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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Stray Cats

So around the time I left off posting this winter, one my neighbors was forced to move and asked me to find homes for her three outdoor cats, after several months in my yard I am pleased to tell you I finally found a no-kill shelter that could take them and these sweeties have all been adopted out! Just sharing their pics with you now though really I should have posted earlier to see if they could find a home that way!
This one is Tommy

 This black and white one is Baby, she is really hard to get a picture of because she wants to be held!
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Friday, May 27, 2011

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

Wow! well it certainly has been a while! No excuse I suppose but we've been busy just trying to keep up with expenses like everyone else these days.
This was a fun recipe I got to try while Boy was out of town so I only had to cook once for the week! And I got to use my pretty baking dishes! This recipe is from myrecipes.com http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-parmesan-bread-pudding-10000000701119/ . I really enjoyed adding a little fresh sage from the garden though I found processing the squash to be s little more time consuming than I expected.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
  • 3 cups cubed butternut squash
  • 1/2 tsp salt divided
  • cooking spray for the pan
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 2 cups 1% milk ( I used 2%)
  • 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan ( I subbed the green can terrible I know but cheaper!)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 egg whites
  • 8oz cubed stale french bread or about 9 cups
Directions:
  1.  Arrange squash on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray sprinkle lightly with 1/4 tsp salt and roast at 400F for 12 minutes or until tender. When you take this out of the oven lower the oven temperature to 350F.
  2. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes or until it softens, add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Remove from heat. Allow to cool while you prep the next step.
  3. Combine in a large bowl, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, milk 1/2 cup cheese, pepper, nutmeg, eggs, and egg whites in a large bowl stirring with a whisk. Stir in squash and onion mixture. Add bread and stir lightly to combine. Let soak for 10 minutes, then place in a 2 quart baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. 
Notes: This was good but personally I love a little more intense of flavors so I think I would double or triple the garlic, pepper and nutmeg next time. I suggest this if you like intense flavors but then again, maybe I'm just weird! Enjoy!