Keeping it Simple

Well, today marks a milestone that most people don't reach until well beyond my 24 years. I had my first root canal today. I had to drag myself to the endodontist's office this morning to have them drill out one of my teeth. Lovely. I may be dramatic about it, but honestly it wasn't that bad. I plugged in my headphones and just let them do whatever. I just hate how long it took, I hate not being able to feel my face for a few hours, and my bank account definitely hates the whole thing (thank you, insurance!). And because of the inflammation, they couldn't put in the permanent filling and I have to go back for more. Joy. At least this beats not being able to chew on that side. I was getting pretty sick of having a shock of pain every time an errant blackberry seed or popcorn kernel found that stupid tooth. Needless to say, I'm not in the best of moods as I type this.

In preparation for this procedure, I made sure I was well stocked on easily-eaten foods. And you better believe I bought an ample supply of ice cream. I had my wisdom teeth out, I know the drill (pun not intended, but I embrace it) for this kind of thing. I also made sure I had several days' worth of lunches prepared to take to work because I do NOT feel like cooking today.

One thing that has complicated matters is that I'm currently fighting a bug problem in my apartment, so any time I cook, I have to wipe down everything before I use it, and then clean everything thoroughly and sanitize it afterward. Pest control is coming tomorrow, which means that the bugs will be taken care of once and for all, but it also means I've had to get as much stuff out of my kitchen cupboards as possible. So all of my cooking supplies have been moved to other parts of the apartment, and any time I need something, I have to go hunting for it. One more day, one more day, then I can put my kitchen back together and be done with this nonsense. Did I mention I'm not in the best of moods today?

Despite all of this, I managed to create something that is actually pretty good. I'll take any small victory I can get right now. I wanted to use some of the awesome ingredients that I brought from Nebraska when I was there over Christmas. My mom had mentioned a tasty chili she had made from butternut squash with black beans, and I got an idea. After digging through my pantry and freezer, I came up with something that was not only a good meal to pack in my work lunches, it was something I'll probably make again. And talk about cheap: I used squash and corn from Nebraska, and leftover turkey I had frozen from Thanksgiving. With my current dental bills, cheap is definitely a good thing. So, allow me to show you the results of my pantry cleaning:

If you don't have "free range" vegetables like I did, canned will work just fine, this recipe is all about using what you have

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, roasted and scooped out

~2 cups turkey or chicken, cooked and chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups sweet corn, or about 1 can

2 campari tomatoes, diced, or 1 can

4 oz sliced mushrooms, can be fresh or canned

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic

Grated Parmesan cheese 

Garlic salt

Paprika

Some sort of seasoning blend, I used one from a specialty spice store. A solid all-purpose spice blend would work here.

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. place in a baking dish with some water in the bottom. This steams as the squash roasts and keeps it from getting dry. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika, garlic salt, and pepper. Bake until soft, 45-60 mins generally, but it varies a lot depending on the size of your squash. When you remove it from the oven, set broiler to medium for later.

2. While your squash is cooling enough to be scooped out, heat a skillet over medium and saute mushrooms, onions, and garlic until caramelized. Place in a bowl and mix with the turkey and sweet corn. Add seasoning blend, salt, and pepper to taste

3. Scoop out squash and spread on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add turkey and vegetable mixture. Layer on black beans. Top with tomatoes. Add more seasoning or salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is toasted and brown.

Currently my life is complicated, so I'm keeping my recipe simple. Nothing too weird here. If you don't like an ingredient, leave it out. If you have something you want to use up, like Zucchini or bell peppers, add that in. Simple, tasty cooking is never a bad thing. I hope you all have a nice week, I'm going to go eat some ice cream.