Butternut Squash Pasta

I’ve been absolutely terrible at posting lately. I’ve been so crafty, but I haven’t been posting to this at all. It’s terrible! I’ll try to catch up soon, but here’s a quick and delicious winter recipe for now.

I had plans to make a shrimp orzo tonight, but when I was reading the recipe it said it would take at least and hour and a half. No thank you! I was starving, and the butternut squash on the counter was on its last leg.  So, I searched my mother’s Market Vegetarian recipe book for some kind of butternut squash recipe. It’s an amazing book, by the way. I can’t wait to try more recipes!

Anyway, the recipe is a spin on butternut squash ravioli, except better. It’s easy, fast and delicious. Since I’m a pescetarian(and I already had the shrimp for the time-consuming orzo), I added some shrimp to the original recipe. It’s definitely not necessary though, so I’ll maintain this is a vegetarian dish. I think it took about 20 minutes from ingredients to deliciousness.

The final product

Servings:

I’d recommend doubling it if you’re feeding more than two!

Ingredients:

Pasta (I used a dried vegetable pasta, but anything would be great, and the amount depends on how much you want!)
1 half butternut squash
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 handful of parsley, chopped
8-10 sage leaves
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (or something like it)
(I added about two handfuls of shrimp)

Steps:

Boil the water for the pasta. Halve the butternut squash, seed and peel. Cut the squash into thin slices. They should all be about the same thickness so they cook evenly. Heat olive oil on high or medium high. Once you start cooking the pasta, add the squash to the heated pan. The squash cook for about six minutes by themselves. Turn the squash frequently and carefully because it’s on high heat, and they will burn if left too long! Chop the garlic and parsley while the squash is going. After about six or seven minutes, add the garlic, parsley and sage. Continue cooking the squash and spices for three to four minutes, then turn the pan to low or no heat. This should be about when the pasta is done. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the warm squash pan. Add 1/4 cup of the cheese. Stir and let the flavors mingle for a few minutes. As recommended, I let the flavors develop while I cooked the shrimp (about five minutes). Then, I dished it up and topped with the rest of the cheese.

It was sooo good! I'll definitely be doing this again for a quick weeknight meal.

Tofu Quinoa Bowl

A few weeks ago, a coworker brought in with a cous cous salmon bowl for lunch. It looked amazing! I was so inspired that I made something similar last week.  I made this for my roommate and another friend who had never had an organic meal or tofu and they loved it! So, this is an easy and delicious way to cook tofu for tofu newbies.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth (for cooking quinoa)
• Olive oil (for cooking)
• Teriyaki Sauce (about 1/2 cup or more)
• 1 package of extra firm tofu chopped into bite-size pieces (see tofu photo below)
• 1 shallot (chopped)
• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• About 1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
• Spinach (probably about 10-20 leaves, but you make that call!)
• 1/2 can black beans
• Handful dried cranberries
• 2 oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese (approximately)

Quinoa is usually cooked similarly to rice. Follow the directions on the package your quinoa came in, but I usually always cook quinoa on the stovetop, not in a rice cooker. Cooking quinoa with vegetable broth is another option, but water works too.

The finished quinoa should look something like this.

The only way I can seem to cook tofu well is slowly. I’ve read that quickly searing the sides on high heat is a great way to cook tofu, but it always seems to stick to the pan or turned out burned and not delicious.

So, heat a pan on medium-low and drizzle olive oil in the pan. Add chopped tofu. After a few minutes and one turn of the tofu, pour teriyaki sauce over the top. Continue to turn the tofu every few minutes to get an even heat on all the sides, but avoid turning the tofu too often to prevent breaking the pieces up too much. I’d say between 10 and 15 minutes is about right.

The beginning of the tofu.

Heat another pan at medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Throw in the shallots and garlic and brown slightly. Add mushrooms.

Check your tofu and quinoa!

Stir mushrooms and add spinach and black beans. Cook until spinach is wilted and beans are warm. Check quinoa and remove from heat if the water/broth is evaporated. Check your tofu again!

Everything should be done about the same time, so get your bowls ready! Add quinoa, vegetables, dried cranberries, feta cheese and tofu. Serve.

Not a great photo, but this was the final product.

This should serve 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are. Between three young ladies, we had leftovers, but if it was me and my boyfriend it probably would have been just right. He eats a lot.