: All Things Brady

Monday, July 21, 2014

Apple, Pecan and Butternut Squash Hash

I am sharing a delicious and healthy breakfast recipe today that is Whole30 and Paleo compliant; the Apple, Pecan and Butternut Squash Hash is a staple breakfast dish in the Brady household. I make this a few times a month-- I prepare and cook this dish on Sundays and prep portions for the following week. Matthew and I both eat breakfast at work, so popping the Tupperware in the microwave for a minute each morning makes this dish an easy and yummy option. C’mon, who doesn’t love a nice, hot breakfast to start their day?!

I double the recipe below to make ten (10) portions for a weeks worth of breakfast portions for Matthew and myself. I adapted the recipe from http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/01/apple-butternut-squash-bacon-breakfast.html and took some pictures while making the recipe yesterday.

Apple, Pecan & Butternut Squash Hash

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh, diced butternut squash

1 cup diced granny smith apple

2/3 cup diced yellow onion

2/3 cup chopped pecans

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to broil (you will be precooking the butternut squash before adding it to the skillet). After prepping the ingredients, heat a large skillet over a medium heat.

While the skillet is heating up, spread the diced butternut squash out evenly onto a cookie sheet sprayed with a cooking spray (I use Pam with Canola Oil). Place the cookie sheet under the broiler; broil the butternut squash until it just starts to brown on the edges, which takes about 10 minutes. Flip the squash once half way through cooking. Watch it carefully to ensure it doesn't burn too much though! Remove from the butternut squash from oven.

While the butternut squash is baking, add about two tablespoons of EVOO to the preheated skillet. Add the apples and onion to the skillet and let cook until they start to get soft. Add all the butternut squash and pepper, continuing to cook and stir the hash over medium-medium high heat until the onions begin to turn translucent and the butternut squash softens. It helps to spread the hash evenly around the pan, and then let it sit for a moment before continuing to flip/stir it around again; this will help it to 'brown' instead of steam itself, which could result in a soggy hash. Add the pecans for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time.

Remove from the heat and add any additional cracked pepper to taste.

I hope you decide to try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do! The hash is a nice alternative to the sweet breakfast recipes that most of us are accustomed to—the rich and savory taste will be a welcome change and the hearty ingredients will keep you full for hours!

Xo,

Meg

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Dining Room Before & After

The dining room redesign was one of the easiest because it required very little effort and time to complete. Aside from fixing a few trouble spots on the drywall under the window, I couldn’t prep and paint the dining room quickly enough to cover up those b u t t e r yellow walls. As one of my girlfriends termed them—the “bane of my existence”—since that terribly outdated color was covering our dining room and kitchen walls. I am a firm believer that painting can fix nearly everything (did I say firm?). Fresh paint can completely change the character and personality of a room—and in this case, I wanted it to be calming and crisp.

We decided to carry over the gray from the living room but I wanted to break up the monotony of my staple color, so I was mulling over the possibility of an accent wall. I usually don’t lean towards accent walls; in fact, I have never painted one before! I usually view accent walls as dated and more often used in a master suite. In this case, however, I really thought a navy blue wall—although risky—could boldly transform this room. And if any of you know me well, you know my LOVE for the color navy. Simply stated, I’m obsessed. So, I picked out a great shade of navy and got to work. Worst case scenario if I didn’t like the look of the accent wall? Paint it again! Not too hard, right?

Well, I loved it! I’m sure many people have their opinions on it but I was really drawn to the contrast of the navy with the gray and the crisp white of the trim and crown molding. The one thing that did take forever to pick out was a light fixture—I went back and forth between spray-painting and updating the existing chandelier, adding a candle-lit chandelier for a lighter glow, or adding something more modern. I finally settled on a modest linen drum shade from Lowe’s. We hung it at it’s highest setting and I really liked how it is understated but brings a lot of warmth to the room.I still have some work to do styling the shelves and carts in the room, but I am content for now. Here are some before and after shots of the room. Note: colors are Indigo Cloth and London Coach by Valspar.