I’m coughing my brains out.  I told C this morning that maybe I can count this as exercise?  I’m feelin’ the Abs of STEEEEEEEL!

*cough cough*

I went grocery shopping today, so for dinner tonight I wanted to use up stuff in the fridge and off the counter.  Roasted Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar alongside Chicken and Roasted Vegetable turnovers.

I made those by defrosting a sheet of puff pastry, rolling that out and then dividing it into 4 squares.  I shmeared each square with some Tofutti Cream Cheese*, topped with a couple of sweet cloves of confit’d garlic, some leftover roasted veg (carrots, beans and butternut squash) and then some leftover chicken breasts I shredded into bite-sized bits.  Wrapped the whole thing up in a pretty little bundle, flipped them over and gave them a little egg wash (egg + garlic oil) and then whacked the pan in a 400°  for 30 minutes.  I had already put the acorn squash (cut in 1/2, seeds scooped out, cut side down on a baking sheet) in the oven when I turned it on.

WooooooHooooo!

Here’s the rundown: I thought it was a stellar dinner! I ate my turnover and 3/4 of a 2nd one.  C thought it was good, but the cream cheese was superflous (ate only 1).  R ate most of my Squash and J had… Cheerios for dinner.  *sigh*  Can’t win them all.  At least they ate something.

*I used Tofutti cream cheese because: a) it seems like most savory turnover recipes include some sort of melty cheese and b) we were having a meat meal, which necessitates the use of non-dairy cheese substitutes.  You can now go Google Kosher Definition, read my meMeme page, or just nod your head and keep reading.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Butter and Brown Sugar By Me

Printable Recipe HERE

Dairy-FREE (if using margarine), GLUTEN-FREE

Ingredients:

1 Acorn squash

1T Butter (I used Earth’s Best Margarine)

1T Brown Sugar

How To:

1- Oven at 400°

2- Cut squash in 1/2, scoop out seeds.

3- Put squash cut side down and bake for about 30 minutes, til skin can easily be pierced with a sharp knife.

4- Flip over, add 1/2T butter/margarine in each half.  Add 1/2T brown sugar in each half (1T total).  Heat of squash will melt butter and brown sugar.

5- Serve!

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Turnovers by Me

Printable Recipe HERE

Dairy-FREE (If using non-dairy cream cheese)

Ingredients:

1 Sheet Puff Pastry, thawed

4T Cream Cheese, divided (I used Tofutti Cream cheese)

8 Cloves Garlic from the Garlic Confit (totally optional)

1-2C leftover Roasted Vegetables (today I had on hand: beans, carrots and butternut squash)

1-1/2 leftover Chicken Breast, shredded into little bite-sized bits

1 egg + some Garlic Confit oil (totally optional)

How To:

1- Oven at 400°.  Roll out the Puff Pastry into a large square, cut into quarters

2- Shmear 1T cream cheese per square.  Top with 2 cloves Garlic Confit (if using)

3- Mound on 1/4 of veg and 1/4 chicken.  Wash your greasy hands off.

4- Wrap the pastry up around the filling, flip it over so the seam is on the bottom.

5- Brush with egg wash, make little slits in the top.

6- Pop into hot oven for 30 minutes.

7- Don’t burn your mouth!