My Almost Favorite Recipe! Butternut Squash Casserole

I was asked to pick a favorite recipe. Its probably the Ghost Pepper Chili, but since President Clinton just did a similar thing with butternut squash and black beans on TV, I'm going with this one. It has a wonderful flavor and texture and I don't think its that hard to make. 

I modified the original recipe and took out some of the salt and all of the olive oil after attending a lecture by Dr. Esslestyn at the Plant Based Nutritional Support Group:  http://www.plantbasednutritionsupportgroup.org/blog/

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE

1.5 lbs. of Butternut Squash cubed 

1/2 cup of Unsalted Sunflower Seeds                

12 oz. package of Frozen Chopped Spinach        

 2 stalks of Kale chopped

 6 stalks of Celery chopped                                                                                        

1 Large Sweet Onion chopped

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk

1 Cup of vegetable soup stock

1 inch of fresh Ginger grated                 

1/2 Cup of Nutritional Yeast                              
1/2 tsp Nutmeg                                                    
4 TBS Lite Soy Sauce                                       

1 Sweet Yellow Bell Pepper                           

2 TBS Cayenne Pepper

2 TBS Ground Cinnamon 

2 TBS Milled Flaxseed 

4 TBS Water

                                    

   Cheese Substitute
Boil 1 large or 2 small peeled and cut up Yukon gold potatoes in salted water until soft. Save the water, mash the potatoes.
In a separate bowl,  mix 3 TBSP of nutritional yeast, 3 TBSP Tapioca flour, 1/8th tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika. (Mixing the dry ingredients keeps the Tapioca flour from clumping.)
Mix in the potatoes, 1/2 TBSP lemon juice, 2 TBSP white vinegar, 1/4 tsp Tabasco and 3/4 cup of starchy water from the potatoes. Put it in a blender on high until it thickens. Add more water if it's too thick.
                     

                              

Cook the Frozen Chopped spinach per package directions with a TBS of chopped onion, a pinch of salt, kale and one clove of chopped garlic.  Drain and set aside to cool.
Add the 4 TBS of water to the Milled Flaxseed, stir and set aside for at least 10 min.
In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk, soy sauce, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a large pot get the soup stock boiling.  "Sauté" the rest of the chopped onion until clear. Add the garlic, ginger, celery, chopped yellow pepper and butternut squash.  Add the almond milk mixture. Cover and let it simmer stirring occasionally  until all the vegetables are soft.  Stir the pot to partially crush the vegetables.  Drain and let it cool.
The Milled Flaxseed should be the consistency of an egg.  Mix it with the spinach, nutritional yeast and kale. 

In a large (9 x 13 in) casserole dish lined with parchment paper or sprayed with PAM mold a thin layer of the spinach, yeast, milled flaxseed and kale mixture over the bottom and a little up the sides to form a layer of green.  Bake it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to make it a little firm. Sprinkle on a little Cayenne pepper over it.  Add the drained mixed squash and vegetables and spread it evenly over the spinach and kale.  Sprinkle on the rest of the Cayenne pepper. Drizzle the "cheese substitute sauce" evenly over the top and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 min. or until brown.

Let it cool before cutting.
Enjoy!

Kale Chips. Crunchy Oil Free Snack!

I wanted something spicy to snack on during Superbowl XLIX so I puréed 4 oz of firm tofu with a leek, fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, garlic, equal parts spicy mustard and sriracha sauce, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 TBS of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of fine ground corn meal with a pinch of salt.
Wash the kale. Break it into bite size pieces.  Dip it in the batter, wipe away the excess and bake it in a foil pan in a 325* oven for 30 minutes than lower the temperature to 200* to finish drying out the chips. Store in a paper bag and serve like chips.
Enjoy!