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Sunday I actually made a nice meal from Ina Garten’s cookbook called Go-to Dinners.  My timing stunk, but squash is very forgiving.  The timing in the pork is right on.  I like my pork to come out of the oven at 130/135 degrees F and then tent to 140 degrees F.  The rosemary rub was delicious.

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloins, trimmed of silver skin

EVOO

2 T coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Freshly ground black pepper

Mango chutney, for serving (Did not use.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Place a rack in the top third of the oven.  
2. Allow the tenderloins to sit atrium temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Place the tenderloins smooth side up 1 1/2” apart on a sheet pan.  Pat the meat dry with paper towels.  Generously brush the tenderloins with 3 T oil, then sprinkle with rosemary, 1 T sea salt, and 1 t pepper.  (I did a teaspoon of salt)
4. Tuck the thing tail ends under and tie them with kitchen string to the tenderloins are an even thickness.  (They were fine, I did not tie them.)
5. Place the tenderloins on the prepared oven rack and roast for exactly 5 1/2 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let the pork stay in the oven for 1 hour without opening the door.
6. Transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board and slice thickly.  

We have one leftover for another night.  We had this with squash.  She used butternut squash, but the ones at the store were enormous so, I bought 2 small acorn squashes.  

Ingredients:

3 honey nut squash (2 1/2-3 pounds total)

4 T unsalted butter

4 T light brown sugar

Kosher salt and black sugar

Pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise through the stems.  Scoop out and discard the seeds.  Place the squash halves on a sheet pan, cut sides up, distribute the butter, brown sugar and syrup evenly among the cavities of each and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  
3. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until tender.  
4. Drizzle with syrup and serve hot.  

We had this dish on Saturday and Sunday. We still have a 3rd meal in the refridgerator.  It also is from Katie Lee's new cookbook.  It was very good.  

Ingredients:

For the Chili

2 T EVOO

1 small butternut squash, peeped, seeded and diced

1 1/2 t kosher salt

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T chili powder

1 t dried oregano

1/2 t ground cumin

1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

1 (16 oz.) jar salsa

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15.5 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 C vegetable stock

Freshly ground black pepper

For the cornbread:

1 C fine-ground yellow cornmeal

1C all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

2 T sugar

1 t kosher slat

1 C buttermilk

2 T unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 large egg

For the cilantro honey butter

2 T unsalted butter, softened

1 T minced fresh cilantro

2 t honey

Pinch of kosher salt

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the squash and 1 t of the salt and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the squash starts to soften and brown.  
2. Add the onion and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes more, until the onion is soft.
3. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and the remaining 1/2 t salt and cook for 2-3 minutes more, until the spices are aromatic and the garlic is soft.  
4. Pour in the tomatoes and salsa, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, and bring to a simmer.  
5. Add the beans and stock.  
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  
7. Preheat the oven to 425  degrees F. 
8. While the chili is simmering, make the cornbread mixture; Put the cornbread ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
9. Transfer the chili to a 9” X 13” baking dish and use a T or scoop to dollop the cornbread mixture on top.  
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown on top.  
11. Remove from the oven.  
12. Make the cilantro honey butter:  Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  
13. Spread the herb butter over the cornbread.  
14. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. 

It took me all day to make this, but it was probably because I am so lame right now.  I made the whole recipe as I need some time off from cooking.

Jim did his zoom wine tasting with a local merchant while I made dinner.  The way it works is that they announce ahead of time what will be tasted, you go to the store and buy it and sign on to the meeting.  The three wines were from a CA winery and the wine maker gave the talk and led the tasting.  I thought it was very interesting, until the presentation ended and the people on the zoom started talking to each other. I was ready for final assembly and baking of dinner so I came into my art room to work on my blog.  I received a text from an unknown asking about my treadmill I had posted for sale on our neighborhood app.  I listed it as highest bid must be able to pick it up.  Literally I could have been offered 25 cents and it would be sold.  The first person that texted me and I gave information to said he looked it up on Google and it is no longer made.  I had previously told him it could be 20 years old and rarely used.  It has not been used at all since 11-11-2011, when I had my first hip replacement as the doctor said you walk differently on a treadmill than you do walking down the street.  I answered him that I was not a store.  The young lady who texted me last night had 2 questions, how much and does it work.  I said highest bidder means you tell me what you want to pay and yes, it is like new, I even have the instruction booklet.  She said I have $60.00 in cash and can pick it up.  I said sold.  The young lady came slightly after 6.  She and her boy friend both had masks on.  Jim gave her a brief explanation.  She haded me the money and Jim and the friend put it in his truck.  I marked it sold on the app.  Then I finished this dinner.  I got this recipe from the FoodTV app.  It is by Valerie Bertinelli.  It was delicious, very filling, and used up some of the arugula.  I will not be posting for a couple days as we have half the pizza leftover and we still have steamed buns to finish.  

