Baked Pumpkin, Sausage, and Cheese

I cut a "lid" like you do for a Jack-O-Lantern and scraped out the seeds from a 4 lb. pumpkin I got from my winter vegetable vendor. 

1 1/2 C. eggs (five very large eggs)
1 1/2 C. Chicken broth
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Whisk together the eggs, broth, and seasonings.

3/4 lb. Fried, crumbled sausage plus or minus to your taste and add to empty pumpkin.
2 C. Shredded cheddar or Swiss divided.  1 1/2 C. goes into the pumpkin now.

Pour egg/broth mixture over the sausage and cheese.

Put the lid on the pumpkin and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours in a pan with sides to contain any liquid that runs out, then remove lid.

Add reserved cheese and bake without lid for 1/2 hour. 

Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Scoop out filling and pumpkin for each serving.  This is better served after cooling to bring out the flavors.

Cheesy Baked Grits for Christmas Dinner

This is especially for niece Heather.

Cheesy Baked Grits is/are a family favorite for our Christmas Dinner. They are delicious hot and also as they cool down on a buffet.

4 C. water
1 C. grits
1 t. salt
1/3 C. butter
6 drops Tabasco hot sauce
3 eggs
2 C. sharp cheddar cheese

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the grits and salt and bring back to a boil and cook for minute or two. This tends to splatter so I use a hot mit while I stir with a whisk.

Take off of the heat and whisk in the butter and Tabasco sauce.
Have eggs ready to pour in all at once while whisking.
Add the cheddar and whisk that in until smooth.

Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish with some kind of cover.

Bake at 275 for 1 hour. Cover the baking dish for 50 minutes, and then uncover it for the final 10 minutes.

If you choose a smaller deeper casserole, then it will need a longer baking time. This casserole re-heats very well too.

I've also used cornmeal and loved it. The basic recipe is quite versatile.

Baked Oatmeal

When I made this recipe for the first time, I thought that it must need liquid added before baking, so I did. I like the results but I've double checked the original recipe from Candace and indeed there is no additional liquid. I like the mistake.

Soak overnight:

3 C. Oatmeal
1 1/2 C. Yogurt
1/2 C. water

Next morning, stir together:

1/2 C. melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 C. Sucanat or organic sugar, possibly maple syrup, or nothing if you like savory.

Add:

1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 t.Soda
1 t. Salt
1/2 C. Raisins
4 1/2 C. Milk-(this was not in the original recipe)


8" by 13" glass pan
350 degrees
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Lasagna with Gluten Free Soba Pasta

I learned to make soba (buckwheat and gluten-free) noodles from Kimi at Nourishing Gourmet. Two changes I made were to add 1 1/2 t. salt after I had soaked the mixture for 36 hours along with 1 T. arrowroot powder to help with the flexibility. It was no problem to work these things into the dough. There is no gluten to tense up and resist. I used arrowroot to dust the board and rolling pin.

Update 1-24-2010: I made soba noodles with great success when I ground my own buckwheat but when I bought buckwheat flour, it was very different. It was much darker and had a strong flavor when I cooked a test noodle. I didn't end up using the dough. I'm researching why this would be. I find my own ground flour to be delicious, but not the purchased flour. I don't know why yet.

I got my regular lasagna ingredients together and then rolled out the pasta onto a board, cut it into wide noodles (just like commercial lasagna noodles) and layered them into the casserole dish raw, along with everything else. I did wait to top with fresh mozzarella until it had baked for 45 minutes. If I don't do that, the mozzarella browns too much for me.

Tomato sauce with oregano and basil.
Sauteed hamburger, seasoned with salt (1 t./lb.)
White sauce made with sprouted whole wheat flour.
Collard Greens-cut up and raw
Soba noodles cut wide like lasagna
Peas-just a few sprinkled in.
Mushrooms-sauteed
Mozzarella cheese-fresh sliced
Cheddar cheese-I still like a little cheddar in my lasagna even though it's not authentic.

Layer the above ingredients and bake for 45 min.
Add mozzarella and cheddar cheeses and bake 15 to 20 min. more.

Cool a bit before eating-for best flavor.

Spoon Bread for Supper Club

I've been experimenting with nixtamalized corn in various dishes. The latest is spoon bread using the blender method.

In blender place:

1 1/2 C. nixtamalized corn. I soak the corn for 2 days rather than 4 hours.
2 C. Milk

Blend this until corn is smooth and add:

1 C. Milk (total milk is 3 C.)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 T. Butter (I didn't even need to melt this)
3 Eggs
3/4 t. salt-unrefined sea salt

Bake in a casserole, uncovered, at 325 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until it "wiggles" when you gently shake the casserole.

