Stuffed Butternut Squash

I made this for my office slow-cooker cook-a-thon. A melon baller made it quite easy to carve a cavity for the stuffing in the squash.

This recipe fits on a 6-quart slow cooker

1 small butternut squash
1 5-oz bag dried apple slices
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup cooked sliced mushrooms
1 cup cooked cannellini beans
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1/4 cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1- Grease the insert of the slow cooker with some cooking spray or oil.

2- Cut the squash in half legthwise, then cut each half in half (right where the seeds are, so that 2 of the quarters are have all the seeds).

3- On the quarters that have the seeds: Remove the seeds and discard (or save for roasting).

4- On the quarters that do not have the seeds: Carve out some of the squash flesh so that the piece of squash can hold the stuffing. I scooped out about 1" in width and about half the height of the squash. Transfer the flesh balls that were scooped out into the slow cooker insert.

5- Add the apples, onions, and 2 tablespoons of oil to the squash pieces in the insert. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

6- In a large bowl, combine the rice, cranberries, mushrooms, sage, and beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Scoop the stuffing into the squash cavities.

7- Arrange the squash pieces skin side down inside the slow cooker insert on top of the apple mixture. Drizzle the remaining oil on top of the squash.

8- If the cooker has a warm setting, cook on low for 3 hours then let sit in "warm" for another 5 hours. Otherwise, cook on low for 4 hours, or until the squash is fork tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Crockpot Mole Sauce

At long last, I found a recipe, tweaked it, and made it ICBINM friendly! Smother on!

Crockpot Mole Sauce

In 4-qt crockpot insert, mix all of the following:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 squares of dark chocolate (I used World Market's Chipotle Chili Dark Chocolate bar; 2 Hershey's Dark mini bars would work here; all you want is a hint of chocolate)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1 whole dried ancho chili pepper

Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the ancho chili. Cut and discard the stem of the pepper and return the rest of the pepper to the crockpot. Puree sauce until smooth.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

Each year, my mom made for Good Friday a very traditional Spanish dish for the Lenten season, Bacalao a la Vizcaina. Flaked salted cod was layered with thin potato slices, onion rings, and a very savory tomato-based sauce, infused with garlic and olives, and then baked until the potatoes were tender. This was then served hot with white rice and eggs in some shape (usually hard boiled and sliced).

As young honeymooners in Spain and Portugal, Dan and I enjoyed bacalao in many dishes during our travels. Every year since starting our family, I have continued the Lenten tradition by making Bacalao a la Vizcaina at least once a year. If I had to pick a dish that represents Spanish cooking, Bacalao a la Vizcaina would be right up there with Tortilla Espa~nola for me.

I love this dish so much, I needed to find a backup in case the world runs out of cod someday. Garbanzo beans and diced eggplant offer textural elements similar to the salted cod, and a splash of soy sauce adds a remarkable umami note.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

1 14 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup Spanish olives with pimientos, chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced
3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, roughly mashed
1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1- Combine fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, cilantro, olives, and vinegar into a bowl and set aside.
2- Toss the potato slices with 2 tablespoons of oil and salt and pepper to taste.
3- Toss the eggplant with the soy sauce.
4- Brush remaining oil onto the bottom and sides of a 4-quart slow cooker insert.
5- Layer the following into the slow cooker insert:
1/3 of the potatoes
1/2 of the garbanzos
1/2 of the eggplant
1/2 of the tomato sauce mixture
1/2 of the onions
1/3 of the potatoes
rest of the garbanzos
rest of the eggplant
rest of the tomato sauce mixture
rest of the onions
rest of the potatoes
6 - Place the tomato slices as the top layer.
7- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Slow-Cooker Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Spinach-Artichoke dip is, hands-down, my favorite warm dip. I think it makes an excellent appetizer or entree. I love tossing the leftovers with pasta.

The slow-cooker spinach goo recipe from the Meal Makeover Moms blog inspired me to add in a few modifications and turn it into a slow-cooker version of the dip. I replaced the eggs with a couple of tablespoons of oil (because my son is allergic to eggs), and replaced the cheddar cheese with Gruyere.

This came in handy one early Sunday morning, when I found myself with a tub of cottage cheese that needed to be used ASAP. It all went into the slow-cooker in 5 minutes, and lunch was ready when we got back home from church.

This recipe is suitable for a 4-qt slow-cooker.

Slow-Cooker Spinach-Artichoke Dip

2 tablespoons canola oil
16 ounces 1% cottage cheese
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 cup frozen artichoke quarters, thawed
1 ½ cups Gruyere cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Put all ingredients in greased slow-cooker insert. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Nutrition Facts
Yields 8 servings
Serving Size 127 g (about 3/4 cup)
Calories 217
Calories from Fat 122
Total Fat 13.6g 21%
Saturated Fat 6.5g 33%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 32mg 11%
Sodium 485mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 6.9g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0.9g 4%
Sugars 0.5g
Protein 16.9g
Vitamin A 72% • Vitamin C 17%
Calcium 30% • Iron 8%
Nutrition Grade B
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Sweet & Hearty Red Kidney Bean Stew

Happy New Year, everyone!

The recipe for Sweet & Hearty Beef Stew from the Meal Makeover Moms blog caught my eye. I love the sweet and sour factor of the maple syrup / apple cider vinegar combo and the simple combination of stew veggies. As if that wasn't enticing enough, the stew is very simple to make and it is work night friendly (cooks in the crockpot). I thought it would be a perfect candidate for that most straightforward of protein substitutions: beans.

I used partially cooked red kidney beans (20 minutes in the pressure cooker) but you can use canned beans. I upped the umami factor of the dish by adding some low-sodium soy sauce as a finish. Just because I was home all day when I made this, I served this with freshly baked homemade whole wheat rolls.

This recipe is best suited for a 6-quart slow cooker.

Sweet & Hearty Red Kidney Bean Stew

8 ounces presliced mushrooms
4 cups red kidney beans, cooked (canned OK)
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 16-ounce bag baby carrots
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1. Place the mushrooms in the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with the beans, potatoes and carrots. Pour the tomato sauce, maple syrup, and vinegar over the top and sprinkle with the salt. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

2. When done, stir in the peas and soy sauce. Heat for another 5 minutes or until peas are heated through.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 226 g
Calories 306
Calories from Fat 8
Total Fat 0.9g 1%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 395mg 16%
Total Carbohydrates 60.0g 20%
Dietary Fiber 13.1g 52%
Sugars 10.9g
Protein 16.8g
Vitamin A 111% • Vitamin C 32%
Calcium 8% • Iron 30%
Nutrition Grade A
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet