Stuffing with Roasted Winter Squash - Nov 28, 2012

The other downside to never hosting Thanksgiving is that we never have those wonderful leftovers stocking our refrigerator.  The Thanksgiving stuffing is my favorite.  Nick's dad makes great stuffing, but my favorite is the stuffing I grew up with.  I should probably get that recipe from my Mom at some point. 

This was my attempt at recreating my childhood food memory.  I think I may have used a Mark Bittman recipe, but I'm sure that I made enough tweaks to it that he wouldn't recognize it as his.  I know I added a lot more chicken broth than the recipe called for, but my end result was still too dry. 

Yes, I must make it a priority to get Mom's recipe. 

Along with our slightly dry stuffing, I roasted a little winter squash, which Nick and I split between the two of us.  I made it in the pressure cooker, my new favorite way to cook squash (10 minutes!).  Even sub-par stuffing is delicious.

Four Bean and Beef Chili - Nov 3, 2012

This was good chili.  I made it in the crock pot to sustain Nick and I through a football Sunday, and I didn't really follow a recipe.  I used two cups worth of a motley assortment of dried beans that I found in the cupboard.  The mix included pinto, red kidney, black, and snow caps (an heirloom variety from Rancho Gordo).  For vegetables, in addition to the quart of home-canned tomatoes, I chopped up an onion and a carrot or two, plus some cubed sweet potato that I had leftover from another dinner.  I also added a pound of ground beef.  Once the beef and beans were cooked (I used the pressure cooker for the beans!), I tossed everything into the crock pot and seasoned with chili powder, cumin, coriander, smoked Spanish paprika, oregano, cayenne, salt and pepper.

It turned out deliciously.  We topped our bowls with sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar and some crumbled corn tortilla chips.

Honeynut Squash with Warm Wild Rice and Kale Salad - Nov 1, 2012

Nick and I made a similar dinner last year.  This go around I used my pressure cooker to prepare the squash, so it was cooked in about ten minutes.  These Honeynut squash that we get from our CSA share are so cute I can hardly stand it.  Each is about the size of a large russet potato, and a perfect serving size.  They are also, of course, delicious.

The salad is made of wild rice (also made in the pressure cooker), roasted kale leaves, dried cranberries, and feta cheese crumbles.  I served the salad warm with dinner, but it is equally good at room temperature or even chilled.  Because of this, it makes a nice lunch for packing.