The corn and custard separate a little which makes a nice layering.

Dinner Casserole similar to Breakfast Casserole

When I make my Breakfast Quiche Casserole, I sometimes use spinach for the first layer to make a lower carb. version. Tonight I used onion tops and they are just wonderful.

Melt 4 T butter in large glass casserole dish in the oven set to 350 degrees.

Chop green onion tops. I had lots from the onions I bought last week at the farmer's market. I sometimes throw these away, but no longer.

Pull out the casserole with the melted butter and toss the green tops in butter and put back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute:

1 lb. sausage-pasture raised or ground pork with
1 t. sea salt and
1 t. pepper for seasoning, sauteed gently and set aside.

Mix equal parts eggs and milk, and this time I used some goat broth for the liquid.

3 C. eggs (about 1 dozen), whisk in bowl.
3 C. Milk or broth or both, add to eggs.
1 t. sea salt-unrefined
1/2 t. pepper

4 C. grated cheese. I use a grass-fed Colby cheese and I don't mind that this cheese is NOT raw because I'm going to cook it anyway.

Pull out the hot sizzling onions and top with the sausage, cheese, and milk/broth mixture.

Return to oven for 30 minutes.

The mixture of milk and broth was interesting. There was clear broth that separated from the milk/egg mixture but in a really nice way. It was very juicy which I really liked.

Everyday Cassoulet-Fantastic

I love cassoulet. After I read Julia Child's recipe, I was delighted to learn all about it. Though inspirational, I've never made her recipe because it's so involved. I tasted two authentic cassoulets in France and both were hearty, plain, and delicious. I developed an everyday version that uses simple ingredients.

Soak 2 lb.s Great Northern beans in warm water with whey or lemon juice. Leave overnight. I like to rinse them once during this time, like early in the morning before I cook them. I think it makes them digest easier.

Boil a kettle of water to precipitate as much calcium from hard water as is possible. Pour boiling water over the drained beans and simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain again and pour more pre-boiled water over the beans and simmer for 2 to 3 hours until tender.

Prepare the chicken by cutting into pieces and then make stock out of all the bones. You will need this to pour over the bean-meat mixture.

Roast chicken pieces in the largest Le Creuset casserole you have. I added Italian sausages (no nitrate) and a piece of fatty bacon (no nitrate) too. Drain the beans when cooked and pour over the meats with 2 bay leaves. Add a can of diced tomatoes and about 2 T. tomato paste. A tiny amount of paste is best. I keep extra tomato paste in globs in the freezer. Add un-refined sea salt. Pour the chicken broth over the mixture until you can see the liquid. Add more water to the bones and keep them cooking for even more broth for future cooking.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

Remove the lid and bake 20 minutes longer. I let this cool down in the oven after I turn it off. The skin that forms makes the broth delicious.

Let this casserole cool down a bit before serving. This is a dish where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's not authentic cassoulet but what a fabulous flavor it has.

Sweet Potato Apple Sausage Bake

Sweet Potatoes - wash, dry, peel and save the peelings.
Apples- peel and slice apples
Sausage-Fry and crumble.

Toss Sweet Potatoes and Apples with cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
Put in oven proof lidded casserole and put sausage on top.
Add chicken broth or water to come up 1/4 of the ingredients.
Cover and bake for 1 hour. Best served after cooling slightly.
Green Beans with garlic and butter on the side.

While the casserole is in the oven, toss the peelings in olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp. This happens fast, so watch. I actually used my toaster/convection oven for these. They are like potato chips and since I don't really like them left on the potato in this casserole, this was a delicious way to eat this vitamins.

Curried Beef with Potatoes and Turmeric

The texture of the meat is on the dry side (in a good way) and the potatoes roast on top and get crispy. It reminds me of sloppy joes except with Indian spices

2 medium onions chopped and sauteed in
4 T Butter
1 lb. hamburger or cut up beef sauteed with butter and onions

Spices:
1 T Curry Powder
1 t. Turmeric
1 t. Salt
1 t. Thyme
1 t. Red pepper flakes

4 Cloves garlic chopped and added with spices.

Stir everything together in a oven-proof casserole and top with:

Diced potatoes coated in tallow or melted butter and 1/2 t. Turmeric

Bake at 350 with lid for 30 minutes
Uncover and bake for 30 more minutes

I served this with steamed, buttered kale, sour cream, red sauerkraut (probiotic), and hot black tea spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves with milk and honey.