Cinnamon Acorn Squash

Gosh, I know it's been ~ 2 weeks since I posted!!  I've just been enjoying all of the recipes that I've posted so far and haven't tried anything new worth posting.  But I found some great ideas for acorn squash and can't wait to share them with you!   

Ingredients:
2 medium size acorn squash
2 tablespoons ghee OR
  2 tablespoons coconut oil (optional)
2 teaspoons sea salt
Cinnamon to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg



Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice squash in half and scoop out seeds; spread ghee on edge of squash borders.
3. Place face down in a large baking dish and add about 1/4 inch of water or apple cider.  
4. Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on size of the squash) until the skin is easy to pierce with a fork and the flesh is soft; larger size squash may require 45-60 minutes.
5. Remove from oven. 
6. Option 1:  For mashed acorn squash, scoop out the flesh of the squash and add the other ingredients; serve like mashed potatoes.  
7. Option 2:  If eating as is, place the squash upright on a serving dish and add the other ingredients.  Use a fork to blend ingredients with flesh of the squash.

You can also cook the squash out on the grill if you're not ready to heat the kitchen up!

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 18:20

Roasted Butternut Squash

As the days start to get cooler and the fall sets in, we can finally heat the house back up and start using the oven again!  I found a recipe on realsimple.com for some roasted squash that looks delicious.  I tweaked the recipe a little bit for the autoimmune diet.  I love the way the house smells when you cook in the kitchen!

Ingredients

• 3 small butternut squash (2lbs each)—peeled, seeded, & cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
• 4 shallots
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt & black pepper
• 1 cup cooked and peeled sweet apples
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Divide the squash and shallots among 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Toss the vegetables with a total of 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with a total of ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast, turning once, until golden brown and tender, 50 to 55 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, simmer the cider in a small saucepan until reduced to ¼ cup, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, mustard, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
3. Transfer the squash and shallots to a serving dish and drizzle with the vinaigrette.

I used butternut squash in a dish last weekend.  I had never cooked it before and I was surprised at how different it was to prepare! I've added this link to help you: http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Butternut-Squash.  

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22

Avocado Tuna Salad

As you probably already know, most canned tuna is processed and packaged with soybean oil. Even the cans that are advertised as "tuna in water" list soy as an ingredient. And with an autoimmune condition, you want to avoid anything that contains soy, right? I recently posted a soy-free brand of tuna on my Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006621737315].  It's called Wild Planet. You can find it at http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/.  The website also has additional tuna recipes.  It costs slightly more than common tuna products but it's worth it.  I found it at my local whole foods store. Here are the ingredients:

1 can of soy-free tuna

1 avocado

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon organic honey mustard

1 tablespoon chopped celery

1 tablespoon chopped pickle

1/2 shallot, chopped

This is a great meal to pack in your lunch cooler.  You can wrap it in romaine lettuce or eat it plain. A sweet apple on the side would make a great, energizing meal.  I need more vegetables in my diet so I'm going to add some peas to it next time, too.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Crockpot Applesauce Pork Chops

If you're like me, you're probably constantly scanning recipes for non dairy sauces that you can use with your entrees.  Everything creamy has milk and/or eggs in it, right? Well, I've found something that will make your pork chops sweet, tender and delicious...applesauce! Not the store bought kind; those aren't very flavorful.  Find the sweetest apples you can in your whole food store and whip up some homemade applesauce (see my previous post on Grandma's Applesauce).  This time though, don't blend the cooked apples to a fine puree; blend it very briefly so that you have chunky applesauce.  You might even want to mash it instead of using a blender. You want to have pieces of apple in your applesauce.

Here's the blog link:  http://hashikitchen.blogspot.com/2014/07/grandmas-applesauce.html

The rest of the recipe is super simple!  Cover the bottom of your crockpot with a layer of pork chops; spread half of your applesauce over them.  Place a second layer of pork chops and spread the other half of applesauce over those.  Pour chopped carrots over the top.

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 cups homemade applesauce
4 pork chops
sea salt to taste
1 cup chopped carrots

Cook on low for 6-8 hours; stir occasionally.  


Easy, right?!  Easy and delicious!!  The kids will love it, too!

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"I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name forever and ever." Psalm 145:2