Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake
I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I’ve posted on here. It’s been a crazy last 6 months both personally and globally. In January and February I poured all my energy into applying for postdocs. I got three postdoc offers in Chicago, accepted one with the intention of going back for a year with Frankie while Nate stayed behind in his current job. Crazy, I know. So crazy I ended up turning it down 12 hours later, doing lots of public sobbing on the lightrail, hating on my husband, and accepting that fact that I just needed to take a life pause to reevaluate things after internship ends.
My training director talks about how life is suffering (isn’t that true) but we can take our power back by choosing our suffering. So I made the intentional choice to try to reinvest hard in enjoying my time with my little family and take a pause on obsessing about future plans.
Three weeks later the pandemic hit in Washington and I found myself working from home and finally able to (physically) escape an internship I was really hating while spending more time with my girl whose daycare was closed for months. It was wonderful and hard and stressful and overwhelming.
In April I defended my dissertation, something that felt completely surreal and a benchmark I honestly didn’t know if I’d make it to only a couple months earlier. Then as the Spring crept on the idea of not having work lined up made me nervous. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, and I love spending time with her, but I don’t think I’d be happy being a stay at home mom indefinitely.
So here we are 6 months later. I have 4 weeks left of internship and I’ll officially be Dr. Nicole. So anticlimactic because graduation two weeks ago was cancelled. This fucking year, man. I’m interviewing for private practice positions and attempting to start studying for the EPPP to take this Fall. Oh and we’re moving to a better neighborhood in two weeks.
There were several months this past winter when as hard as I tried I could’t imagine a future. So being here now sort of feels like the world ended last winter and we’ve been living in this post-apocalyptic world. The pandemic has blurred time in such a weird way.
Anyway, I’ve done a lot of cooking the past few months. So much sourdough bread, so many $300 trader joes grocery runs. This has become one of my favorites, I love it for it’s simplicity. And Frankie loves it too. And considering she basically lives off of berries and milk, I consider this a huge win.
Hang in there friends. Take care of each other. Wear a mask. Address your internalized racism. Prioritize your mental health.
Serves 6-8
1 medium spaghetti squash (around 3 pounds)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 oz mushrooms, torn (I used a mixed medley but any kind works)
1 small bunch of kale, thinly sliced (spinach or chard work here too)
25oz jar of your favorite red pasta sauce
1 can of cannelini beans
10 oz mozzerella, sliced
parmesan cheese
fresh basil for topping
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice your squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the flesh side with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake the squash flesh side down on a sheet pan with parchment for about 45 minutes until a fork pierces through easily. Set aside. (Note: this step can be done well in advance if you’d like.)
Turn your broiler on high and let it heat up while you prepare the filling. In a large sauté pan heat a generous glug of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a generous sprinkle of salt & pepper and cook until softened about 5-7 minutes, add the mushrooms cook. Just before the mushrooms are done cooking add in your greens and cook until just softened. Scoop out the flesh of the spaghetti squash and add it to hot pan with the vegetables. Pour in the pasta sauce and beans and stir everything together to incorporate. Cook the entire mixture until warmed throughout. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the spaghetti squash mixture into a large oven proof casserole dish and top with thick slices of mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with parmesan and drizzle of olive oil. Place the casserole dish uncovered in the upper third of your oven under the broiler for 4-6 minutes. Watch closely so the cheese doesn’t burn. You want the cheese melted, bubbly, and just beginning to brown. Remove from oven, top with fresh basil, and serve.
Shredded Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas
The first and only thing I missed when I became vegetarian almost three years ago was shredded chicken enchiladas. I don't even know if it was so much the chicken, more the texture, and the fact that it was enchiladas.
I grew up eating what my family called "Enchiladas de Crema" a dish my mom made about once a week and we all loved it. They were your traditional enchiladas with shredded chicken, green chilies, and jack cheese. The sauce was thick, creamy, and filled with tomatoes. I later learned when my mom taught be how to make them before I left for college the sauce was achieved through a nice mixing of crushed tomatoes and sour cream, hence the "de crema". My dad's family is hispanic, so there's a chance these enchiladas could have been somewhat authentic (not that we would have cared) but they probably weren't.
It's funny looking back on foods I ate as a child. I remember after I got married I begged my mom to track down the chicken and spinach crepe recipe I LOVED as a kid, only the find out the secret ingredient is a package of dry onion soup flavoring... And without sounding pretentious or ungrateful, some sort of veil was lifted. But alas, I chalk it up to generational food trends, because if you've ever read a cookbook from the generation before my parents it was undoubtedly filled with cups of mayonnaise, spam, and all the other wonders of the invention of processed food.
Needless to say, things have shifted a bit. And I'm happy to be part of the new trend - plant-based food (which makes me wonder how ridiculous our kids will find some of the foods we eat today). The enchiladas I make in my home now look a bit different, but haven't changed too much. We swapped shredded chicken for shredded sweet potato, flavored with spices, lime, some onion, cilantro and jalapeño. And we swapped tomato sauce and sour cream for avocado salsa verde, which might be slightly less creamy and decadent, but definitely just as delicious and much fresher. The pan of 8 still gets demolished in a day or two, if not sooner, and they're still just as homemade tasting at the ones my mom made as a kid.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 batch Avocado Salsa Verde*
4 cups grated sweet potato, (~ 3 sweet potatoes)
1 small yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 pinch cayenne (or more for extra spiciness)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, packed
2 large shallots, diced
2-3 tablespoons lime juice
1 can black beans
4oz can green chilies
8 tortillas
4oz goat cheese, (optional)
avocado & cilantro (for serving)
Prepare the salsa verde, measure out 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) and set aside.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium low heat. Meanwhile, dice the onion and garlic. Add the olive oil, onions and garlic to the hot pan and cook until the onions are translucent.
Add the grated sweet potato, coriander, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt to the onion mixture and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring several times to ensure even cooking.
While the sweet potatoes are cooking, roughly chop the cilantro then add it to a small bowl with the jalapeño, shallots, and lime juice then stir to combine. When the potatoes are soft, remove from heat and stir in the cilantro mixture. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour about half of the salsa into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Prepare the sweet potato, green chilies, black beans and goat cheese (if using) in a conveyer belt line.
One at a time, crisp the tortilla over open flame (or in a frying pan if you have an electric stove) until crispy and slightly charred on each side. Transfer the tortilla to a cutting board then fill with a big spoonful of sweet potato, beans, chilies, and cheese. Roll up tightly then place seam side down in the baking dish. Continue with the remaining 7 tortillas. Once finished pour the remaining salsa on top, cover, and back for 20 minutes covered, uncover, then back for another 10 minutes.
Serve with avocado & chopped cilantro.
Notes: They are excellent with the avocado salsa verde, which just so happens to be the very first recipe I ever posted (I had no idea what I was doing, but was so excited to be doing it!) but to save time you could totally use 12 oz store bought sauce of your choice. If you like spicy, I'm a fan of Trader Joe's Hatch Valley Salsa.