Today, we had this for lunch. I soaked and then cooked hulled barley in…

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of squash. Or, rather, I didn’t used to be able to say that. Now, however?

Now that I’ve learned a few yummy ways to prepare squash on my own, I’m singing a different tune. A tune which, for the record, is different from the made up song about Subway that Small Fry was singing in the tub tonight. But not that different. Since they’re both about food.

We had these baked acorn squash bowls with chicken and bacon this past weekend. We were skeptical, mostly about the squash part, but they were so yummy!

To make them, I:

bought, washed and halved four acorn squash

cleaned out the seeds and stringy things
(Save the seeds and roast them with olive oil and salt in your oven on a cookie sheet, then eat them for snack!)

melted one stick of butter

added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar to the melted butter

stirred

added ground pepper and sea salt

covered the insides of the cut squash as well as the cut edges with copious amounts of the mixture

baked, cut sides up, in a 350 degree oven for almost an hour, until a fork was inserted easily

scooped warmed bacon and chicken hunks (pan cooked in bacon grease) into the squash

served piping hot in yellow bowls with spoons, everything but the squash skin is eaten

And that was that! We also find them delicious just out of the oven with the butter and brown sugar on them without adding anything. I think rice or couscous would be great inside, too! I plan to roast the seeds soon. Here they are, freshly “harvested.”

I used leftover squash that I didn’t fill with chicken and bacon to make some acorn squash soup. (I also sometimes bake one without any butter or sugar and then blend up the meat of the squash to make baby food for Flurry.)

For the soup, I cooked chopped celery, cored apple chunks and baby carrots in a pan with butter. I blended the leftover squash and some sour cream in the food processor. I blended the cooked celery, apple and carrots separately. I added them and some cooked, chopped bacon to the squash and sour cream. I blended those all up and added some cream and milk until I liked the consistency. I added cinnamon and sea salt to taste. I kept it warm in a crockpot until it was eaten.

Squash! Now I really like it. Maybe you already do, or maybe you will soon, too!

The pasta salad I made for lunch yesterday was enjoyed across the board in our house. Seeing as how a few of you asked about the “recipe” yesterday, I thought I’d share!

Combine all ingredients. Serve cold, with extra bleu cheese crumbles on the top. Enjoy. Don’t forget, like I did, to put away the leftovers in the fridge so you can eat more later. Sigh. What a not nice surprise to find on the counter later. Oh well. Live and learn!

While other mothers were bringing a crockpot of meatballs or macaroni hotdish to potlucks, my mother, always a statistical outlier, usually came armed with couscous pilafs or banana groundnut stew. She still does. Just ask the ladies in the fellowship hall at their church.

It’s no wonder that I cook like my mother. A little of this, a healthy smidgen of that. Nothing traditionally American is usually on our dinner tables. Neither she nor I measure ingredients and sometimes our concoctions end up like gruel. But, for the most part, the flavors and textures she blends have mouthwatering results. Last night, in a huge mixing bowl, I threw together some things for dinner.

It was fabulous. Even better as leftovers for lunch today.

As I mentioned yesterday, even my husband commented on my couscous creation, noting that he loved it. And an entire meal in a bowl makes cleanup so easy, as there aren’t many dishes. Yeah, okay, there was couscous all over our floor, but whatever. Big Mac didn’t care for the raisins, but beyond that, everyone scarfed it down. Here in its entirety is the recipe for my meal. All measurements (except for the couscous, I did measure that) are estimated.

Prepare the couscous by boiling the water, then adding the dry couscous, stirring and removing from heat immediately. Cover the saucepan and let sit. Ten minutes later, or two hours later, whenever you want, fluff the couscous with a fork.

Mix in the olive oil. Use more or less depending on your tastes. I didn’t want mine to be really oily, but I did want the olive oil flavor mixed in completely. It took more oil than I originally estimated to accomplish this. Add all the other ingredients. Serve warm, as I did last night, or cold as leftovers. I prefer it cold, but that’s just me. I added more salt, cumin and cinnamon when I ate it today, as well. Delish.

It’s so, so good!

Today, for me, it’s some simple veggie pizza pockets.

I thawed some frozen bread dough and then spread it out into two long ovals on a buttered cookie sheet. On half, I put a little jarred spaghetti sauce and some fresh, cut veggies. I sprinkled cheese on top before I flipped the other bread dough oval on top of the sauce and goodies. I sealed all around the outside, smooshing the top dough to the bottom to lock everything inside, brushed some egg white on top of the dough and baked at 350 degrees until it was brown on top!

What are you having for lunch today?

Necessity is the mother of invention.

I needed: a healthy lunch for our children, preferably including some protein as well as fresh components. However, I lacked a pantry and fridge full of groceries. I had to make do with some leftovers, while still making a lunch that our children would enjoy and would be nutritious for them. We didn’t even have any bread, because we’d used the last of it a breakfast! What to do?

Enter: my invention.

Using leftover french toast from that morning (just wheat toast dipped in raw egg and cooked in butter on a skillet), I made these sandwiches. After spreading them with hummus on both slices of cold toast, I stacked tomato and cucumber on them and presto.

Necessity. Meet invention. And our children, well, I had to give them some cereal for lunch, too, since I ended up eating a few of the yummy protein packed sandwiches I had intended for them. Please don’t feel the need to remind me about the irony of that.

Thanks.

I happened to make the most delicious tuna salad I’ve ever tasted for lunch today. It was really on kind of a fluke, just using some things we had on hand. It was so yummy, I thought I’d share! (Also because a few of you asked so nicely on Twitter and Facebook today.)

Terrific Tuna Salad

I mixed:

tuna

and

mayonnaise

and then I finely diced:

tomatoes

cucumbers

onion

green pepper

and mixed it in with the tuna and mayo

then I added:

corn

chopped cilantro

and

sea salt

I ate it over lettuce and didn’t get nearly as much as I wanted.

Why?

Because I wasn’t the only one who found it delicious!