Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Puree

While waiting for my parents to arrive for a visit last weekend, I saw the basis for this recipe on Five Ingredient Fix, a show on Food Network that can be either hit or miss with me. My ears definitely perked up when I heard this recipe because I had a bunch of bananas that needed to be used up and I'm always in the market for a healthy and easy-to-prepare dessert. It drove me nuts that she kept referring to this as ice cream, which I define by inclusion of milk/dairy (or milk substitute like soy, hemp, or almond milk, although I also don't think of that as real ice cream either), but it's also not quite technically a sorbet either. Whatever you call it, it's a pretty healthy and tasty dessert for all the banana lovers out there. I made the banana puree and froze it separately from the walnuts and chocolate chips so they could be incorporated according to each person's preference, but you could also stir them in after the banana, peanut butter, and honey are pureed together. While it isn't a substitute for Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream, this can definitely satisfy a craving for a frozen dessert and make for a sweet, but healthy, treat.

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Puree
serves 3 to 4
adapted from Food Network

4 medium ripe bananas
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 to 2 tablespoons
Chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (optional)
Chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

1. Slice bananas into 1-inch pieces and freeze. Place frozen bananas chunks in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add peanut butter and honey and process until thoroughly combined. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to eat. Top with chocolate and enjoy!

Red Curry Winter Squash Soup

Red curry paste is a great ingredient to keep around because it makes it easy to add a ton of flavor to a dish with very little effort. Creamy, mildly sweet squash goes extremely well with curry, as does coconut milk, and putting all three together was a wonderful way to use up (almost) the last of my CSA squash.

I added about 1 cup of broth and 4 teaspoons of red curry paste to make a very thick and mildly spicy and very filling dinner for my husband (who doesn't like things too spicy) and myself. If you only add around 1 cup of broth when pureeing the soup you'll have a very thick and creamy soup suitable for a main course for two to three people, but thinned further would make a nice first course soup for four to six people. This soup can also easily be made vegan by sauteeing the onions and garlic in olive oil instead of butter. My husband was a big fan of this soup and told me to make sure to write the recipe down, so this may be making another appearance on our dinner table soon.

Red Curry Winter Squash Soup
serves 2 to 3 (as a main course) to 6 (as a first course)

Canola oil cooking spray
2 medium winter squash, such as acorn or festival squash
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
One 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk
1 teaspoons red curry paste (or more), to taste
1 cup (or more) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth or water (enough to achieve desired consistency)
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil with canola oil cooking spray. Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds, and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on baking sheet and roast until squash is very tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size and type of squash, and remove from oven. Once squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh and set aside.

2. While squash is cooling, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7  minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add squash flesh, light coconut milk, 1 teaspoon red curry paste, and 1 cup stock and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth. Add broth and blend further to achieve desired consistency-if you stop at this point, you will have a very thick soup suitable for a main course for 2 to 3 people, but soup can be thinned further for a lighter first course soup. Once desired consistency is achieved, add red curry paste, one teaspoon at a time, to taste. Season with salt and pepper and simmer soup for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Serve warm and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Maple-Pear Baked Steel Cut Oats

I just couldn't get enough Baked Apple and Peanut Butter Steel Cut Oats last weekend and even as I was enjoying them for breakfast last Saturday and Sunday, my mind was already racing with ideas for other baked steel cut oat recipes. While I loved the apple and peanut butter combination, I think I like the maple syrup and pear combination even more. I'm a fool for anything with maple syrup and I've rarely been disappointed by adding it to a dish, so it's no wonder I adore this recipe. This definitely isn't the end of experimenting with this recipe and I look forward to putting together some more creative combinations in the future.

Maple-Pear Baked Steel Cut Oats

serves 1

1/2 whole pear, diced
1/4 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon chopped toasted walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place diced pears in the bottom of an individual-sized oven proof dish.

2. Pour steel cut oats over the pear, then add milk and bake for 30 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and top with maple syrup and toasted walnuts. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese

This recipe used up the last of my CSA butternut squash. While I really like butternut squash and squash in general, it will be nice to mix it up a little bit once I'm finished with all my CSA vegetables (I still have potatoes, onions, garlic, and some festival squash to use up). Keeping with trying to clear out my refrigerator, I put this together using ingredients from ingredients I had around the house in this quick and simple recipe. I like the combinations of red onion and squash (as in Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano, and Mint) and butternut squash and blue cheese (as in Bacon and Butternut Squash Pasta) so I thought I'd throw it all together. A little crumbled bacon would also be nice on top if you have the time to fry up a couple slices you don't mind this dish not being vegetarian, but I like just as is.

Blue cheese and raw red onion are both very strong flavors, and not ones that will likely appeal to kids, so save this for the adults in your life. If you don't like the sharp taste of raw onion, saute it in a bit of olive oil to mellow the flavor and soften the onions before adding it to the squash. You won't have the contrast in textures and the flavor profile will be a little different, but still delicious in a slightly different way. Also, if you don't like blue cheese, feta would also be a good choice for this recipe.


