Sauted Veggies, Chicken, and Sausage

It's a chilly, gloomy day, and I've got a lot to accomplish before the kids get home from school, but first I need to think about dinner. Aly has ballet and Josh has his first Cub Scout meeting tonight. Plus, Dave is participating in Fight Gone Bad 6 at CrossFit Carbon tomorrow morning so an especially awesome paleo dinner is in order! I went back to one of our favorite recipes, chicken and veggie hash. This time, I added a leek and some Hakurei turnips from my CSA basket. I'm also a little short on chicken so I'm adding in some sausage. It's hard to improve on the original recipe, but this one is pretty darn great. The veggies are roasting right now and my bacon and sausages are thawing. Can't wait to eat!

Serves 4. Don't scale back, the leftovers are great with eggs!

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored, and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips
1 leek, trimmed and sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces
3 Hakurei turnips, trimmed and sliced into 3-4 pieces
2-3 tsp fennel powder
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked chicken (I used rotisserie)
3 nitrate-free, paleo-friendly sausage links
8 slices nitrate-free bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp coconut oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. On each of two rimmed baking sheets, melt 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil. Remove pans from oven, add squash to one pan and fennel, turnips, and leeks to the other. Sprinkle veggies with fennel powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
3. Roast for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are caramelized and nicely browned. Remove from oven.
4. In the meantime, place bacon and sausage in a large skillet and saute until bacon is crispy and sausage is cooked through.
5. Add veggies and continue cooking until everything is well integrated. Season with salt, pepper, and additional fennel powder, if desired. This dish is great topped with olive tapenade or a prepared olive muffalata.

Burgers with Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions

This week's building block recipe is caramelized onions. The batch makes enough for two meals, this one and the pork tenderloin with caramelized onions. If you're like me, you just can't get enough of the onion's gooey sweetness. This burger was moist and full of flavor. I combined nitrate-free Italian sausage with grass-fed ground beef, mixed in a few ingredients I had on hand, and added just a bit of spice. It was a great balance to the sweetness of the butternut squash and caramelized onions. If you are making this when you don't have caramelized onions on hand and have no time to make them, just substitute grilled onions--any type will work, but Vidalia is probably the best substitute. I also made the butternut squash in advance--you can make it a couple days ahead and just warm it up before serving. Enjoy any leftover butternut squash mixed in with your eggs at breakfast or top with cinnamon and eat it with a spoon for a snack. This is a hearty burger with all of the meat and veggies in the main course. I just added a few raw carrots on the side. Enjoy!

Serves 6.

Ingredients
Burger
1 lb nitrate-free, bulk Italian sausage
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1 tsp (2 cloves) minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 egg
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Toppings and Garnish
1 small to medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/2 - 1 cup caramelized onions
large lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt coconut oil in a large, rimmed baking dish. Add butternut squash and toss gently to coat.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.
4. Process in a food processor until pureed.
   NOTE: This can all be done in advance. Try to get it done the night before or morning of the meal to simplify your life.
5. While squash is cooking, preheat grill to medium high. Mix sausage and ground beef in a large bowl until they are well combined.
6. Add garlic, onion, red pepper, egg, and red pepper flakes. Stir with a spoon or use your hands to thoroughly combine. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Divide mixture into 6 patties. Drizzle each side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
8. Grill burgers to your desired degree of doneness, about 5 minutes on each side.
9. To serve, divide lettuce leaves evenly among plates. Top with a burger. Spoon pureed squash on top and then add caramelized onions.

Balsamic-Roasted Butternut Squash

I had three butternut squash in the pantry and we're having steak for dinner. Just had to figure out a side dish...the answer was pretty clear. This recipe is a great way to keep the oven off and still have a delicious roasted side dish. You simply peel and slice the squash then marinade for an hour before grilling. The balsamic vinegar gives it a nice sweet crust. Use a vegetable peeler to make easy work of peeling the squash. If you have any leftovers, chop them up and mix them with eggs for breakfast. Yum!

Adapted from theclothesmakethegirl.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
2 Tbsp exta virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Peel squash and remove seeds. Cut in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place squash in a container such as a glass baking dish or lidded storage container.
2. Mix oil, vinegar, thyme, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Preheat grill to medium high. Using tongs, place squash segments on the grill grate, reserving marinade in the container. Grill for about 7-9 minutes per side or until squash is tender with charred edges and grill markings.
4. Remove from grill and place back in dish with reserved marinade. Gently toss and let squash rest for 5 minutes before serving.