Roasted Acorn Sqaush and Gorgonzola Pizza

I just happened to have all the ingredients for a delicious pizza recipe I saw on Everday Italian. It was made with just a few simple ingredients. I had to add a couple of ingredients of my own to make the pizza a more substantial meal. Otherwise I knew that we would eat it and be hungry again in 20 minutes. The original recipe was simply pizza crust, acorn squash tossed in olive oil, maple syrup, red pepper flake and salt and pepper. I added red onions, Kalamata olives, red bell pepper, sauteed mushrooms and some grilled chicken for a little bit of protien. It was a delicious change for us! The squash was a bit sweet, but everything else was savory and paired well with the sweetness of the squash. The recipe below is the original recipe. Feel free to add what you like!


1 (1- pound) acorn squash
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 pound pizza dough
1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 cup arugula
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice the squash in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds. Slice the squash into 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide half moons and place in a medium bowl. Toss the squash with the syrup, olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the squash until tender and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Keep the temperature on the oven at 375 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a flour dusted piece of parchment paper to a 13-inch diameter. Place the pizza and the parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and the Gorgonzola on the pizza dough. Bake in the oven until golden and cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Peel the skins off the squash. Top the cooked pizza with the cooked squash. Top with arugula and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Slice and serve

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Grilled Turkey

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I LOVE butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash.....This salad is a combination of my own creation and a recipe I found on Epicurious. It was light, yet filling and full of savory and sweet flavors. The original recipe did not call for turkey or tomatoes, but I always need some kind of protein with dinner and I have been receiving SO many beautiful and delicious tomatoes from a co-worker's garden! I just had to add them. Plus, a salad isn't a salad without tomatoes. At least not to me. Because there isn't really a recipe for this, I will just let you know what I put on it. First, I roasted 1/2 of a butternut squash (that is all I had) at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I tossed it (I peeled it with a vegetable peeler and sliced it into large chunks) with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper and a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed with about 1-2 tsp. of brown sugar. The squash will be tender when it is done. I placed fresh field greens on a plate and topped them with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, dried cranberries, avocado, garbonzo beans, the squash, and gorgonzola cheese crumbles. I then marinated turkey cutlets in fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. I let it marinade for about 20 minutes and grilled it on the George Foreman grill until it was cooked through but still juicy. When it done, let it rest for a few minutes. Slice it up and toss it on your salad. Top your salad with your favorite dressing. This was such a yummy meal! I also served fresh baked rolls on the side. YUM!

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

I bought a 6 pack of beautiful bell peppers at Costco last week. I had four of them left and decided that it would be a great opportunity to try a new recipe! I remembered seeing Giada de Laurentis make this on an episode of Everday Italian and thought that it sounded perfect. WOW! This filling is SO good! I could (and did) eat a huge plate of it on its own. It is full of flavor from the mint. I never knew that mint could taste so good in a recipe. I also loved that it had shredded zucchini to bulk it up a bit so that it wasn't just all pasta. I decided to grill some salmon and steam some veggies to go with it. I will warn you right now, the recipe says that it stuffs six peppers, but I am certain I had enough to stuff eight. However, leftovers of the pasta alone are fantastic!

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

1 28 oz. can Italian tomatoes

2 zucchini, grated

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan cheese) plus more for sprinkling

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (1 used 2 Tbsp.)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

4 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups orzo

6 sweet bell peppers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break apart. Add zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil and add orzo. Cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should only be partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to drain the orzo and reserve the broth. Transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other veggies. Stir the orzo into the veggie mixture. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up. Place the peppers in the baking dish with warm broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the orzo stuffed peppers to a serving plate.

Roasted Vegetable Burritos

I think that one of the reasons I get so excited for fall is because it means it is time for pumpkin, butternut squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, hot soup and homemade bread. All of those things are on my list of favorites! This recipe uses butternut squash...something I think I could eat on a daily basis. I love this recipe! It is quick and so flavorful!

Roasted Vegetable Burritos
1 small or 1/2 of a large butternut squas, peeled and diced large
2-3 red potatoes, large dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into large strips
1 large onion, sliced
1 8 oz. package mushrooms, large dice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil
black beans
cooked brown rice
grilled chicken
non-fat plain yogurt
green salsa verde
tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 dgrees. Place diced vegetables on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes and squash are soft. Layer rice, beans, roasted veggies and chicken on a tortilla. Dallop a scoop of yogurt and some green salsa on top. Roll up and enjoy!