Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos; Apricot Breakfast Crisp

I'm gleaning lots of cooking inspiration from my new "smitten kitchen" cookbook - found here.  It's great - you should definitely look into it! 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese - adapted from smitten kitchen
I started with what looked like a really yummy option - spaghetti squash and black bean tacos with queso fresco.  I ended up somewhere a little different... 

Rather than spaghetti squash - I used butternut squash, cubed up and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Instead of queso fresco, I used some herbed goat cheese on hand.  Finally, I used some grilled chicken we had as well.  Could obviously be left out, but didn't want it to go to waste! 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese - adapted from smitten kitchen
3 pound butternut squash - cubed and roasted with 1 T olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 yellow onion, diced 
2 T lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t course salt
1/4 c. stock (chicken, vegetable)
flour tortillas
4 oz. goat cheese

Saute onion in a frying pan with 1 T. olive oil.  Add lime juice, spices and salt.  Mix in black beans and stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Assemble taco as desired, and enjoy!

Apricot Breakfast Crisp - also from smitten kitchen

I followed this recipe to the letter - except a only mixed one tablespoon into the fruit rather than two.  It smelled so good as the sugar melted into the butter and as it baked in our oven.  The way Deb describes this crisp sounded so desirable - something that can be scooped out in the mornings onto a bowl of yogurt.  As she writes, you can substitute the apricots for peaches and plums - any 'stone fruit'.  I think blueberries would have been nice to mix into the crisp as well... I'm sure the world is your oyster.
Super easy - and so wonderful!

Challenge Extended, Challenge Accepted: Chicken dinner that 'isn't sweet'

We are trying to eat less sugar.  Which you probably couldn't tell with the previous post about tomato soup (lots of sugar, some natural) and cookies with ice cream (lots of sugar, all added!).  So in trying to come up with a good dinner, I did lots of scanning.  It seems there's a plethora of poultry recipes - until you need one.  But in going through one of the many blogs I've been following, I found a great idea that I adapted.  It had a sweeter flavor with the orange, but didn't put any sugar in.  Our dinner was adapted from this recipe - 30 Minute Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken.

I took two larger chicken breasts - cut them into pieces, and then pounded thinner.  Into a mixture of flour, paprika and black pepper, I coated the chicken liberally. 

Comfort foods galore: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Cookies!

Welcome to my parents!  A pineapple - traditional symbol of hospitality.  In reality, a yummy treat for me to munch on.  With all the ruffage I eat, I hear pineapple helps digestion without the gas... 

As they were arriving, and it was a cold day, I wanted to have something warm and comforting to share together.  What else - tomato soup and grilled cheese.  I'm still a novice when it comes to blogging + photography + real time cooking.  So I'm finding its hard to keep up with the pictures.  (Really, we are so hungry we eat and then there's nothing to take pictures of!)

New Years' Treats - Apps, Dinner, and Dessert

For New Years, we were apprehensive to again dive into party food mode.  However, you gotta live it up a little!

We attempted to eat healthily - enjoying some snacks, a dinner, and dessert.  I have a three-ring binder full of recipes - not really in great order - and I picked out things that sounded fun to try.

And I think they turned out well - we had fun so that's all that matters.  And we have good leftovers!