Showing posts with label crookneck squash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crookneck squash. Show all posts

Monday, January 1, 2018

Top 9 Recipes of 2017

As for year end lists, my Top 9 Recipes of 2017 is one you can really sink your teeth into. And all of my top picks are deliciously cheap to make. Just click on any recipe name to see the original 2017 blogpost, or play any embedded video below. The ranking order is random and not by delectability, so go ahead and dig in!

It was the Year of the Legume in the Cheap$kate Cocina with two Top 9 Recipes featuring slow-cooked beans

1. Cuban Black Beans
This could be my favorite recipe in the batch. I've been making these beans for the last few years and have perfected a recipe you will be coming back to for seconds and thirds. In 2017 I finally put the recipe to video, so make sure to bookmark this one!



2. Mexican-style Pinto Beans
This is the recipe I make the most. I grew up eating Mexican-style Pinto Beans and have many recipes that use them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anytime I throw a Carnitas Taco Party, you will find a pot of Pinto Beans and my Mom's Mexican Rice warming on the stove - with a line of party guests refilling their bowls.



3. Quick Pizza with Egg
I first had an egg baked, with the yolk still runny, on a pizza in Rome, Italy. Well, this Culinary  Renaissance Cook has come up with a quick and easy way to make your own - try it sometime, I bet you will never look at a pizza the same way! Pizza for breakfast? Sure why not.



4. Roast Chicken with Rosemary 
If you're an urban gardener, or at the very least have a windowsill box with a few herbs, then this recipe is for you. Hey, it's okay if you just get a bottle of dried Rosemary from the local grocery shelf, too. Rosemary needles are pungent, fresh or dried, and go especially well with a Roast Chicken. My recipe is simple and easy, and loaded with earthy herb flavor.



5. Mom's Cajun Potato Salad 
My Mom lives in Louisiana and when we get together the sparks fly. And our video recipes together are always a year-end highlight. This year she shared her Cajun Potato Salad recipe with me, and now my visitors can get all the tasty details.



6. Grilled Fish
Summertime is more than barbecuing burgers and hot dogs. Try grilling a whole fish...the 99 Cent Chef way. All I use is a little olive oil, salt and pepper, that's it, but boy is it flaky fresh.
.


7. Fresh Boiled Corn
Everyone knows how to boil corn, right? Hey, if you are a cooking newbie, or just never got around to working with fresh ears of corn, I got your back!



8. Sauteed Crookneck Squash
I like to cook with yellow Crookneck Squash, because you use the whole thing. No peeling or removal of seeds is necessary. No muss, no fuss, just the way I like it.



9. Strawberry Compote
My final recipe is perfect for the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. Strawberry Compote is like a homemade jam made with fresh fruit. Use a package of whole cranberries instead of strawberries and you have a Homemade Cranberry Sauce - save the canned stuff for another day. I've poured this fruity topping on ice cream and pancakes.



It has been a fruitfully abundant year of recipes here at the Cheap$kate Chateau. I did the heavy lifting for you, so now all you have to do is pick a recipe link and save yourself some hard earned cash by trying out any of the above. And if you have a favorite recipe of mine, then leave a comment to share.

And make sure to keep checking in here from time to time. I create yummy-looking blog posts with a dollop of humor, and while my tastes are cheap, my recipe flavors are top shelf !

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Sauteed Crookneck Squash - Video Recipe

I like a side dish that takes minimal prep - no peeling or need to clean it out. You can cook it whole or slice it and saute. I like to add a little onion and garlic with a dash of salt and pepper.

 Play my video recipe below to see for yourself how easy it is to make my tasty vegetarian side:
Sauteed Crookneck Squash - Video

Play it here. Video runs 1 minute 58 seconds.

Also called Summer Yellow Squash, the skin is a bright hue and usually smooth, but sometimes it has a bumpy surface.

You don't peel this type of squash as the skin tenderizes when cooked. You also eat the seeds. All I do is slice off the tough squash ends, then cube the squash for cooking - so there is very little waste.


Squash comes in all shapes and sizes, some have a hard shell. Yellow Crookneck Squash is similar to green Mexican squash. Italian squash is called zucchini.

This recipe comes together quickly. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes of slow cooking to tenderize fresh squash.


I get whole fresh squash at my local Latin grocery and 99c only Stores for around a dollar per pound. I used 2 whole yellow squash for this recipe, a half onion, and one small garlic clove. You can substitute zucchini or Mexican squash for Crookneck Squash, they taste similar enough.


Next time you are in your local farmers market or a regular grocery store make sure to pick up a few Crookneck Squash and try my brightly colored sauteed side dish.


Ingredients
3 cups Squash - about 2 medium-sized Crookneck Squash. Roughly chop into bite sizes. Okay to use Italian squash (zucchini) or Mexican squash.
1/2 Onion - about 1 cup chopped.
1 teaspoon Garlic - chopped.
1 tablespoon Oil - to saute onion, garlic and squash.
Salt and Pepper - to taste

Directions
Chop half an onion. You can cut into larger or smaller pieces to suit your taste.


Add cooking oil to a pan over medium heat. Saute onion and saute until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. While onion sautes, you can chop squash and garlic (or use chopped garlic from a jar.)

Add chopped garlic to cooked onion. Mix and saute for a minute.

Roughly chop yellow squash into bite sizes. Discard the tough stem and end piece. Finally, add chopped squash and season with salt and pepper. Mix cooked onion, garlic and squash.


Turn the heat to low and cover the pan or pot. 

Now all you are doing is softening the squash by letting it steam for about 15 minutes total. Stir squash every once in a while.

The yellow squash will break down and release some liquid as it steams. I don't add any water, but do check on cooking squash in case the the liquid cooks out too fast. If so, add a tablespoon of water as needed. 

As long as the pan or pot is well covered, and the heat is not too hot, the squash will stay moist.


You can cook the squash as long (or little) as you like, to reach desired tenderness.

Serve hot when done. My Sauteed Crookneck Squash freezes and reheats fine, too.

 My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...