Treasure in a Squash

Jen made this for a brunch - she used a turk's hat squash, hollowed out and then packed with the apple-cranberry casserole. Fabulous as a side or dessert, especially when you can dig the spoon deep and remove some squash and apple at the same time.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 lb.) squash
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 large tart apples, peeled, cored & diced
• 1/2 c. cranberries
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. walnuts, crumbled

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Lay squash on its side and cut off 1/4 of it to make a lid. Remove seed and strings.
3. Melt butter in skillet, add onion and saute until soft about 5 minutes.
4. Add apples, cinnamon, raisins and sunflower kernels. Stir and toss until well mixed. Cook about 5 minutes.
5. Scoop apple mixture into squash and replace "lid".
6. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 8.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

These sweet potato fries are a family favorite. So easy and our Notorious Non-Eater of Sweet Potatoes actually enjoys them. Not as oily as the fried sweet potato fries from the restaurant and so easy to make in the background while making something as the entree.

And it is packed with vitamins - if my sweet potatoes were not so lumpy, I would skip peeling them. Nice smooth ones from the store may be clean enough to keep the skins on - more vitamins and antioxidants!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut each potato in half, and then into quarters. Then, slice into fry shapes, about 1/2 inch wide.
3. Put the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag.
4. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon.
5. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries.
6. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.
7. Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Southwestern Coleslaw

We had a shindig to introduce some of the family to the puppies and this was my favorite recipe (I cooked zip for this one, all Jackie). I love the concept of coleslaw - just the right sour balanced against the mayo. But while summertime is traditional coleslaw time (see our Ab-Fab coleslaw), mayo just isn't doing it for me these days.

Jackie brought a different version of this, but I dig this one. We topped pulled pork sandwiches with this - wow, waaayyyy better than just the pulled pork on its own (which apparently is a very popular topping in the South, saves on forks?)

This recipe is from Simply Recipes and her comments on the balance were:

If the seasoned rice vinegar adds too much sweetness for your taste, sprinkle in a little lemon juice. If you are using unsweetened rice vinegar, to get the right balance of acidity and sweet, sprinkle a little sugar over the salad and toss.

Ingredients

• 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about 1/3 to 1/2 cabbage)*
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or plain rice vinegar with added sugar to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Combine cabbage, grated carrot, radish slices, cilantro, onions in a serving bowl.
2. Add the olive oil and toss to coat.
3. Add the seasoned rice vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours and then serve.

Serves 4.