Barbacoa Butternut Tortilla Lasagna

Time for a quickie. Of course, this is only a quick one IF you happen to have leftover barbacoa and roasted butternut squash on hand...and I did. 

Looking for something to do with next week's turkey? Barbacoa Butternut Tortilla Lasagna might be just the recipe you need. Leftover fajita fixings? Or taco meat? Yup. This is for you!

Instead of lasagna noodles, I used flour tortillas. In my case, gluten free wraps performed the duties of flour tortillas to perfection. No difference whatsoever! 

Layer up tortillas, smoky salsa, sweet roasted butternut squash, earthy spinach, salty queso fresco and savory, beefy, barbocoa (or leftover protein of your choice), bake, and there's one easy, colorful, and delicious dinner on the table in a snap. 

(Don't have a barbacoa recipe? Here's mine from a little while back. You're welcome! Spicy Barbacoa With Chilies For Tacos, Frito Pie And Especially For Chris)

Barbacoa Butternut Tortilla Lasagna

• 6-8 appox. 8" diameter flour tortillas - I used Toufayan Gluten Free Wraps to make this GF
• 1 C smoky, chunky salsa - I used Jardine's Campfire Salsa
• 2 C roasted butternut squash
• 10 oz package o frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 8 oz queso fresco, crumbled - feta makes a perfectly wonderful substitution!
• 1 1/2 C leftover barbacoa - if you use leftover turkey or another unseasoned meat, mix in a half packet of taco seasoning for some oomph!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread a little salsa in the bottom of a shallow gratin dish - I used maybe a 9"-10" X 6"-7" oval casserole dish...yep, the Corning Ware French White large dish we all have tucked away somewhere. 

From here we're making layers of ingredients - like a lasagna. The tortillas won't fit, so tear them as you go to fit in a single layer. Next slather on 1/3 of the salsa, scatter  1/2 the barbacoa, then 1/3 of the squash, 1/3 of the spinach, 1/3 of the queso fresco, then repeat the same layers. The last layer doesn't use barcacoa, but otherwise is the same.

This is how it looks before going into the oven. Colorful!

Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes then cut into squares and serve!  

Butternut Buttermilk Apple Soup With Chorizo

Dear Autumn,

Welcome! It's really good to see you again after the steaming heat of summer left me wilted. I yearned for your cool, refreshing nights and golden mornings of dappled light sparkling through leaves of fiery scarlets, regal golds, and pumpkin oranges. 

And your gifts! Apple trees in rows upon the rolling hills of farms, your branches so heavy with fruit they sag downward for easy picking; your giant (and tiny, too) orange orbs dotting the fields waiting patiently for kids and adults to choose the perfect pumpkin for scary carvings or sweet, warmly spiced pies; your wide variety of cruciferous veggies growing low to the ground for picking and sturdy enough to store through fall and winter. 

Your cabbage family bounty easily lends itself to hearty fall dishes that ward off any chill in the air. Stuffed cabbage rolls with (maybe?) homemade sauerkraut, bacon roasted, crispy edged Brussels sprouts or even Mom's old fashioned cheesy cauliflower casserole grace your season's dinner tables. You can't serve that kind of hearty fare in the sizzling heat of summer! 

And you know you're the season of soup! Nothing warms a home like a pot of stock simmering on the stove filled with the possibilities of what it shall become. Chicken stock. Traditional chicken noodle, perhaps? Or spicy black bean, chicken and rice? Sweet corn? Tomato rice? Beef stock. Hearty vegetable? Or mushroom beef barley? Everybody's favorite onion soup crowned with a big, melty, toasty, cheesy crouton?

Of course, Autumn, I sometimes skip the simmering stockpot completely and make an easy fall soup right in my Vitamix. Why not?! There's so much to do and see and enjoy during your glorious season that time in the kitchen is reserved for your cool and rainy days (and there are plenty of those, too!).

This is a smooth, silky, sweet, tart, slightly spicy soup to serve warm with good and yeasty rolls slathered with lots of butter. The chorizo is a spicy contrast in texture, but if you want to keep this vegetarian soup meatless, use some crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish instead. 

Of course, Autumn, I know you don't cook so you won't be cooking up any kind of soup or anything else. Well, except for cooking up sweet, sweet days and warm memories. Thanks for those....you're the best!

