Buttery Parsnip and Sweet Potato Mash

It was an amazing day when I discovered that I could essentially turn any root vegetable into a “mash”. All these years mashed potatoes have stolen the show…but if you think about it….sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets. The possibilities are endless. Over the summer I made mashed beets with coconut butter. I don’t think I blogged about it, but it was good. It was the only way I could get my husband to eat beets.

I spent a considerable amount of time deciding whether to use lard or ghee in this mash. I decided the ghee would give it a nice buttery taste, reminiscent of mashed potatoes. OMGHEE!!!  Get it? So good. The leftovers are sitting in my fridge now taunting me!!! Replace your traditional mashed potatoes with this dish and you will never go back. Mashed potatoes are boring. Ick.

Parsnip and Sweet Potato Mash

3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced

1/2 cup cooked sweet potato (about half of one large?? mine were Thanksgiving leftovers so I don’t know how many I started with!)

1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 small clove of garlic

1 tablespoon full fat canned coconut milk

1/2 tablespoon ghee

salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare (peel and dice) sweet potatoes and parsnips and rosemary.

2. Fill a pot with your parsnips and water and put on the stove to boil. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender (roughly 10 minutes). If you start with an uncooked sweet potato, I like this method to cook it.

3. Place everything in a food processor and blend it up. You may have to push down the sides to get everything mixed up a couple of times.

^^New can of coconut milk I now order of Vitacost. It’s BPA free and way cheaper than the $3 cans at the store.

Sooooo good! Can’t wait to eat those leftovers! This is a must make.

Dinner last night….beef roast, broccoli and mash! Omg.

What veggies do you like with your dinner?

Have you ever tried a different type of “mashed” vegetable?

Butternut Squash and Chicken Curry over Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Did someone say squash!?!?!? Seriously way too excited for fall for that sole reason. Regardless of how long the title of this recipe was, it sure was tasty! To tell you the truth, I thought it up while laying in bed Sunday night until approximately 2 am not sleeping. What was I doing? Thinking about food, apparently. Something about knowing I was going into work the next day made me not be able to sleep. Never fails.

I love squaaaaash! I can’t wait to eat massive amounts of it when it’s in season. I’m also planning on blanching and freezing some so I can have it throughout the winter.

We’ve been having chicken for the last three nights because the other night I roasted another delicious pastured chicken from the farm. It seriously feeds us for up to 5 days. So worth it. This is what it looked like before:

Those veggies fried in the fat were to die for. It also makes for yummy leftovers, which I used in this recipe. It took about an hour to put the whole thing together.

Butternut Squash Chicken Curry over Coconut Cauliflower “Rice”

Serves 2-4/ Prep time: 30 mins /Cook time: 20 mins

1 cup cooked, diced chicken breast (roughly one breast. you could add or take away as needed)

4 large carrots

1/2 of a medium butternut squash (I used the narrow, top part)

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can of coconut milk (full fat)

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1-4 tsp curry powder (I used 4 and it was VERY spicy)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

dash of cayenne

Cauliflower Rice–

1/2 head of large cauliflower

2 tbsp full fat coconut shreds

1-2 tbsp full fat coconut milk

salt, pepper

I first prepped veggies. I peeled the butternut squash by cutting the round bottom off and peeling the top part.I sliced the onion. I peeled and cut the carrots into small, bite size pieces. I minced the two cloves of garlic. I cut the squash into 1 “ cubes. Then I put them on the stove in boiling water and cooked them for 5 minutes. You don’t want them too tender or they will fall apart.

Meanwhile, I cut off the head of cauliflower and rinsed it, then broke the florets into the food processor. If you’ve never made cauliflower ‘rice’ you need to try it! So simple, easy and delicious. (Or you could always use regular rice). After the cauliflower is “riced” I put it in a microwave safe bowl with all the other ingredients, cook for four minutes, stir, then cook for another four minutes. Done.

Set a deep sauté or sauce pan on the stove on medium heat and add some coconut oil or lard. When it’s ready add your garlic. Let them get fragrant and add carrots.

Cook for 5-6 minutes, adding a tablespoon or two of your broth so the carrots get soft. Then add onions and a little more broth.

Cook for another 4-5 minutes until everything is nice and soft. After your squash is par boiled, portion out about 1/2 cup and process it to a puree. Add the rest of the diced squash and COOKED, diced chicken to the pot along with the coconut milk and the rest of your broth. Add the pureed squash to the mix.

The reason I thought I’d add this was because the pureed squash gives it a thicker sauce when finished. It’s optional, but it worked out well!

Now, add your spices! Feel free to experiment here and go up or down depending on your tastes.

Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes on low. When it’s done everything will have a deep brown and smoky smell.

Top coconut cauliflower rice with curry. Eat up!!

‘Twas good !

Do you ever get recipe ideas while laying in bed?

What vegetables do you put in curries?

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells

I knew I wanted to make a pasta dish tonight, and I had some lonely jumbo shells sitting in my pantry so I knew this recipe would be it. This recipe for stuffed shells is based off of this one from Skinnytaste, but I was missing some of the ingredients and I wanted to make it a little healthier so I could have more shells per serving

Spinach Stuffed Shells

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

10-15 jumbo pasta shells

1 1/2 cups of part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1 egg

5 cups fresh baby spinach

2 tbsp (2 cloves) garlic

1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes (or crushed)

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp Italian seasoning (basil, marjoram, oregano)

1  tsp garlic powder

1 tsp siracha (optional)

salt & pepper

coconut or olive oil

First, prep your ingredients by chopping your onion and garlic. Put a pot of water on to boil when ready cook the shells to al dente.

Put two sauté pans on the stove, crank to low-med heat and add your coconut/olive oil. (Depending on how good you are at multitasking, you may want to do one pan at a time….I did).

Add garlic to both pans and cook until fragrant. In one pan, add your baby spinach. In the other, add your onion and cook until translucent, about 4 mins.

Cook spinach in one pan until wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Take off heat.

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Add your tomatoes to the sauté pan with your onions and garlic. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon and add all of your spices: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste, and siracha (if you like a kick!). Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes. ****You could obviously use canned spaghetti sauce for this, but I prefer making my own. It’s so easy and I like the fresh taste.

Sauce with all the spices added

While the sauce is simmering, prep your shell filling. Place all of the cheeses and the egg in a medium bowl with the cooked, wilted spinach/garlic mixture. Add a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir!

Ready to mix up

All mixed up

Stuff your shells with the filling and place in an oven safe baking dish with 1/4 cup of the cooked tomato sauce for a base. Cover the stuffed shells with more sauce, cover it with foil and then bake for 35-40 mins.

Ready for the oven

Yum!

Finished Product