cook really quickly, like 3-4minutes.
• A few minutes after you add the noodles, add chopped parsley and the chicken.
• Let it all cook together until the noodles finish cooking and the chicken is warm
• Ladle it up and start warming yourself from the inside out 

Good Ol' Southern Luck: Black-Eyed Pea Soup

MmmHmm, I'd eat that

 My mom is a southerner, to the bone.  She was born in Texas, raised outside of New Orleans, and moved to California in her early 20s, but those southern roots have stuck with her all the way, and may have rubbed off on me a little bit, too.  It's tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Years day for good luck all year long, and even though it's after new years, this soup is still good, and it took all of 20 minutes to make.   So channel your inner Paula Dean and start serving up everyone you love a big bowl of luck.

Equipment You Will Need:

• Stock Pot

Ingredients:

• 2T Olive Oil, roughly
• 2 Leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (the green parts are gross, sorry)
• 2-3 Carrots, sliced into half moons (my geometry teacher would be so disappointed.  semi-circles is more technical)
• 1 14.5oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes, NOT strained.  #savortheflavor
• 1 Bunch of Kale, ripped into bite size pieces 
• Prepared Vegetable Broth, 32-48oz
• 1c - 1 1/2c Prepared Black-Eyed Peas (you can buy them in a can, or Whole Foods sells them in the refrigerator partially cooked, or you can buy them dried and cook them all.  the.  way.  talk about home made)
• Salt and Pepper

These are the ones I buy from Whole Foods - "quick cooking"

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in your stock pock over a medium heat
• Add the leeks and the carrots. Salt and pepper those little guys, this is the base of the soup so don't be shy, give it a few good grinds of each. Saute in the pot until veggies start to soften, about 5-7 minutes
• Stir in your can of tomatoes, you want it it to get warm with the carrots and the leeks
• Add the kale, give it a stir, and let it all stew together for a few minutes, maybe 3-5
• Add the vegetable broth, as "brothy" as you like
• Add the Black-Eyed Peas
• Stir it all together, and put the lid and turn the flame down to low on so that those flavors marry in there.  Martha taught me that, "let the flavors marry" what a genius...until that little hiccup of hers
• 10 or so minutes later, ladle yourself a bowl and cozy up.  Ya done good.

  

  Some people say that the pot of the end of rainbow is full of gold and good luck, I would prefer a pot full black eyed peas, and I am pretty sure that my mama would, too.

  
  

  
  

Spaghetti Squash: Prep

Spaghetti Squash with onions, peas, parsley, Parmesan and thyme.  Yum.

Spaghetti Squash, like most fall and winter squash, makes me so nervous to prep.  I think I mentioned this in my post about Butternut Squash, but I really do fear that I am going to hurt myself with a knife trying to cut it open.  Well there's a solution to avoid injury, and it couldn't be easier.

Equipment You Will Need:

• Baking/Cookie sheet large enough to hold your squash
• Knife

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti Squash, as many as you want to make and that will fit in your oven

Spaghetti (squash) and meatballs

 Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350
• Put your Spaghetti Squash on your cookie sheet
• Finish waiting for your oven to heat...think of your grandma saying "a watch pot never boils"
• Put the squash on the cookie sheet, and then into the oven and close the door
• Let the squash bake for 45-60 minutes depending on the size, rotating it every 15 minutes or so, 16 minute rotation cycles won't ruin it
• When it feels like it's softened slightly, you can just push on it with an oven mit, it's done!  The skin will also brown a little
• Let it cool, and then slice it half length wise.  Scoop out the seeds, and fork out the "spaghetti"
• Use however your recipe calls for prepared spaghetti squash. 
• Way.  Too.  Easy.

Spaghetti Squash with pancetta, leeks and mushrooms

Perfectly Poached Egg

Would you look at the size of that egg? There were two yolks in there.  Good old organic, farmers market eggs.  I think it's good luck to get two yolks...

For whatever reason people are scared of poaching eggs.  They will scramble them, but poaching them is uncharted territory that is to remain uncharted.  Unless it involves Eggs Benedict, then  Bring.  It.  On.  I won't argue that, a little benny does a body good.

Here are some insanely easy tips and tricks that make poaching an egg easy and fool proof, every time.  Flawless, really, just like my skin was as a 9 year old.  #theglorydays (calories didn't exist then either, heaven.)

Equipment you will need:

• A small sauce pan
• A slotted spoon

This is the approximate water level, in case you don't have an idea of what 2in looks like.  Pretty sure you do though.

Ingredients:

• About two inches of water in your sauce pan
• 1-2 T of vinegar (just plain, white distilled)
• Eggs!  I usually eat 1 or 2, I wouldn't poach more than 2 at a time per small sauce pan
• Salt & Pepper (optional)

Directions:

• Bring the water (in your sauce pot) to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer
• While the water is heating up, crack your egg into a small drinking cup, like a 6 ouncer.  See the pic...this just makes it easier when it's time to start cooking

I was multitasking...hence the olives on the cutting board, and the beets in the background

• Pour the vinegar into the simmering water, don't measure it, just give it a quick splash
• Let the water come back to a simmer

Look for small bubbles, you don't want them so big that they break up the egg white

• Pour the egg into the simmering water/vinegar (see how easy that was? thank god you put it the cup first, #fewf).  Here's a play by play:

• No touchy for two minutes.  You can set a timer for this if you want, I don't, but I should.

