Ground Beef with Eggs & Stuff

This recipe probably came out of a conversation with heavy use of the word "bro."

Recipe

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
10 oz. spinach
2-4 eggs
salt & pepper, sriracha

Start to brown the beef over medium heat.  Once it gives up some moisture and fat, add the onion and garlic.  Meanwhile, whisk up the eggs.  Once the beef is cooked through, add in the spinach, then the eggs, and cook through.  Season with salt, pepper, and sriracha, and eat.

Notes

I was kind of expecting this to be a kind of gross protein delivery system, but it was actually pretty good!  It still probably couldn't pass off as "deconstructed meatloaf" or anything fancy, though...  As far as my own spin on the recipe, I halved most of the key ingredients but just used one egg, which semed enough for me.  I also used fresh(ish) spinach instead of frozen as the recipe recommends.  If you do the same, put in a lot!  It should look almost like a salad at first, but it wilts down nicely...  Seasoning is key too.  Actually even looked pretty good:

Smoky Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup

I'm still in the process of deciding whether I like butternut squash or I *really* like butternut squash.  Good results so far with roasting it, but to try something new, how about a soup?  After some iffy metric conversions, here's what I ended up doing:

Recipe

1 medium-to-small-ish butternut squash, peeled (obviously) and diced :p
1 onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 c vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
(coconut) oil, salt & pepper

Heat a couple tbsps of oil over medium in a large saucepan, then add the squash, onion, and garlic.  Cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Then add the paprika, stir, and cook another minute.  Add the broth and simmer 15 minutes or until the squash is soft.  Blend or mash it up, then stir in the coconut milk.  Heat and serve, they recommend over lentils.

Notes

Lots of thoughts...

Is butternut squash season over?  This was the iffiest of the squashes I've bought and prepped in the last month or two...

Peeling and cubing butternut squash for roasting is work enough; dicing is a pretty big hassle.

I mashed instead of blending (with my non-existent blender); the chunky texture (particularly the onions, which didn't mash at all really) is not a problem!

I figured rice would be fine, but invested in a bag of lentils anyway.  Definitely a good call.  Wouldn't consider myself much of a lentil fan, but they add a nice earthy, peppery, savory flavor to the soup.

The soup is delicious, but like most vegetarian dishes, it seemed like something was missing.  Some spicy sausage might be a key addition...

Beef & Mushroom Soup etc.

Here's a handy (sorry CI editing staff) soup infographic.  It's a simple formula:

1. Aromatics: onion, shallot, leek
2. Protein: beef, chicken, tofu, beans, peanut butter (!)
3. Spices
4. Liquid: various broths & stocks
5. Veggies (loosely defined): peppers, mushrooms, sweet potato
6. Garnish

 Here's the first one I wanted to try:

Recipe

1. 1 onion, chopped
2. 1/2 lb ground beef
3. 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
4. 4-6 c mushroom broth
5. 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
6. tarragon, sour cream

oil, salt & pepper

Saute the onion, then add in the meat, mushrooms, and spices.  Add in the broth and simmer 20-30 minutes.  Garnish and serve.

Notes

This is all approximate enough.  The recipe calls for 1/4 lb of ground beef, which I doubled (and could have done more, honestly).  I also reduced the liquid down to one box of broth (4 c).  They also seem to claim you just simmer the meat and mushrooms, but I browned/sauteed it a bit first to be safe.  Then I forgot the sour cream.  Typical.  Anyway, this is a very tasty, earthy soup, good for a cold winter night.  It could use a starch - not one of their categories, not sure if Shape is paleo, Atkins or what - but noodles or rice would help make it filling.

Postscript: Yeah, finished the leftovers with some egg noodles and sour cream (remembered this time).  Gives it some solid bulk...

Roasted Butternut Squash with Browned Butter & Hazelnuts

a.k.a. butternut squash with extra butter and nuts.  America's Test Kitchen knows what it's doing.

Recipe

Squash
1 large butternut squash (2 1/2-3 lbs.)
2-3 tbsp butter, melted
salt & pepper

Topping
2-3 tbsp butter
1/3 c hazelnuts, toasted & coarsely chopped
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp minced chives

Preheat the oven to 425 (and toast the hazelnuts for just a couple minutes if necessary).  Prep the butternut squash: peel, clean out the seeds, and slice into 1/2 inch slices (semicircles or arcs).  Melt the butter, add some salt and pepper, and toss in the squash.  Lay it out in a single layer on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven (they recommend the lowest rack).  After about 25 minutes (when the squash toward the back is browning), rotate the tray.  After another 5-10 minutes (so the new back is browning), take out the squash and and flip.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Toward the end of this (last) period, pop the butter and hazelnuts in a skillet cook a couple minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in the water, and after it cools a minute or so, mix in the lemon juice.  Once the squash is done, drizzle the topping over and sprinkle with chives.

Notes

First things first, I ended up not peeling the squash until it was already otherwise sliced and ready to go.  It's pretty quick and efficient to lay each slice flat and shave off the skin with a few slices.  So I'll probably stick with that.

A lot going on by the end here...  The butternut squash roasts long enough to get nice and tender, but what they're going for with the butter, heat, and low rack is a nice caramelization.  Mine were a little overdone, something to keep an eye on in the future (because I'll definitely do this again).  Same with the hazelnuts - a little too toasty, so a slight burnt taste.  I was a little unsure about the chives - the green touch is nice, but wasn't sure about the flavor.  Overall though, the topping adds a while lot of great complexity.  Thanksgiving 2015?

Ancho-Cola Pulled Pork

Pork shoulder, peppers and coke?  Sounds good!

Recipe

3 onions
6-9 lb. bone-in pork shoulder
2 cans of chipotles in adobo
24 oz. cola

Peel the onions, cut them in half, and lay them across the bottom of the crockpot.  Put the pork shoulder on top, fat side up.  Pour the chipotles and cola over the pork.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Once it's cooked, remove the pork to a cutting board or bowl and begin to tear apart.  Pour the liquid through a strainer into a saucepan (pressing the solids to squeeze out as much as possible).  Boil down (aggressively) to about 1/4 the volume.  Mix the sauce back into the pork.

Lastly, you have to crisp up the meat.  The original recipe says to fry it with some oil in a skillet, but I preferred to pop it under the broiler.  Once it's crisp, serve with stuff like rice, tortillas, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, etc.

Notes

It's a simple recipe, but very rich, especially with the sauce so concentrated down.  A lot of crockpot recipes end when the meat is done, but the texture is worth the extra effort.  Making it in such bulk means you expect to have leftovers, and coming out of the fridge or thawed from the freezer, you just pick up at the crisping step...