Our Fabulous Bites

We are butternut squash fans and like to try new ways of preparing it.  I saw this recipe from Giada and wanted to try it.  Though butternut squash risotto & warm butternut squash salad are better in my opinion, this was a pleasant dish.  Jeff and I would give it a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 stars. Things I learned from making this:  It is a side dish (as Giada said in the episode where she made it).  I have never had a lasagna for a side but after having this, I can see how that would work.  I think it would go well with a nice chicken main dish.    I made it before church and then heated it up when we got home.  It is time consuming to make but seems to be a dish you can make in advance and finish later. Also, my bites that had more white sauce and a thin layer for squash, were really yummy.  The bites with more squash and less white sauce, were good.  If I were to make this again, I wouldn't layer the butternut squash as thick, just enough to cover the pasta but that is about it.  A

I saw this recipe here and knew I had to try them..  I love coconut and lemon together.  Jeff doesn't care for lemon bars, but he kept eating these so I think that is a good sign.  So here you go, enjoy:  Crust: 1 cup of flour 1/2 cup of powder sugar 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut 1/8 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter) 1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces 1/2 tsp vanilla Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. To make crust combine flour, powder sugar and salt in a bowl. Add butter pieces, vanilla and coconut then mix with hands until crumbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your baking pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set crust aside. A box of lemon pudding or Filling recipe below: 2 large eggs 1 cup of white sugar 2 tbsp of flour 1/8 tsp salt 2 tsp lemon zest, diced finely 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice Sweetened shredded coconut for garnish To make filling whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt

On Master Chef this guy made mac and cheese with a crust on top, which I've never had but thought it sounded good. It just so happened that one of my books had a recipe for this so I had to try it! I wasn't paying attention and bought regular cheddar instead of white cheddar, so I'd like to try it again with white. As well as I found a recipe that used potato chips instead of crackers for the crust, so that sounds good for the next time around. Josh really liked this, and I thought it tasted like a grilled cheese sandwich, and turned out really creamy:) Creamy White Mac & Cheese For the topping- 1/2 stick butter (4 T) 1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed For the macaroni & cheese- 1/2 lb dry elbow macaroni 1 cup pasta water 2 T butter 2 T all-purpose flour 3/4 c whole milk 3/4 c heavy cream Pinch of nutmeg 2 c white cheddar, shredded 4 oz. cream cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees; rub inside of four 8 oz baking dishes (or one 2 qt. baking dish) with softened b

I'm pretty anxious for Autumn, and since we've had a few cooler days, I took advantage and made a stew! This did not come out as red as the photo, which I actually would have liked for pictures sake :) However it still tasted good. I would like to make it again and put some of my own twists in it, but we all enjoyed this and thought it was great for a warm meal. Pork and Tomato Ragout 2 pounds pork stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces 1/4 cup flour 3 tablespoons evoo 1 1/4 cups white wine 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup water 1/2 cup finely chopped celery 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 cinnamon stick 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I didn't have the cinnamon stick, so I'm not sure how it would taste with that in. Also I just realized while typing this that I DRAINED my tomatoes, and it says not to, so maybe that would have made a difference with it coming out red) 1