Half Assed Kitchen

Spaghetti squash with parmesan

Squash season is the best season over here at Half Assed Kitchen. Squash makes a super easy side dish and, with the right additions, can be a delicious, healthful entree.

Spaghetti squash is our favorite of all the squashes. It has the most amazing texture: noodle-like and a little firmer than other cooked squash.

So, cook one up for dinner tonight! Add some butter, salt, pepper and cheese and you're good to go.

Here's what you need and how you cook it

1 or 2 spaghetti squashes (when you're looking for them, think yellow submarines)

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan (or other cheese of choice)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

There are a couple ways to cook a squash. You can cut it in half, scoop out the insides, and place the squash halves in a shallow baking dish filled part way with water. Or you can stab the squash a bunch of times with a fork and just throw it in the oven.

We, of course, prefer the latter method because it's more half assy.

In either case, bake the squash for 45 minutes to an hour. Then, if you've left the squash whole, you'll need to cut it and scoop out the seeds.

Run the tines of a fork through the squash meat to facilitate its shredding. Then spoon the squash into a bowl and mix with butter, salt, pepper and cheese.

Squash is great without the cheese too. Either way.

Your belly will thank you.

Poor person's pan au chocolat

There's nothing we love better than a good chocolate croissant.

But then, is there such a thing as a bad chocolate croissant? Not that we know of.

Yesterday at Hershey's Kitchens we found an easy recipe to make your own pan au chocolat.

Yeah. Yum.

Here's what you need and how you do it

Chocolate chips or Hershey's kisses

1 package crescent roll dough

Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate crescent roll dough into triangles. Place a small amount of chocolate into each triangle, roll up and seal edges.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes (or until golden brown).

Sift powdered sugar over the tops of your insta-pan au chocolats.

Enjoy! And do reheat in the microwave a bit if they cool before you gobble them up. They're yummiest when they're warmish.

Copyright 2008 Half Assed Kitchen. If you're reading this on another site, the content has been stolen.

Chicken chili with navy beans

This isn't your run of the mill chili. It's better. Fresh and tangy, yet hearty and filling. It's good. Really good. 

And it requires minimal effort. There are four ingredients to chop, which is basically how we judge a meal's ease. If a recipe wants us to chop many more than four items, it loses us.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

1 teaspoon garlic (Use pre-chopped garlic from a jar. It's SO much easier.)

15 ounce can navy beans, with liquid

1/2 cup green salsa

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, cubed (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Cook chicken through and set aside.

In large pot, heat the oil and add onion, green pepper and garlic. Saute until soft.

Stir in beans with liquid, salsa and water or broth. Add salt and pepper.

Shred chicken and add to bean mixture. Cook over low heat. If possible, let simmer for an hour or two. If you don't have that kind of time, you can serve right away.

Garnish with cilantro, avocado and sour cream (if desired).

This made about three medium-to-large servings. If you want more to serve or freeze, double the recipe. Duh, I know.

Copyright 2008 Half Assed Kitchen. If you're reading this on any other site, the content has been stolen.

Mini popcorn balls

This is your solution to the age-old What-The-Fronk-Halloween-Treat-Am-I-Sending-To-School-Tomorrow(?) dilemma.

Mini popcorn balls with a little Kettle Corn 'tude.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/2-3/4 cup unpopped popcorn

1/2 bag marshmallows

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Salt

Sprinkles (optional)

Pop the corn (I like my air popper, but you can use whatever method you prefer).

In a sauce pan, melt the butter or margarine and marshmallows (right, just like Rice Krispy Treats).

Add the popped corn. 

Mix it all together and sprinkle a little salt over the top.

Mold into small balls.

If desired, roll in a shallow bowl filled with festive sprinkles.

Set on waxed or parchment paper to cool.

For the love of God, soak the marshmallowy pan right away.

Roasted pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a nutritious, filling snack. They're tasty too.

You can sprinkle them with all sorts of stuff: cinnamon, cardamom, worcestershire, honey, garlic powder, etc.

But, in our opinion the best, and the easiest, pumpkin seeds are adorned with nothing but salt.

Here's what you need and how you do it

Pumpkin seeds

Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse pumpkin seeds in a colander, picking out the largest clumps of pumpkin meat. Spread seeds evenly across a cookie sheet. Dust with generous pinches of salt.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until starting to turn golden, stirring once halfway through.

