Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken

Have you heard of a Kabocha Squash? It's also called a Japanese pumpkin. No? Either had I until recently when one came in my fruit and veggie box from our local coop.

I have to admit that this little green guy sat on my counter for a month as I searched for the perfect recipe. I found many recipes for slicing, seasoning (some with chili powder and cayenne. Wow!), and baking. Finally I found this gem of a recipe on the website for The Washington Post and we all (children included) enjoyed this sweet yet savory recipe. 

I know what your first thoughts must be. Squash chunks with meat? And it's an Asian dish? Are you sure it's good? Yes!  The meat and soy sauce bring savor along with a slight sweetness of the squash.  My main disclaimer about this recipe is the carving of the vegetable. Be warned because it takes a good ten-plus minutes with a sharp knife and a strong arm. My second disclaimer is that I'm posting this recipe exactly as Chef Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro would have it even though I haven't cooked it per his exact instructions. (See my notes at the bottom of this post.) I usually don't post a recipe without trying it exactly per the original recipe but since some of my neighbors have the same squash sitting all by his lonesome on their counters I thought I would share this recipe before experimenting with it more. Plus, like I said, this recipe is kid-approved in my house so it must taste good enough to share. Agreed? 

Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken
Courtesy of The Washington Post

1 3-pound kabocha squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground chicken*
1 tablespoon minced ginger root
2 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mirin*
2 1/2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon potato starch or tapioca starch*

Use a long, heavy knife to cut the squash into quarters. Discard the seeds and strings inside; peel each quarter and cut the flesh into 1/2-inch cubes. There should be about 4 1/2 cups.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chicken and ginger and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to break up clumps, until no pink remains in the chicken. Add the squash and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it is well coated. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and cook for 5 to 6 minutes; the squash should be submerged.

Combine the sugar and mirin in a measuring cup, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and add to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tamari or soy sauce and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid in the pan or skillet has reduced by half. The squash should be firm but tender and easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons water with the potato starch or tapioca starch in a measuring cup and add to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly; the sauce will thicken almost immediately and will take on a smooth sheen when it's done. Divide among individual bowls and serve hot.

*My Notes: I didn't have a couple of ingredients, including mirin or the preferred starch and ground meat. Instead I substituted rice vinegar for the mirin since they're very similar and cornstarch for the potato or tapioca starch. Ground chicken is expensive and hard to come by (someday I'll have my own meat grinder!) and I love the flavor of ground turkey but we ate our last package the previous night so I resorted to using ground beef. Believe it or not this dish still tasted good with ground beef.

If you try this recipe with the ground chicken or turkey before I do feel free to leave a comment with your reaction!

Bacon & Bleu Burgers

It's a new year and one of my resolutions is to be more efficient in my menu planning. A good friend of mine referred me to Once a Month Mom's website where she documents monthly menu plans and the accompanying ingredient shopping lists to make you a once a month mom. What does being a once a month mom mean? This website lists meal ideas and shopping lists as well as thorough instructions on how to cook one day in the month and freeze these prepared meals. I haven't had my own big day of cooking and freezing because I'm first experimenting with the recipes to see which I like but so far I haven't been disappointed.

This recipe of bacon and bleu burgers is really good! If you don't like bleu cheese I think you'll still enjoy this recipe. The combination of flavors is really mouthwatering and the cheese adds a lot of moisture but the flavor is subtle and not too overpowering.

Bacon and Bleu Burgers
recipe courtesy of Once a Month Mom

1 pound ground beef
2/3 c bacon crumbles
1/3 c bleu cheese

Cook bacon in 400 degree oven on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Remove, allow to cool and chop in food processor.  In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until well incorporated. Make a large ball of the meat and then divide into fourths. Make 4 quarter pound hamburger balls and then mold into patties. Cook on hot grill for 3 minutes on each side or until hamburgers are cooked to desired preference. Serve on buns with additional toppings if desired.
Freezing Directions:
You can make up these hamburgers and freeze them using sheets of wax paper to divide them and then place them in freezer bags. To serve: Thaw, cook and serve according to previous instructions.

