Wild Mushroom Stuffing

I know that Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays have been on everyone's minds lately, especially my own, and that is why these next few weeks are all going to be focused around Thanksgiving! I am thinking about you all and that is why I went searching the internet to find the best and most delicious holiday recipes that you can make and share with your family and friends, or all to yourself...lets be honest! I found this recipe from one of my favorite sites, What's Gaby Cooking. 

The past couple of weeks, I have been testing out this new stuffing recipe, since I've never made any sort of stuffing before in my life. Not even boxed stuffing! So after trying this out a couple times, I am certain, that this Wild Mushroom Stuffing will be the best dish on your plate without a doubt! It is fresh, flavorful and down right delicious! It also gets better with time and as leftovers, as the bread soaks up all of the amazing flavors and juices! Also, I know not everyone LOVES mushrooms, so you can definitely leave them out & it will still be a winner!! 

I can't wait to cook this for my entire family and for every Thanksgiving holiday from here on out!  Make sure to share some love and tag me on Instagram @oliviasobjectsofobsession and follow me live on Snapchat @OliviaJoan21

Butternut Squash + Spinach Ricotta Lasagne

Its mid week and I am in need of a major pick me up or something to get excited about, and this latest recipe including three types of cheese, butternut squash and spinach is the perfect thing. I am so happy I found this recipe from the site, Julia's Album, and even more excited that it turned out this great! This recipe is vegetarian and the perfect thing for these upcoming cold winter days. It is creamy, decadent and flavorful. 

I typically don't eat much dairy, but lately I have been dreaming of everything with butternut squash and because I have been so busy with my last semester of graduate school, this recipe was the perfect choice, because it is actually quite easy to create and makes for the perfect leftover. The reason why this particular lasagna is easy to make, is that it uses already premade pureed butternut squash. Therefore, no need to worry about cutting, scraping and baking the butternut squash in the oven, just mix it together with the required amount of ricotta cheese and you're set! 

I do want to make a point, that when boiling your lasagna noodles, make sure that you add some olive oil to the boiling water, to ensure that the noodles don't stick together. This can happen very easily and typically the noodles will tear into small pieces, which you don't want for a lasagna dish! 

Secondly, I altered this recipe just slightly with the spinach, and instead of leaving the spinach leaves whole, I pureed the sautéed spinach leaves together with the ricotta to combine them together. This made a huge difference and really brought all of the flavors together well. 

This recipe is one you will want to try and when you do, make sure to tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below!! 

Ingredients: 

Butternut Squash Filling: 

• 2 cups butternut squash puree (about half of squash)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup milk (or more, if needed)
• 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Spinach Filling: 

• 1 cup cooked spinach (8 oz uncooked)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste

Other Ingredients: 

• 10 oz lasagna noodles, cooked (for gluten free, use Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles)
• 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (or more)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (on top)
• Italian seasoning
• Paprika
• Basil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. For this filling, you will need to have pre-cooked butternut squash puree. Using food processor, combine 2 cups of butternut squash puree with Ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste and add more salt, if needed.
3. Sauté the spinach leaves until wilted. Combine spinach, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix, taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed. (I pureed all of these ingredients together in a food processor). 
4. Bring a very large pot of water to boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the water. Rinse in cold water, drain. Using knife, trim noodles to fit your baking dish (if necessary). 
5. Prepare a baking dish - I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the lasagna dish lightly with olive oil spray. Spread 1/3 of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping (I used 3 noodles).
6. Spread half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
7. Spread another layer (1/3) of butternut squash mixture, then sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
8. Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with the final layer of cooked noodles.
9. Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining 1/3) over this final layer of noodles, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup of mozzarella). Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil. 
10. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

Today is going to be a good day, because I successfully made one of the best zucchini breads ever. Well, it was the only time I've made zucchini bread, but it turned out perfectly! I found the recipe from Domestically Blissful, and it couldn't be any easier to make. There's under 10 ingredients and most of those ingredients are all thrown together and combined into one bowl! Talk about an easy clean up!! 

First, the most time consuming thing you will have to do is grate the zucchinis. I only used two whole zucchini and that was more than enough for the required two cups for this recipe. Make sure that you are grating the zucchini and not spiraling or chopping it, because you want it to mix easily into the batter. 

Once you've finished grating the zucchini, mix the sour cream, sugar and three eggs in a bowl until creamy. You will slowly add in all of the remaining ingredients, starting with the zucchini first, then flour, etc. Make sure all of the ingredients are combined very well and then... you're done! What? That's it? Yes, like I said, this is one of the easiest recipes ever and incredible tasty too! 

Transfer your batter from your mixing bowl to a bread loaf pan, which has either been lined with parchment paper or well greased. Throw into the oven at 325 degree for an hour. I left my zucchini bread in the oven for slightly over an hour to make sure it was baked completely through. 

If you know me, I love trying new things and taking on new challenges, so I I couldn't believe how amazing this bread was after trying it, with all of that zucchini throughout it. This bread is chewy, moist, dense and incredibly flavorful. Oh and look and the beautiful toasted brown color to it! Its definitely a perfect item for Fall. 

Again, you know the drill, share some love on social media with me if you make it and don't forget to tag me @oliviasobjectsofobsession

Pumpkin Maple Pecan Granola (GF)

Since its officially Fall, I have seriously been craving anything to do with Pumpkin. Pumpkin spice, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin patches...pretty much anything that involves pumpkins! Therefore, this week for our Motivation Monday recipe, I have decided to focus on an easy, homemade Pumpkin Maple Pecan granola. It not only has roasted pumpkin seeds, but also pumpkin puree in it. 

This recipe is so easy, it takes only about 30 minutes and 25 of those are in the oven! It also only uses a handful of ingredients and since its homemade it isn't overloaded with sweetness and extra sugary ingredients. It tastes like Fall on a spoon and a burst of flavors in your mouth. Its crunchy, not too sweet, light, pumpkin-ey, nutty and all around amazing! I found this incredible recipe here, so make sure to check it out, on how to make. 
 

Make sure to note, that even if you do not believe the granola is done in the oven, remember that it continues to crisp when it is cooling.  

This granola is the perfect thing to put on your yogurt or to bring to work with you as a snack and since it is filled with healthy fats, proteins and fiber, it will keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day. 

If you do end up making this amazing granola, and how could you not, make sure to tag me on Instagram @oliviasobjectsofobsession and @minimalistbaker where I found the recipe!! 

Happy Fall!