Love,
Dinner Plan-it

Butternut Buttermilk Apple Soup With Chorizo

• 3 lbs peeled, cubed butternut squash (you know, the pre-peeled kind in plastic tubs in the market), sprayed or drizzled with coconut oil, sprinkled with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, roasted at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned and caramelized
• 1 medium leek, quartered lengthwise, washed, and sliced across into 1" pieces
• 2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, diced
• 1/4 C water
• 6 T softened butter
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 C buttermilk, plus 1 1/2 C additional
• 1 C apple cider
• 1/2 t chipotle powder (or more if you like it spicier)
• juice of 1 lime
• 2-3 links Mexican-style fresh chorizo sausage, crumbled and fried crisp

Add to your Vitamix the roasted butternut squash, leek, diced apple, water, softened butter, salt, 1 C buttermilk, apple cider, chipotle powder, and lime juice. Process in bursts until all is smooth and then continue processing until the container is good and warm and the soup is cooked. Yikes, I love the convenience of my Vitamix!

Pour the mixture into a large bowl or other container, add the additional buttermilk and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, warm the soup on the stovetop, adding a little more buttermilk and/or apple cider to thin the soup, if necessary. (Don't thin it until it's warm so you don't thin it too much.) 

Garnish with chorizo crumbles. To make this vegetarian, either don't use the chorizo or garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds instead of chorizo.

NOTE: I served this in tiny espresso cups for a party recently. So pretty!

Dark n Stormy Stew

"It was a dark and stormy night." Remember Snoopy at his typewriter, sitting atop his doghouse, clicking out that cliched opening line to his novel? That thought may have just brought a smile to your face, it certainly does to mine.

You may not know (then again, you might just be hip to it already!), but there's another kind of Dark n Stormy that brings a smile, too...the classic cocktail of dark rum, ginger beer and lime by the same name. Not only that, there's Dark n Stormy Stew, too. Yep, why not put the same flavors that work as a cocktail into a rich, hearty and spicy beef crockpot-simple stew? No reason not to...so I did!

Rum and ginger paired perfectly to make a satisfying winter stew loaded with butternut squash, pearl onions, fingerling potatoes and lots of savory gravy redolent with ginger, clove and allspice to echo the spice notes of fine dark rum and good ginger beer. As the stew simmered slowly over the hours, flavors melded into such a conglomeration of sweet, savory, gingery, rummy goodness that even butternut squash became as one with the sauce.

What do you accent the inspirational cocktail with? Lime. And there's no more proper finish to the stew either than bright and fresh lime. Just as the green citrus fruit perks up the dark sweetness of the cocktail, freshly grated lime zest and a hefty squeeze of a lime wedge do the same thing for this savory stew. Lime and gingery beef stew may sound like an odd combo, but trust me...the accent of lime takes the party to new heights.

As for the perfect cocktail pairing? A Dark n Stormy, of course! Here's the recipe for BOTH the stew AND the cocktail.

Dark n Stormy Stew

• 2 T canola oil
• 2 1/2 pounds beef flapsteak (that's what I had in the freezer - use your own favorite, tender stew beef)
• 2 1/2 C butternut squash, cubed - you know I use the already peeled and cubed squash the grocer conveniently has waiting in plastic tubs in the produce section (repurpose the plastic...wash it out and use it to store cookies!)
• 12 oz bag of frozen pearl onions (hey...if YOU want to go to the trouble of peeling all those teeny, tiny fresh pearl onions, go ahead....we'll wait for you to catch up....)
• 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut in half 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 t. ground cloves
• 1 t. powdered ginger
• 1/2 t. allspice
• 1/2 C dark rum - I used Meyer's
• 7 oz bottle ginger beer - I use Fever Tree
• 2 T cornstarch
• 5 oz. (1/2 a can) beef broth
• 2 limes - 1 zested, 1 cut into wedges

To get good deep beefy flavors going in a crockpot stew, you know I always like to start by browning the meat in a skillet - that's where we're starting this time, too.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. While the oil is heating, season the beef liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the beef cubes in 2 batches. Remove each to the waiting crockpot.

Add the rum to the skillet and stir well to get all those browned bits into the rum. Set aside.

Add the squash, onions and potatoes along with the spices to the crockpot and give it all a good stir. Pour the rum that's still in the skillet and a bottle of ginger beer over the contents of the crockpot. Cover.

Start the crockpot on high and cook for an hour, then lower the temp to low (my crockpot only has settings of "off" "low" and "high.") and continue cooking 4-5 hours until the beef is tender and the squash has nearly disintegrated - it becomes part of the rich sauce.

To thicken the gravy, mix 2 T cornstarch with half a can (5 oz) beef broth and stir into the stew. It will thicken in minutes.

To Serve: Ladle the stew into bowls, sprinkle a little lime zest over each and serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the top. 