* Over here at Half Assed Kitchen, we only roast the pumpkin seeds from CARVING PUMPKINS. We wouldn't dream of buying and gutting a sugar pumpkin merely for the seeds. Just thinking about it makes us short of breath!*

Split pea soup

We hope our friend, Heather, can forgive us for posting her grandma's split pea soup recipe for all the internet to see.

But it's just SO good. We had to.

We did. We had to.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 pound split peas

1 package ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, grated

4 celery stalks, chopped

4 bouillon cubes

12 cups water

Salt, pepper to taste

Throw it all in a pot and simmer covered for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

Simmer vented for approximately 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

Remove ham hocks. Let cool. Trim fat and cut up ham. Return meat to soup. Discard the rest.

Unless you use low sodium bouillon (which we recommend), you won't need salt.

Pumpkin cookies with brown sugar frosting

These cookies are almost like little cakes. And, besides the canned pumpkin, they're made with kitchen staples. And only staples. Also, they're egg free! If you don't have a friend or family member allergic to eggs, though, don't let their egglessness scare you off. There's no fluffier or more satisfying fall cookie.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup pumpkin (we misread our own mother's instructions and used 1 CAN. Still worked fine. Better, perhaps?)

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup raisins or chopped dates (Optional. We left them out.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla. Dump in dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Blend in raisins or dates. Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

For the Brown Sugar Frosting

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

3 Tablespoons milk or soy milk

1-1/2 cup powdered sugar

Stir until smooth.

Wait to frost until cookies are totally cool.

Enjoy!

Updated to add: Store these in a container with some air flow, otherwise the frosting will slide right off the cookies.

We're dreaming of a Monte Cristo

Photo Credit: Andy Castro, Flickr

Okay, confession time. We have not tried this recipe. 

But we're sitting here fantasizing about Monte Cristos. We had to do something. 

So, we swiped Monte Cristo instructions from Real Simple. We like that this one uses frozen french toast. Which 1) Makes it that much more desirable to our Half Assed little heart, and 2) Means you don't have to worry about the eggy bread not cooking through and congealing into a soggy mess.

Also, we're starting a new movement called Sandwiches for Supper! Are you in?

Here's what you need and how you do it

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
2 6-count boxes frozen French toast 
1 9-ounce package thinly sliced ham 
1 9-ounce package thinly sliced turkey 
12 slices Swiss cheese 
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional) 
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 

Heat oven to 400° F. 

Spread the mustard on 6 pieces of the French toast. Divide the ham and turkey evenly among the 6 pieces and top each with 2 slices of the cheese. Spread the remaining pieces of French toast with the mayonnaise (if using) and sandwich together. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the butter on the top and bottom of each sandwich. Cook 3 sandwiches in the skillet until brown, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches. Bake until the cheese is melted and the toast is heated through, about 4 minutes.

(Purists would also suggest topping with powdered sugar and serving with jam. Just in case this isn't fattening enough for you.)

California chicken

This recipe is from the cookbook Glorious One-Pot Meals. With a staggering 15 ingredients, it's not technically as Half Assed as we would like.

But it has your protein, grains and veggies, all in one shebang. Just serve with some french bread and you're good to go.

You'll need a dutch oven or stock pot for this one.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/2 cup dry couscous

1/2 cup water

2 pieces chicken

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper (or to taste)

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, cut in wedges

2 tomatoes, cored, cut in wedges

1/2 cup olives, sliced (we used kalamata, but black should work too)

1 avocado, firm, ripe

1/2 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon dry sherry (or any wine)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray inside of pot with olive or canola oil.

Pour dry couscous into pot. Add 1/2 cup water and evenly distribute grains across bottom. Arrange the chicken over the couscous. Season lightly with salt and lemon pepper. Add layers of green peppers, tomatoes and olives. Again, season lightly with salt and lemon pepper. Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Then, layer it in slices or cubes on top of everything.

In a small bowl, combine the onion, celery salt, basil, marjoram, sherry and lemon juice and pour into pot over all ingredients.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

An easy-ass way to dress up your meat

Rub it with a little love.

Yeah, it sounds the slightest bit dirty, but this stuff, by Seattle chef Tom Douglas, is good. Especially when you have some chicken breasts, salmon filets or a couple steaks sitting around but no idea what to do with them.

Made with no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

Also, an unsolicited endorsement.