If I were to try to come up with a list of quintessential Fall flavors, I think “spice” would be on the top of the list. Even more important than pumpkin, you say? Well… Yeah. Let’s be honest, pumpkin without spice is kinda like halloween without candy. You can try to fool yourself, but it’s just not as delicious.
Pumpkin spice is also EVERYwhere. And you have to branch out sometime, right? How timely that this month’s Recipe ReDux challenge, “Spooky Spices,” challenged us to do something new with spice. I have never made a Shepherd’s Pie either, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re not exactly the first thing you think of when you hear the word “spices.” But I don’t like going with the norm, so here we are.
I first got the idea while sitting in the airport this weekend waiting for a delayed flight. I was watching “Cutthroat Kitchen” on Netflix (which, by the way, is the best show EVER) and the contestants had to make Shepherd’s Pie amidst a whole slew of sabotages. One guy got his potato privileges revoked and used egg whites to make a meringue topping (ew), and another guy was forced to replace all his protein with beef jerky (EW). This got me thinking, though – what would I have made? It’s fall, and there are so many beautiful varieties of squash available. And so, it was decided – butternut squash Shepherd’s Pie.
For the filling, I used a spice that’s kind of “spooky” for me – Chipotle. I have used dried chipotle powder before (like in this empanada recipe) but I’ve never gone hardcore and used the actual pepper. So, I bought a can of chipotles. Hooooly moly. So spicy. So smoky. Sooooo delicious. I also used another “spooky” ingredient, but it wasn’t a spice – butter. I. KNOW. I don’t think ONE recipe on this blog so far has included butter. But, slowly and surely, I’m starting to appreciate “real” foods that are also for once-in-a-while use, like butter and full-fat dairy products. As long as we don’t go into full Paula Deen mode, butter and I will probably keep our relationship in a healthy place.
This dish came out so unbelievably flavorful and delicious. It’s not your typical Shepherd’s Pie… Dare I say it may be better? The chipotle makes the filling stand-over-the-skillet-and-nosh good, and the squash makes for a deliciously smooth, sweet, and fluffy topping. Can you say go-to meal until further notice? It’s THAT good.
3 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash (about 1 small squash)
2 tbs. melted butter
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg
1 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup cooked kidney beans
3/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1 canned chipotle pepper, minced + 3 tsp. sauce from the can
2 tbs. tomato paste
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Bring potatoes and squash to boil in a pot of water.
While boiling, heat olive oil and garlic in a deep skillet over low heat.
Add ground turkey, raising heat to medium. Break up meat and stir until browned.
Add onion, stirring occasionally until onions begin to soften and become translucent. Add beans and corn.
Stir in minced chipotle, chipotle sauce, tomato paste, and broth. Make sure the liquid combines evenly.
Once broth has mostly cooked off, add paprika and cumin, and stir to combine. Lower heat, and let sit for a few minutes.
Once squash and potatoes are cooked through, drain thoroughly. Mash until smooth with a fork, and then add the butter and cheese and combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once the mixture has somewhat cooled, add egg and combine well.
Pour meat mixture into a casserole dish and distribute the squash topping evenly over the top. Be sure to lock in the meat mixture, so none of the juice will bubble up to the top (learned this the hard way)!
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until topping begins to brown.
Back-to-school season. It’s a time for new backpacks, pencils, and books, and a time for that new jean jacket that you wear on the first day “because it’s Fall,” but in reality, is pretty weather-inappropriate. It’s also the return of lunch-packing season.
I have a love/hate relationship with packing my own lunches. On one hand, I love knowing it’s healthier and that the portions are better. And, I feel way more organized when I have my own food packed away. But on the other hand, I just really stink at creativity when it comes to packing lunch. I think to myself, “What if I actually looked forward to something new in my lunch? What if it wasn’t always some variation on greens + protein + beans + grains + avocado + hotsauce? WHAT IF?! The struggle is real completely first-world.
The other day, while browsing Wegmans, I stumbled upon a pumpkin. A beautiful, perfectly shaped, tasty looking pie pumpkin.
Hot.
I knew its destiny was to end up in my kitchen, but I’ve never cooked with a whole pumpkin before. It’s only a squash, so I knew how to prepare it. Mostly, it was the myriad of options I had for using it that left me somewhat clueless. After careful thought, I decided on chili. I’m a huge fan of making chili from scratch because you can adjust the heat and flavors to your exact liking. Also, store-bought seasonings tend to contain a lot of sodium, where you can cut most of the salt out by assembling the seasoning yourself.
Then, I thought of a way to use up the dates that have been sitting around in my pantry. Cornbread. Healthy cornbread. Healthy maple cornbread. Healthy maple date cornbread…. Oh, dang.