Classic Dark and Stormy - The Cocktail

• 2 oz dark rum - Gosling's preferred
• 3 oz. ginger beer - Fever Tree or the excellent Pittsburgh-made Jamaica's Finest by Natrona Bottling
• a nice big lime wedge

In a collins glass filled with ice, add the rum and top with ginger beer. Add lime juice, stir gently and serve.

Chipotle Maple Bacon Roasted Chicken With Winter Veggies

You know how I do "quickies" once in a while...get ready for another that's a one dish wonder of a dinner. The recent busy days of holidays and much to do had me creating many meals that were easy to put together, a complete and nutritious meal, plus totally satisfying on top of it all.
 
Take today's Chipotle Maple Bacon Roasted Chicken With Winter Veggies for instance...layers of Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, whole garlic cloves, red onion wedges, chunks of chicken breast, thick sliced peppered bacon all drizzled with a glaze of real maple, chipotle and orange zest. 

This is before roasting...the pic at the top is the glazed golden goodness of after roasting.

The whole meal took minutes to assemble - especially with that handy-dandy butternut squash that comes already peeled, seeded, cubed and ready to go. An hour in the oven, and dinner was on our dining table...it can be on yours just as quick as mine! 


(Okay. Maybe the post wasn't such a quickie after all, but making this for dinner will be!)

Chipotle Maple Bacon Roasted Chicken 

With Winter Veggies

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2" cubes
• 20 Brussels sprouts (or more if you wish!), trimmed and cut in half - or quarters if they're large...I'd recommend small ones, though.
• 2 cups butternut squash, get the already peeled, seeded and cubed butternut in the plastic containers...SO much easier!
• 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1/2 bulb garlic, skins removed, smashed gently (about 15 cloves all together)
• 4 slices THICK sliced PEPPERED bacon, cut across into 1/2" pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup, Grade B real maple syrup!
• 1/2  teaspoons chipotle powder - use less of you'd like less heat, more if you'd like more heat
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• zest of 1 orange save the rest of the orange for a salad or for juice for something else (cocktail perhaps?)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the glaze ingredients together - maple syrup, chipotle powder, granulated garlic and orange zest. Set aside.
 
Spray a large, shallow baking dish (a lasagna pan or large oval dish abut the same size is perfect!) with olive oil. Toss the chicken and all the veggies together and spread out in the baking dish. Add a good sprinkling of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Scatter the bacon pieces over top and drizzle with the glaze.
 
Roast uncovered for about an hour or until the bacon is done and the top is nicely browned and the veggies are tender, but not overcooked. Soup's on!

Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Winter Veggies & Garlic

Another quick post with a speedy, easy, totally delicious weeknight dinner the fam will think you slaved over all day. And all in one dish! 

With no further adieu, here it is.

  

Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Winter Veggies & Garlic

• olive oil spray
• 1 pound cauliflower flowerets, just snap them off the head - weigh after taking of the head (easy way to measure? Dump the squash in the dish first and then fill up the empty squash container with cauliflower)
• 1 pound butternut squash, prepackaged, cubed - so easy!
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
• Rustic Tuscan Seasoning from Costco (Kirkland), to taste
• granulated garlic
• kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray the bottom and sides of a large, shallow casserole dish with olive oil. Scatter the veggies evenly over the bottom and sprinkle seasonings over the veggies.
 
Top with the chicken breasts and season again liberally. Spray olive oil over the chicken breasts and bake until browned and beautiful...45-60 minutes. 

Wasn't that easy?! (I won't tell anyone if you don't.)

Note: Rustic Tuscan Seasoning is a blend of roasted garlic, bell peppers, rosemary, basil, oregano and lemon.  If you can't find this in the store, mix up a blend of your own with the same ingredients or find a similar blend.  Penzey's will definitely have something similar!

Hot Buttered Rum Butternut Pork Chops

There is nothing like a cool, crisp, leisurely Sunday to inspire an easy yet somewhat rustic and decadent pork chop dinner.  We like pork chops around here all year round...on the grill or on the smoker in the warmer months.   

In cooler weather, the scent of roasting or braising pork has a come hither effect on the nose that draws the whole family into the kitchen.  Aromatic veggies enhance that aroma...not to mention how those veggies pique the flavor!  

This time butternut squash was the inspiration. Butternut led naturally to butter which, of course(!) led to RUM! Oh the possibilities!

The result of the experiment?  Well I wouldn't be posting it here unless it was completely wonderful.  Rich, hearty, sweet and savory with smooth buttery undertones and kissed by more than a hint of rum...total deliciousness.

