Monday, July 18, 2011

A dinner recipe!

Ok, so I haven't posted any of my recipes in a LONG time. Here's a healthy one that I LOVED, and didn't think was too time consuming.

Stuffed Onions (or you could use zucs and call them Stuffed Zucs)!

adapted from recipes from thejoyofcleaneating.com
and projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes

Baked Stuffed Onions (or Zucs)

Ingredients:

1 medium (about 2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled with a veggie peeler and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 T honey
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
3 large (unpeeled) sweet onions, each about 4 inches across
1 cup (packed) baby spinach
4 ounces mushroom, small dice
1/3 c. low-sodium beef broth
4 ounces pork breakfast sausage (optional), such as Jimmy Dean Breakfast patties, broken into small pieces
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp basil or 1 T fresh basil, chopped (I used fresh cause it's growing out back.)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Scatter the squash cubes on the sheet. Drizzle them with the 2 tablespoons of the oil and the honey, then sprinkle them with the red pepper, dried sage and salt; toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing them once or twice, until the squash is tender but not mushy. Let cool on the sheet while you prepare the onions; leave the oven on at 400 degrees.

Cut and discard a 1/2-inch-thick slice from the top of each onion. Trim just enough from the bottom of each onion so they can sit level. Peel the onions. Stand the onions on a cutting board. Use a melon baller to scoop out most of the insides of each onion, transferring the inside bits to a medium bowl.

Place the onions in the shallow baking pan, then pour 1/3 cup of the beef broth around them. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for for 25 to 30 minutes. The onions should be tender, but still firm enough to stuff and cook longer without falling apart. Transfer to the stovetop (off the heat) and keep covered.

Mix panko breadcrumbs and cheese in a small bowl. Set aside.

Coarsely chop about 1 1/2 cups of the onion insides. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender, then add the garlic, spinach, and sausage, if using; cook about 4 minutes, stirring often and using a wooden spoon to break up clumps, until the sausage is no longer pink. Season with the basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Add the cooked squash to the saute pan, stirring to combine. Stir in the breadcrumb and cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Uncover the roasted onions; stuff each one with about 1/2 cup of the stuffing mixture. Place the remaining mixture around each onion in the baking pan. Drizzle the onions with oil, re-cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve hot.

Notes:

This would probably be enough of a main meat poriton for 3 people. I might serve it with some egg noodles, or with a soup sidedish, or maybe a serve it with a sidedish of tomato/mozz/basil slices. Or serve it with a green salad and crunchy bread. That's what I did! The stuffing would be AWESOME in zucs, so you could cut a zuc long ways in half, scoop it out, add it to the saute, and then stuff and bake the zucchini boats! You could also just make this as a Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing, and add some craisins. It's delicious with the butternut squash!

Also, if you don't want to use breadcrumbs, you can use bulgur!

3 1/3 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups bulgur wheat

After the sausage is cooked, add the bulgur, stir to coat evenly and cook for a minute or two. Add the remaining 3 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 to 30 minutes (depending on the grade of bulgur used) until tender. Then go on to adding the squash, etc. The time it takes to cook the bulgur depends on which grade you use: quick-cooking (Grade 1) will take less time than Grade 4.

Isn't he cute?!

Look at my sweet 2 month old boy!



He really smiles for Iz!
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Water and Cupcakes!

Last week, we joined the Rouses at their salt-water pool for swimming and lunch. I love getting together with friends.
Grayson was cute talking to Jack:

The next day, we spent the morning with the Mittens for Ella Grace's 2nd birthday party!

Jack took a snooze while I helped with a few last minute set up jobs:

Carriel and Jack:

Cute pregnant momma:

There was a water-play theme, and a lot of the foods were fish shaped or on fish shaped platters!

The party was at their neighborhood gazebo.


Our friends Martyn and Georgiana:

Fun!

Aw, look at one excited Ella Grace:

Jack just hangin' out:

Clara, begging and begging for a cupcake!



Eating ice cream cone cupcakes with the birthday girl:
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Saturday, July 16, 2011

History and Family Names

I think this picture is so cool! My Grandpa Beatty (my dad's dad) is the little boy sitting on the bench, and my dad's Aunt Clara (more commonly known as Claire) is sitting next to him.
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Mooooooo!

Our friends, the Fowlers, now live one hour away from us, so this year we found some new friends that would dress up like cows for free Chick-Fil-A. We met the Rouses at CFA to eat and play. Oh, and it's nice for the moms to have time to chat. ;)

Jack has a onesie and I have a shirt on that match the girls' shirts:


I didn't have a shirt that I could draw on for Izzy, so I used clear contact paper and colored spots to stick on her shirt. She even thought to wear her cow slippers!

Gotta have a cow with hairbows!
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Back to NC

We had a wonderful, jam-packed July 4th trip, but you know what that means: got a lot of laundry to do!

Look at that boy surrounded by little girl swimsuits and dresses:

One HOT evening, we popped popcorn and watched a movie IN AIR CONDITIONING together:
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Mrs. Sponaugle

All high school and some middle school summers were spent taking care of deadheading our neighbors' flowers. Some days it took one hour, other days I spent three hours working and could have spent three more. It just depended on what was blooming and dying. I grew to L-O-V-E reblooming Daylilies and hate Hollyhocks. I couldn't wait to see the mulch spread all over the beds of their property each Spring and Fall. That's where I found my loyalty to dark brown, aromatic mulch that will NEVER be swayed by Southerners' pine straw.

Mrs. Sponaugle, known to everyone else as Mimi, was our neighbor. I'm pretty sure my sisters and I will always know her as Mrs. Sponaugle. I couldn't call her anything else. She is the hardest working gardener that I know! The five of us spent some time with her catching up the last morning we were in Hershey before heading to the airport. I found out the Sponaugles have been married for 53 years!!!


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Fam Reunion!

Thanks to my late-Grandpa Moyer and the oversight of some of my aunts and uncles, we were blessed with the funds to travel to PA for the Moyer-McClure family reunion on July 4th! We had a wonderful time with everyone, and enjoyed seeing the McClure farm in central PA (Calvin, PA).

Shirts from Nanna:

A baby turtle:


My sweet cousin, Mary Elizabeth, arrived home from ONE YEAR in Ecuador just the night before the reunion, so we were really EXCITED to be with her. I gave her many hugs and love her tons.

My mom's cousin, Sue:

Patriotic food:

The hostess:

Everyone!

A true highlight:


Sweet picture:

Izzy actually hit the target!

Family time!



Here's the Moyer family members that were there. Of course, we missed the ones not able to make it:
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