Delicious Dinner Ideas

I know he's cute, but he's not edible. See delicious dinners below :)


Good morning! Although the weather is fluctuating, the bursts of cool air put me in the mood to whip up a nice Fall meal, whether it be a soup, some delicious apple butter, or experimenting with some more squash!

Last night I made this delicious Hearty Bean and Barley Soup. Scroll down the page on this link to access the recipe. And the recipe does not say, but make sure to drain the cans of beans and tomatoes before adding them to the soup. So easy, so healthy, and I used some leftover barley that I had from the following recipe, starring Acorn Squash.

Remember in the previous post how I had no clue what to cook with the acorn squash I bought? Well, that night I was flipping through The Saturday Evening Post magazine that my grandparents sent us, and I found this amazing recipe. So delicious! A little time-consuming, only in the sense that I've never made it before, and I had doubts running through my head the whole time I was cooking it, but it turned out amazing, and a yummy vegetarian meal it was for two!

All you need is one small acorn squash for a dinner for two.



Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Be careful, as these suckers are mighty tough to cut when they haven't been cooked.



Then you roast the squash until tender and gently scoop out the squash from the peel.



Add all the fixings, and bake!




Stuffed Acorn Squash with Barley

1 small acorn squash (about 1.5 pounds), halved and seeded
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 c pearl barley (I got mine at Whole Foods)
1/2 fennel bulb (~6 oz.), trimmed of stalks, cored, and chopped fine
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1 pinch dried thyme
1 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)
2 Tbps minced fresh parsley
2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Balsamic vinegar, for serving (I forgot this last step and it still tasted great)

1) Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray.

2) Brush cut sides of squash with 1 Tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and lay cut-side down on prepared baking sheet. Roast on lower-middle rack until tender (tip of paring knife can be slipped into flesh with no resistance), 45-55 minutes. Remove squash from oven and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

3) Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water to boil in small saucepan. Stir in barley and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until barley is tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain and set aside.

4) Wipe saucepan dry, add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, and heat over medium heat until shimmering (whatever that is??). Stir in fennel and shallot and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic, coriander, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

5) Off heat, stir in cooked barley, 1/2 cup Parmesan, parsley, pine nuts, and butter. Season w/salt and pepper to taste.

6) Flip roasted squash over and scoop out flesh, leaving 1/8-inch thickness of flesh in each shell. Gently fold cooked squash into barley mixture, then mound mixture evenly in squash shells. (Stuffed squash can be covered loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. Finish and bake as directed, increasing baking time to 25-30 minutes.)

7) Sprinkle squash with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake on upper-middle rack until cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to taste and serve.

*Note, I committed the worst faux pas in all of cooking: I used dried herbs! And it still tasted great. I didn't have any of the fresh (although I did cut up some green onions for the shallots...aren't those the same things, or similar to the same thing?). So I kind of estimated and took into account that dried herbs are stronger than fresh, so I used way less than the recipe called for. Sorry to not have exact measurements. I bet it would have tasted even better if I had all fresh, but I thought it turned out just fine.



And last but not least, this is James Farmer's Mimi's Apple Butter

I've posted this before, but I thought it was worth it to re-post, since it's such an easy and delicious recipe, perfect for a nice Fall morning. Slather up some toast with a hearty helping of the apple butter, grab a hot cup of coffee (spiked with Pumpkin Spice creamer), and head out to your front porch for a nice quiet (can it be quiet with kids around?) morning.

You'll find the recipe here

That's all for now!