Squash in the Air Fryer

I am always trying to find quick and easy ways for me to get more veggies while making dinners the family will enjoy. We all know it’s not always an easy sell. The air fryer has given me a new avenue for making things on the side while I work on other things.

 

 

I like having an option that’s a fix-it-and-forget-it approach. The air fryer allows me to make spaghetti and meatballs for the family, and I can have spaghetti squash instead.

 

 

Same with other squashes. I can make Mac N Cheese and add some pureed butternut squash to mine. Or have an acorn squash when we have steak and potatoes. Lots of flavor while eating healthier.

 

Although I’ve specifically described the Spaghetti Squash in this post, it’s the same approach with several different squashes, which I’ve listed at the end of the instructions. I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate goodness! This is an easy one.

 

 

Spaghetti Squash in the Air Fryer

 

 

1 spaghetti squash, approximately 2-3 lbs

1 Tbs EVOO

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat the air fryer to 375F. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds from the centers. Brush each half with EVOO (I have used the EVOO spray from Trader Joes and it works well). Season with salt and pepper.

 

Place the 2 pieces into the air fryer facing down. You can face it up if you want more browning on the flesh; I prefer a softer texture on my squash. Cook for 25-30 minutes depending on your machine and the size of your squash.

 

Use a fork to test for tenderness. When it’s soft to the fork touch, pull it out and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Turn each piece over and use a fork to gently scrape the squash and create the “spaghetti”.

 

*This also works with Butternut Squash, Honeynut Squash, and Acorn Squash. The times might vary based on the size of your squash, so watch it and check for doneness.

 

Crustless Apple Crumble

One night, the family and I were craving an apple pie. Something about warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven apple pie. Soft, flavorful apples wrapped in a flaky crust. Sounds amazing! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to make that happen and I had to improvise.

 

Ideas began flowing. What if we… or what if we…

 

 

I love a traditional apple crisp, but when I mentioned I use oats in my crumble, it was rejected. I will save that for another day, and another post.

 

 

We all love the apples in the crisp, we just struggled to agree on the topping. I was flipping through cookbooks and found a recipe for a crumble. Not having oats was appealing to the household, but it was made with berries. We only had apples. Would it work? Let’s find out!

 

 

I’m here to tell you, it worked! The crumble on apples is so delicious that we’ve made the crumble by itself and sprinkled it on homemade peach ice cream. Again, another recipe for another blog post. For now, let’s focus on the Apple Crumble.

 

 

Super straight forward and easy to make, you can throw this together in a jiffy. If you have a Kitchenaid spiralizer, you can peel, core, and slice the apples even faster. It’s fantastic! Usually, I just like to go old-school and do it all by hand. Reminds me of working with my grandma in the kitchen when I was young. And so does this amazing Apple Crumble.

 

 

Crustless Apple Crumble

 

4-6 apples (I like Pink Lady, but any firm apple works, such as granny or Jazz, etc)

1 ½ Tbs lemon juice

¼ c white sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbs butter, chopped into pieces

1 c flour

¼ c white sugar

¼ c brown sugar

8 Tbs butter, chopped into pieces

½ c walnuts or pecans, finely chopped but still pieces (optional)

 

 

Preheat the oven to 375F. Prepare your apples by peeling, coring and slicing them into ¼ inch slices cut in half. Place them in a bowl and add the lemon juice. Mix together to distribute the lemon juice and then add the sugar and cinnamon. Mix together and pour the apples into your baking/casserole dish. Finally, add the 2 Tbs butter pieces to the apples, spreading them around for even distribution during baking.

 

In another bowl, mix together the flour and both sugars. Add the 8 Tbs butter pieces and place in the microwave to melt the butter (30-60 seconds max should do it). Pull it out of the microwave and stir to make the crumble. Finally, add the nuts if desired and mix together. Spread the mix on top of the apples in the casserole dish, making sure the crumble is evenly distributed but still allow for clumps which adds texture.

 

Place the apple crumble in the oven uncovered. Cook for 25-30 minutes. It’s ready when you start to see a slight browning on the crumble and the apples bubble slightly on the sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve with ice cream. Enjoy! 

Classic Hamburger Buns

My husband has a favorite hamburger roll from when we was growing up. I learned how to make and it is been our standard roll now for at least 25 years. But I was looking for something new. Drives him crazy…although he does enjoy sampling my baking attempts.

 

 

I really wanted to find a bun recipe that I could make full size buns as well as slider buns. Something that was super simple, versatile, and still tasty and makes you want to more.

 

 

I found a fun recipe that hits the mark. We initially used it to make sliders and it worked really well. Then we tried full size burgers and again, it was a hit. These can be used for all sorts of things; burgers, sloppy joes, pulled pork, even ham or turkey sub sandwiches.

 

 

The recipe is written for full size buns, but if you’re making sliders you’ll divide the dough into 24 rolls. It’s alright to place them closer together so they get a nice “tear” on the sides of the finished roll. You can do this for the full size buns as well. It’s totally up to how you like to eat your buns.

 

 

 

Classic Hamburger Buns

 

¾ c water, warmed to 110-115

2 ¼ tsp (1 packet) yeast

¾ c milk (I use 2%)

¼ c canola oil

4 eggs

¼ c sugar

2 ½ tsp salt

6-7 c flour

 

Measure the milk and water together and warm to 110-115 degrees. Place the yeast and a tsp of sugar into your mixing bowl. Add the warmed water-milk and let it rise a bit while getting the rest of the ingredients together.

 

Prep your oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and 2 c of flour. Add them to the mixer bowl that’s fitted with a dough hook and turned to a low setting (my kitchenaid is set at speed 2). Once those are mixed together, continue to add a cup of flour at a time. Use a spatula to push the dough off the edges and into the bowl. Once your dough is pulling from the edge of the bowl, stop the mixer and turn the dough out onto a floured surface (it should have a little bit of stickiness to it still, but it should hold its shape well and be easy to knead).

 

Knead to dough for another 5-8 minutes by hand. Add flour as needed. Continue to knead until there is good elasticity to it. You shouldn’t have any more dough stuck to your hands as this point, and as a little test, if you pinch and pull, it should bounce back.  

 

Place the ball of dough into a greased bowl, cover it with towels and leave it to rise for about an hour in a warm place. Turn the oven on to 375F and have 2 half sheet pans ready with silpats or parchment that’s been sprayed with oil.

 

After it has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut the dough into 16 equal balls. Use the palm of your hand to shape each of the balls evenly. Press the center down slightly to widen the ball a bit, making for a better bun. Place 8 on each pan, being sure to space them out evenly.

 

Once all of the buns have been formed, cover with towels and allow them to rise once more for about an hour. They should double in size. Brush each bun with water before placing the pan in the oven. Bake them for 14-16 minutes. Pull them out and immediately remove them from the pan and onto a cooling rack. You can brush each roll with butter to help soften their tops a bit, but this is optional. Repeat this with the second tray.

 

These are fantastic as hamburger buns, pulled pork sandwiches, and can also be made into smaller slider buns. Also, they freeze wonderfully. Once they’ve completely cooled. Place them in sealable bags and keep them in the freezer for up with 3 months. Thaw them on the counter or in the microwave for a minute or so. They are excellent!