Brunch for Bitches: Casseroles and Cookies

Here are some incredibly useful words of wisdom: For busy work weeks, try to plan ahead - make one or two dishes on Saturday or Sunday, and then you'll be set for lunch and dinner throughout the week. This strategy recently became a mantra of mine, and it works very well. On the weekends I spend a couple hours making a big dish. During the work week I come home from a late night of work (at about 8:30pm) and don't need to fuss over the stove or with the oven. In fact, I don't really need to think. I simply take out my precooked dish, put it on a plate, microwave for a few minutes, and presto! dinner's done. Same concept as a store-bought frozen meal, except that you made the meal, so you know exactly what is in it (i.e. no unpronounceable ingredients). You all know I love to cook; but sometimes there just isn't time to do so every night of the week. That's why it's so important to plan ahead.

Here's another useful piece of advice: if you're going to take time on the weekend to make dinner for the week, then take a bit of extra time to also make yourself some tasty treats! Last weekend I followed my own advice by making a polenta & squash casserole, and butternut squash cookies (more delicious discoveries from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health). I can already hear the skeptical groans.

First, some of you are probably thinking, butternut squash...cookies? Do you eat pumpkin pie? How 'bout pumpkin cookies? Dude, same concept! Pumpkins are a type of squash. So why not use butternut squash? To be honest, I did not seek out the butternut squash cookie recipe. Fortuitously the casserole only used half of a butternut squash, and while I was deciding what to do with the remaining half, I came across the cookie recipe. I'm very happy that I did.

Second, those of you who read my last couple of posts may be noticing a polenta theme. Honest to goodness this was completely unintentional. But now that it's happened, aren't you glad that you're about to have a third recipe for which you can use the corn meal you might have purchased after reading my Keep It Simple or Make Use of Magazines posts? You're welcome.

If you take away one message from this post, let it be this: plan ahead. Sure, there's a greater and deeper applicability of this statement to life in general, but right now I'm just talking about your dinners and meals. Plan ahead. Take the time you have on weekends to make your weekday life a little easier. In the words of Peter Pan, think lovely thoughts. Think casseroles and cookies.

Polenta Casserole with Winter Squash & Greens

This makes 4 servings (2 lunches & 2 dinners!)

What you need:

-1/2 butternut squash (about 1.5 cups mashed)

-1 bunch of kale, chopped

-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-2/3 cup whole grain cornmeal
-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
-pinch of dried thyme
-1 1/4 cups grated cheese (cheddar, feta, or fontina...I used the latter)
-1 egg
-salt & pepper
-olive oil

1. Cut squash into quarters, remove seeds, roast in preheated oven (350 degrees fahrenheit) for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until you can easily pierce the skin with a fork)

2. Scoop out 1 1/2 cups of squash and mash with a fork

3. Cook kale: heat pan on medium, add olive oil and sauté garlic for about 1 minute, add kale, cook so that kale is still bright green, but reduced in size

4. Cook polenta: bring 2 1/3 cups water to a boil. Add polenta a little at a time, whisking constantly to prevent clumping. Once polenta is thick, add sun-dried tomatoes & thyme and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of cheese and stir for another 5 minutes.