Spaghetti Squash

Since the recent acceptance of my gluten-allergy I have been attempting to eat gluten-free (beer doesn't count right?), though it can be extremely challenging at times. My Madre has been amazing and is constantly making me gluten-free versions of my favorite foods (because she knows I'm too stubborn to do it myself). Long story short, pasta used to be one of my favorite foods so my Madre bought me a squash to try out spaghetti squash--a recipe I had been dying to try.

It's probably the most simple recipe I've ever tried, with cutting the squash in half being the most difficult part, ha!

Once you chop that bad boy in half preheat the oven for 375-400 degrees (different recipes gave varying temperatures), place the squash on a baking sheet and let it bake for about an hour.

I didn't really have the time or resources to make my own spaghetti sauce from scratch so a store-bought jar would have to do. I did however throw some chopped zucchini and carrots into the mix to make it my own.

 After about an hour in the oven you should be ready to go.

Scrap the insides of the squash with a fork--it will begin to take the shape of regular spaghetti.

 It's like magic!

 Throw some sauce on those "noodles" and you are good to go.

I'm so happy I finally gave this recipe a try. It was easy, delicious and best of all I didn't have to deal with any gluten-reactions. Win-win-win my friends!

Vegetarian Chilli

As the brisk-fall weather becomes an every day occurrence what is better than a hearty bowl of vegetarian chili? We took some liberties for our version but it's loosely based on the A Beautiful Mess - Curry Chili recipe.

Needed: 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 Green Chile Peppers
2 tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
1 zucchini
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
Season with cumin, salt and pepper

In a medium/large pot heat the oil over low heat. Dice onion and saute until onion begins to soften. Add chopped bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, green chile peppers, mince garlic and seasonings. Turn the heat up to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Drain/rinse the black and pinto beans and add to the pot. Cook until everything is warmed through or until juices come to a boil.

Serve with cheese and corn chips.

Enjoy!

Veggie Hodge-Podge & Salmon

When I'm feeling too lazy to get fancy with my cooking I turn to the always delicious, never failing Hodge-podge. This ever changing dinner usually consists of various vegetables and possibly beans. After stumbling upon a weekly farmer's market near my work I was excited at the endless possibilities for the next Festive-Friday meal.

1 Zucchini • 2 Tomatoes • 1 Onions • 3 Green Chile Peppers

Instead of following a specific recipe Kevin and I decided to just wing it with Salmon & a Veggie Hodge-Podge dish. 

Chop the assortment of veggies and place in pan on med-high to high until tomato juices start to form a sauce (approximately 15-20 minutes). Season with Cumin and Salt/Pepper to your liking.

Preheat the oven for 400 degrees and place two pieces of frozen salmon on a baking sheet. Season with salt/pepper and some kind of juicy fruit. Usually we make the salmon with lemon or lime juice but since we had some extra tomatoes we decided to give tomatoes a try.

If you are as big of an onion fan as we are, load up the salmon!

 

Cook Salmon for about 15 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through. Check on the salmon around minute 12 and on to make sure it doesn't dry out. 

Even though we didn't have much of a plan for this meal it turned out to be delicious. The vegetable hodge-podge was the perfect balance between juicy tomatoes and spicy peppers. Since this meal I've made similar veggie hodge-podge concoctions and can honestly say I'm obsessed. The tomato-salmon was surprisingly good as well--a good addition to the salmon topping rotation.  If you are feeling adventurous give this or a variation of this recipe a try.