Butternut Squash, Mushroom, and Gruyere Tart

I got all fancy again over the weekend and tried out this recipe (link) from Cooking Light. I know the recipe calls for pre-chopped stuff, but that costs more and I just did it myself. It took longer, but totally worth it! I did my usual substitute of whole wheat flour for the white flour and it turned out just fine. And to save time, I peeled my squash, chopped it into cubes, tossed them with the 1 tablespoon oil and onions, and roasted them at 425 for about 25 minutes, before starting on the crust. I feel like roasting brings out better flavors than sauteeing, when it comes to squash.

I'd definitely recommend sticking pretty close to this recipe. It's so worth the trip to your local deli counter to get real gruyere cheese and pancetta because I can't think of anything that would work as a substitute and give you the same flavors. Also, a trick I learned for using wine for cooking is to buy those little 4-packs of the tiny bottles so you don't have a big bottle of wine hanging out in your fridge trying to get your attention. Try and stay away from anything labeled "cooking wine" because if you wouldn't drink it, you shouldn't cook with it.

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Better than IKEA Swedish Meatballs

Oh, how I love Swedish meatballs! I think they're one of my all-time favorite foods and it turns out they're not as hard to make as I thought. I was afraid I was going to have to come up with all sorts of ways to cut the calories in them, but it turns out they're not as bad as you'd think. They take a bit of time to make, but if you make a bunch you can just freeze the extras.

Sometimes when I make them I serve them over whole wheat egg noodles, but last night I went with baked potatoes. It was a nice hearty meal for a cool fall evening. Alexander, however, only liked the meatballs. I think I have the only kid in the US that hates white potatoes. I also happened to have a jar of IKEA lingonberry preserves, you know, for authenticity.

The veggies du jour ended up being sauteed chard. I cooked them up the same way I make my kale, except with white wine vinegar, and it sure was tasty. I love my greens!

Svenska Kottbullar
Serves 6 at 270 calories each (4 meatballs per person)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces ground pork
8 ounces ground beef
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chicken broth (1/2 teaspoon chicken base dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups beef broth (2 teaspoons beef base dissolved in 2 cups boiling water)
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 glass baking dish.
2. Combine the coconut milk, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and spices in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat the 1 teaspoon of peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion until browned, around 5-10 minutes. Add to the breadcrumb mixture and allow to cool.
4. Add the egg, ground pork, and ground beef to the breadcrumb mixture and mix well. 
5. Heat the tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Form the meat mixture into small balls (around 1 1/2 tablespoons per meatball) and carefully place in the hot oil. Cook until evenly brown and place in the baking dish. Do not worry if they are still pink in the middle because they're about to go into the oven.
6. When all of the meatballs are ready, pour the the chicken broth over them and cover the pan with foil. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Remove the meatballs from the pan and strain the drippings into a saucepan. Whisk in the flour, followed by the beef broth. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sour cream and allspice.
8. Add the meatballs back into the sauce and they're ready to eat!

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Pork Pasties

I came across a reference to these delicious pockets of yum in a book years ago and I finally got around to attempting to make them tonight. The humble pasty (pronounced to rhyme with nasty) were originally what coal miners brought with them to lunch. They sure are delicious and they're really quite simple to make, being just pie crust and filling. They're like hot pockets, but not disgusting and full of salt and chemicals.

My whole family loved them, but they were a little on the large side. I'm thinking next time I make them I'm going to make 6 instead of 4. I'm also thinking that if I had a deep freezer I could make up a bunch of these and stash them for emergency dinners. These are pork, but they would be pretty darn tasty made with beef, chicken, turkey, or even just a bunch of veggies.

Pork Pasties
Makes 4 at 568 calories each

Crust:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 oz cold unsalted butter, diced
2 oz cold reduced fat cream cheese, diced
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon ice water

Filling:
1 lb diced pork loin
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup diced potato
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour

1. Whisk together the flours and salt. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly mix in the ice water until a dough forms. Knead in the last of the flour by hand. Divide the dough into 4 portions, shape into disks, wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine the all of the filling ingredients in a bowl.
4. Working with one disk of dough at a time, roll out on a floured cutting board until you have an 8" disk. Put about 1 cup of filling on half of the dough and fold the other side over. Crimp the edge shut and place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the pasties are made.
5. Cut three slits on top of the pasty. Brush the tops of the pasties with milk and bake for 45 minutes.

Ready to bake!

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Time to Feed my Chinese Food Addiction

I really love American-style Chinese food. That's my comfort food. Even if I'm hungry an hour later, it's still my comfort food. So tonight I decided to make Anthony's favorite, cashew chicken, and my absolute favorite food in the entire world, steamed pot stickers. Is it possible to have satisfying Asian food without all the salt, msg, and fat? Yes!

For the pot stickers, I picked up a package of wonton wrappers in the produce section of my favorite local grocery store, Publix. I substituted green onion for the leeks because I forgot to buy them and I lined my steamer with cabbage leaves instead of making a carrot disk for them to sit on. The wrappers I bought must be a different size from whatever they used in the recipe and I ended up getting 36. These little suckers were pretty time-consuming to make, but I froze the extras so I can feed my addiction whenever the craving strikes. My version comes out at 46 calories per pot sticker, plus an extra 9 calories for a teaspoon of sauce.

I made a few changes to the cashew chicken, though. I added 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, reduced the honey to 1 tablespoon, and reduced the sriracha to 1 teaspoon. I also left out the edamame and substituted green beans for the broccoli because that's what I had in the fridge. And, as always, I used brown rice instead of white rice because brown rice actually keeps me feeling full. With all my changes, it made a serving come out to 467 calories.

The verdict? Holy crap, I'm never ordering this stuff out again! The pot stickers were even better than the ones we used to get at our local Chinese restaurant and the cashew chicken was perfect. It had just the right amount of spicy. My next project will be to attempt some sort of healthy sesame chicken. Wish me luck!

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