Christmas Tree Felt Board

I know, I know. This website is supposed to be about recipes, right?  I have to admit that I have been stuck in a recipe rut.  With my busy, demanding (did I mention busy?!) toddler, and with the holidays fast approaching, I seem to be relying on the same nine or so recipes.  Hopefully this will pass soon and I can get back to cooking because I miss experimenting in the kitchen!

What I have been doing instead?  Well last weekend we decorated the house for Christmas and my almost two-year-old son is thoroughly enjoying all of the Christmas decorations.  Um, yes, that means that things are being "undecorated" daily in our house.

I decided to create a Christmas tree felt board for "Lolo" so he can decorate the tree whenever he wants.  I had hoped it would prevent him for taking the ornaments off our Christmas tree, but it hasn't.  The Christmas tree felt board is still a hit even though I have ornaments (more by the day) floating around the house as well.  Alas that is life with toddlers, right?

What I enjoy most about watching him decorate his tree is that he has to put the star at the top.  Where do our kids pick these things up? 

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Ok, full disclosure: I did NOT cook this! Nope, fabulous my husband did.  I told my husband the other day that I was in the mood for comfort food, i.e. mac ‘n’ cheese.  He said what he always says, “ok.”  It was Saturday morning and I proceeded to walk out the door to go grocery shopping. 

When I arrived home from the store, I found him and my son sitting in front of the TV, pen in hand, watching America’s Test Kitchen.  It happened that they were making mac ‘n’ cheese on the episode, so dear husband was writing down the ingredients.  Can you say perfect timing?

Now here is the kicker: The version of mac ‘n’ cheese they were making had tomatoes in it.  My husband is allergic, and I mean really allergic, to tomatoes.  I took one look at him and said, “I am not making two different dishes for dinner.”

To that he responded, “Ok, I’ll do it.”

Not cook dinner?  You don’t have to say that twice! 

Not only did I get great mac ‘n’ cheese for dinner, but I didn’t even have to make it.  Talk about a good night! 

As mentioned, this recipe is adapted from America’s test kitchen. 

*If you are not gluten free, use regular pasta and the recipe will still be great.

Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

1 lb gluten free pasta* (I like Trader Joe’s gluten free rotini)
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 – 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4 tbsp oat flour or brown rice flour (or regular flour if you’re not gluten free)
3 tbsp butter
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta until it is al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water.  Place in bowl and add can of tomatoes with liquid. Stir thoroughly.  Let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The pasta will soak up all the excess liquid from the tomatoes.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir to create rue.  Once mixture is bubbly and starting to turn light brown, remove from heat.  While stirring, add chicken broth and half and half.  Return to heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Simmer 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cheese and seasoning until well mixed. 

Combine pasta and sauce.   Cook in oven for 20-25 minutes, covered if you want all cheesey, uncovered if you like the top crunchy.

Sautéed Butternut Squash with Lemon & Pine Nuts

How did it get to be November already?!?  Wasn’t it  just last week it was getting dark at 8 p.m. and it was 75 degrees out?  Alas, summer is over and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

As the leaves fall in my front yard, (and no, I haven’t gotten around to raking them yet) I took the time to prepare this butternut squash recipe for my family.  I wanted to share it with you now because this is a very pretty presentation for squash and a great side dish for Thanksgiving.  I modified the original recipe (like I do with most recipes) to eliminate tree nuts because my husband is allergic.

This is a pretty easy recipe, but if you can get someone else to cut up the squash I recommend it because it can be a workout!

This recipe can be made ahead for Thanksgiving and reheated for 30-45 minutes prior to eating.

Sautéed Butternut Squash with Lemon & Pine Nuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 oz pine nuts, toasted

1-1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add squash and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes until squash is lightly browned (the edges will start to soften).  Add pine nuts, lemon zest and parsley and transfer to oven safe bowl. Bake squash for 25-30 min until hot and tender. 

If making this dish ahead for Thanksgiving dinner, sauté squash but do not bake it until just before you are ready to eat, and if it has been refrigerated it will need to bake for 30-45 minutes.