Stuffed Acorn Squash

As promised, here is the recipe for that lovely stuffed squash I made last weekend (and again this weekend):

The cast of characters (minus the rosemary, which I forgot, oops):

Grate about 3/4 cups of the cheese of your choosing. I used cheddar and parmesan because that's what I had on hand. Pick your favorite cheese and go with that:

Cut the bread up into small, dice-size pieces. You'll need about a cup and a half of cubes:

Dice up a very small amount of onion. This is just one slice from the middle of the onion, cut up very finely:

Remove the sausage from its' casing and brown:

Take the sausage off the heat when done and, in that same pan, cook the onions until softened, then add the garlic (1-2 cloves, minced) and continue cooking until fragrant but not burnt.

Put the sausage, bread crumbs, cheese, rosemary, onions, garlic and 3 TB half and half in a large bowl and combine until moistened. Meanwhile, halve the acorn squash and scoop out all of the seeds, then rub some olive oil on them and season with salt & pepper:

Fill the hollowed out squash with the filling, make sure to really pack it in there. You want the squash to lay flat when flipped upside down:

Flip the squash into a baking dish and put in a 375-400 degree oven:

After a half hour, check on it to make sure the bottoms aren't burning too badly. If they are, add a little bit of water to the dish.

After approximately an hour (mine took 50 minutes today), remove the squash from the oven:

Flip them back over and serve:

One half is usually a perfect meal for one person. See how it's all browned and crusty on the surface? SO YUMMY!

Here's the ingredient list with exact measurements:
1 link italian sausage (or 2 slices bacon)
1 slice onion (or 1 shallot)
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tsp rosemary (or sage, or whatever your favorite spice is)
1.5 cups bread cubes
3/4 cup grated cheeses
3 TB half & half
1 medium acorn squash
olive oil
salt & pepper

Asian Coleslaw

This recipe has become popular with the local clan. It's a simple enough way to get some pasta and nuts into slaw, with a good taste and texture. I found the recipe on the internet and modified it slightly to my own taste.

"Bagged coleslaw mix is combined with crunchy dry ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, almonds, green onions, and a simple sweet vinaigrette for a tasty Asian-inspired coleslaw."

Ingredients:
1 (3 ounce) package Oriental flavor ramen noodles with seasoning pack
1 (3 ounce) package roasted sunflower seed kernels
1 (3 ounce) package sliced almonds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bottle of Newman's Own® Oil and Vinegar dressing (about 1 to 1-1/2 cups)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 (16 ounce) package angel-hair coleslaw mix (or two 10-oz bags)
1 carrot finely chopped (optional)

Directions:
Combine green onions, carrot pieces (optional), and coleslaw mix. Combine dressing, Oriental seasoning packet, and sugar until dissolved. Mix dressing into the coleslaw mix and put in fridge overnight for flavors to meld. Prior to serving, crush the ramen noodles in a bowl, and stir, along with sunflower seeds and almonds, into coleslaw mix.

The final result looks something like this.

From Jimi's kitchen.

Simple Bean Salad

We all know how to make bean salad by now -- TT has become something of a legend with his versions of it. I love a little bean salad -- little being the key word here. I like a variety of beans in my salad, with the end result being that I usually end up using at least 4 cans of beans of various varieties. And that is just too much bean salad. I get tired of it before I am half way through with the batch. But a bean salad without both green and wax beans just doesn't work for me.
Recently I found a couple of products that produce a lower volume of the end product, yet still provide the variety of beans that I prefer with this dish. The organic chili beans have almost always been part of my recipe, but I just discovered that Del Monte makes a mixed green and wax bean option. So now I can make a multi-bean salad with just two cans of beans.
I still rinse all the beans -- I don't want the chili part of the chili beans, and besides the liquid is gooey and gross. I rinse the green/wax beans because I read somewhere that rinsing reduces the sodium content of canned vegetables. With the reduced volume I used 1/8 cup of olive oil, 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/8 cup of balsalmic vinegar. I added about a half tablespoon of Splenda (or sugar), 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned pepper and a tablespoon or so of parsley. I added celery and onion this time, because I like them and had them on hand. Chill.