Brownie/Cookie Giveaway

Do you like chocolate? 

Do you like chocolate made in France by a chef?!? 

I recently reviewed Ruth's Brownies made with Valrhona chocolate and included is a giveaway through December 27th. Hurry HERE for a chance to win!

 

Cranberry Upside Down Muffins

I had fresh cranberries in my fridge so for breakfast this morning I made these little beauties. If you're not a fan of the tart flavor of cranberries then you won't like this recipe. I liked that the batter is sweet and cake-like in flavor. My only complaint is the muffin's density; these are hearty (read "heavy") muffins but they taste great.

Serving note: Add butter and a sprinkle of sugar on top of your muffin. Enjoy!

Cranberry Upside Down Muffins

recipe courtesy of joyofbaking.com

Cranberry Sauce:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 tablespoon orange juice or water

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Muffin Batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter well or spray, with a non stick vegetable spray, 12 muffin tins.

 

Cranberry Sauce: In a medium sized saucepan place the cranberries, sugar, orange juice (or water), and orange zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries start to pop open, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly while you make the batter.

Muffin Batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg, vanilla extract, and melted and cooled butter.

Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.  

Evenly divide the cranberry mixture among the 12 well greased muffins cups and then evenly spoon the batter over the cranberry sauce. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 2 minutes, and then invert them onto a cooling rack so the the cranberry topping is face up..

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

*My Notes: I had half a grapefruit in the fridge and used the juices (no zest) in my cranberry sauce. The cranberry flavor was so overpowering that I'm not sure if I tasted the citrus flavor. Also, remember to add a little melted butter and sugar for serving!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

I'm so glad these cookies are finally eaten and no longer a temptation. Unfortunately, they're eaten and gone because I ate the three remaining cookies this morning. This recipe is so GOOD!! Thanks to my bro Steve who sent me word of this fab recipe.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Spinach Soup

"I do not like green eggs and ham. 

I do not like them, Sam I Am"

Most days our tropical Hawaiian weather is a natural deterrent to any desire I might have of enjoying a hot bowl of soup. Yesterday on the other hand the weather was chilly and I realized I really wanted to eat soup for dinner. Unfortunately I didn't know what soup I wanted to eat. I didn't want a tomato-based soup nor did I want chicken noodle. Most of all I didn't want to go to the store at 4PM (rush-hour at any local grocer!) in a heavy downpour of rain (with flash flood warnings to boot!). I also had an abundance of frozen fresh spinach that I've collected over the past month and haven't known what recipe to use it in. That's when I found this lovely soup recipe. My 7 year old had this reaction:

"Mmmmm! Mom, this tastes like broccoli! We should eat this every day."

The best part about this recipe is that it's extremely easy and fast to prepare!

Pioneer Woman's Spinach Soup 
(recipe found here)

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 10 ounces, weight Spinach
• 2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ whole Medium Onion
• ¼ cups Flour
• 5 cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• cheese and bacon for garnishing

Preparation Instructions
In a large skillet heat olive over over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly until wilted. Add spinach to a blender or food processor. Pour in 1/4 cup hot water and pulse until pureed. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, then pour in milk, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in pureed spinach, then cook another 3 to 5 minutes until thickened.

Check seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, or cayenne as needed. Serve in a bowl. Add a little grated cheese and bacon bits on top if you prefer. 

My Notes: 
*I have so much spinach in my house that I've resorted to freezing the fresh leaves. When I removed it from the freezer I put it in a bowl and microwaved it for 1 minute. This can replace the wilting process on the recipe instructions. If you follow this procedure just skip the olive oil process and add the garlic the last 1 minute of cooking the onions in butter.
*I only had stringy mozzarella on hand for garnishing but it tasted wonderful with the spinach/onion flavor. My husband loved the bacon and liberally garnished his bowl with this porky treat. If you decide to add bacon make sure you lightly salt the soup since the bacon adds a good salty flavor.
*I added the milk way to quickly and didn't whisk it like I think I should have. The result was flour clumps in my soup. (I was rushing to get dinner on the table before my three kids completely lost their composure!)
*I did not add cayenne pepper since I have wee-ones in my household.