Tag: dinner

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Well, I’ve posted about these over on Instagram nearly every day since I’ve made them. I wanted to put the recipe here for those of you (show of hands, mine included) who prefer to see a recipe on a website, rather than a tiny instagram screen. Is this waxing on about how everyone needs them a sign of obsession? I think it might be, and I think it’s also a sign that I need to make them again this weekend. Maybe…if our new fridge arrives on Saturday like it’s supposed to. Our died a tragic death this week, and we’re currently living on peanut butter sandwiches, bananas and ramen.

A little disclaimer – the pumpkin shape is very, I repeat, very cute. BUT you don’t actually need to spend the extra time to make them into the pumpkins. This recipe is delicious even in the shape of regular rolls. Especially if you slather them in butter and dip them in cinnamon sugar. I keep pitching them as a Thanksgiving centerpiece, but I think I might enjoy them even more on the breakfast table with a pile of fruit and a few slices of bacon. So good.

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls

You’ll need:
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar (1 tablespoon for yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons in the rest of the dough)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (don’t add this all at once. depending on your pumpkin puree thickness, and baking conditions, you may not need it all!)
Cinnamon sugar & melted butter (optional)
Cinnamon sticks for stems!

To make:

  1. In a small bowl, add water, a tablespoon of white sugar, and yeast. Stir together and set aside to rise.
  2. In a small saucepan, stir together pumpkin puree and butter on a medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow to cool slightly.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cups of flour, remaining 3 tablespoons of white sugar, and salt. Stir in yeast and egg, and mix well. Add in pumpkin and butter mixture. Add in remaining cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time (*note: you may not need all of the flour depending on the consistency of your pumpkin puree – you want your dough to pull away from the bowl, but not to get too dry. A little stickiness is good as long as you can still work with it!) Stir well until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
  4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes until smooth (again….it’s better if your dough’s a little sticky here, rather than adding too much flour). You can use your dough hook instead if you have a mixer!
  5. Cover with a clean, damp cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.
  6. Divide the dough into 9-12 equal pieces, and roll into round balls. Cut a piece of string long enough that it can wrap around the dough ball four times. You’ll need a piece for each roll.
  7. Carefully place the center of the string over the first dough ball, flip over, cross the string over itself so it creates tension, flip the dough over again, and repeat. The goal is to create four equal cross sections of the ball. I shared a reel for how to do this! The string should be snug enough to stay in place, but no tighter than that, as it will tighten as the dough continues to rise. Tie a double knot at the end, and trim the ends of the string so they aren’t too long. Place onto a baking sheet, and repeat for all remaining dough balls.
  8. Cover dough balls with a towel, and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until you can press a finger into the dough and it leaves an indent (if it bounces back quickly, it needs more rise time).
  9. Bake the dough for 15-17 minutes, or until golden. Remove and allow to cool slightly before cutting strings and gently removing. Serve warm.

    *if covering in cinnamon sugar – melt some butter and brush on the rolls while still warm. Roll around in cinnamon sugar. Add little cinnamon stems on top for cute factor!

Black Bean & Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Or as I like to call them, “Shelby’s Enchilada’s”. My friend, Shelby , posted about these enchiladas a few weeks ago and I immediately saved them to Pinterest knowing that they would be an easy Taco Tuesday meal for us to make on repeat. I love that the chicken can be made in the crockpot, it uses simple store bought green ingredients, and my kids can help with the assembly.

Those are things I always look for when it comes to weeknight meals. It needs to take less than 20 minutes to put together, and I should be able to involve the kids in some way. I’m not saying that they help with dinner every night, but most nights, one or more of them will stop their play to come to the kitchen while I’m working on dinner and I like to be able to offer them a job. It helps them take some responsibility in our family meal, pride in helping, and connection with me for even just a few minutes during the rush of getting home and getting dinner on the table. Not an easy feat! For this meal, they were able to help mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream, they shredded the cheese with our (beloved) rotary grater, and they helped to layer the enchilada ingredients in our pan. Making this reminds me a lot of making lasagna. It’s layered in just the same way!

I wasn’t really expecting a ton out of these enchiladas, but they were just so good. My husband had thirds – and that’s how I really really knew that I needed to get these down on “paper” to make again soon. You can find the original recipe here if you like. I’m sharing as I made them. Only a few changes from the original! Note that I used less chicken and only did two layers of tortillas to make a smaller batch. The original called for three cups of chicken and three layers of tortillas. I used a can of beans to make the meal go further and to save a bit on the meal. Beans are cheaper than chicken.

