Ann Wayne
I made stuffed butternut squash with ham, pear, and quinoa stuffing with a balsamic drizzle and a side salad with roasted pears and homemade balsamic salad dressing. The stuffed squash can also be a stand-alone dish.
I chose this dish because it is easy to prepare, healthy one-course meal. While squash is roasting, I can quickly make the ham, pear and quinoa stuffing along and the balsamic drizzle.
I love butternut squash and pears, so I was super excited when I saw those in the bag. I am familiar with Caminito Ham off the Bone but typically do not buy those types of precooked meats; therefore I had a neutral feeling about this item. I have never seen or heard of Erythritol and the Vanilla Bean Paste so I was intrigued with what they are and how I could use them in my dish. I tasted both items and was pleasantly surprised to find there was no aftertaste from the Erythritol.
I had so many ideas about testing the Erythritol and the Vanilla Bean Paste and could not wait to start cooking/testing recipes. Super excited about the squash. I love all squashes and cooking with them! Love roasting squash and had fun experimenting with roasting the pears.
I used Erythritol in place of sugar since it states on the package that it is a zero calorie sugar replacement. I also used the Vanilla Bean Paste in place of vanilla. Roasting the squash and pears develops their natural sugars.
The first time I made the ham and pear stuffing for the squash my testers thought it was good, but "something was missing." I added rice to my stuffing, and my testers thought it was just OK. Next, I added quinoa and received thumbs-up all around! My testers liked my balsamic salad dressing and were pleasantly surprised when I told them it had artificial sweetener since it wasn't super sweet and more importantly there was no aftertaste!
I tried two different ways to make a caramel sauce with the Erythritol. I was disappointed as it didn't work either time. I was really hoping to make caramel pears and surprise my family with a sweet treat without added sugar. I then decided to make a balsamic drizzle to top the squash, and that came together just as if I used sugar. The drizzle looked and tasted amazing too!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed cooking with the mystery items from week 1. I even made homemade applesauce with the vanilla bean paste, and it improved the taste and color of my applesauce.
I like serving each person half of a stuffed squash. It's a colorful and fun presentation. I drizzle right before serving and add chopped parsley for a pop of green and freshness because we eat with our eyes first!