Roasted acorn squash & dinner

I really wanted to try something...

Rachael Ray talked about roasting acorn squash (my favorite) and it sounded so easy that I knew I had to try it. Of course, I had to put something else with it, so I looked through the frig and freezer and this is what I made.

 I took two acorn squash and scooped them out. On a baking sheet, (I used tin foil-- I wouldn't next time as it stuck to the squash), rub some olive oil around the top, ground some pepper and a little sea salt on it, then placed the squash face down on it. I pierced the shell of the squash to let the steam out, although maybe I didn't need to.

I put them in a 435 degree oven for 40 mins....(I think I would be able to go for 45-50 mins, or go 40 mins at 450 degrees)

 While that was cooking, I opened some cream of mushroom soup, mixed with 3/4 can of milk, some crushed (grind) pepper and the seasoning of some pasta roni box-mix thing. I'm not sure I like the flavor of the pasta roni, but it was what I had. Tasted too 'processed' for me. And really, when the rest of your dinner is so good, it kinda takes away from the meal. But, anyway...

 I also had some carrots I needed to use up before they would get too soft to use. I cut them up and used them to mix with frozen peas. Nice and colorful (photos below).

I cooked up some egg noodles, tossed it with the soup/milk mixture and put it in a cassarole dish. I had some frozen (already cooked) mesquite grilled chicken breasts that I'd bought at Sam's club warehouse, so I topped it with those (cut in half).  

 I also poured part of the soup on top and sprinkled frozen peas on it. 

Okay, the squash came out of the oven and the caserole went in for about a half hour (just to heat up/defrost the chicken).

Look how beautiful these squash looked!! YUM! They smelled so good!

I had to scoop them to a cutting board to cut them up into three wedges per half. You can even see the steam still rolling off this. I spread a little butter in them before cutting up and you could add any seasoning (I used a little of Kitchen Kick'n Maple Sprinkle'n "A Sweet Treat"- made by Tomarc's of Troy).

These could have been cooked a little longer (notice how they weren't the same color all the way down the wedge? They were still cooked enough, just some areas were softer than others.

This was how I combined the veggies... I had frozen peas and fresh carrots, so I cooked them (microwave) separately, then combined them.

I should have taken a photo of the finished dinner plate, but I was too hungry by this time.. sorry. Gotta eat! Bye.

"Leftovers" Pizza!

What do you do with leftovers?  If you notice the last post, I made some wonderful sesame chicken (if I do say so myself). I used whole wheat pizza dough, bought from the store. I chopped up the leftover chicken (which had spinach and tomatoes- halved grape tomatoes), had a few slices of ham and cheddar deli meats, some broccoli-which I put in the microwave for 1 minute, and sprinkle with cheddar & feta cheese (using up the leftovers in the frig). I cooked this on a stone that was preheated. The bag of pizza said to cook at 450 degrees for 20 mins., but I shortened the time by 2-5 mins.

This is the second pizza, made the same way, but put on a baking sheet. It was thinner, and cooked a little too much. Okay, but not as good as the round pizza. Obviously, Kai (grandson who helped sprinkle things on the pizzas) decided snacking on a cone bottom was as good as the pizza.

Sesame Chicken Florentine

What do you do when you have leftovers in the frig and you want to use them up? I wish I could say just use them, but I must admit I cheated here... I went out to buy the boneless chicken breast.
AND my mom thought she was doing me a favor and picked up an ingredient I needed for the coleslaw recipe (you don't see it here), but I made a mistake (and corrected it) and she got the wrong ingredient.

Okay, here's the story.

I wanted to include with our dinner, a great Oriental salad that I always see at our church potluck dinners. I finally got the recipe at the last dinner we had there, and I had 'almost' all the ingredients (was missing the salted sunflower seeds). My mom called to say she wanted to stop by for some tea and a visit and, "oh btw, do you need anything at the store??" ...GREAT, "yes, I need sunflower seeds. Stop at Ocean State Job Lot and picked some up please."
Well, when she got to OSJL, she called to ask again what I needed and I told her "sesame seeds". She showed up with sesame seeds and I said... "Uh oh, you got the wrong thing"..."No, I didn't, you said sesame seeds". Oh crap! She offered to go back out (it's only up the road a mile or so)..no, that's okay, we'll manage (that's the Yankee talking in me). So I decided since I had so much sesame seeds in the house (already had a jar in the cupboard), I'd make sesame chicken. I didn't have a recipe but I'm known to fly by the seat of my pants pretty darn well, so ... let's go.

