Baked Acorn Squash and Review of Penzey’s Tsardust

Nothing says fall like a fresh baked acorn squash. It’s also a great time to try Penzey’s Tsardust Memories Russian style seasoning. It’s great on meat and vegetables.

Recipe:

1 acorn squash
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp Tsardust seasoning
2 tsp Stevia or sweetener of your choice
1 cup jasmine rice
2 tsp beef bullion granules
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 package Morningstar Farms meat crumbles
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chives

Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place 1 tablespoon butter in each half. Sprinkle the Tsardust seasoning and sweetener. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for one hour.

Cook rice according to package direction. Add bullion to the cooking water before adding the rice. While rice is cooking, add olive oil to a skillet and heat. Sauté crumbles and bell pepper until warmed through. Add crumble mixture to completed rice along with garlic and salt. Stir until combined. 

Stuff the center of each acorn squash with the rice mixture and sprinkle the tops with chives and serve. 

The Penzey’s Tsardust seasoning has the taste reminiscent of cloves. It is an excellent companion spice for the slight sweetness of the squash. 

Visit Penzey’s HERE


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Autumn Cinnamon Apples

What says autumn more than the smell of apples and cinnamon? 

This is an easy breakfast you can put in the crock pot, set the timer, and the beautiful smell of this breakfast will greet you as you awaken. 

Start this dish two hours before you intend to eat. 


Apples cook down a lot when heated, so 6 apples only makes two servings, one for my husband and one for me. If you want to serve more people, you’ll need three apples for each person.

Recipe:

6 organic gala apples, cut into chunks
1/2 cup organic raisins
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Stevia
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup butter, cut into slices

Pour the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot to coat it and keep apples from sticking. In a bowl, toss apples, raisins, cinnamon and Stevia together. Pour into crock pot and top with slices of butter. Put on lid. Cook for two hours on high without lifting the lid. 

Serve with buttered toast.


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Copyright  Judie McMath and The Center for Unhindered Living

Old Fashioned Filled Cookies

When I was growing up, we had an old Betty Crocker cookbook that came in a loose leaf binder. Copyright 1946. This is a scan of one of the pages, containing a recipe for Filled Cookies which we frequently made throughout my childhood. They were just sugar cookies filled with jelly or jam in the middle. 

But this represents the nostalgia of childhood. Food is much more than sustenance. It is tradition, it is family. It is community. It is comfort. It is memories. 

What I wouldn’t give to be cooking in that kitchen again on those ugly green counters. 

Recipe:



1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp Clabber Girl Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and cut into rounds. Put a small amount of jelly in the center. Then use a donut cutter to cut a second round with a hole in to and lay over the top of the first round.

Instructions say to “cook until done.” I guess they are expecting all cooks to automatically know how long that is, about 12 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Now if I were making it today, of course I’d substitute butter for shortening and Stevia for the sugar. And because Clabber Girl baking powder contains aluminum, I’d use Rumford instead. The bottom of the page says this recipe has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Of course, back then we didn’t know aluminum, sugar, and trans-fat were bad for you. 

And of course, a version of this could be made with almond flour, almond milk, and almond extract.


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Diabetic Kitchen Cinnamon Pecan Granola

For those living the low-carb lifestyle, whether diabetic or just trying to do Keto, one thing you sometimes miss is just being able to pour a bowl of cereal once in a while for breakfast. The problem with most granola is it’s usually got rolled oats or some other grains that make it high carb.

This product, however has no grains and tastes delicious with some heavy cream poured over it. Ingredients are:

Sliced Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pecans, Chicory Root Fiber, Coconut Chips (coconut, sodium metabisulfite), Puffed Brown Rice, Organic Coconut Oil, Natural Flavor, Cinnamon, Organic Stevia Extract, Monk Fruit Extract.

Only one gram net carbs per serving. Outstanding!

This product can be found HERE

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Spicy Vegetarian Sausage Bowl

For a little change of pace, I decided to use some Morningstar Farms meat substitute crumbles to make a quick lunch. 

First I sautéed the crumbles in a little olive oil in my favorite cast iron skillet. Added some onions, salt, pepper and sage, as the sage is what gives it the sausage smell and flavor. 




Added a little cayenne for a spicy sausage kick. Then threw in some frozen peas and carrots and continued to sauté until everything is cooked through and flavors have all married up. Tossed in some shredded sharp white cheddar and a little soy sauce. For a little crunch, threw in a few sliced water chestnuts from a can. Stir until everything is well mixed and warmed through. 

Delicious! Those crumbles can be seasoned so they taste like just about anything.

And I just noticed that Morningstar Farms soy products are now GMO-free. Great advantage. 

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Mama’s Buttermilk Biscuits

I was gifted with a carton of buttermilk yesterday, and what do you do with buttermilk except make buttermilk biscuits. We enjoyed them for lunch with some gravy.






Recipe:

3 cups organic unbleached white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. pink Himalayan salt
2 tsp. Stevia
1 1/2 sticks butter, frozen and shredded
1 free range organic egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk buttermilk and egg together in separate bowl. Toss shredded butter and dry ingredients together. Add buttermilk and egg mixture and gently mix together until well combined. Turn out onto floured board.

The dough will be very tender and will seem unwilling to stick together. At this point I sprinkle a teaspoon of water over the dough and dust with a little flour. Turn over and repeat on other side. Gently roll out and cut into biscuits. I’ve never invested in a biscuit cutter. I just use a drinking glass with the rim dipped in flour. This recipe makes eight large biscuits with a little left over. 

Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. They will look like this and taste even better.

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Copyright 2019 The Center for Unhindered Living

 

Baked Ramen Pie

What do you make for dinner when all you have in the house is odds and ends? The answer is, baked Ramen Pie!









Recipe:

2 pie crusts
2 packages Ramen noodles
2 cups whole kernel corn
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound bacon, fried and crumbled
2 packages sausage gravy mix

Put bottom pie crust into 9 inch deep dish pie pan. Cook Ramen noodles and drain (do not use flavor packets). Make sausage gravy according to package directions. Combine noodles, corn, bell pepper, bacon, and gravy in a large bowl. Toss until gravy is evenly distributed throughout noodles. Pour mixture into pie pan and smooth out. Top with other pie crust and pinch top and bottom crusts together. Make four small slits in top crust. Sprinkle top crust with pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.


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