Stuffed & Baked Acorn Squash

I tried this recipe sometime ago, after a friend told me that she did it at Thanksgiving. She is Vegan and does not do turkey, but she really wanted to stuff and bake something for the occassion. So she tried a baked squash. The idea appealed to me. I usually make squash the Indian way (and that is delicious!), but I was looking to try something else to make this vegetable more appealing to the family... (read my husband).


I chose acorn squash because of its size (it is small, so it cooks faster, and I just needed it to serve 3). Added to that I had recently read that acorn squash is a great source of fibre, Vitamin A, C, E and B6, and potassium and magnesium. (For additional information : http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-acorn-squash.html).


So here is what I did.


Ingredients:
1 medium Acorn Squash
1/2 cup long grain basmati rice
1/2 cup sliced green bellpeppers
1/2 cup sliced red bellpeppers
1/2 cup sliced red onions
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 grated carrot
2 tablespoons oilve oil
Salt, pepper, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg


1. Cook the long grain basmati rice and set aside.
2. Heat a pan, and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add red onions, green bellpeppers, red bellpeppers and carrots. Cover the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and cinnamon and nutmeg, and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Mix the rice and set aside.
5. Cut open the acorn squash at one end, and scoop out the pulp and seeds (just like a pumpkin).
6. Fill it up with the rice and vegetables, and replace the cut portion.

7. Pre-heat over to 450 F.

8. Bake the stuffed squash for 45-50 minutes, till the vegetable is tender.
9. Let it cool for a bit, then slice and serve with rice or as is.

Fruit Turkey Appetizer

This is a fruit arrangement that I saw on Familyfun website. It looked so much fun that I decided to make it for my son's kindergarten Thanksgiving potluck lunch. Needless to say, it was a big hit with the kids (they just loved looking at it) and the parents (its fruit, right!).

What you need:
1 medium sized cantaloupe
1 bosc pear
A couple of raisins
10-12 skewers (or more)
grapes, strawberries, cheese and clementine slices for the skewers

Cut the cantaloupe from the bottom, so that it stays firm in a platter, as the turkey's body. Use a skewer to attach the bosc pear as the head of the turkey. Make eyes using raisins, and cheese for a beak.

On the skewers, arrange orange slices, grapes, strawberries and cheese. Fix the skewers to make the turkey's tail.

Vegetarian green bean and broccolli couscous

Last night, I was looking for something light and easy (and off course healthy) for dinner for my son and I, and as usual I was looking for someway to incorporate some vegetables into dinner - I had green beans, broccoli and mushrooms in my refrigerator, so I decided on a couscous dish with these vegetables. (Following in the color tradition we set at Halloween, my son calls it the green couscous).


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1/2 broccoli - cut into small pieces
15-20 green beans washed and sliced thinly
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced white onions
1/2 tsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
Lemon juice to garnish

For couscous
Boil a cup of water and add salt and 1/2 tsp butter. Then add the couscous. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Then shut off the heat, cover and leave. Open after 7-8 minutes, and stir with a fork.


For the vegetables
First steam the broccoli and green beans till the are tender. In a pan, heat the cooking oil, add sliced onions and mushrooms. When the onions turn slightly golden, add the broccoli and beans. Add salt and pepper to season. And cover the pan. Allow the vegetables to cook on low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.


Serving
Place the couscous on a plate. Add vegetable on top. And garnish with lemon - fresh lemon juice gives a great flavour to the dish.
(Needless to say, it was a hit with my son! ?Yay!)

Halloween 'Tikki'

I am always trying to make my 5 year old eat vegetable, and most moms know this is a hit-or-miss most days. Sometimes, I try to add new vegetables to dishes he already likes, and it usually works!

My Halloween Tikki experiment was something on those lines. My 5 year old likes mashed potato tikkis (a cutlet of sorts), and I made these with red beets and ricotta, added to potatoes. We called them Halloween Tikki because they were red (like blood), and we had them for breakfast on Halloween.

Red beets are a very healthy root vegetable - they contain vitamins A,B,C, E and K, and also potassium, folic acid and manganese. (For more nutritional information : visit www.shedyourweight.com/the_health_benefits_of_red_beet_nutritional_value_of_red_beet.html)

This recipe serves 3 people. It can be served with whole grain bread or as is with tomato sauce and/ or mint sauce.

Ingredients
4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 and a 1/2 medium sized beets, steamed and grated
100 gms ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 table spoon of gram flour

Mix all mashed potatoes, grated beets and ricotta in a bowl. Add salt and pepper, and the gram flour (this hold the Tikki together, and does not allow it to break into crumbs). Make balls out of the mixtures, and flatten them with your hand. (I let my 5 year old try it, and he had a great time!.). Grease a pan with 1 tsp of oil, and place the flattened Tikkis on the pan, and let them cook. Keep turning them over, till both sides are nice and crisp (You might need to add some more oil, while cooking).

Remove from pan, and serve.