Yummy!

As promised, here's some more visual delectables for you to view. Fortunately, both the two recipes I recently tried turned out. I had some concerns, but they came together surprisingly well.

I knew the butternut squash lasagna with mushrooms would be good, because we are big fans of butternut squash. We usually make it with spinach/cheese ravioli, but this was a really nice change. Dylan said he even liked the pieces of butternut squash separate from his lasagna. The butternut squash was simmered in vegetable broth with fresh thyme and sage, and the white stuff is a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and egg. We completed it with a side salad of baby greens. For those of you who haven't made the switch to whole wheat pasta, lasagna is a GREAT way to start, especially with kids. We've fed lasagna to many people who had no idea they were eating whole wheat pasta.

Tonight's cuisine was quinoa/buckwheat groat-stuffed peppers. Sounds weird?! I thought so too, but it was all carefully prepared. The buckwheat groats were simmered in broth with sauteed onions and garlic; the quinoa was cooked in broth with chopped sundried tomatoes. Then they were mixed together with tomato puree, frozen organic corn, and seasonings and then stuffed into the peppers. The recipe called for the stuffed peppers to be steamed in a pan, but I made this at lunch time so I could put it in the crockpot. I put the leftover broth in the bottom of the crockpot and turned it on low. At dinner time, I was admittedly surprised with how well it turned out. I had my doubts about the buckwheat groats, but combined with the quinoa, it was better than rice. (Although I can't compare it with any other buckwheat groats recipe-this is the first time I've used them!) The texture and taste was much more superior to the rice recipes I've made before. Pete liked it better than ones I've made in the past, including those with meat! We topped these off with some fresh raw cheddar (All of our cheese is white, in case you're wondering. The dairy farm doesn't add coloring to it.). If I were trying to be really presentable, I would've remembered to buy some fresh mangos to serve with this meal, but we settled for oranges tonight! Just email if you're interested in the recipe(s) and I'll be happy to forward it on!