Petite Squash Puffs with Bacon Saute

Well hi there. How is everyone doing this week? You survived Monday I see so that is a good thing.

I want to get to that top-secret squash recipe I mentioned yesterday, but first a little run down from Monday’s festivities.

In the morning I headed downstairs for an easy 35 minute treadmill walk before heading out to Mall of America in search of a dress for an upcoming wedding. After walking the mall for a good hour, I think I decided that I would just wear a dress I owned already that has actually never been worn. It’s not as pretty as the orange little number I showed you but it’s still very pretty. I just need to work on that whole accessorizing part.

Darting around the mall definitely made me work up an appetite. As soon as I got home I headed to the kitchen and whipped up a salad.

In the mix: mixed greens, celery, strawberries, grapes, sunflower seeds, and a drizzle of homemade honey mustard (just honey, Dijon, and a splash of red wine vinegar).

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I got to working on updating the blog and figured out how to add a print recipe gadget so that you will no longer have to print the entire page of my post if you want to print one of my recipes. However, it will be from this point on with new recipes unless I have the chance to go back and update all of my old ones (which I do hope to do someday). That was pretty exciting.

In the afternoon I headed to the gym and pounded out 20 minutes on the elliptical followed by a monumental moment for Melanie…

I REACHED MY SEPTEMBER PUSH-UP CHALLENGE!

I headed over to the nasty mats at the gym after getting nice and warmed up on the elliptical. Onto hands and toes push-up position I went, and I got to work. The first 7 were fine, but the last 3 were very challenging. It doesn’t matter though, because I reached my 10 push-up goal! I won’t be stopping there because I want to continue to build on this strength. I know this may seem like not a big deal to some but I don’t know the last time I was able to do 10 real manly push-ups like this!

It’s incredible to see what changes can happen in just one month’s time. Our bodies are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. I just proved that to myself this month. Now, to get back into the running and the yoga…that may be my next goal.

Dinner

On the menu was a simple yet satisfying salad in the form of Chicken Fajita.

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I mixed up my own fajita seasonings (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, I think that was it). Then, sautéed onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms. I added the already cooked chicken into the pan lastly just to warm it through. Then I added the seasonings, a splash of water, and boom. Placed the goodness on top of a bed of greens, a sprinkle of cheese, and a drizzle of salsa, and called it dinner.

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So back to this squash recipe.

On Sunday evening I had plans to work with a nice acorn squash I had bought from the farmer’s market on Saturday. I originally had planned to make squash gnocchi out of it, but my plans derailed slightly and I ended up doing my own thing and what turned out to be mini squash pillows.

After baking the squash, scooping out the seeds, and spooning out the good stuff, I placed the squash into a bowl. I sprinkled in a small amount of salt, an egg, and about a heaping cup of almond flour. I mixed this together.

I then took pieces of the dough into my hands and began rolling.

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Then I placed the dough onto a floured surface.

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I got to gently rolling the dough out to long breadstick like shapes. I ended up adding quite a bit of flour in this process.

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I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1-inch pieces.

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These cooked on the stove top for about 5 minutes on each side.

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While the squash puffs were cooking, I sautéed onion and garlic in olive oil while cooking three slices of turkey bacon. Then I mixed them all together.

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To plate this dish simply pile on the squash puffs, drizzle with the bacon and olive oil mixture, and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

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Dana and I both LOVED this dish. It was so different and the flavors were incredible. Next time instead of rolling them out into long strips like I did, I would probably just break them off into little bits and place them right into the pan. They would be more rustic looking but that would be completely fine with me!

I hope you all have a tasteful Tuesday! Catch up with you soon.

**This recipe is written after adapting what worked/what didn’t work with my attempts.**

Petite Squash Puffs with Bacon Saute
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SCD-Friendly Acorn Squash Dinner
Ingredients
  • 1 acorn squash, prepared, and pureed
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cups almond flour
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 pieces of turkey bacon
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Combine squash puree, egg, flour, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
  2. Use fingers to shape mixture into 1-inch puffs; use flour on hands if necessary.
  3. Place puffs onto a lightly greased pan on the stove top and cook 5 minutes per side.
  4. In separate pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil. On the other side of the pan cook bacon.
  5. Once bacon is crispy, remove and cut into small pieces. Add back to onions.
  6. Plate the puffs, drizzle with bacon mixture, and finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
  7. Enjoy!

