Freezer meal: Roasted tomato, sausage and spinach pasta

Hey look!  Apparently, way back in December 2013, I had thought about posting this and got distracted.  Mommybrain, thy name is Honeybee.

This was a super-tasty recipe, which I liked making (and eating).  It also made me smile because it marked the (slow) return of my ability to share my cooking with others (read: forcing friends to be my guinea pigs).  I really enjoy that, so after months of barely feeling up to cooking for us, let alone others, it was a refreshing change.  The idea was to create some freezer meals that we could just heat up quickly later when I went back to work, and to share the love with some of our dear friends who also welcomed a baby just four weeks and one day after G-man arrived!

The recipe really didn't take much modification on my part.  It's posted here, from Canadian Living Cooks (they called it "Make-Ahead Baked Pasta... not descriptive enough.  I like my title better).  I think my only addition was some baby spinach wilted in before baking (you can see this in the pics, below).  I felt like it needed some extra veg.  Feeding a bubs with my own body made me somewhat nutrition-conscious!

Lastly: this meal was brought to you by Costco.  I think only the garlic was purchased elsewhere.  I love that store.

Noticing one more draft from months ago... perhaps for another night...

-Honeybee

The finished (if slightly blurry) product.  Mmm, melted cheese.

Sooo, these are out of order.  Deal with it.  All packaged up, ready for the freezer, with reheating instructions written on the labels!

Recyclable (yay, no dishes!) aluminum baking trays, wrapped with plastic wrap (remove before baking!!) and wrapped again with aluminum foil.  Freezer safe!!

Handwritten reheating instructions.  Nobody has time to go back and check the online recipe!

Getting ready for packaging/baking.  The white dish on the right was for our dinner that evening, the other two for later!

Adding in that baby spinach!

Pasta boiling, roasted tomatoes, garlic and sausage at the ready!

Words cannot adequately describe how AHMAZING this smelled.  Roasted garlic, Roma tomatoes, and spicy Italian sausage.  Yet another possible application for Smell-o-vision... or... Smell-o-internets?  Nevermind.

Roasting off some sausage, fresh Roma tomatoes, and two HEADS of garlic.  Yup, this isn't for a first date.

Mmm.  Tasty tomatoes.  These did take a bit of time to chop and seed, but it was WORTH it.

Sunday Dinner Series Part V: You'll Roux the Day...

I might be French, but I'm nowhere near Creole or Cajun.  Regardless, when I saw the recipe for gumbo in my new favourite cookbook, I knew I had to give it a try.  Sausage?  Shrimp?  Those are two food things that Hubs loves!  Done!

I knew we were in for a long day of cooking with this one, so I used a lazy Sunday as an excuse to make it.  I was VERY SCARED of the whole dark roux situation, but I managed to make it happen without burning the apartment down.  Pictures for proof!

Gettin' ready.  Is it sad that I didn't know you could buy plain ol' clam juice?

The roux.  I've never made one with oil and flour in the Cajun style... I was kind of surprised at how dark it got!  In retrospect, I think I could've let it go a bit longer for a darker colour, but I was getting nervous.  They don't call it Cajun Napalm for nothing!!

Finished product, with some basmati rice.  Again, I was trying to emulate the picture seen here; I think I succeeded for the most part, but you can see how the roux COULD have been darker.

So, normally I'd post the recipe for my delicious creation... but in all honesty, I followed the book's instructions exactly.  To a T.  And with all the nonsense about SOPA and the Canadian bill C-11 going around these days, I'm feeling a little gun-shy.  Not that I'm expecting the RCMP to come knocking on my door and demand that I shut my blog down... but still, I don't want anyone to think that I'm claiming ownership of someone else's copyrighted intellectual property!!  Instead, I'll direct you to this website, where two of the chefs from America's Test Kitchen demonstrate their version of gumbo via a free video.  It's a bit different from the recipe I followed, but from the same great team.  Worth trying!!

Wondering if she'll ever get to see N'awlins (maybe during Mardi Gras??),
-Honeybee

Allrecipies.com Stuffed Squash

This'll be a bit of a quickie; there's not a huge backstory here, other than to say thanks to my soon-to-be-inlaws for giving me the delicious squash that resulted in the following dinner.

I really like squash; oven-roasted butternut squash with just a touch of brown sugar and butter is a Thanksgiving staple in my family.  Mmm.  Maybe at some point I'll make my squash and potato soup, which is another fantastic way to showcase that particular gourd.  On this day, though, I had a lovely-looking acorn squash that had flown back to Winnipeg with me in my checked luggage (sometimes I wonder what airport security thinks of me...)  I wanted something warm and hearty, as the weather's taken a turn towards brisk.  So, I did what I always do in a situation like this: I Googled.

My laptop, a.k.a. my most valuable cookbook, and dinner.

I was looking for a stuffed squash similar to the stuffed peppers that Ni, Michelle and I enjoyed while wintering in a cottage in Barrie.  Spicy Italian sausage would have to make an appearance.  Luckily, Google sent me straight to Allrecipes.com, a very handy site with lots of great recipes, reviews, and feedback to help you find what you're looking for.  This particular recipe seemed right on the money.

 

I did make a few changes (surprise, surprise).  Firstly, I halved the recipe; I only had one squash to work with.  Secondly, I nixed the celery.  I really, really dislike celery.  Hubs loves it, slathered with Cheez Whiz, PB, or just plain; I hate the flavour, I hate the texture, and I mostly hate those stupid stringy things that get stuck in your teeth.  I don't care that it's negative calories; I'd rather achieve that with ice water (which I did, as you can see!)  So, I substituted peeled and finely diced carrots.  I figured that the anise in the hot italian sausage (which I swapped in for the sweet) would give enough of that celeriac flavour.   I also left out the raisins and pecans... I just wasn't feeling it (plus I don't regularly keep pecans hanging around.)  I finished the whole deal off, before baking, with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.  Delicious!!

 

 

So, now I hope you do at least one of three things: a) try out this roasted stuffed squash, b) try out Allrecipies.com for whatever it is you might be looking for, and/or c) start with one ingredient and a vague idea of what sort of flavours/experience you want, and Google your way to a delicious dinner.

Wondering what to do with the mutant crossbreed "spumpkin" from her coworker Terri's garden,

-Honeybee