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 C bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 T fresh rosemary leaves

1 1/2 t sugar

Kosher salt

1 T EVOO, plus more for the bowl

Cornmeal, for dusting, I use Pam

Topping:

1 (2#) butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1/4” slices

1 1/2 T + 2 t EVOO

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 T torn fresh sage leaves

2 t finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 large garlic clove, smashed

2 C shredded mozzarella

4 oz. goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

3 C baby arugula

Zest of 1 lemon + juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

Dough:

1. combine the flour, rosemary, yeast, sugar, and 1 t salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.   Add 3/4 C warm water and oil and process until the dough forms a ball.  
2. Transfer to a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  
3. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.  (I used my bread machine on the dough setting.  It is great for pizza dough.)

Topping:

1. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. toss the squash with 1/2 T of oil, 1/4 t salt and pepper to taste.  Roast until just tender, about 10 minutes. 
3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the remaining 2 T oil and the sage, rosemary, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Heat for 1-2 minutes, just to infuse the oil.  
4. Sprinkle cornmeal or flour on a 14” piazza pan and set aside.  (I use Pam)
5. Liberally flour a clean work surface.  Place the dough on top and use your hands to stretch it out into a 14” circle.  Carefully lay the dough on the pizza pan.  
6. Brush the infused oil onto the dough.  Top with the mozzarella and roasted squash, leaving a 1” border around the edge.
7. Bake the pizza until the crust is golden brown, 14-18 minutes.  
8. Carefully sprinkle the goat cheese evenly on top.  (I had a little feta cheese leftover from the salad that I added as I only had 2 oz. of goat cheese.)
9. Toss the arugula with the 2 t oil, lemon zest and juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Top the pizza with arugula, then cut into slices to serve.

I really thought this meal was going to be good meal.  But reality was it was uneatable.  I let Jim eat it all.  Remember he likes McDonalds.  The recipe I found on line for spiralized butternut squash couldn’t have been more wrong.  The D blade cuts a spiral not spaghetti, it cuts a spiral.  We used C but we should have gone up further on the Alphabet.  It said, “Set the oven at 400 degrees F.  Toss the squash noodles with 2 t oil, 1/4 t salt and black pepper to taste.  Bake for 7-10 minutes.”  Jim was testing as I was in a lot of pain yesterday.  After 15 minutes he declared it done.  After dressing it with the sauce, I discovered it wasn’t even warm and rock hard.  

The real disappointment was the sauce.  I found this sauce on the FoodTV app by Nigella Lawson.  It was thick and heavily dependent on the pasta cooking water that I didn’t have.  I have a lot left over and will try it again with boiled pasta to see if I change my mind.  We also had 12 leftover salmon croquettes to save the day.

Ingredients:

6 oz. shelled walnuts

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1 slice bread, crusts removed

2/3  C whole milk

1 oz. grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

3-4 T EVOO

Salt and Pepper

2 # any flat short pasta

1/2 C chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. toast the walnuts in a a dry frying pan until they begin to make a nutty aroma.  
2. Put the bread in a bowl and cover with the milk.
3. Put most of the toasted walnuts (reserving 1 oz. for garnish) into a blender along the garlic, bread soaked in milk, and Parmesan.  
4. Blend until it turns smooth and creamy, then pour in the oil and sees well with salt and pepper before blending again.  
5. Pour into a bowl, and set aside.  Add to the cooked pasta  and add a little pasta cooking liquid to make the sauce less think if needed. (It was needed.
6. Roughly chop remaining walnuts and toss with parsley and Parmesan.  Garnish the pasta with this mixture. 

Saturday night’s dinner was accomplished by Jim with no fits or screams.  It looked good and tasted great.  Jim could not find a spaghetti squash that wighted that much so he bought 2.  I actually thought that was better.  I ate one, which would be the equivalent of 1/4 in the original amount.  I was very filled.  This is a recipe from the WW site.  We exceeded the cheese as we had 4 to cover.

Ingredients:

3 1/2#, one large squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

5 sprays, cooking spray

1/2 C finely chopped  onion

8 oz. uncooked 99% fat-free ground turkey breast

1 C no-salt added canned tomato sauce

2 t unpacked brown sugar

1 t chili powder

3/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t kosher salt

2/3 C low fat cheddar cheese  (We used regular cheese)

2 T uncooked scallion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.   Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat the foil with cooking spray.  
2. Coat cut sides of squash with spray and arrange cut side down on  the foil.  roast until strands of squash separate when scraped with a fork, about 35 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Scrape all squash into strands, using a fork, leaving strands inside squash shells.
4. Meanwhile, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.  coat pan with cooking spray.
5. Add onion and cook 2 minutes.  Add turkey to pan and cook until turkey is cooked through, stirring to crumble,3-5 minutes.  
6. Add tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.  
7. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.  
8. Preheat broiler to high.  Divide turkey mixture evenly between the squash bowl.  Top evenly with cheese.  Broil until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with scallions