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Bing Bang Boom BL(ea)T Salad

For some reason, I have been exhausted this week. I guess there could be a number of factors influencing this but I don’t know. I continue to try and listen to my body and allow it some time to rest and recuperate since it seems like that’s what it is asking for.

Weekly Activity (so far):

  • Mon: elliptical; push-ups
  • Tues: walk; push-ups
  • Wed: rest; push-ups

As you can see, simple, non-obtrusive, low-impact workouts. I am still getting my push-ups in every day for the September #dropandgimme10 challenge. I was actually lying in bed the other night about to fall asleep and remembered I hadn’t done my push-ups yet so I forced myself out and did ten. That is a weirdo dedication right there!

I track my workouts right on B.N. to keep me in check, and you can find them under the fitness tab on the top of my homepage, under Weekly Workout Log. I went through a month or so spurt where I forgot to record, but I am back in action and want to keep up with it.

I enjoy looking back and seeing what I have done in the past, especially at times when I was training for a race. This can also help me to see what worked and didn’t work in terms of training for a race, or if any tweaks could be made to help improve my experiences in the future (not that I’m one to truly “race” at a race, but it’s still nice to improve on time).

Speaking of races, Dana and I are looking into registering for one for the upcoming month or so. We are thinking around a 10k distance, but haven’t decided for sure. Any local readers have any recommendations?

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B.L.E.A.T. Salad

It’s time to talk food, and we’re going to skip right to dinner.

We all have those days where we get home from work and the LAST thing we want to think about is what to make for dinner. You know those nights where you are so hungry, but can’t decide what sounds good, and you have no energy to waddle to the kitchen and make yourself something?

Last night I had to call on the troops to get me through dinner prep, aka my husband. He is always more than willing to help, but knows how much I enjoy my kitchen time so he usually lets me do my thing, but when I ask for help he is there in a heartbeat.

Together we threw together a B.L.E.A.T.: Bacon, lettuce, egg, avocado, and tomato salad.

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I grabbed four slices of turkey bacon from the freezer, and got those cooking on the stove top. Dana got to work on cooking two eggs over-easy, and I got to chopping up the veggies for the salad. Once everything was ready, we piled it on a plate with a dash of salt and pepper and bing, bang, boom it was done.

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I can’t believe how much I’m starting to enjoy bacon. What is happening to me? Although, I do prefer the turkey bacon sort, but this is still a big change for me. My brother Scotty would be proud.

I finished dinner off with a nice big peach that I had actually packed as an afternoon snack at work but never got around to eating.

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So there’s your proof in the pudding that you CAN put together a nice meal even when you feel like all you want to do is pick up the phone and order take-out. Put the phone down! Go to the kitchen.

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It turns random…

I was clearing out my cupboards last week and stumbled upon a box of Kix Cereal that had been opened a while ago but was still about 3/4 full of cereal. Since neither Dana or I are eating any grains (I am following the SCD), these weren’t going to get eaten. I am not one to throw away food without a fight. I had my taste-tester make sure they hadn’t gone bad, and then got to thinking.

Growing up, mom always kept cereal stocked in the house, and being that there were three teenage boys in the house, you better believe we had many-a-boxes of cereal at any given time. She was finding that when she went to clean out the cupboard, a good chunk of the cereal boxes only had a tiny bit of cereal left in the bottom, not enough for one bowl. She was also not one to let food go to waste, so she got creative.

She threw every last bit of cereal from the remnants left in the boxes into a big bowl, and then melted marshmallows, a tiny bit of butter, and peanut butter on the stove top. She mixed the peanut butter love into the cereal, and made what I always remembered to be the most delicious cereal bars. How could they not be? Cereal…amazing. Peanut butter…amazing. Marshmallows….um yah! Put these components all into one bar and you have a match made in heaven. It was a great way to use up those last bits of cereal.

With these memories, I got to work and made a batch of peanut butter Kix bars to bring in to a work meeting.

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The verdict: my co-workers went crazy over them.

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They were snatched left and right and gone before I could say General Mills and just like that I didn’t have to feel guilty about wasting food. Even though I’m not eating cereal myself,   it doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy every second of watching my co-workers enjoy them.

There a million different ways to make this bar. You could add nuts, extra marshmallows, chocolate, omit the peanut butter (What??! No.), toss in some dried fruit, add sprinkles…go ahead and get creative. You’ll feel like a kid again!

That is all for today. Sorry this post is completely every where, but that’s kind of where my head is at this week. I hope you all have a tremendous Thursday. Always excited to catch up with you again!

Love and Kix,

M

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