Recipe: (amounts can vary, as I do no measuring, as you can see below. Sorry)

* 5 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/4" strips (they look like medallions, not really strips)
* 1 med-larg onion, sliced thin
* one or two green peppers, julienned
* a handful or so of grape tomatoes, sliced in half (mine were starting to look shribbly, so I needed to use them up soon)
* baby spinach leaves (these I also had leftover in the bag and I picked through to pull out all those that didn't look bruised or slimy -- lol, doesn't that sould appetizing! No, really, I only used the good ones and I washed them off under the faucet. Really, they were good!)
*sesame seeds (whatever it took to roll them in or sprinkle on them)
*olive oil, (I think I used truffle oil)
* salt free seasoning, then add salt if you want, and a grind or three of black pepper, some maple garlic seasoning (whatever seasonings you really want)

I sauteed the onion and pepper in the olive oil (large fry pan) until 'barely' softened. Remove from pan.
I threw the spinach leaves and sliced tomatoes on top of this warm mixture in a side bowl
I took the chicken and dipped it in milk (oh, yeah, I forgot to mention this as an ingredient-- I actually thought of dipping them in a beaten egg. Maybe next time), then layed on sesame seeds that I'd laid in a plate, I sprinkled some on top then tossed in a hot pan to cook. I did this in batches, removing the cooked ones and kept them in a bowl covered in tin foil to keep warm.When I got the last batch of chicken cooked, I threw the rest of the cooked chicken in the pan, but since I realized that the seasonings I decided to use (I'd put them in a ziplock baggie) were still in the bag and I'd forgotten to use them, I threw the chicken in the baggie, quickly, and smushed the baggie, so the seasonings spread over the hot cooked chicken-now covered in sesame seeds too). I dumped them back into the pan and quickly added the veggie mixture (onions, peppers, spinach and tomatoes) on top of the chicken. I heated it through, barely, folding the veggies into the middle of the pan so it wouldn't overflow (I did this pretty gently). Once it looked folded in enough so the spinach 'just' started to wilt, I took it off the heat.

I served this with baked potatoes, but I thought I'd make brown rice the next time. The Oriental salad came out fine without the sesame seeds, but I went out later to the convenience store at the gas station (which is where I SHOULD have sent my mom) and we had it in the next batch of coleslaw. It really was a great meal!!

If you want the Oriental salad recipe, let me know...I'll post it.

Zukas Hilltop Barn

When: Leslie and Scott's wedding (July 24, 2011)
Where: Spencer, MA

This was the prime rib dinners at Leslie's wedding. I didn't have it, so I can't speak for the beef, but...

 This was the fruit salsa herb roasted chicken.... it was delicious.

 We had a lemon sorbet to 'cleanse the pallet'.

 This thing was so delicate and delicious!!!!

 ... and beautiful.

This was my dinner. The nice thing about this wedding place was that the owner grew all her own vegetables that are used at the weddings. The green beans were devine, the roasted sweet potato wedges and the roasted potato were magnifique!! I know she had chicken in the back of the  buildings...did my chicken come from there? The fruit salsa was a very interesting touch. Lovely choice of dinners for this wedding. Thanks, Leslie and Scott!

Leslie's Wedding rehearsal dinner

When: July 23, 2011
Where: Great American Grill, Sturbridge Host Hotel, Strubridge, MA

The 'course was called "Cowboy up!" and it was really good, especially the dessert!

Spinach salad with bacon and feta cheese and potato salad...

Corn on the cob and baked beans with bacon....

Barbeque chicken...yum!

Sirloin tips...delish!

This was my plate. It was really, really tasty!

Lee enjoyed the apple pie, but my favorite of the night was the blueberry pie in the photo below. As you can see, Greg, Muriel, and Jen(far right) and her girlfriend also agree about the pie!!

Harry's of Colchester

When: July 16, 2011
Where: Rte 85, Colchester, CT

Harry's is famous in CT....Used to have millions of bikers on a weekend. Today was an exception. This was the line at 12 noon, but when we left at 12:30, it was CROWDED! And, the line to order, went the length of this photo.

(This 'fog' area in the photo is because my mom thought she'd be cool and 'cool me off' by pouring water down my arm. The only problem was hanging off that arm was my car keys and my camera!! OOPS! It cleared up).

This is my lunch! Cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato, and Macaroni and cheese bites. What are THOSE, you ask? Triangles of macaroni and cheese, that are fried. As small as this cheeseburger looks, it really filled me up!!

Yeah, I know... heart attack on a plate. But you only get six of them, and I wrapped napkins around them to soak up some of the oil from the fryer. No, I know, it doesn't remove calories, but it made me feel better. And NO, I'd never get them again. Oh, they were good, but the aftertaste of grease and processed cheese on my tongue wasn't all that great. I actually, had to stop at a ice cream dive and get a single cone to cover the taste (peppermint ice cream).

This was mom's lunch... Cheeseburger, ketchup, pickle, sauteed onions, and lobster bisque! Yummm. Just not as much lobster as I think should be in it. But the burgers are always so juicy that you need extra napkins.

And what picnic would be a picnic without ants!!-on the tables.

This was the view... nice and shady. Good day all around.



Aero Diner

When: June 2011
Where: (see card)

Nice to know that when you take a Sunday afternoon, beautiful weather, a trip to Walmart (the biggest Walmart I've ever been in) and combine it with a great little diner, you get.... Ahhhhhhhh......

Philly Steak Egg Special...This 'platter' for an egg dish was immense! The rye toast was amazing...and the combination of stuff in the eggs was great-- and it wasn't even MY meal! If It was, I wouldn't have been able to eat it all.

However, Grilled Pulled Pork Wrap (with Tator tots) was soooo tasty! I loved the sweet flavor to the sauce so much that I saved one half of it to take to work the next day. And tator tots.... I know they are fun to make at home, but in a diner?? Too cute!

For a Sunday afternoon (and it was Father's Day to boot), it was only half open...the back section was closed off and half of the front section was closed off, too. Nice and relaxing....