In fact, I'm thinking my next cocktail creation just found inspiration.  Hot Buttered Apple Cider Spiced Rum might just be the thing to snuggle by the fireplace on a cold winter's evening.  Coming up!  

Hot Buttered Rum Butternut Pork Chops

• 4 pork chops, 3/4" thick center cut loin chops
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, sliced thinly
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/4 cup golden rum
• 2 tablespoons butter 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter and oil together in a large skillet.  Salt and pepper both sides of chops and brown on both sides in skillet.  Remove to a 9 X 13 shallow baking dish.
Saute the onion and garlic in the same skillet.  When caramelized, remove to a plate.
 
Tile slices of squash and apple alternately on top of pork chops - do this pretty tightly.  Any squash and apples that are left, just scatter them around the edges of the chops. Season liberally with salt & pepper.  Spoon the onions and garlic down the center of the apple and butternut topped chops.  Spoon excess around the outside of the chops.
 
Pour both rums into the skillet and stir up all the browned bits.  Add the butter and stir well.  Pour over the chops.
 
Put foil tightly over the dish and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil, if dish is a little dry, add a little water or chicken stock.  Replace foil and cook another 20 minutes.  Remove foil and finish another 10 minutes.
 
Serve topped with the the extra squash & apples on the sides and lots of sauce - and with a bright green veggie like Brussels sprouts, buttered green beans or asparagus.

Applejack Braised Shortribs with Butternut & Brussels Sprouts

 

 
What is it about cool, crisp weather and slow braising?  They're positively made for each other!  There just isn't anything better than having a pot of goodness simmering on the stovetop on a lazy, chilly Sunday afternoon just filling the house with a most delicious aroma...nothing better at all.

In my opinion, the bubbling liquid and resultant steam are good for your sinuses and your lungs...I bet that's part of the magic of chicken soup, too. As the steam naturally humidifies dry winter air, it help your feel all better.  It's just supposition, but one never knows...remember you heard it here first.

  
A pot of Applejack Braised Shortribs with Butternut and Brussels Sprouts uses lovely fall vegetables, plus apples and apple cider to accent the flavors - and colors - of the season.  Colors of orange butternut and bright green Brussels sprouts nestled next to the deep, rich brown of beautifully caramelized shortribs look just like a pot full of fall.
  
If only the colors of the braise would stay, but just as bright fall leaves become muted as the season comes to a close, the color of the dish fades during cooking, too. While I miss some of that lovely color when the dish is done, the flavor that remains behind is beefy and rich, sweet with apple, butternut, cider and red wine, earthy sprouts and amazing flavor!  What would you rather have...vibrant color or deep, lush flavor...mmmhhmm...that's what I thought.
 
The combination of butternut and Brussels sprouts in a stew or other slow-cooked dish has been working in my mind for a while now.  I was considering what to use to accent those fall flavors...pork?  Maybe chicken or turkey? Hmmmm. (I'm still working on a similar pork dish...maybe pork shanks....)
 
Then inspiration in the form of Cousin George struck. George mentioned on Facebook that he made Red Wine Braised Shortribs to help ride out Hurricane Sandy there in Maryland.  (He also made a pot of Dark Pot Roast Chili....quite the Renaissance man, eh?!)

I had shortribs in the freezer.  I had red wine.  He sent me the recipe, but naturally I veered off course. Somehow this seemed the appropriate time to set the squash and sprouts to work!
 
Thus today's recipe was born. Here it is:  

Applejack Braised Shortribs with Butternut & Brussels Sprouts

• 2 1/2 pounds short ribs, boneless - 6 large, lean pieces (they were actually labeled as chuck shortribs)
• 2 slices bacon, thick sliced, cut across into 1/2" pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 large red onion, sliced thin
• 2 large garlic cloves, slivered

• 1 large sprig of thyme, separated into smaller pieces
• 1/2 cup Laird's Applejack
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider, you know I use the farm fresh kind from the farm market
• 1 cup red wine

• 1 pound butternut squash, pre-cut, pre-packaged cubes - LOVE the convenience!
• 18 Brussels sprouts, stem ends cut off, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced large

Season the ribs with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper on all sides.  Set aside.
 

In large enameled cast iron Dutch oven (with a lid), saute bacon until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and reserve.  Add butter to the bacon fat in the pot and melt. 
 

Raise the heat to high, add half the ribs to the pot and brown well on all sides. Remove to plate and add the rest of the meat - again brown well on all sides.  Remove to plate.
 

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook for a few minutes until just beginning to soften a little bit.  Add the Applejack and stir well, getting all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.  Stir the apple cider and red wine into the liquid.

