Taco Baked Spaghetti Squash

Wow, we have been gone all summer, so I have 
been MIA for blogging.  We were home a week 
and then gone a week, and it seemed like there 
was just enough time to unpack, do a little gardening 
and cleaning, and then repack.
But I did keep the garden going, as a matter of fact,
it was my best garden ever.  This spot that never 
does very well was chosen for spaghetti squash, 
and wow, that plant has taken over and produced 
some of the biggest spaghetti squash I have 
ever seen.  
So I decided to try something new with the spaghetti 
squash, and it is so delicious. I hope you try it.

First cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds.  
Then brush olive oil on it and place it cut side down 
on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45-55 
minutes, or until fork tender.  Let it cool a little and then 
shred the insides with a fork.  

Add the spaghetti squash to your prepared taco mix.
Taco Baked Spaghetti Squash Recipe
1 lb. hamburger
2 pkg. taco mix
1 C. water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C. frozen corn
1 whole spaghetti squash, cooked
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the hamburger and drain the grease.  Then add 
the taco seasoning and water and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in 
the beans and corn and heat through.  Gently stir in the 
cooked spaghetti squash.  Refill the spaghetti squash 
halves.  You may have some left over.  Top with cheese 
and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through.  

This makes such a fun summer into fall dish.
Hope your gardens are bounteous too.
Thanks for visiting Purple Chocolat Home!!!

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Tomato Bruschetta

Tender chicken marinated and grilled

infused with the flavor of fresh rosemary

is the perfect end of summer main dish.

Top it with a bruschetta sauce using

a combination of your fresh garden 

tomatoes and your fresh

and you have created the

perfect harvest meal.

If you are like me, your rosemary has 

happily grown into long strong

sprigs that can be stripped of their

leaves as used as skewers for

grilling meat.

You can't imagine the flavor that using the

rosemary for the skewers infuses into the meat.

This is a WOW dish and it will make you

so proud of your gardening skills.

The chicken is cubed and marinated in a

rosemary flavored marinade so

you get the fabulous flavor on the

inside and the outside of the meat.

Pop some crusty bread on the grill and 

use that as the base for serving your chicken skewers

and your bruschetta sauce.  This is one of those

dishes where you will be saying "Mmmmm..." with 

every luscious bite.

Rosemary Chicken Skewers

6 large strong fresh rosemary sprigs (8-10 inches)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinade

1/2 C. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Bruschetta

crusty bread, sliced

olive oil

fresh garlic

 Tomato Bruschetta Topping

3 C. chopped mixed tomatoes (I love to add the yellow, but

if you don't have any, just use red)

2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

1/2 C. finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 C. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 T. balsamic vinegar

a few grinds fresh pepper

Make the Tomato Bruschetta Topping by

gently mixing the ingredients together and set aside.

Cube the raw chicken.  Strip the leaves off the 

rosemary sprigs leaving the leaves on the top one inch.

Thread the chicken onto the skewer and place in a deep

baking pan.  

Whisk together the marinade ingredients and brush

on the skewers.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes

to one hour.  Remove from fridge and heat the grill.

While the grill is heating brush the crusty bread

with olive oil.

Grill the chicken.  When the chicken is almost

done, grill the bread alongside of it.  When the

bread is done rub it with the fresh garlic clove.

To serve, place the toasted bread on the plate, top 

with the chicken skewer and then finish with

the Tomato Bruschetta  sauce.

Serve with parmesan if desired.

What a great, fresh harvest meal

using your rosemary, tomatoes and basil.

If you are lucky enough to live in a place where the

rosemary doesn't freeze, you can make this year round.

We have successfully dug up our rosemary plants

and kept them alive in the kitchen all winter,

but here in Utah they won't winter over.

Quiche - Remembrances of Paris

Maybe it was coincidence that the night before

I put together my Paris Tablescape,

I was making quiche for 80 people.

Quiche is one of those foods that is a staple

in France.

  I made 16 quiches which were cut

into 6 pieces each for a dinner.  (That is

a lot of quiche!)  Actually quiche is a great

dish to make for a crowd.  It goes together

quickly and holds up well and is easy to

reheat.

It is also a great recipe for those who are learning

to cook.  Have your children help with this one

and most children really like quiche.

Quiche Recipe

1 - 9 inch deep dish pie crust

(As I was making 16 and didn't have 16 pie

tins, I opted for Marie Callendar's frozen pie

crusts, which I think are super flakey and tasty.

They come in a sturdy pie tin - not foil - which

you could keep or throw away.)

1/3 C. chopped onion

6-8 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and then finely

chopped

2 C. shredded cheddar or swiss cheese

(I opted for cheddar - since we were feeding youth)

4 eggs

1 1/2 C. half and half

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Place the onion, chopped bacon and

cheddar cheese in the bottom of an uncooked 9 inch

pie shell.  Whisk the eggs and add the half

and half, salt and pepper.  Pour over the

cheese.  You might not use all of the egg mixture.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat

to 300 for 30-40 minutes.

(I baked mine in a convection oven, so I baked it

at 405 for 15 minutes, then 285 for 20 minutes.)

We ended up with 78 attending the dinner.

 We only had a few

slices left.  It was absolutely delicious

and was served with a fresh salad and

homemade rolls.

I made 2 of them without the bacon  and added

chopped green chilis for those who wanted no

meat.

( Before the event,I had to fend off

my teenagers

 who came in the house

and smelled the quiche and wanted to eat some.)

Bon appetit!

When we were in France, you could go into

any bakery and buy a small quiche.  They

warmed them up for you and they were fabulous.

Then again, I didn't eat anything in Paris that I

didn't love.

I will be posting this with

Foodie Friday

Made By You Monday

Tasty Tuesday

Steak and Blue Cheese Salad - Main Dish Salad

We are big fans of main dish salads and to help you lose

those holiday pounds that are still sticking around,

I thought I would create this salad.

I am using my grill pan that my daughter gave me a few years

ago to cook the steaks and the asparagus.  I seasoned them both

with olive oil and Montreal Steak Seasoning.

This salad is so wonderful with tomatoes, red onions, grilled

asparagus and mushrooms.  It is really tasty and filling.

It was just the two of us, although my teenage son came

home later and finished off the steak.

Normally I like to make my own dressing and I

am not a big fan of light dressings, but these two

from Paul Newman caught my eye and I have

loved experimenting with both of them.

(No, this is not an ad, but everyone that I have served

these dressings to wants to know what they are.)

 

For the dressing I mixed the Light Lime and my favorite

Ranch dressing and added Danish blue cheese.  I used

1/4 C. of each and it was the perfect combination.  The

Newman's Light Lime added such a fun punch to the

dressing.

Danish blue cheese is sooo creamy.  I picked mine up at

Wal Mart. 

Try this for a great "light" main dish salad.

I will be posting this with

Tasty Tuesday

Foodie Friday