Chicken Verde Enchilada Bake

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded- you can make in the crock pot, or just buy a rotisserie chicken!
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream
1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce, mild or medium
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 corn tortillas
cilantro, chopped – to garnish
optional: corn chips, tortilla chips, avocado, tajin, salsa verde to top

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Warm chicken broth in small frying pan for tortillas.
  3. Mix the enchilada sauce and sour cream. Stir until well blended.
  4. Mix the shredded chicken and black beans.
  5. Spread a thin layer of the enchilada mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use tongs to hold a tortilla in the broth for a few seconds. Then place tortilla in the 9 x 13 pan, four in all for that layer.
  6. Next, sprinkle half of the chicken and black bean mixture over the tortillas. Then add half of the enchilada mixture over the chicken. Add half of the cheese.
  7. Add another layer of four slightly soaked tortillas. Add the rest of the chicken and black beans. Add the rest of the enchilada mixture and cheese.
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Broil for 3-4 minutes if you like a crispy cheese topper. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Top with desired amount of chopped cilantro. Spoon into bowls, add your favorite toppers (or eat as is) and enjoy!

Warm Grain and Vegetable Bowl.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

If you are in need of a simple and nourishing meal that warms you up from your insides out, you’ve found it here. I found this recipe in Ina Garten’s Go To Dinners (everything in it has been amazing so far), and it’s one that is going to be in heavy rotation at our house. I’m writing the recipe as I made it, which differs from the original. And of course, as always, you can make it your own by using different vegetables and grains, but you really should make the dressing as is. That’s what makes it all so very good. Now, please excuse me while I go add all of this to our shopping cart for next week.

Warm Vegetable and Grain Bowl

1 cup quinoa
Salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, cut into 8 wedges through the stem
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, diced (I used a frozen bag for ease)
1/2 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into sticks
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 oz greens such as spinach, kale, arugula or a mix
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans
creamy goat cheese, thickly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Make quinoa according to package instructions, set aside.
  3. Combine the onion, butternut squash, and carrots on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and toss. Spread the vegetables out in one layer and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through until all the vegetables are tender.
  4. Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, or in a jar with a lid. Set aside.
  5. In a large salad bowl, combine your greens, cranberries, and toasted nuts (I just toast them in a cast iron skillet over medium for a couple minutes until they smell nutty and are golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.) Pour a little bit on your greens and toss.
  6. Serve the salad into your bowls, add quinoa, the goat cheese to taste and roasted vegetables on top. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette on top and season with salt if needed.
  7. Serve warm and inhale the whole thing.

Creamy, Lemony, Garlicky Pasta for Spring.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

When you hear the word Spring, what do you think of first? My answer: Lemon. Second answer: Daffodils. I’ll save the daffodils for another day, but the color, the smell, the feelings I get when I close my eyes and taste lemons – it just screams Spring. Don’t you think? I could admittedly go for lemon at any time of year. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon poppyseed bread, lemonade, yes, even lemon butter popcorn. Give them all to me. But especially around this time of year, I really crave everything lemon. I made this pasta on Sunday night, and I didn’t really know how much the lemon would come through, but it ended up being so very good. Different than Alfredo or Mac and Cheese, yummier than Pasta al Limone. The lemon makes it zippy and fresh. The perfect meal for a lovely evening in Spring. I highly recommend grilling chicken and trimmed asparagus (wrapped up into foil a foil packet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and adding that to your bowl too as we did. And if you needed any more convincing – even my kids ate this one.

Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta

1 pound angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
zest and juice of one lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
chopped/torn parsley, to garnish

  1. Fill a large pot of water and add a few pinches of salt. Bring to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add butter, and whisk until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated. Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring often until it begins to thicken ~10 minutes or so.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice. Add pasta, mixing into sauce with tongs until all strands are coated. Serve, topping with grilled chicken, fresh parmesan, and parsley.

Cozy and Bright Red Lentil Soup.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

A soup that I crave year round, but crave in these quiet, cozy weeks between holidays most of all. It’s healthy, hearty, and bright. Basically it’s fall sunshine in a bowl.

Red lentil soup

Olive oil
1 white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups veggie or chicken stock
2 cups red lentils
1 cup corn
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute or so, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, lentils, corn, cumin, curry powder. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are completely tender.

At this point, you can either blend the soup or not. I always do using an immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender too. Or just eat it as is! All equally yum.

Next, stir in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Taste and season the soup with a generous pinch or two of salt (I prefer Kosher) and black pepper.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon, grind of pepper, sprinkling of shaved warm, and a couple slices of fresh sourdough.