Add the meat back into the pot, nestle the thyme between the ribs and down into the liquid.  Bring to a boil, cover and immediately lower heat to simmer.  Cook for 1 1/2-2 hours until the meat is tender. 

Veggies in the pot all ready for the final simmer...and still pretty.

Add butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and apple.  Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil again and immediately lower heat to simmer.  Cover pot and continue to cook until the squash and sprouts are tender.
 

Serve over buttered poppyseed noodles (gluten-free to keep this GF - I really like Scharr tagliatelle) & garnish with reserved crisp bacon.

NOTE:  Poppyseed noodles: cook noodles, butter them and add a tablespoon or so of poppyseeds, salt & freshly ground pepper.  Not much of a recipe...I like those easy ones!

Butternut Chipotle Chowder with Ham

Soup's on!  That was a very welcome call to dinner over the last few days.  Hurricane Sandy, a.k.a Frankenstorm, sure did create havoc out there.  For those of us fortunate enough to have power, soup was just the dish to warm both tummies and spirits. It's a good thing I had a hambone ready to rock!

This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup.  Hearty with potatoes, yet with a delicate balance of sweet butternut squash and tender leeks, spicy with the gentle heat of chipotles in adobo, and smoky with ham and bacon...it just hits all the right flavor and texture notes that make a great soup.

Have you peeked ahead at the recipe?  Did you notice there's no cream to thicken this chowder?  Not even a butter and flour roux?  The creamy, hearty texture comes from instant potato flakes!  Potato flakes help keep the calorie count fairly low...would you believe a big bowl of today's recipe has only 154 calories?  Not bad, huh?

Here's the recipe. Enjoy....and please stay warm and dry and safe.  

Butternut Chipotle Chowder with Ham

• 1 ham bone, with lots of meat
• 2 stalks celery, with tops & extra leaves, cut into large pieces
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• a handful of dried minced garlic - if you can't find it in the store, try Penzey's...I get mine at Costco.

• 2 slices bacon, thick-sliced, cut across into 1/2" pieces
• 2 large leeks, washed well and chopped (see washing method below)
• 6 red potatoes, unpeeled, diced small
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and diced small
• 2 stalks celery, small dice
• 2 small chipotle chile canned in adobo, minced, PLUS 2 T. adobo sauce

• 1 cup mashed potato flakes

Put the hambone, celery and leaves, onions and dried garlic into a large soup pot and just cover with water.  Bring to a boil and immediately lower heat to a simmer.  Cover the pot and let simmer 1 1/2 - 2 hours until the ham starts to fall from the bone.  Remove bone & meat to a platter and reserve.  Take all the meat from the bone and shred.  Discard the bone. 

Then, using a spider or large slotted spoon, remove veggies.  Discard veggies.

In a large skillet, saute bacon until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.  Reserve bacon fat.  Add the butternut squash and saute until it begins to caramelize, but not until soft.  Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the ham stock in the soup pot.  Add the leeks and celery to skillet and continue to stir and cook until soft.  Add to the soup pot.
 
Add the potatoes, reserved shredded ham and the chipotles & adobo sauce to pot.  Raise heat to high and bring to a boil again.  As soon as it comes to a boil, lower the heat again to low and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through and the soup comes together.  

Add the instant mashed potato flakes to thicken and give a chowder consistency.
 
Serve garnished with reserved crispy bacon and a drizzle of sour cream or Greek yogurt. 
 
If you want, separate the squash seeds and roast them at 350 with a sprinkle of Kosher salt and a sprinkle of chipotle powder and a spray of olive oil for about 10 minutes.  Stir and roast another few minutes until crunchy. Finish your garnish with the roasted seeds.  Better than pumpkin seeds!




NOTE:  Leeks are VERY sandy and it is difficult to get all that dirt and sand from between all the layers.  Back in the 70's Graham Kerr - The Galloping Gourmet - shared his method for cleaning leeks.  Works like a charm!  

He always started his leek segment by saying, "First, you take a leek."  Love his humor!  Okay, the method.  

Trim the dried, fibrous end of the leek off.  Then wash the root end.  Starting from about 1/2" above the roots, slice the leek in half lengthwise making SURE the leaves remain attached.  Turn the leek 1/4 turn and slice lengthwise again.  Spread the leaves apart - again, making sure the leaves stay attached to the root end and wash the leek under cold running water.  Be sure to get between each of the leaves and that you are removing ALL the debris..  When you're sure it's completely clean, dry it thoroughly and proceed to chop.  It may seem like a lot of trouble, but it's simpler than it sounds here.  And the leeks are squeaky clean!