For this recipe, I prepared the pumpkin by cleaning it and cutting off the top, then splitting the pumpkin in half lengthwise.I scooped out the seeds and pulp, (Tip: Special grapefruit cutlery [grapefruit spoons and those double-sided knives] are great for scooping out squash pulp!) and then cut the pumpkin into 3/4-1 inch thick wedges. I then scraped off the remainder of the pulpy bits and peeled the skin off of each wedge with a potato peeler.
The great thing about this recipe (besides its deliciousness) is the amount of food it makes – I filled a HUGE tupperware container full of chili, which makes this a great recipe for families and meal-preppers alike. Plus, most of its bulk is from the vegetables and squash, not the meat, making this chili lean, filling, and easily adaptable for vegetarians/vegans.
3 cups chopped kale (Tip: You can buy kale pre-washed and pre-chopped by the bag, making preparation much easier)
1 lb. lean ground turkey
One 15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
One 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes, mashed or chopped
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425˚F.
Prepare pumpkin by halving, removing seeds and pulp, cutting into wedges, peeling, and then dicing into small chunks.
Arrange the diced pumpkin onto a baking sheet that has been greased with oil spray. Season if desired with salt, pepper, and a bit of pumpkin pie spice. Roast for about 10-15 minutes, or until fork tender.
Finely dice your bell peppers and onions and set aside.
In a large pan, warm your olive oil over medium-low heat and add the minced garlic. Add your diced peppers and onions, stirring occasionally until the vegetables start to become soft and the onions are translucent. Add the roasted pumpkin and kale to the vegetable mixture, and cover.
Once the kale has wilted, remove your vegetable and pumpkin mixture from heat, then transfer to a pot.
In your smaller vegetable pan, mash and brown the ground turkey until it no longer appears pink anywhere, then remove from heat.
Add the turkey, beans, and tomatoes to the pot and keep over low heat. Stir well.
Separately assemble and add your seasoning mixture. I recommend assembling everything but your cayenne/salt and pepper, and adding those last to taste. (Note: Paprika can also contribute a lot of heat depending on what kind you have. If you’re not a “spicy” person, I would recommend starting with less paprika in your mixture just to be safe, and then adding it in small increments to your liking once the seasoning is mixed in with the chili.)
Notes
Garnish with plain greek yogurt and avocado slices. Serve with Maple Date Cornbread (recipe link below).
This is one of my favorite recipes to date for a few reasons. First of all, it’s really good. Like, SERIOUSLY good. Second of all, it WON me a recipe contest on one of my favorite Instagrams/blogs, Spoonful of Fit! As a result, I got hundreds of new followers on my dinky little Instagram, which now has almost 500 followers. That may not seem like a lot to someone who’s “Internet famous,” but to a random girl taking pictures of her lunch on her iPhone hoping to get recognized, that’s a sizeable step in the right direction!
When I made these, I was looking for a way to jazz up my meal prep for the week and do something special by entering the recipe contest, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible.
Turkey Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers with an Avocado “Cream” (Makes 6-8 servings)
1 cup plain, uncooked quinoa
2 cups vegetable stock (no salt added)
1 tsp olive or coconut oil
5 cloves minced garlic
5 links lean turkey sausage
2 cups spinach
3-4 medium-large bell peppers
1 avocado
1 container plain, fat free Greek Yogurt
Garlic powder
Bring quinoa and veggie stock to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce to simmer and add 2 cloves of minced garlic when the broth is about halfway absorbed. Once the liquid is mostly absorbed, reduce heat all the way. In a separate pan, cook the turkey sausage (just the meat, no skins) on medium heat with 3 cloves minced garlic in a teeny bit of olive or coconut oil to keep the garlic from burning. Season with whatever you like, I used black pepper, a pinch of thyme, and Trader Joe’s South African Smoke Seasoning. Once the sausage is mostly cooked through, add the spinach until it wilts. Drain the fat and liquid, and add the sausage mixture to the quinoa. Stir, and let sit for a few minutes.
Cut each pepper in half lengthwise and remove the seeds/stem/ribs. Fill each half with the mixture and bake at 375˚ for about 25-30 minutes.
To make the avocado cream, mash the avocado and yogurt and add garlic powder to taste.
BUT WAIT!
TIP: You can make this recipe Paleo and barely notice the difference!
The Paleo Version
How? Replace the quinoa with 2 cups riced cauliflower (raw, do not add extra liquid). Add extra seasoning if you’d like to make up for the flavor from not having veggie stock, and/or use a pre-seasoned sausage (I used a tomato basil variety for this version) for more flavor. Cut out the yogurt from the avocado cream and just use mashed avo and garlic powder! And if you’re vegan, replace the sausage with your favorite meat substitute, seasoned tofu, or some roasted veggies, and use almond milk or soy yogurt!
Lazy Sunday, making the Paleo peppers in a pretty fierce onesie!
You should definitely go make this recipe as soon as you can. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, ask the people on Instagram who have already tried it and loved it 😉
