GF cooking: southwest spaghetti squash

This is a fabulous recipe! We love it! Southwest spaghetti squash casserole.

It is from this book....

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 can (~14 ounces) tomatoes- I used Rotel tomatoes with peppers, and I drained them-- recipe didn't call for that. I opted for Rotel since it does have a nice kick to it. You may not want this.
1 can ~14 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic salt (I didn't have and just used garlic powder)
1/4 black pepper

Directions:
1. Cook squash at 350 degree on a cookie sheet. Cut them in half and put face down on the cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove. Let cool for a bit.
2. shred squash with fork into a bowl.
3. Add all ingredients saving 1/4 cup of the cheese for the topping. Mix together well. Transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve!

We had just a little bit of liquid on the bottom. I don't think I got all the juice out from the tomatoes.

Nom. OMG this was fabulous on the cold winter days. Helps clear you up! And keep you warm!

My boyfriend went bananas over this dish. Which at first he was like, er well I guess I will try it. Then after he did, it was inhaled. I have made this again and it was still delicious! We definitely have a winner here. I highly recommend!

Cheers,
Lauren

GF cooking- Cinnamon apple risotto

Trying to use my cookbooks and cook some different food! This is one of my cookbooks.

Today is all about the cinnamon apple risotto. It supposed to be for breakfast. It looked to die for!

 Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

4 apples (I used granny smith)- nicely sliced up

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice ( I didn't have ground up so I had to ground my own in my food processor- see #2)

1/4 tsp salt

1.5 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup brown sugar 

4 cups of apple juice

1 tsp vanilla

1. diced up my apples- this took the LONGEST!

2. Had to also grind up my all spice

3. combine apples with butter, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a pan. On Medium/High heat cook and stir to get the apples to start releasing juices. Takes about 3 to 5 minutes. Your house will smell amazing at this point.

4. In your slow cooker, coat with oil spray. Add rice and apple mix- mix it up all together. Then add apple juice, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix up and simply let it cook for 2 hours on high!

Done!! I added some sliced almonds and dried cherries to the bowl. And I had this wonderful dish to nosh on.

It was delightful. Warm. Delicious! Filling. This would be great if you had a lot of people (since it makes a lot) to feed for breakfast or brunch. Actually, I paired it with some bacon wrapped beef fillets for dinner that night. It was a really nice compliment to the beef. Will definitely do again when I have a lot of company!

Cheers,
Lauren