Thanksgiving Roasted Veggies

Ingredients
3 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (I bought already cut squash at my grocery store, about 3 boxes)
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped about the size of the baby carrots
A medium package of baby carrots
6 turnips, peeled and cubed
A few sprigs of sage
A few sprigs of rosemary
about a cup of extra virgin olive oil
nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper

Method
Chop up sage and rosemary and put in Cuisinart with a cup of EVOO, S&P (about a pinch or 2) and pulse until well combined. Put into a mason jar to set aside for the entire night.
The next day....
Preheat oven to 450°
(You can also prep the butternut squash, parsnips and turnips the day before as the herb oil) Chop into cubes of the veggies and with a little bit of the rosemary/sage (herb) oil with salt and pepper in a mixing bowl to coat the veggies- all together or separate- evenly. You can sprinkle a little bit of nutmeg with the butternut squash. Lay evenly on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (I used 4 baking sheets- it's a lot of veggies).
Roast for 30-35 minutes.
In the same mixing bowl, use the remaining herb oil (add more EVOO if necessary) and add in the roasted veggies. Stir well and put in serving dish. Serve.

Sausage & Quinoa Dish

Quinoa- use its package cooking instructions. I used chicken broth

Saute Sausage to fully cooked, before taking it out on a plate. Save about 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin oil and rendered fat from the sausage while discarding (or saving) the rest. Saute sliced onion until it starts to caramelized and add chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Add cannellini beans until lightly browned and add washed/chopped kale. Seasoning salt, pepper, and a little bit of nutmeg. Once the kale wilted, add about a cup of chicken broth and let it reduce to vaporization, bring back the sausage and add the cooked quinoa, mixing well before serving. Perfect for lunch and dinner.

Edamame Burgers with Provolone Cheese

Saute 1 sliced yellow onion for 7 minutes, 1 sliced yellow pepper for 5 minutes before adding about 2 cups of edamame until lightly browned in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper on medium-high heat. Meantime mix about 1 cup bread crumbs, salt, pepper, cumin and Chipotle & roasted garlic seasonings in mixing bowl. Cool the bean mixture to put in Cuisinart with cilantro, lemon zest and splash of worcestershire sauce to a paste, adding 1 egg while pulsing. Add to the bread crumbs mix and for into 4 patties. Add more bread crumbs if too wet. Using same saute pan, heat EVOO and a spoon scope of bacon fat (vegetable oil if complete vegetarian) and put patties in hot oil for about 5 minutes until lightly brown and easy to flip . Top with provolone cheese to melt before placing on paper towels before serving

George Harrison's Dark Horse Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 red chili

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 cup lentils (one or more types of lentils can be used)

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 carrots, chopped

2 potatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. When oil is good and hot, add the red chili and cumin seeds. When the seeds stop sputtering, brown the onions and garlic in the seasoned oil. In a separate deep pan, wash the lentils in plenty of water. When  clean, liberally cover with water. When the onions are browned, add them to the pan of lentils. Now add tomatoes, peppers, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Potatoes and carrots and small boiling onions may be added for a more substantial meal. Bring to the boil, cover, and turn down to very low heat. The soup is ready to serve in an hour and tastes better the next day.

Green Chicken Chili

Part 1 Ingredients
2 green peppers
2 green tomatoes
2 jalapenos
2 poblano peppers
2 green cubanelle peppers
1 small can of chicken stock or broth

Method
Pre-heat oven to 425°

Cut all ingredients in half, scrape out all the seeds and ribs out. Season with salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil and place on cookie sheet (use two so it won't overcrowd).

Roast the peppers and tomatoes for 40 minutes, flipping them over half way through time (20 minutes).

When out of the oven, reserve half (equal) of the peppers and tomatoes. Slightly chop and put in the blender to puree with the small can of chicken broth/stock.

Chop and slice the other half of the mixture to put in with the ground chicken.

Part 2 Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1 white onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, mince
1 cup of frozen edamame beans
A small palmful of cumin
Cilantro, chopped

Method
On medium high heat in either a soup/spaghetti pot or a deep saute pan, heat up some EVOO (about twice around the pan), saute onion and garlic until translucent and slightly golden to add the ground chicken and cumin. Stir frequently until chicken is cooked. Add in the chopped roasted peppers and tomatoes and the edamame beans. Saute for about 5 minutes before adding the roasted peppers and tomatoes puree. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stir on occasion. Add cilantro.

Serve with the usual classic chili toppings (cheese- fontina, provolone, and mozzarella works best), sour cream, avocado, etc.

Abe Laboriel Jr's Roasted Broccoli Salad

 A while back ago, Paul McCartney's drummer was kind enough to give me his recipe of this salad after he posted about it on Twitter. I did tried it and it was delicious, but I forgot about it until the other day. So I dig deep and thankfully found it! 

Lip Smacking Sweets

Meringue with a hint of cardamom and strawberry-apricot (inspired by my cousin Rachel's jam) compote with freshly squeezed orange juice and basil.

Compote:
1 pint of strawberries, quatered
5 and a half apricots, sliced
1 orange, juiced
3-4 small leaves of basil, chopped
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup of sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside until the strawberries release their water syrupy (about an hour or two). Heat about a slice of butter in a medium saucepan on medium high heat and pour the bowl and bring to a boil. After about 15 minutes, use your potato masher and mash the fruit together. Let cook for another 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Take the saucepan off the stove until cool for use. You can also store it in mason jars.

Also great for smoothies with yogurt or vanilla ice cream

Here's my cousin's own food blog for more recipes Blonde Bitchin' West Texas Kitchen