Roasted Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese
serves 2 to 4

1 pound cubed butternut squash (from 2 small or 1 medium squash)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (Hook's is amazing if you can find it)
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or brush with oil. In a large bowl toss cubed squash with olive oil kosher salt. Spread in an even layer on baking sheets and bake, tossing occasionally, until squash is browned and tender, 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the squash cubes. Remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl or serving dish.

2. While squash is warm add blue cheese, red onion, and red wine vinegar and toss well to distribute evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow squash to sit for at least 5 minutes then serve warm or at room temperature.

Barley Stuffed Acorn Squash

I've eaten a lot of squash since getting my winter CSA, so I'm trying to get creative with recipes to avoid getting completely sick of it, and if I can turn it into a main dish, all the better. I've had a bag of barley since making Barley Soup with Beef and Mushrooms, so I decided to use that as my grain instead of my typical go-to grains of quinoa, couscous, or brown rice. I probably eat a broader range of whole grains than the average person, but I'm still working on expanding the number of kinds of whole grains I have in my diet.

The most dominant flavor in this dish is Parmesan cheese, so pick a high-quality Parmesan (or Parmigiano-Reggiano) and grate it yourself, if possible. I have a block of absolutely delicious Hook's Parmesan which made this dish something special, but this dish is still well worth your time and effort even with Kraft Parmesan. This dish is  hearty and healthy without being heavy, with salty and rich cheese, toasty walnuts, fresh parsley and sweet apples providing fulfilling a wide variety of elements of flavor.


Barley Stuffed Acorn Squash
serves 4

2 small to medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil cooking spray
3/4 cup pearled barley (not hulled barley), rinsed and drained
1 medium to large onion, diced
4 garlic cloved, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped dried apples
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons toasted chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum oil and spray with cooking spray. Brush the cut sides of the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place squash cut side down on baking sheets and roast until a knife can be slipped into the flesh with no resistance, rotating once during cooking, about 35 to 55 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. Remove squash from oven and increase heat to 450 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add barley and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and return mixture to boil. Simmer until barley is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Dry saucepan and return to medium heat. Add remaining teaspoon of oil and onion and cook, covered, over medium heat until onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.

4. Off the heat, add cooked barley, 3/4 cup Parmesan, apples, parsley, walnuts, and butter and stir thoroughly to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Divide mixture even among squash halves and top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Return to oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until cheese is melted squash and barley mixture are warm.

Honey Glazed Carrots with Fresh Mint

Carrots are an absolute staple food for me. I love them raw, roasted, steamed, or glazed with honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup. I was flipping through From Asparagus to Zucchini looking for a quick recipe for a vegetable to go with lunch and came across this easy tweak to a recipe I already make frequently. Fresh mint isn't something I usually have around, but I happened to have some leftover from Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad and Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano, and Mint. The savory butter combines with the sweet honey and carrots, punctuated by a touch of freshness from the mint and makes for an easy, but rich-tasting side suitable alongside a simple grilled panini or beautiful roasted piece of meat.

Honey Glazed Carrots with Fresh Mint
adapted from From Asparagus to Zucchini by MACSAC

1 pound carrots
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1. Peel carrots and cut into evenly sized rounds or sticks. Combine carrots, butter, honey, and 1/2 cup water in a large skillet over medium-high flame. Bring to a simmer and cook until carrots are tender and most of hte liquid has reduced to a glaze, 10-15 minutes. (Note: if your carrots are cooked through before the liquid has reduced enough, removed the carrots with a slotted spoon and continue cooking until reduced to a glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the carrots and toss to combine).

2. Season carrots to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the mint over the carrots, toss well, and serve.

Baked Apple and Peanut Butter Steel Cut Oats

I love steel cut oats, but they require significantly more time and effort to prepare than rolled oats or quick oats, so I don't have them very often. (If you've never had steel cut oats before, they are well worth the extra expense over rolled or quick oats.) I've considered making a big batch on the weekend and freezing the rest, but it's just not the same as a steaming bowl of oatmeal fresh off the stove. I was excited to find this recipe because not only was it for individual portions, but it cooks in the oven, freeing me up to make a mocha latte while my breakfast was cooking.

This stick-to-your-ribs breakfast is full of healthy ingredients, but delicious enough that I almost felt like I was getting away with eating a dessert for breakfast. The second I found this recipe my mind already began dreaming up other combinations, so you can be sure you'll see more recipes of this type from me soon. If you've made a New Year's resolution to eat healthier, this is a great recipe to kick off the new year.

Baked Apple and Peanut Butter Steel Cut Oats
from The Tasty Kitchen
serves 1

1/2 whole apple
1/4 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pinch ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut apple into small pieces and place in the bottom of an individual-sized oven proof dish.

3. Pour steel cut oats over the apple, then pour milk over.

4. Bake for 30 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and top with peanut butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Enjoy!