Stuffed Pumpkin

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. This was one of the first Thanksgivings in a long time where I did not cook anything. Although it was much more stress free for me- I dearly miss all the leftovers! I did end up taking some turkey home but none of the trimmings. So....I was wondering what to do with it. My eyes landed on a pumpkin that my niece had given to me a couple of weeks back and I thought why not?!? People bake different types of squash all the time - so why not a pumpkin. I got on-line and did a little research and then came up with my own version. Here is what I did - it was yummy.

Cut the top off your pumpkin, save it for the lid. Scoop out all the seeds, strings etc. Save the seeds if you want to roast them later. Use some butter to smear on the inside of the pumpkin - salt and pepper.
Fill pumpkin with:
1c long grain wild rice  and 2 c water
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins
turkey cut into bit size pieces
Put your lid on your pumpkin and bake at 350* for two hours

The pumpkin that I used was small, maybe 2-3 times the size of an acorn squash. So your amounts may vary depending on how big your pumpkin is. After about an 11/2 hours - I took the lid off to let some of the moisture escape.
You also need to choose what you will bake your pumpkin in. I put mine in a casserole dish because I was afraid the sides would split and the filling would come out. The casserole dish helps hold it together and makes it much more manageable when putting into and out of the oven.
If I had spinach on hand-I would have thrown that in, too.
Another recipe I saw mentioned using bread cubes, heavy cream and nutmeg. Now that sounds like it would make a wonderful dessert.
Let me know if you try this and what you think.  Happy experimenting and Good Luck!

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

Well, today was a  bit cold. I think the high here in Billings today was 5*. Some of my friends and I met for the first cross country ski of the season. I invited everyone over afterwards for some soup. Usually when its cold it seems that I always make chili but I really prefer a broth soup. That seems to warm me up more than anything. So, before I left the house I threw a bunch of things in the crock pot and let it cook. You can use whatever vegetables that you have on hand fresh /frozen or a combination. I don't recommend using beef burger because it is too fatty and has to be cooked before hand and drained.Therefore, I usually use game burger or stew meat. For today's soup I used elk burger(yes, Art got his elk) I like to use barley as it helps lower cholesterol. As always, all amounts are approximate and can be adjusted depending on how many you will feed.

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 lbs of burger or stew meat
1 c uncooked barley
4 c water or low sodium beef broth ( I use broth as it adds more flavor)
1 c each chopped onion, carrots, corn 
1 or 2 cans stewed tomatoes
1-2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste.

Put all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with whole grain bread.
My friends told me it was perfect after the cold day of skiing.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

This is a crock pot recipe that is quick and easy. Sometimes this comes out soupy and other times goopy. So if its soupy then serve it as soup with tortilla chips on the side. And if it's goopy, then serve it in a taco or tortilla shells.

Layer these ingredients, as listed,  in the crock pot and turn on low for 6-8 hours:
uncooked chicken breast
sprinkle with taco seasoning
can of cream of mushroom soup
can of green chilies
can of rotele brand tomatoes
After cooking:
Take chicken out and shred with fork
Add a can of corn - drained
Add a can of black beans - rinsed and drained
Stir to mix in corn and beans
Serve in tacos with shredded cheese, lettuce

Enjoy!

Welcome to Easy Recipes

Ok, Can I have a do over? I got so excited about starting a blog for recipes that all I wanted to do was get a recipe out there! I forgot to write an introduction to my blog and explain what I was going to do. So here we go.

First of all, I love to cook. Almost all of the holidays are at my house, and I cook and I love it. Even if we go to my sister's house - I still end up cooking. But, during the weekdays, I'm busy. So I like to have either super simple meals, or something that I have made over the weekend. The purpose of this blog is to share some of my easy recipes. I get my ideas from recipes, but I just use them as a guideline. I am what I call a "dump cook" in that I add until it tastes right and or looks right. I always add alot more veggies then recipes call for and I usually don't add salt but instead rely on other spices for flavors.

I have a BS in Nutrition  so I try to put that knowledge into practice and eat healthy. I usually don't use full fat products and I try to have a MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid) at every meal. MUFA's are good fats and can be found in olives, nuts, olive oil and avocados. These fats help boost HDL levels(the good cholesterol) and there is evidence that it decreases belly fat. I'm not a vegetarian but I do cook alot of meatless  dishes. As long as you eat grains ie rice with beans you will get a complete protein that includes all 8 essential amino acids (protein) without all the saturated fat!

I will post one recipe per week and sometimes maybe even two. Please enjoy and feel free to add ideas/suggestions.

Pesto Spinach Lasagna important ingredient!

Holy smokes! I knew I was forgetting something in the list of ingredients for my pesto lasagna but I couldn't quite come up with it. After re reading it just now I realize that I forgot to include artichoke hearts. You need to add 1 can (or two) if you really like them.
This is probably the most popular dish I make so I encourage you to give it a try.

A word to those that are following this blog. Alot of my dishes I make up myself and never actually write ingredients down - I call my style of cooking a "dump" cook. Another words I usually don't measure things I just add items till I think it looks right or tastes right. So my amounts that I list are approximate. So with all my recipes please feel free to delete/add ingredients as you see fit.

Your own pesto

For those who grow their own herbs and wonder what to do with all that basil - here is a link to making your own basil. Also included in this link are links to other pesto recipes.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/

Pesto Spinach Lasagna

Pesto Spinach Lasagna

This is a vegetarian entree that can be built the day before. Store it in the refrigerator and then place in the oven.
Ingredients:
Lasagna noodles       2 pkgs of pesto sauce         1 lb. spinach        1/2 c walnuts       1 can olives
16 oz mozzarella       24 oz cottage cheese           1 c sun dried tomatoes
Prepare the pesto sauce according to the directions. Coat the bottom of the pan with the pesto. Then put one layer of uncooked noodles. Place half of the spinach , half the olives, sun dried tomatoes, walnuts, cottage cheese and mozzarella. Repeat ending with the lasagna noodles.Cover with remaining pesto sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Cover with foil. Place in 350* oven for 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.