It just brings itself back together!  The vinegar does that.  Don't ask me why.

• Use your slotted spoon to scoop that sucker out of the water

Oh Helloooooo

• Give the spoons a few taps on the edge of the pan to shake off the excess water, and serve it up

Serving suggestions:  On toast with melted cheese. On a tortilla with a smashed half of an avocado and salsa. In soup.  On top of mixed greens.  On top of just about anything that feels almost like a complete meal, but that is still missing a little something

Keep Calm and Crab On

As Julia Child would say, "Bon Apetit"

My birthday was this past weekend and I wanted to host my friends this year.  It never bothers me when I go out for others peoples birthdays, but I never feel good about asking other people to pay for mine.  It's a weird guilty-conscious thing that I have.  I blame my mom.  Solution to it:  throw my own party and let my friends enjoy a fun night.  HUGE success and new tradition.

See how happy they are?  This is Sus's First Annual Birthday Crab Feed.

Hosting for some people is so stressful, but it really doesn't have to be.  For big groups, if you pick meals that you can either prep mostly in advance, or that "serve themselves," the night will carry on smoothly.  My rule is to plan a menu that allows me to enjoy my company, too.  I'm not just having these peeps over so that I can blog about it, I really do want to hang out with them, #truestory #lovemyfriends

My Roommate is one of my absolute best friends, and she makes for an excellent co-host!

So crab.  Perfect for a group.  Ideal, really.  I know, it's pricey but I really wanted it!  If you are young and living on a budget like my friends and I are but you want to host a crab feed, I don't think it's inappropriate to ask people to throw in some bones for their share of the crab.  If everyone gave you $20, it would cover their crab and garlic bread, and then some.  Since all I wanted for my birthday was a night with my besties, I took care of it all and just asked people to bring a bottle of wine or champagne.  Easy, they all knew where to find that.

This is how I did it, and I promise you it works.  I say this confidently, not cockily, my friends would all be down for a repeat if I offered.  So either offer up your place and ask people to chip in, or host the night and get the same gratification from "taking care of others" that I do.  Some people call that wife material, I call it love :)

I can't tell you what my wish is until it comes true.  #sorryimnotsorry

This plan includes: Apps, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread, Crab, Cake, and Set-Up

Your Week Leading Up to the Crab Feed:

• 5-7 Days in Advance:  
• Order Crab.  Plan on about 1 crab per person, and if you have leftovers, lucky you!  Ask your fish counter to "crack and clean" the crabs for you.  There isn't usually a fee for this, and it's definitely not something that you want to deal with at home, #takingcareofbusiness
•  Order a Cake!  Unless you are going to bake one.  We have so many renowned bakeries in San Francisco that it was left to the professionals.  It was so worth it.  They know what they are doing.
• 4-5 Days in Advance: Pay the grocery store a visit for crouton ingredients, recipe is here.
• 3-4 Days in Advance: Make Croutons.  Don't be annoyed.  This is a really simple meal, make every ingredient count.  Store them in a plastic bag or Tupperware, and keep it in the fridge.

This picture is irrelevant.  I just think it's a cute pic of my friend.  Plus her bib says "pinch me."  Killin' me!

• 1-2 Days in Advance: Grocery Store
• Apps - keep it simple, you have a fancy dinner!  I had cheese and Crackers:  Manchego and Brie.  Done.
• Salad:  Romaine Lettuce and Caesar Salad Dressing.  Until I find a recipe that I love to make, I am going to buy Brianna's Caesar.  I love it so much, click here to find what I mean.  Most grocery stores have it.
• Garlic Bread:  Enough of your favorite bread (we had 2 loaves for 13 people), two sticks of butter, and 1 head of garlic. I used Italian Pugliese Bread, btw.
• Lemons - about 1/2 per person
• More butter if you want to serve it melted on the table
• Mani/Pedi

• The Day Before: 
• Set the table.  You will be happy you did tomorrow when you have extra time to finish curling your hair...or go get a blowout if you are anything like me.

I borrowed plates from my mom, she's the ultimate hostess.

• Crush your garlic and mash it into the butter
• Spray Tan
• The Day Of:
• Slice the loaves of bread lengthwise (hotdog style), smear the garlic butter, and then cut it into 6-10 slices, depending on how wide you like your slices.  Wrap the whole loaf, sliced, in foil, and set it aside until it's closer to party time.

• Pick up the cake
• Pick up the crab
• Go get your hair did
• Put the garlic bread in a low temp oven (250-300 degrees) about 1/2 an hour before your guests arrive
• Do your make-up and get dressed
• Put out the cheese and crackers and enjoy some cocktails with your guests.
• Right before dinner, chop the lettuce and toss with croutons and dressing.  Place the crab in a serving dish.
•  Call Bon Apetit to your guests and enjoy the feast!

Cheers to a successful evening!